PRINTER'S NO. 1997
No. 211 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY SURRA, HANNA, PETRARCA AND VITALI, JUNE 14, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JUNE 14, 1999
A RESOLUTION
1 Amending House Rules 21, 43, 45 and 77.
2 Resolved, That House Rules 21, 43, 45 and 77 be amended to
3 read:
4 RULE 21
5 Consideration of Bills
6 Every bill and every joint resolution shall be considered on
7 three different days. All amendments made thereto shall be
8 printed for the use of the members before the final vote is
9 taken thereon, and before the final vote is taken, upon written
10 request addressed to the presiding officer by at least 25% of
11 the members elected to the House, any bill shall be read at
12 length. No bill shall become law and no joint resolution adopted
13 unless, on its final passage, the vote is taken by yeas and
14 nays, the names of the persons voting for and against it are
15 entered on the Journal, and a majority of the members elected to
16 the House is recorded thereon as voting in its favor.
17 (Constitution, Article III, Section 4).
1 Members shall be notified of bills and resolutions scheduled
2 to be voted no later than prior to the close of business at 4:30
3 P.M. of the second business day prior to the scheduled vote on
4 final passage for legislation that has no legal deadline. No
5 bill or resolution shall be scheduled for vote prior to its
6 being reported from committee to the House. (The General
7 Appropriations Act and non-preferred bills are included within
8 the definition of legislation that has no legal deadline.) All
9 amendments shall be submitted to the Office of the Chief Clerk
10 by 2:00 P.M. of the last legislative day preceding the scheduled
11 vote. No vote on final passage can occur before the date of the
12 scheduled vote.
13 If the amendment cannot be submitted in accordance with the
14 above paragraph because it is still being prepared by the
15 Legislative Reference Bureau, the member must provide the Office
16 of the Chief Clerk with a statement, by the above-noted 2:00
17 P.M. deadline, prepared by the member containing the factual
18 content of said amendment along with certification from the
19 Legislative Reference Bureau that the amendment was submitted to
20 the Legislative Reference Bureau for drafting prior to the
21 above-noted 2:00 P.M. deadline. In addition, a member shall be
22 entitled to receipt of certification for an amendment to an
23 amendment, notwithstanding the fact that the base amendment
24 subject to the subsequent amendment request is still being
25 drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
26 Members shall be notified no later than one hour prior to the
27 consideration of all bills on concurrence, unless the
28 concurrence is the General Appropriations Bill, in which case at
29 least 24 hours' notice shall be provided. Additionally, members
30 shall be notified at least 24 hours prior to the adoption of all
19990H0211R1997 - 2 -
1 conference committee reports. When these reports are considered
2 on the first legislative day of the week, said notice shall be
3 provided no later than the close of business on the last
4 business day preceding the vote.
5 RULE 43
6 Standing Committees and Subcommittees
7 The Committee on Committees shall consist of the Speaker and
8 15 members of the House, ten of whom shall be members of the
9 majority party and five of whom shall be members of the minority
10 party, whose duty shall be to recommend to the House the names
11 of members who are to serve on the standing committees of the
12 House. Except for the Speaker, the Majority and Minority
13 Leaders, Whips, Caucus Chairmen, Caucus Secretaries, Caucus
14 Administrators, Policy Chairmen and the chairmen and minority
15 chairmen of standing committees, each member shall be entitled
16 to serve on not less than two standing committees.
17 The Speaker shall appoint the chairman and vice-chairman of
18 each standing committee when such standing committee has no
19 standing subcommittees as prescribed herein, except the
20 Committee on Appropriations which shall also have a vice-
21 chairman appointed by the Speaker; when the standing committee
22 has standing subcommittees, the Speaker shall appoint a
23 subcommittee chairman for each standing subcommittee. The
24 Speaker shall appoint a secretary for each standing committee.
25 The Minority Leader shall appoint the minority chairman,
26 minority vice-chairman and minority secretary of each standing
27 committee and the minority subcommittee chairman for each
28 standing subcommittee.
29 [Except for members who decline a chairmanship or minority
30 chairmanship in writing or who are barred from serving as a
19990H0211R1997 - 3 -
1 chairman or minority chairman under this rule, the chairmanship
2 and minority chairmanship of each standing committee except the
3 Appropriations Committee shall be limited only to the members of
4 the applicable caucus with the most seniority as members of
5 their respective caucus. Whenever there are more caucus members
6 with equal seniority than available chairmanships or minority
7 chairmanships for that caucus, the selection of a chairman or
8 minority chairman from among such caucus members shall be in the
9 discretion of the appointing authority. The appointing authority
10 may designate the standing committee to which he shall appoint a
11 member as chairman or minority chairman without regard to
12 seniority. The Speaker and the Floor Leader, Whip, Caucus
13 Chairman, Caucus Secretary, Caucus Administrator and Policy
14 Chairman of the majority party and minority party shall not be
15 eligible to serve as chairman or minority chairman of any
16 standing committee and no member may serve as chairman or
17 minority chairman of more than one standing committee.
18 Any chairmanship or minority chairmanship held by a member
19 who fails to meet the requirements of this rule shall become
20 vacant by automatic operation of this rule. If the appointing
21 authority fails to make an appointment of a chairman or minority
22 chairman prior to the organizational meeting of a standing
23 committee or fails to fill a vacancy within seven calendar days
24 after it occurs, such position shall be deemed to remain vacant
25 in violation of this rule. Whenever a chairmanship or minority
26 chairmanship becomes vacant or remains vacant in violation of
27 this rule, the member of the applicable caucus who meets the
28 requirements of this rule shall automatically fill the vacancy
29 and, if there are two or more such eligible caucus members for
30 any such vacancy or vacancies, they shall be filled from among
19990H0211R1997 - 4 -
1 such eligible members through a lottery to be conducted under
2 the supervision of the Chief Clerk after giving notice of the
3 time and place thereof to all eligible members, to the Speaker,
4 to the Majority Leader and to the Minority Leader.
5 Nothing in this rule shall prohibit the appointing authority
6 from transferring a member from the chairmanship or minority
7 chairmanship of a standing committee to the chairmanship or
8 minority chairmanship of another standing committee.
9 Whenever the appointment of a chairman or minority chairman
10 will cause the applicable caucus to exceed its permissible
11 allocation of members on a standing committee, the appointing
12 authority shall make a temporary transfer of an eligible
13 committee member to the standing committee vacated by the member
14 appointed as chairman or minority chairman until a regular
15 committee appointment can be made in accordance with the rules
16 of the House. If the Speaker or Minority Leader fails to make a
17 temporary transfer within seven calendar days after such
18 appointment, the committee member with the least seniority, who
19 is eligible for transfer, shall be automatically transferred to
20 the committee vacated by the newly appointed chairman or
21 minority chairman and, if more than one committee member is
22 eligible for such transfer, the transfer shall be implemented
23 through a lottery conducted under the supervision of the Chief
24 Clerk.]
25 The Speaker of the House, Floor Leader of the majority party
26 and the Floor Leader of the minority party shall be ex-officio
27 members of all standing committees, without the right to vote
28 and they shall be excluded from any limitation as to the number
29 of members on the committees or in counting a quorum.
30 Twenty-two standing committees of the House, each to consist
19990H0211R1997 - 5 -
1 of [26] 27 members except the Committee on Appropriations, which
2 shall consist of [32] 33 members, are hereby created. In
3 addition, there [is] are hereby created 34 standing
4 subcommittees.
5 All standing committees shall consist of 15 members of the
6 majority party and [11] 12 members of the minority party, except
7 the Committee on Appropriations which shall consist of 20
8 members of the majority party and [12] 13 members of the
9 minority party. The quorum for each of the standing committees
10 and subcommittees shall be no less than the majority of said
11 committees. The following are the standing committees and
12 subcommittees thereof:
13 (1) Aging and Youth
14 (a) Subcommittee on Aging
15 (b) Subcommittee on Youth
16 (2) Agriculture and Rural Affairs
17 (3) Appropriations
18 (a) Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
19 (b) Subcommittee on Education
20 (c) Subcommittee on Capital Budget
21 (4) Commerce and Economic Development
22 (a) Subcommittee on Financial Services and Banking
23 (b) Subcommittee on Housing
24 (c) Subcommittee on Economic Development
25 (5) Consumer Affairs
26 (a) Subcommittee on Public Utilities
27 (b) Subcommittee on Telecommunications
28 (6) Education
29 (a) Subcommittee on Basic Education
30 (b) Subcommittee on Higher Education
19990H0211R1997 - 6 -
1 (7) Environmental Resources and Energy
2 (a) Subcommittee on Mining
3 (8) Finance
4 (9) Game and Fisheries
5 (10) Health and Human Services
6 (a) Subcommittee on Health
7 (b) Subcommittee on Human Services
8 (c) Subcommittee on Drugs and Alcohol
9 (11) Insurance
10 (12) Judiciary
11 (a) Subcommittee on Crime and Corrections
12 (b) Subcommittee on Courts
13 (13) Intergovernmental Affairs
14 (14) Labor Relations
15 (15) Liquor Control
16 (a) Subcommittee on Licensing
17 (b) Subcommittee on Marketing
18 (16) Local Government
19 (a) Subcommittee on Boroughs
20 (b) Subcommittee on Counties
21 (c) Subcommittee on Townships
22 (17) Professional Licensure
23 (18) State Government
24 (19) Tourism and Recreational Development
25 (a) Subcommittee on Arts and Entertainment
26 (b) Subcommittee on Recreation
27 (c) Subcommittee on Travel Promotion
28 (20) Transportation
29 (a) Subcommittee on Highways
30 (b) Subcommittee on Public Transportation
19990H0211R1997 - 7 -
1 (c) Subcommittee on Transportation Safety
2 (d) Subcommittee on Aviation
3 (e) Subcommittee on Railroads
4 (21) Urban Affairs
5 (a) Subcommittee on Cities, Counties - First Class
6 (b) Subcommittee on Cities, Counties - Second Class
7 (c) Subcommittee on Cities, Third Class
8 (22) Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness
9 subcommittee.
10 RULE 45
11 Powers and Duties of Standing Committees
12 and Subcommittees
13 The chairman of each standing committee and subcommittee
14 shall fix regular weekly, biweekly or monthly meeting days for
15 the transaction of business before the committee or
16 subcommittee. The chairman of the committee or subcommittee
17 shall notify all members, at least 24 hours in advance of the
18 date, time and place of regular meetings, and[, insofar as
19 possible, the subjects] bills, resolutions and other matters
20 listed on the agenda. In addition to regular meetings, special
21 meetings may be called from time to time by the chairman of the
22 committee or subcommittee as they deem necessary. No committee
23 shall meet during any session of the House without first
24 obtaining permission of the Speaker. During any such meeting, no
25 vote shall be taken on the Floor of the House on any amendment,
26 recommittal motion, final passage of any bill, or any other
27 matter requiring a roll call vote. Any committee meeting called
28 off the Floor of the House shall meet in a committee room. In
29 addition to the specific provisions of this Rule 45, all
30 provisions of the act of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175)
19990H0211R1997 - 8 -
1 relative to notice of meetings shall be complied with.
2 At regularly scheduled meetings, or upon the call of the
3 chairman, or subcommittee chairman, for special meetings, the
4 membership of such committees shall meet to consider any bill,
5 resolution, or other matter on the agenda. The secretary of each
6 standing committee, or in case of subcommittees a secretary
7 designated by the subcommittee chairman, shall record:
8 (1) the minutes of the meeting,
9 (2) all votes taken,
10 (3) a roll or attendance of members at standing committee or
11 subcommittee meetings showing the names of those present, absent
12 or excused from attendance, and the majority and minority
13 chairmen or their designees shall verify by their signatures all
14 votes taken and the roll or attendance of those members present,
15 absent or excused before said records are submitted to the Chief
16 Clerk, and
17 (4) dispatch of bills and resolutions before the committee.
18 Such records shall be open to public inspection. On the first
19 legislative day of each week the House is in session, the
20 chairman of each standing committee shall submit to the Chief
21 Clerk for inclusion in the House Journal only, the roll or
22 record of attendance of members at standing committee or
23 subcommittee meetings held prior thereto and not yet reported,
24 along with the record of all votes taken at such meetings. All
25 reports from standing committees shall be prepared in writing by
26 the secretary of the committee. Members of a standing committee
27 may prepare in writing and file a minority report, setting forth
28 the reasons for their dissent. Such committee reports shall be
29 filed with the Chief Clerk within five days of the meeting. All
30 meetings at which formal action is taken by a standing committee
19990H0211R1997 - 9 -
1 or subcommittee shall be open to the public, making such reports
2 as are required under Rule 44. When any member, except for an
3 excused absence, fails to attend five consecutive regular
4 meetings of his committee, the chairman of that committee or
5 subcommittee shall notify him of that fact and, if the member in
6 question fails to reasonably justify his absences to the
7 satisfaction of a majority of the membership of the standing
8 committee of which he is a member, his membership on the
9 committee or subcommittee shall be deemed vacant and the
10 chairman of the standing committee shall notify the Speaker of
11 the House to that effect. Such vacancy shall then be filled in
12 the manner prescribed by these rules.
13 Whenever the chairman of any standing committee shall refuse
14 to call a regular meeting, then a majority of the members of the
15 standing committee may vote to call a meeting by giving two days
16 written notice to the Speaker of the House, setting the time and
17 place for such meeting. Such notice shall be read in the House
18 and the same posted by the Chief Clerk in the House Chamber.
19 Thereafter, the meeting shall be held at the time and place
20 specified in the notice. In addition, all provisions of the act
21 of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175) relative to notice of
22 meetings shall be complied with.
23 Records, bills and other papers in the possession of
24 committees and subcommittees, upon final adjournment of the
25 House shall be filed with the Chief Clerk.
26 No committee report, except a report of the Appropriations
27 Committee, shall be recognized by the House, unless the same has
28 been acted upon by a majority vote of the members of a standing
29 committee present at a committee session actually assembled and
30 meeting as a committee, provided such majority vote numbers at
19990H0211R1997 - 10 -
1 least 12 members, and provided further a quorum is present. No
2 committee report of the Appropriations Committee shall be
3 recognized by the House, unless the same has been acted upon by
4 a majority vote of the members of such committee present at a
5 committee session actually assembled and meeting as a committee,
6 provided such majority vote numbers at least 14 members, and
7 provided further a quorum is present.
8 No proxy voting shall be permitted in committee, except as
9 provided for herein. If a member reports to a scheduled
10 committee meeting and advises the chairman and other members of
11 a conflicting committee meeting or other legislative meeting
12 which he or she must attend, the member is authorized to give
13 the chairman or minority chairman his or her proxy in writing
14 which shall include written instructions for the exercise of
15 such proxy by the chairman or minority chairman during the
16 meeting. The member should also advise the chairman where he or
17 she can be reached. In the event the conflicting committee
18 meeting or other legislative meeting is scheduled to convene at
19 the same time or prior to the meeting at which a member desires
20 to vote by proxy, such proxy shall be delivered by the member in
21 person to the offices of both the chairman and minority chairman
22 prior to, but on the same day as, the conflicting meetings.
23 When the majority of the members of a standing committee
24 believe that a certain bill or resolution in the possession of
25 the standing committee should be considered and acted upon by
26 such committee, they may request the chairman to include the
27 same as part of the business of a committee meeting. Upon
28 failure of the chairman to comply with such request, the
29 membership may require that such bill be considered by written
30 motion made and approved by a majority vote of the entire
19990H0211R1997 - 11 -
1 membership to which such committee is entitled.
2 Whenever the phrase "majority of members of a standing
3 committee or subcommittee" is used in these rules, it shall mean
4 majority of the entire membership to which a standing committee
5 or subcommittee is entitled, unless the context thereof
6 indicates a different intent.
7 To assist the House in appraising the administration of the
8 laws and in developing such amendments or related legislation as
9 it may deem necessary, each standing committee or subcommittee
10 of the House shall exercise continuous watchfulness of the
11 execution by the administrative agencies concerned of any laws,
12 the subject matter of which is within the jurisdiction of such
13 committee or subcommittee; and, for that purpose, shall study
14 all pertinent reports and data submitted to the House by the
15 agencies in the executive branch of the Government.
16 The Committee on Appropriations shall have the power to issue
17 subpoenas under the hand and seal of its chairman commanding any
18 person to appear before it and answer questions touching matters
19 properly being inquired into by the committee, which matters
20 shall include data from any fund administered by the
21 Commonwealth, and to produce such books, papers, records,
22 documents and data and information produced and stored by any
23 electronic data processing system as the committee deems
24 necessary. Such subpoenas may be served upon any person and
25 shall have the force and effect of subpoenas issued out of the
26 courts of this Commonwealth. Any person who willfully neglects
27 or refuses to testify before the committee or to produce any
28 books, papers, records, documents or data and information
29 produced and stored by any electronic data processing system
30 shall be subject to the penalties provided by the laws of the
19990H0211R1997 - 12 -
1 Commonwealth in such case. Each member of the committee shall
2 have power to administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses
3 appearing before the committee. The committee may also cause the
4 deposition of witnesses either residing within or without the
5 State to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for taking
6 depositions in civil actions.
7 RULE 77
8 Suspending and Changing Rules
9 Any rule of the House, which is not required by the
10 Constitution, may be temporarily suspended at any time for a
11 specific purpose only by a vote of [55%] 67% of the members
12 elected to the House by a roll call vote.
13 A motion to suspend the rules may not be laid on the table,
14 postponed, committed or amended.
15 The existing rules of the House shall not be changed, added
16 to, modified or deleted except by written resolution and the
17 same approved by a majority vote of the members elected to the
18 House by a roll call vote.
19 Except where such resolution originates with the Committee on
20 Rules, no resolution proposing any change, addition,
21 modification or deletion to existing House rules shall be
22 considered until such resolution has been referred to the
23 Committee on Rules, reported therefrom, printed, filed on the
24 desk of each member and placed on the calendar.
25 Any proposed change, addition, modification or deletion
26 offered by a member on the floor of the House to such resolution
27 shall be considered, in effect, a change, addition, modification
28 or deletion to existing House rules and shall require for
29 approval a majority vote of the members by a roll call vote.
F7L80JAM/19990H0211R1997 - 13 -