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Page 1 SENATE RULES FOR THE FIFTY-THIRD OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE (2011-2012) BEING THE STANDING RULES FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS OF THE STATE SENATE OF OKLAHOMA, FIFTY-THIRD OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE (2011-2012) CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS CHAPTER 1 APPLICATION, PURPOSE, INTERPRETATION AND AMENDMENT OF THE RULES RULE 1-1. AUTHORITY AND APPLICATION. The Oklahoma State Senate hereby adopts these rules pursuant to the authority of Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution. Upon adoption by a majority of the members of the Senate unless and until amended, the following rules shall be the rules for the conduct of business by the Senate. RULE 1-2. PURPOSE. The purpose of the rules is to provide the members of the Senate with uniform, easily understood procedures for the conduct of business. RULE 1-3. INTERPRETATION. When the Senate is in daily session, interpretation of the rules shall be made by the President Pro Tempore or by an elected member of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore as Presiding Officer pursuant to Senate Rule 2-4; when a committee is meeting, interpretation of the rules shall be made by the committee chair, or in the chair's absence the vice-chair, of the committee; and at all other times interpretation of the rules shall be made by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Such interpretations shall be final unless an appeal of a ruling is made successfully in the following manner: A. Before other business is transacted by the Senate or by the committee, a member of the Senate or the committee may appeal the ruling by offering a substitute ruling. Page 2 B. Once a motion to adopt a substitute ruling is made, no other business shall be transacted until the motion is disposed of by the Senate or by the committee. C. A motion to adopt a substitute ruling shall be subject to all other Senate Rules pertaining to motions. RULE 1-4. AMENDMENT. Any Senate Rule may be amended upon two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. RULE 1-5. SUSPENSION. Except as provided in subsection F of Rule 12-21, any Senate Rule may be suspended upon two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. CHAPTER 2 SENATE OFFICERS RULE 2-1. OFFICERS. Officers of the Senate shall be: The President, who shall be the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Oklahoma; The President Pro Tempore, who shall be the Presiding Officer of the Senate; Such other officers as may be designated by the Majority and Minority caucuses; provided, the Majority Floor Leader shall serve as acting President Pro Tempore in the event that the President Pro Tempore vacates the office on a temporary basis. If the President Pro Tempore shall vacate the office on a permanent basis, the Majority Floor Leader shall serve as acting President Pro Tempore until such time as the Senate shall elect a new President Pro Tempore; and The Secretary. RULE 2-2. ELECTION. The President Pro Tempore shall be elected by a majority of the members of the Senate when the Senate convenes on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Secretary of the Senate, who shall not be a member of the Senate, shall be elected by a majority of the members following election of the President Pro Tempore and announcement of the other officers. RULE 2-3. TERMS. The terms of all member officers of the Senate shall begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year and shall be for two years; provided, however, that the designee of the Majority Caucus for the office of President Pro Tempore and the designee of the Minority Caucus for Minority Floor Leader shall assume the duties of and have the full authority of their respective offices on the fifteenth day following the General Election. RULE 2-4. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. Page 3 A. The President Pro Tempore shall be the chief executive officer of the Senate and shall prescribe all policies not otherwise provided by law or by the rules. The President Pro Tempore shall serve as Presiding Officer of the Senate during its daily sessions but may designate another member of the Senate to serve as Presiding Officer at such times as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. Wherever the title “Presiding Officer” appears in the rules it shall mean the President Pro Tempore or an elected member of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore as Presiding Officer. B. The President Pro Tempore may refer any matter concerning exercise of the Senate's discretionary powers and duties under Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution to a standing committee or select committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. C. The President Pro Tempore shall determine the duties to be performed for the Senate by the Secretary of the Senate and shall designate a Chief of Staff to be responsible for staff duties not assigned to the Secretary of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore or a designee shall be responsible for the issuance of all warrants and vouchers and the maintenance of an accurate account of expenditures by the Senate. CHAPTER 3 STAFF RULE 3-1. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS. Each member of the Senate shall be entitled to designate an executive assistant. Executive assistants shall serve at the discretion of, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the individual member of the Senate for whom employed, subject to such policies as may be established by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 3-2. LEADERSHIP STAFF. The President Pro Tempore shall be entitled to employ a leadership staff. Leadership staff shall serve at the discretion of, for such compensation pursuant to law as may be determined by, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the President Pro Tempore. RULE 3-3. SERVICE STAFF. The Chief of Staff, subject to the review and supervision of the President Pro Tempore, shall be authorized to employ service staff. Service staff shall be employed according to policies established by the President Pro Tempore and shall receive such compensation pursuant to law as may be determined by, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 4 RECORDS, AUDITS AND PROPERTY RULE 4-1. OPEN RECORDS. All official records of the proceedings of the Senate and its committees shall be open for public inspection during regular office hours. Page 4 RULE 4-2. MANDATORY AUDIT. The President Pro Tempore shall cause an audit of the Senate's expenditures to be made at least once each fiscal year. RULE 4-3. PHYSICAL PROPERTY. The President Pro Tempore shall be responsible for the physical property of the Senate and for that portion of the Capitol assigned to the Senate. The Chief of Staff, under direction of the President Pro Tempore, shall be authorized to perform routine repairs, maintenance and upkeep on such property and facilities. RULE 4-4. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT. The use of Senate supplies and equipment, including Senate postage meters, is restricted to official Senate business. Questions of compliance shall be resolved by the President Pro Tempore or, at the discretion of the President Pro Tempore, the Rules Committee. CHAPTER 5 LEGISLATION RULE 5-1. LEGISLATION. Legislation to be considered by the Senate shall be limited to Senate Bills, Senate Joint Resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, Senate Resolutions, House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions. RULE 5-2. INTRODUCTION. Except as may be limited by Senate Rule 16-1, Senate Bills, Senate Joint Resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolutions and Senate Resolutions may be introduced at any time beginning on the fifteenth day of November of each even-numbered year and ending at the time of sine die adjournment of the Second Session during the following even-numbered year. Legislation may be introduced by presentation to the Secretary of the Senate, together with as many copies as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Senate. Each Senate Bill or Resolution shall be assigned a number by the Secretary of the Senate. House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions may be introduced upon receipt of a message from the House of Representatives advising passage and engrossment of the measure. RULE 5-3. FORM. No legislation shall be introduced in the Senate, except for House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions, unless that legislation shall include a Title and an Enacting or Resolving Clause. RULE 5-4. RESTRICTIONS. For consideration by the Senate, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, Senate Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions shall be limited to the following purposes: A. Memorializing Congress, the President of the United States, or an executive agency of the federal government; B. Communicating with another entity of state government, or a subdivision thereof; C. Disapproving an administrative rule; Page 5 D. Expressing legislative intent; E. Expressing policies of the Senate; and F. Such other purposes specifically approved by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 5-5. AUTHORS AND COAUTHORS. After introduction in the Senate of any bill or resolution, no Senator or Representative shall be shown or removed as author or coauthor on the face of the bill or resolution unless the Senator or Representative shall submit a written or electronic request to be so shown to the Secretary of the Senate or person designated by the Secretary of the Senate. The change in authorship shall be shown on the face of the next official version of the bill or resolution; provided, however, a printed substitute for or an electronic version of a bill or resolution may be shown in parentheses, and the electronic voting machine may display immediately, any author or coauthor changes that have been submitted. While a Senate Bill, Senate Joint Resolution or Senate Concurrent Resolution is within the physical control of the Senate, the principal Senate author of the bill or resolution shall have full and complete discretion in determining who the principal House author of the bill or resolution shall be. RULE 5-6. DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATION. A. No legislation or amendment shall be considered by the Senate unless a copy has been distributed to the desks of all members of the Senate, or has been made available to all members electronically, on a legislative day previous to consideration of the legislation. B. Except as otherwise provided in this rule, no conference committee substitute shall be considered by the full Senate unless copies of such conference committee substitute shall have either: 1. Been distributed to the desks of all members of the Senate; or 2. Been made available to all members electronically and the members are notified of such electronic availability; and such distribution and notification of electronic availability occurs prior to the adjournment of the Senate on a legislative day previous to consideration of the measure. An announcement on the Senate floor, while the Senate is in session, of electronic availability shall constitute sufficient notification. C. Subsection B of this rule shall not be applicable to Page 6 1. Appropriation bills, or 2. Any measure which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1. D. For purposes of this rule, an “appropriation bill” shall mean a measure which has been recommended by the General Conference Committee on Appropriations or which affects the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law. RULE 5-7. FINAL ACTION. If final action is such as to defeat an amendment, a bill or a resolution, no other amendment, bill or resolution having the same effect and covering the same specific or substantially similar subject matter shall be considered by the Senate during either session of the current Legislature, unless otherwise approved by the President Pro Tempore. Action constituting “final action” includes: 1. Failure of the motion “Do Pass” or “Do Pass as Amended” on a vote in a committee, 2. If a vote is taken on Third Reading or Fourth Reading and the measure fails to receive the required number of votes for passage, and a. no notice is served to reconsider the vote, b. a motion to reconsider the vote fails to prevail or expires, or c. a motion to table the motion to reconsider prevails, or 3. In the case of an amendment, if the amendment fails to receive the required number of votes for adoption or if a motion to table prevails. RULE 5-8. FINANCIAL IMPACT VERIFICATION. A. No amendment, bill or resolution which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency shall be considered by the Senate or any committee thereof unless such amendment, bill or resolution is accompanied by documentation of the fiscal impact of the proposal on the policyholders and the state agency. The President Pro Tempore shall prescribe procedures for such documentation to be obtained from the Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board or the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, as applicable. The chair of a committee to which a bill or resolution subject to the provisions of this subsection is assigned may request the Majority Floor Leader to suspend the provisions of paragraph 4 or 6 of subsection A or paragraph 4 or 6 of subsection B of Rule 16-1; provided, any such suspension shall not suspend or affect any of the remaining dates set forth in Rule 16-1. B. No amendment, bill or resolution which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues shall be considered by the Senate or any committee thereof unless such amendment, bill or resolution is accompanied by documentation of the fiscal impact of such amendment, bill or resolution. The President Pro Tempore shall prescribe procedures for such documentation to be obtained from the Oklahoma Tax Commission pursuant to the Page 7 provisions of Section 118 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or from another source as designated by the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 6 PROPOSALS RULE 6-1. PROPOSALS. Any member of the Senate may submit in writing to the President Pro Tempore a proposal for study or consideration by the Senate, subject to such deadlines for interim studies as may be established by the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 7 COMMITTEES RULE 7-1. TYPES AND NUMBER. There shall be two types of Senate committees established by the President Pro Tempore, to-wit: standing committees and select committees. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of each standing committee and of each select committee. The President Pro Tempore may establish, and appoint the members of, as many ad hoc subcommittees of each standing committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. There shall be as many select committees as are created by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 7-2. MEMBERSHIP. Membership on standing committees and on select committees shall be subject to the following: A. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Senate, the Majority Caucus members and the chair and vice-chair of each standing committee. B. The Minority Floor Leader shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Senate, the Minority Caucus members of each standing committee, other than a Minority Caucus member who is appointed as a chair or vice-chair of a committee by the President Pro Tempore. C. Membership of standing committees shall be approved by a majority vote of members of the Senate. In the event of a vacancy or extended absence of a member of the Senate, a replacement member may be appointed by the President Pro Tempore or the Minority Floor Leader, as appropriate. Any such appointment shall be approved by a majority vote of members of the Senate. D. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint all members of select committees. E. The President Pro Tempore and Majority Floor Leader shall each be ex officio and voting members of all standing and select Senate committees. Page 8 RULE 7-3. DUTIES OF THE RULES COMMITTEE. The Rules Committee shall determine any policies of the Senate submitted to it by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 7-4. DUTIES OF LEGISLATION COMMITTEES. Each legislative committee shall be responsible for the formulation of legislative programs and determination of nonlegislative matters within the jurisdiction prescribed by the President Pro Tempore; shall inquire into the administration and execution of all laws within the same jurisdiction; shall consider such proposals as may be submitted to the committee by the President Pro Tempore; and shall be responsible for the continuing codification of all laws within the prescribed jurisdiction. RULE 7-5. DUTIES OF SELECT COMMITTEES. Select committees shall be responsible for such duties as are prescribed at the time of their formation. No select committee shall be formed without its duties being expressly stated at the time of its formation. If a select committee is appointed for the purpose of conducting an investigation, the Senator requesting the investigation shall not serve as chair of the committee. RULE 7-6. AUTHORITY OF COMMITTEES. Any Senate committee is authorized to issue process, compel attendance of witnesses, and to administer oaths to any person appearing before the committee. Any Senate committee which considers legislation is empowered to consolidate bills or resolutions, to develop committee substitutes for such bills or resolutions, to amend such bills or resolutions and to develop a committee bill or resolution irrespective of any other legislation. RULE 7-7. PROCEDURES. The following procedures shall be observed by all legislation committees of the Senate: A. Subject to such exceptions as are provided hereinafter, committees of the Senate shall comply with provisions of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. A copy of all notices required by said Act shall be provided to the Chief of Staff, who shall designate the appropriate place for such notices to be posted. The Chief of Staff shall cause to be posted one such notice on the bulletin board of the Senate located in a place in the Capitol accessible to the public and on the Senate web site and shall take such other actions as may be deemed appropriate to provide adequate notice to the public. B. The chair of a committee shall schedule meetings of the committee. Meetings at a time other than the regularly scheduled meeting time of a committee shall not conflict with any regularly scheduled meeting of any other committee, except with the consent of the President Pro Tempore. C. The agenda for any meeting of a committee shall be set by the chair and shall include the date, time and place of the meeting. A copy of the agenda shall be provided to members of the committee and to authors of legislation to be considered by the committee at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting unless otherwise approved by the President Pro Tempore. An agenda for a meeting scheduled to meet prior to or during the first three Page 9 days of session may reflect a measure for which assignment to the committee is anticipated, and the committee may act upon the measure; provided, the report of the committee's action on any such measure shall not be filed prior to the assignment of the measure; further provided, if the measure is not assigned to the committee during the first three days of session, any committee action on the measure taken prior to or during those days shall be of no force or effect and shall not be reported. D. A quorum shall be present when any committee votes on any matter. Any member of a committee may request a quorum call at any time the committee is meeting. A number equal to a majority of the appointed members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. E. The chair, or in the chair's absence the vice-chair, of the committee, or a designee, shall preside at meetings of the committee. F. When considering legislation or conducting other business, committees shall observe the following procedures: 1. No person shall address the committee unless first recognized by the chair for that purpose. 2. When a legislative measure is taken up for consideration, the Senate author shall be recognized for explanation of the measure. 3. The Senate author shall be given the opportunity to answer questions put by members of the committee or other persons recognized by the chair. 4. The chair shall provide opportunity for presentation of amendments to the legislation by the Senate author or by any member of the committee. Any amendment must be seconded to receive further consideration. Provided, the Senate author or any member of the committee offering a committee substitute must submit the proposed committee substitute in writing or electronically to the chair no later than noon on the legislative day before the meeting of the committee. The chair may, at his or her discretion, waive the deadline set forth in this rule. When a committee substitute is submitted, the chair may approve the substitute to be heard by the committee and the committee substitute shall be considered a public record from the time of such approval. 5. Amendments and motions may be adopted by a voice vote; provided, however, that the Senate author, or any member of the committee, may require a roll call vote. 6. Amendments shall be considered in the order they appear in the legislation, or in the order they are presented to the clerk of the committee; provided, an amendment to restore the title or enacting clause shall be considered after disposition of all other amendments. The chair shall resolve any conflict resulting from claimed priority of presentation. Page 10 7. The author of an amendment shall explain the amendment and be afforded the opportunity to answer questions about the amendment put by members of the committee, the author of the legislation, or other persons recognized by the chair. 8. The chair may recognize any person for debate or comment on the proposed legislation or amendments thereto. The chair may limit the amount of time for any such debate or comment. 9. The vote on a recommendation by the committee to the Senate concerning a legislative measure shall be by recorded roll call and shall require a majority vote of a quorum of the members of the committee for passage. The only permitted recommendations to the Senate on a legislative measure are “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED”. A tie vote in a committee on the motion of “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED” shall result in failure of the motion. All committee votes reflecting the votes of each member present and voting on the motion of “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED” shall be entered in the Journal. G. Except for legislation containing appropriations, all legislation originating in the Senate which is recommended by a committee to the Senate shall contain an Enacting or Resolving Clause and both a Senate and a House author. H. The chair may assign to any subcommittee any legislation, proposal or inquiry; provided, however, no subcommittee shall be permitted to report directly to the Senate, but rather shall report to the parent committee. I. No person shall cause materials to be distributed at any committee meeting without first having obtained approval of the chair. The person causing the materials to be distributed shall be identified in writing on the face of such materials. Any document or other material distributed to all members of a committee of the Senate during a meeting which is open to the public shall be considered a public record from the time of such distribution. J. 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system, as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, to a bill or resolution which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its Page 11 form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. CHAPTER 8 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE RULE 8-1. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Without prior notice, the Senate may, by motion approved by a majority of the members of the Senate, declare itself a Committee of the Whole, at which time the President Pro Tempore or a member designated by the President Pro Tempore shall chair the Committee of the Whole. Rules applicable to other Senate committees shall be applied to the Committee of the Whole, except those rules relating to notice. RULE 8-2. REPORTS. Once the Committee of the Whole has reported a bill or resolution “DO PASS“ or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED“, to the Senate, that bill or resolution shall be considered on Third Reading and shall be voted upon without consideration of amendments or debate. CHAPTER 9 EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS RULE 9-1. REFERRAL OF EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS. When Executive Nominations shall be made by the Governor or other appointing authority to the Senate, said nominations shall be referred for consideration to the standing committee which has in its jurisdiction the entity to which the nomination relates. RULE 9-2. REJECTION. No person whose nomination has been rejected by the Senate shall be eligible to be later confirmed by the Senate during the same session for appointment to the same position. If an executive nomination is not approved during the regular session in which it is submitted, it shall be deemed rejected. If an interim executive nomination is not approved during the first regular session following its submission it shall be deemed rejected. The President Pro Tempore shall notify the appointing authority of the rejection of an executive nomination by the Senate, and shall likewise notify the chief executive of the entity to which the nomination relates. CHAPTER 10 PROCEDURES FOR DAILY SESSIONS Page 12 RULE 10-1. TIME AND PLACE OF DAILY SESSIONS. A. On the first Tuesday following the first Monday in January of each odd numbered year, the Senate shall convene in its chamber on the fourth floor of the Capitol at twelve o'clock noon for the purposes only of performing the duties as required by Section 5 of Article VI of the Constitution and organizing pursuant to the provisions of Article V of the Constitution and shall recess not later than five o'clock p.m. of that same day until the following first Monday in February of the same year, beginning at twelve o'clock noon. B. On the first Monday in February of each year, the Senate shall convene in its chamber on the fourth floor of the Capitol at twelve o'clock noon. Thereafter, the Senate shall meet in daily sessions as necessary in the chamber until sine die adjournment. The time of each daily session shall be announced on the preceding legislative day; provided, however, that in the event no such announcement is made, the Senate shall convene at 1:30 p.m. C. The Senate may convene in a location other than its chamber in the event that the President Pro Tempore determines that a natural disaster or national security emergency prevents the Senate from meeting in its chamber. RULE 10-2. GALLERIES AND HALLWAYS. The President Pro Tempore or a designee is empowered to assign seats in the galleries of the Senate and is empowered to order the galleries and hallways of the Senate cleared to preserve order or to ensure the safety of the members of the Senate. Firearms and weapons are not allowed on the Senate floor, in the gallery, or in the Senate area without permission of the Chief of Staff. Conduct in the galleries of the Senate shall conform to the following: 1. No food, drink, signs, placards, noisemakers, flash cameras or any other item which might cause distraction or disturb the decorum of the Senate shall be allowed in the galleries; 2. Applause shall not be permitted; 3. Articles carried by visitors may be required to be checked at the door to the galleries by a Senate employee; and 4. Visitors in the galleries shall be required to conduct themselves with dignity and in an orderly fashion. RULE 10-3. ATTENDANCE. No business of the Senate shall be conducted without a quorum of its members being in attendance, other than a motion to adjourn, adjourn to a time certain, or operate under call of the Senate pursuant to Rule 10-5, made by the President Pro Tempore or a member designated by the President Pro Tempore. A majority of the members elected to the Senate shall constitute a quorum. A member of the Senate who is absent from a daily session shall be shown as "excused." RULE 10-4. QUORUM CALL. Any member of the Senate may, at any time, request the Presiding Officer to question the presence of a quorum. Upon such request, the Presiding Page 13 Officer shall determine whether a quorum is present, and no further business shall be conducted until it is determined that a quorum is present. RULE 10-5. CALL OF THE SENATE. The Senate may, by majority vote of the members present, operate under Call of the Senate, in which case the President Pro Tempore is empowered to compel the attendance of all members of the Senate and is empowered to confine the members of the Senate to the chamber. RULE 10-6. DECORUM. The decorum of members of the Senate and employees of the Senate during the daily sessions of the Senate shall be determined by the Code of Conduct and Standards for Members of the Senate and Staff and shall be enforced by the Presiding Officer. RULE 10-7. PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. Personal privilege shall be granted to a member of the Senate only to permit such member to respond to a public attack on the rights, integrity or reputation of a member of the Senate, or upon the Senate collectively or any committee or employee of the Senate. Remarks made by a member of the Senate who is granted personal privilege shall be confined to such a response. RULE 10-8. INTRODUCTIONS. No persons shall be introduced individually in the galleries, except that a member of the Senate may introduce family members. It shall also be permissible to introduce officials from other states and countries or other persons approved in advance by the Majority Floor Leader. RULE 10-9. PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR. No person shall be permitted in the Senate chamber or the lobbies at the front or rear of the chamber during the daily sessions of the Senate except members and former members of the Senate, employees of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore, members of the House of Representatives, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, former Governors and former Lieutenant Governors, spouses, children and grandchildren of members of the Senate, and any person who is permitted on the floor by a majority vote of those present; provided, however, that the above privileges shall exclude any person registered as a lobbyist under the statutes of Oklahoma. All persons permitted in the Senate chamber during the daily sessions of the Senate shall conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Senate and Staff. No person other than those specified in this rule shall be permitted in the Senate Lounge, unless accompanied by a member of the Senate. RULE 10-10. SENATE LOUNGE AND ANTEROOMS. The President Pro Tempore may prescribe policies restricting the use of the Senate lounge and any rooms adjoining the lounge or the Senate chamber. CHAPTER 11 ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR DAILY SESSIONS Page 14 RULE 11-1. ORDER OF BUSINESS. The Order of Business for each daily session of the Senate shall be: Prayer Executive Nominations General Order Third Reading House Amendments to Senate Bills and Resolutions Conference Committee Reports Fourth Reading Committee Reports Second Reading First Reading Communications Other Business Provided, no business shall be considered by the Senate during the daily session unless it has been approved by the Majority Floor Leader or the President Pro Tempore or unless it is otherwise specifically allowed under the Senate rules. CHAPTER 12 FLOOR PROCEDURES RULE 12-1. PRESIDING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY. The Presiding Officer shall maintain order in the Senate. No Senator or other person shall be permitted to address the Senate without first having been recognized by the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer may require a Senator to disclose the purpose of a request for recognition prior to acting upon such request. The Presiding Officer shall immediately recognize the Majority Floor Leader at his or her request notwithstanding the previous request of any other Senator, but otherwise may exercise discretion in granting recognition when more than one Senator seeks recognition. Page 15 RULE 12-2. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION. The Majority Floor Leader, or a designee, shall determine the order in which legislation is considered by the Senate. RULE 12-3. PLACEMENT OF MEASURES ON GENERAL ORDER. A. All bills and resolutions reported by a committee of the Senate or referred directly to the calendar shall be placed on General Order. B. When a committee report is filed, the clerk shall indicate on the face of the report the date and time the report was filed. C. A bill or resolution reported from committee shall be placed on General Order at the beginning of the legislative day following the legislative day that a committee report is filed. Committee reports shall not be filed later than 4:30 p.m. D. Bills and resolutions referred directly to the calendar shall be placed on General Order at the beginning of the legislative day following the day of such referral. E. A list of bills and resolutions on General Order, including a copy of the text of such bills and resolutions and the date such bills and resolutions were placed on General Order, shall be published electronically and a paper copy shall be made available each legislative day by request to all members of the Senate. RULE 12-4. AMENDMENTS. A. Amendments to bills or resolutions shall be in writing and shall be considered only if submitted as follows: 1. Once legislation has been placed on General Order as provided in Rule 12-3, any floor amendment to such legislation may be filed on the legislative day of such placement or the following legislative day. An amendment must be filed no later than 4:30 p.m. of a legislative day to be considered filed on such legislative day; 2. Any amendment which directly amends a previously-submitted floor amendment shall be filed no later than 4:30 p.m. of the legislative day following the day which is the last legislative day for filing a floor amendment as provided in paragraph 1 of this rule; and 3. A floor amendment or an amendment to a floor amendment may be withdrawn by its author at any time before it is voted upon. B. If any amendment to a bill or resolution is filed as provided in this subsection, a copy of the text of such amendment shall be provided or made available electronically to each member of the Senate and the bill or resolution shall not be voted upon until on or after the legislative day following the legislative day specified for filing an amendment to a floor amendment as provided in paragraph 2 of this rule. Page 16 C. This rule shall not apply to an amendment offered by the author of a bill or resolution: 1. To strike the title or enacting or resolving clause; or 2. To make non-substantive changes or technical corrections, subject to the approval of the Majority Floor Leader. D. 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system, as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, to a bill or resolution which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act, shall be deemed to be out of order. 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. RULE 12-5. CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES ON GENERAL ORDER. A. On General Order, the following procedure shall be observed: 1. Explanation of the bill or resolution by the Senate author; 2. Questions; 3. Consideration of amendments; and 4. Advancement. B. Amendments shall be considered in the order in which they are submitted unless otherwise directed by the Majority Floor Leader; provided, an amendment to restore a title or enacting or resolving clause shall be considered after disposition of all other amendments. Once an amendment is read, it shall be explained by its author, who shall then answer questions concerning the amendment. If the author of the amendment is not in attendance at the time an amendment is read, the amendment shall be considered withdrawn unless another member of the Senate has taken or immediately takes coauthorship of the amendment and provides an explanation. An amendment shall be considered a public record from the time it is placed upon the clerk’s desk. C. After the final vote on third reading of any bill or joint resolution, no amendment to the measure shall be considered, by unanimous consent or otherwise, unless the final vote and advancement of the measure are properly reconsidered according to the Senate Rules. Page 17 D. For any bill which has been recommended to the full Senate by a Senate committee with a stricken title or enacting clause, the title or enacting clause shall not be restored as part of an amendment proposing a floor substitute, but an amendment to restore the title or enacting clause may be considered separately. RULE 12-6. ADVANCEMENT. Once a motion to advance has been adopted, the bill or resolution shall be considered engrossed and on Third Reading. RULE 12-7. THIRD READING. Upon Third Reading of a bill or resolution, the Senate shall not consider amendments, but shall debate passage of the bill or resolution and then vote upon passage. RULE 12-8. HOUSE AMENDMENTS. Upon receipt of House amendments to Senate bills or resolutions, the Senate author shall make a motion either to accept the amendments, in which case a successful vote on the motion shall automatically advance the bill to Fourth Reading and final passage, or to reject the amendments and request a conference with the House. RULE 12-9. CONFERENCE COMMITTEES. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint members of the Senate to serve on conference committees with members of the House of Representatives at such times and in such numbers as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. RULE 12-10. CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORTS. A. Any Conference Committee Report shall be considered by the Senate only when a majority of the Senate conferees and a majority of the House conferees have signed the report and only when the report is limited to matters germane to the bill or resolution. Provided: 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act shall be deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment; 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof, as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment; and 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof, as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be Page 18 deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment. If the Senate adopts a Conference Committee Report, the bill or resolution is before the Senate for Fourth Reading and final passage. If the Senate rejects a Conference Committee Report or a motion to adopt the report fails, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee. Upon a report by the Senate conferees that the conferees cannot agree, the bill or resolution reverts to its former status of consideration of House Amendments to Senate bills or resolutions. B. The committee report proposed by the Senate author of a measure considered by the General Conference Committee on Appropriations may not be amended during the committee meeting at which the measure is considered. RULE 12-11. FOURTH READING. Upon Fourth Reading of a bill or resolution, debate shall be in order on final passage of the bill or resolution, after which the vote shall occur on final passage. After final passage of a bill or resolution, it shall be signed by the Presiding Officer in open session. RULE 12-12. COMMITTEE REPORTS ON EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS. Committee reports on Executive Nominations may be combined by the Majority Floor Leader for consideration by the Senate. At the request of any member, however, a nominee shall be separated from the combined report and considered individually by the Senate. A majority vote of the members of the Senate shall be required for adoption of a combined report. RULE 12-13. OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS. Committee reports on matters other than legislation or Executive Nominations shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate and explained by the chair of the committee making the report, whereupon the Senate may consider any action called for in the report. RULE 12-14. FIRST READING. A bill or resolution shall be considered introduced upon First Reading and shall automatically be advanced to Second Reading. RULE 12-15. SECOND READING. A. The Second Reading of a bill or resolution shall occur the next legislative day following the First Reading. Upon or after Second Reading of a bill or resolution, the same shall be assigned for committee consideration or assigned directly to the calendar. All bills carrying appropriations which are referred to any committee other than the Appropriations Committee shall, immediately upon a report by the committee to which referred, be referred to the Appropriations Committee. Any bill or resolution which is determined to affect the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law may be double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Page 19 Committee or the Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. B. All “shell bills”, except for appropriation bills as defined in Rule 5-6, and except for a bill which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1, shall be assigned to the Rules Committee. For purposes of this rule a “shell bill” shall mean a measure which does not make a substantive change in the law. C. After preparation of a committee substitute which proposes a substantive change in the law, a shell bill which has been assigned to the Rules Committee may be withdrawn from the Rules Committee and assigned to another committee. No shell bill, except for appropriation bills as defined in Rule 5-6, and except for a bill which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1, shall be reported out of a committee until it has been amended to include a substantive change in the law. RULE 12-16. DEBATE. When a question subject to debate is before the Senate, a motion to limit the time for debate shall be in order, even if debate already has begun. The motion shall fix the time limits to be allowed for and against the motion, provided that in no case shall the total debate allotted to each side be less than one-half hour. If such motion is successful, the Presiding Officer shall cause the time limits to be enforced and shall divide the time equally for each side of the question. If the motion is once rejected on a question being debated, it can only be adopted with the approval of two-thirds of those voting. RULE 12-17. ADJOURNMENT. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order except when the motion shall have been the last voted on and no business is transacted thereafter. RULE 12-18. AFTER ADOPTION OF MOTION TO ADJOURN. Once a motion to adjourn when the desk is clear has been adopted, no motion shall be considered from the floor of the Senate, whether by unanimous consent or otherwise. RULE 12-19. SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT. The date and time of sine die adjournment of the Senate shall be fixed by motion or resolution; provided, that once the date and time of such sine die adjournment has arrived, no further business shall be conducted by the Senate, and the Presiding Officer shall declare the Senate adjourned sine die. RULE 12-20. WITHDRAWAL FROM COMMITTEE. Any bill or resolution may be withdrawn from any committee of the Senate upon a two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. Any bill or resolution so withdrawn shall be on General Order. The provisions of this rule shall not prevent a bill or resolution from being reassigned from one committee to another, from being assigned directly to the calendar, or from being double-assigned as provided in subsection A of Rule 12-15. RULE 12-21. RECONSIDERATION. The final vote on Third Reading or Fourth Reading of any bill or joint resolution or on the emergency clause or special election feature Page 20 or other special feature of any bill or joint resolution may be reconsidered only if a member of the Senate serves notice before any other business is considered by the Senate . Once such notice is served, the following procedures shall be observed: A. In anticipation of the closing days of a regular session or a deadline for third reading and final passage of a measure in the Senate, a majority of the members of the Senate may vote that all motions to reconsider made thereafter shall be disposed of on the same day such notice is served, or disposed of immediately on the last Friday in May, or an earlier day set for sine die adjournment pursuant to the provisions of Rule 12-19. B. Except as heretofore provided, the member serving notice for reconsideration shall not be permitted to make the motion to reconsider on the day notice is served, but shall have the exclusive right to make such a motion on the next two succeeding legislative days; provided, that on the third succeeding legislative day, any member of the Senate shall have the right to make such a motion. If no such motion is made on the third succeeding legislative day, then no reconsideration shall be permitted. C. If the Senate refuses to reconsider or if, upon reconsideration, affirms the first decision, no further consideration shall be in order. D. For adoption, a motion to reconsider the final vote on a bill or resolution or on the emergency clause or special election feature or other special feature must be approved by a majority of the members of the Senate. E. A motion to reconsider any other action by the Senate must be made by a Senator who voted on the prevailing side before any other business is considered by the Senate and shall be disposed of on the same day it is lodged. The motion to reconsider shall be decided by a majority of those voting on the question. F. It shall not be in order for the Senate, by suspension of the Rules or by any other means, to reconsider in the Second Regular Session of a Legislature the vote by which any bill or joint resolution was defeated in the First Regular Session. RULE 12-22. OVERRIDES OF VETOES. When a bill or resolution is returned to the Senate because of veto by the Governor, a motion to vote to override the veto shall be in order at any time. RULE 12-23. CORRECTIONS TO LEGISLATION. A. The Title of a bill or resolution shall be made to conform to the text, unless the same has been ordered stricken. A stricken title shall be shown in brackets. The ballot title of a bill or resolution proposing a state question shall be made to conform to the text. The Enacting Clause shall be a part of every bill unless the same shall have been ordered stricken. A stricken Enacting Clause shall be shown by striking through the words of the Enacting Clause. Page 21 B. The Senate Service Staff is authorized to correct misspelled words, incorrect citations, typographical errors, repeated words and other similar errors when engrossing or enrolling Senate bills or joint resolutions, or Senate amendments to engrossed House bills or joint resolutions and when preparing committee reports and floor versions of Senate bills or joint resolutions. C. When engrossing or enrolling Senate bills or joint resolutions, or Senate amendments to engrossed House bills or joint resolutions and when preparing committee reports and floor versions of Senate bills or joint resolutions, the Senate Service Staff is authorized to: 1. Remove sections from a bill or joint resolution labeled as amendatory sections but which consist entirely of existing law and contain no amendments to the existing law; 2. Incorporate amendments to sections of law in the bill or joint resolution which are contained in measures enacted previously during the same legislative session and amending the same sections of law and repeal such previous versions of the section at issue if, in the opinion of the General Counsel, or a staff attorney designated by the Chief of Staff, the incorporation of such amendments and repeal of the previous version would clearly not conflict with the amendments contained in the measure at issue; 3. Modify sections of such measures which provide for a measure to become effective on July 1 or a date earlier than ninety days after the date of expected sine die adjournment to read to reflect an effective date of ninety days after the date of sine die adjournment, or to delete such sections, if the emergency clause has failed to receive the required number of votes for passage; 4. Delete sections of such measures which provide for a measure to become effective on a date prior to such engrossment or enrollment; and 5. Include a designation of the subject of an act as provided in Section 452.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. D. The Secretary of the Senate shall, at the direction of the President Pro Tempore and with the approval of the Senate author, have the authority to correct nonsubstantive errors in the language of any bill or resolution at the time the same is engrossed or enrolled. A detailed record of all such corrections shall be maintained by the Secretary and printed in the Journal. CHAPTER 13 MOTIONS RULE 13-1. ORDER OF PRIORITY. Motions shall be considered in the following order of priority: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. Page 22 C. Substitute ruling motion. D. To recess. E. To operate under Call of the Senate. F. To limit debate. G. To advance a measure or adopt a Conference Committee Report. H. To suspend the rules. I. To commit to a committee or conference committee without instructions. J. To commit to a committee or conference committee with instructions. K. To amend. RULE 13-2. DEBATE. Debate shall be in order on all motions, except the following: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. C. To recess. D. To operate under Call of the Senate. E. To limit debate. F. To advance. G. To commit to a committee without instructions. H. To table. I. To suspend the rules. RULE 13-3. MOTIONS TO TABLE. Motions to table shall be in order for all motions except the following: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. Page 23 C. To recess. D. To operate under Call of the Senate. E. To limit debate. F. To advance. RULE 13-4. PRECEDENCE. Motions to table shall take precedence over the original motion. If successful, a motion to table shall constitute a final disposition of the original motion. RULE 13-5. PRIORITY OF MOTIONS NOT ENUMERATED. Except for those motions otherwise enumerated by priority, all motions shall have equal priority and shall be considered in the order made, or in the order placed on the clerk's desk. RULE 13-6. WRITTEN MOTIONS OR OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS. The Presiding Officer may require any motion, point of order, substitute ruling, or other item of business to be in writing and placed upon the clerk's desk. RULE 13-7. SUBSTITUTE MOTIONS. Only one substitute motion for a motion of equal priority shall be considered. If the substitute motion fails, the original motion shall be disposed of before another motion of the same priority can be considered. RULE 13-8. VOTE REQUIRED. Unless otherwise provided, a motion shall be declared adopted if it is approved by a majority of the members present and voting thereon. CHAPTER 14 VOTING RULE 14-1. MANNER OF VOTING. All votes of the Senate shall be by voice vote, division or roll call vote subject to the following: A. The voting machine shall be used to record the vote whenever a roll call vote is taken on any question. The machine shall also be used to determine the presence or absence of a quorum. In the event the machine is not operating properly, all roll call votes and determinations of quorums may be taken by calling the roll. The voting machine shall be under the control of the Presiding Officer and shall be operated by a clerk designated by the Presiding Officer. B. During any roll call, every Senator present shall vote. During a roll call, the Presiding Officer shall request every Senator in the chamber who has not voted to vote. If any Senator so requested fails to vote, the Presiding Officer shall, upon declaring the roll, order that said Senator be shown as voting "NO" on the question. Said order shall be printed in the Journal directly following the printing of the results of the roll call as reflected by the Page 24 voting machine, and said "NO" vote shall be included in the determination of the passage or failure of the question. In all other cases, a Senator who fails to vote shall be shown as "excused" in the Journal. C. On any question for which a roll call vote is not required, a roll call vote shall be in order only if requested before the question is put. Once the question has been put and a voice vote taken, the Presiding Officer shall state the side that appears to the Presiding Officer to have prevailed, and any member then may request a division, but shall not be entitled to request a roll call vote. The declaration of the vote by the Presiding Officer shall be final. D. No Senator shall be permitted to vote or change a vote after the result has been announced by the Presiding Officer. E. If a member's voting machine is inoperative, the member shall rise and advise the Presiding Officer of the malfunction; and the Senator will be permitted to verbally vote on the question; and the vote will then be recorded by the clerk. F. When a division is called for, those voting in the affirmative shall rise at their seats and remain standing until counted; then those voting in the negative shall rise and stand until they are counted, whereupon the Presiding Officer shall declare the result. CHAPTER 15 LOBBYISTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES RULE 15-1. LOBBYISTS. All lobbying activities in the Senate shall be governed and regulated by law and by the Rules of the Senate. RULE 15-2. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES. The Chief of Staff, at the direction of the President Pro Tempore, may issue credentials to representatives of the news media and may limit access to the Press Gallery to those members of the news media holding such credentials. CHAPTER 16 RULE 16-1. SENATE LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE SCHEDULE. A. During the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, the Senate shall adhere to the following legislative procedure schedule: 1. The First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall convene at twelve noon on January 4, 2011, for the purpose only of performing the duties set forth in Section 5 of Article VI of the Constitution and organizing pursuant to the provisions of Article V of the Constitution, and shall recess no later than five p.m. on that same day until February 7, 2011, beginning at twelve noon. Page 25 2. December 10, 2010, shall be the final date for requesting the drafting of bills or joint resolutions in the Senate for introduction for consideration during the First Regular Session. 3. January 20, 2011, at 4:00 p.m., shall be the final date and time for introduction of bills and joint resolutions in the Senate for consideration on the floor of the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently introduced if reported from committee, shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 4. February 28, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions from committee in the Senate; provided, for Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, February 21, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and March 3, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently reported from committee shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 5. March 17, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a Senate bill or Senate joint resolution in the Senate. 6. April 7, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting House bills and House joint resolutions from Committee in the Senate; provided, for House bills and House joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, March 31, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and April 14, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently reported from Committee shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 7. April 28, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a House bill or a House joint resolution in the Senate. Page 26 8. The First Regular Session shall adjourn sine die not later than five p.m. on May 27, 2011. 9. Upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership of the Senate, a bill or joint resolution can be exempt from all cutoff dates in the Senate. B. During the Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, the Senate shall adhere to the following legislative procedure schedule: 1. December 9, 2011, shall be the final date for requesting the drafting of bills or joint resolutions in the Senate for introduction for consideration during the Second Regular Session. 2. January 19, 2012 at 4:00 p.m., shall be the final date and time for introduction of bills and joint resolutions in the Senate for consideration on the floor of the Senate during the Second Regular Session. 3. The Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall convene at twelve o'clock noon on February 6, 2012. 4. February 27, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions from Committee in the Senate; provided, for Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, February 20, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and March 1, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. 5. March 15, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a Senate bill or a Senate joint resolution in the Senate. 6. April 5, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting a House bill or a House joint resolution from Committee in the Senate; provided, for House bills and House joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, March 29, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and April 12, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for Page 27 the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. 7. April 26, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a House bill or a House joint resolution in the Senate. 8. The Second Regular Session shall adjourn sine die not later than five p.m. on May 25, 2012. 9. Upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership of the Senate, a bill or joint resolution can be exempt from all cutoff dates in the Senate. C. This rule shall be inapplicable to any: 1. Joint resolution introduced for the purpose of disapproving or approving agency rules pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act as set forth in Section 250 et seq. of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 2. Bill introduced for the purposes of incorporation and merging different versions of a statute amended in more than one measure at the same or different sessions of the Legislature as set forth in Section 23.1 of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 3. Bill or joint resolution introduced for the purpose of approving, disapproving, repealing or modifying rules of the Ethics Commission pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of Article XXIX of the Oklahoma Constitution; 4. Bill or joint resolution which proposes a special or local law and for which notice of intended introduction is published in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks pursuant to the provisions of Section 32 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution; 5. Bill or joint resolution authored by the chairs and vice-chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations and Budget Committee which affects the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law; 6. Bill or joint resolution authored by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which is deemed by them to be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; or 7. Bill or joint resolution authored by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which provides for redistricting pursuant to the 2010 federal census. Page 28 D. Paragraph 2 of subsection A and paragraph 2 of subsection B of this rule shall be inapplicable to any bill or joint resolution which contains an “RB” number pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act. Such measures shall be submitted to the legislative actuary not later than the date specified in such paragraphs, and may be introduced not later than the first Monday in February following such submission. RULE 16-2. PENDING LEGISLATION AT ADJOURNMENT OF FIRST REGULAR SESSION A. Any bill or joint resolution pending in the Senate at the final adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall carry over to the Second Regular Session with the same status as if there had been no adjournment. Bills and joint resolutions pending in a Conference Committee at such time shall not carry over to the Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature. B. Simple and concurrent resolutions pending in the Senate at the final adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall not carry over for consideration during the Second Regular Session. CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS FOR MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND STAFF 1. A coat, tie and slacks or trousers shall be worn by male members and appropriate attire shall be worn by female members of the Senate and other persons granted privileges of the floor in the chamber during sessions of the Senate. 2. Each executive assistant is under the authority and supervision of the Senator designating him or her as such. All other staff members of the Senate are under the authority and supervision of the Chief of Staff. Complaints pertaining to employees should be made to the proper authority rather than to the individual. Under no circumstances should complaints pertaining to employees be made on the floor of the Senate, in committee meetings or in other public forums. 3. (a) On the floor during session and in committee, members should endeavor to be congenial and complimentary. Members should avoid personal attacks and dealing in personalities. (b) During public occasions away from the Capitol, members should endeavor to keep personalities out of their discussions and deal with programs, not personalities. 4. The consumption of alcohol is forbidden in the chamber, and any member who is in the chamber in an intoxicated state will be removed by security personnel. Page 29 5. It is beneath the dignity of the Senate for members to consume food products in the chamber. 6. Members of the Senate should continually conduct themselves in accordance with the standards which will reflect credit upon themselves and the Senate. It is beneath the dignity of the Senate for a member to sit upon a desk, or to place his or her feet upon a desk in the chamber. 7. While a Senator is speaking, no Senator should enter into any disturbing private conversation or pass between the speaking Senator and the Presiding Officer. Profane, obscene, or indecent language is discouraged in the Senate and in all standing or special committees of the Senate. The use of cellular telephones, pagers or other audible electronic devices during formal Senate proceedings, either on the floor of the Senate or in committee, is discouraged. 8. A Senator shall address other members with the title "Senator" when addressing one another during formal Senate proceedings either on the floor of the Senate or in committee. 9. The Presiding Officer may direct a designated Senate employee to activate his or her roll call switch. No member shall be permitted to vote on any question unless said member is physically present in the chamber at the time the vote is taken. 10. The President Pro Tempore (or the Majority Floor Leader) shall designate those Senate employees who shall be granted privileges of the floor during any session of the Senate, said employees to be limited to those whose work requires their presence. Any member desiring to bring a guest to the floor of the Senate shall first notify the Majority Floor Leader. No such guest shall enter the chamber until privileges of the floor have been granted pursuant to Rule 10-9. 11. No person other than a member of the Senate shall cause materials to be distributed on each desk in the Senate chamber without first having obtained approval by the Majority Floor Leader. The sponsoring Senator will be identified. Any material so distributed shall be considered a public record from the time of such distribution. 12. The President Pro Tempore shall designate persons to act as Sergeants-at-Arms for the Senate, who shall have responsibility of serving legal processes and enforcing Rules and policies of the Senate. 13. Any member who feels that the standards of the Senate are being violated by either a member of the Senate or the staff should seek redress by submitting a complaint to the President Pro Tempore concerning the violation. The President Pro Tempore may refer any matter concerning exercise of the Senate's discretionary powers and duties under Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution to a standing committee or select committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate.
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Title | Senate Rules 2011-2012 |
OkDocs Class# | L1310.4 S474w 2011-2012 |
Digital Format | PDF, Adobe Reader required |
ODL electronic copy | Downloaded from agency website: www.oksenate.gov/publications/senate_rules.pdf |
Rights and Permissions | This Oklahoma state government publication is provided for educational purposes under U.S. copyright law. Other usage requires permission of copyright holders. |
Language | English |
Full text | Page 1 SENATE RULES FOR THE FIFTY-THIRD OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE (2011-2012) BEING THE STANDING RULES FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS OF THE STATE SENATE OF OKLAHOMA, FIFTY-THIRD OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE (2011-2012) CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS CHAPTER 1 APPLICATION, PURPOSE, INTERPRETATION AND AMENDMENT OF THE RULES RULE 1-1. AUTHORITY AND APPLICATION. The Oklahoma State Senate hereby adopts these rules pursuant to the authority of Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution. Upon adoption by a majority of the members of the Senate unless and until amended, the following rules shall be the rules for the conduct of business by the Senate. RULE 1-2. PURPOSE. The purpose of the rules is to provide the members of the Senate with uniform, easily understood procedures for the conduct of business. RULE 1-3. INTERPRETATION. When the Senate is in daily session, interpretation of the rules shall be made by the President Pro Tempore or by an elected member of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore as Presiding Officer pursuant to Senate Rule 2-4; when a committee is meeting, interpretation of the rules shall be made by the committee chair, or in the chair's absence the vice-chair, of the committee; and at all other times interpretation of the rules shall be made by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Such interpretations shall be final unless an appeal of a ruling is made successfully in the following manner: A. Before other business is transacted by the Senate or by the committee, a member of the Senate or the committee may appeal the ruling by offering a substitute ruling. Page 2 B. Once a motion to adopt a substitute ruling is made, no other business shall be transacted until the motion is disposed of by the Senate or by the committee. C. A motion to adopt a substitute ruling shall be subject to all other Senate Rules pertaining to motions. RULE 1-4. AMENDMENT. Any Senate Rule may be amended upon two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. RULE 1-5. SUSPENSION. Except as provided in subsection F of Rule 12-21, any Senate Rule may be suspended upon two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. CHAPTER 2 SENATE OFFICERS RULE 2-1. OFFICERS. Officers of the Senate shall be: The President, who shall be the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Oklahoma; The President Pro Tempore, who shall be the Presiding Officer of the Senate; Such other officers as may be designated by the Majority and Minority caucuses; provided, the Majority Floor Leader shall serve as acting President Pro Tempore in the event that the President Pro Tempore vacates the office on a temporary basis. If the President Pro Tempore shall vacate the office on a permanent basis, the Majority Floor Leader shall serve as acting President Pro Tempore until such time as the Senate shall elect a new President Pro Tempore; and The Secretary. RULE 2-2. ELECTION. The President Pro Tempore shall be elected by a majority of the members of the Senate when the Senate convenes on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Secretary of the Senate, who shall not be a member of the Senate, shall be elected by a majority of the members following election of the President Pro Tempore and announcement of the other officers. RULE 2-3. TERMS. The terms of all member officers of the Senate shall begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year and shall be for two years; provided, however, that the designee of the Majority Caucus for the office of President Pro Tempore and the designee of the Minority Caucus for Minority Floor Leader shall assume the duties of and have the full authority of their respective offices on the fifteenth day following the General Election. RULE 2-4. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. Page 3 A. The President Pro Tempore shall be the chief executive officer of the Senate and shall prescribe all policies not otherwise provided by law or by the rules. The President Pro Tempore shall serve as Presiding Officer of the Senate during its daily sessions but may designate another member of the Senate to serve as Presiding Officer at such times as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. Wherever the title “Presiding Officer” appears in the rules it shall mean the President Pro Tempore or an elected member of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore as Presiding Officer. B. The President Pro Tempore may refer any matter concerning exercise of the Senate's discretionary powers and duties under Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution to a standing committee or select committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. C. The President Pro Tempore shall determine the duties to be performed for the Senate by the Secretary of the Senate and shall designate a Chief of Staff to be responsible for staff duties not assigned to the Secretary of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore or a designee shall be responsible for the issuance of all warrants and vouchers and the maintenance of an accurate account of expenditures by the Senate. CHAPTER 3 STAFF RULE 3-1. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS. Each member of the Senate shall be entitled to designate an executive assistant. Executive assistants shall serve at the discretion of, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the individual member of the Senate for whom employed, subject to such policies as may be established by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 3-2. LEADERSHIP STAFF. The President Pro Tempore shall be entitled to employ a leadership staff. Leadership staff shall serve at the discretion of, for such compensation pursuant to law as may be determined by, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the President Pro Tempore. RULE 3-3. SERVICE STAFF. The Chief of Staff, subject to the review and supervision of the President Pro Tempore, shall be authorized to employ service staff. Service staff shall be employed according to policies established by the President Pro Tempore and shall receive such compensation pursuant to law as may be determined by, and perform such duties as prescribed by, the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 4 RECORDS, AUDITS AND PROPERTY RULE 4-1. OPEN RECORDS. All official records of the proceedings of the Senate and its committees shall be open for public inspection during regular office hours. Page 4 RULE 4-2. MANDATORY AUDIT. The President Pro Tempore shall cause an audit of the Senate's expenditures to be made at least once each fiscal year. RULE 4-3. PHYSICAL PROPERTY. The President Pro Tempore shall be responsible for the physical property of the Senate and for that portion of the Capitol assigned to the Senate. The Chief of Staff, under direction of the President Pro Tempore, shall be authorized to perform routine repairs, maintenance and upkeep on such property and facilities. RULE 4-4. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT. The use of Senate supplies and equipment, including Senate postage meters, is restricted to official Senate business. Questions of compliance shall be resolved by the President Pro Tempore or, at the discretion of the President Pro Tempore, the Rules Committee. CHAPTER 5 LEGISLATION RULE 5-1. LEGISLATION. Legislation to be considered by the Senate shall be limited to Senate Bills, Senate Joint Resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, Senate Resolutions, House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions. RULE 5-2. INTRODUCTION. Except as may be limited by Senate Rule 16-1, Senate Bills, Senate Joint Resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolutions and Senate Resolutions may be introduced at any time beginning on the fifteenth day of November of each even-numbered year and ending at the time of sine die adjournment of the Second Session during the following even-numbered year. Legislation may be introduced by presentation to the Secretary of the Senate, together with as many copies as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Senate. Each Senate Bill or Resolution shall be assigned a number by the Secretary of the Senate. House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions may be introduced upon receipt of a message from the House of Representatives advising passage and engrossment of the measure. RULE 5-3. FORM. No legislation shall be introduced in the Senate, except for House Bills, House Joint Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions, unless that legislation shall include a Title and an Enacting or Resolving Clause. RULE 5-4. RESTRICTIONS. For consideration by the Senate, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, Senate Resolutions and House Concurrent Resolutions shall be limited to the following purposes: A. Memorializing Congress, the President of the United States, or an executive agency of the federal government; B. Communicating with another entity of state government, or a subdivision thereof; C. Disapproving an administrative rule; Page 5 D. Expressing legislative intent; E. Expressing policies of the Senate; and F. Such other purposes specifically approved by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 5-5. AUTHORS AND COAUTHORS. After introduction in the Senate of any bill or resolution, no Senator or Representative shall be shown or removed as author or coauthor on the face of the bill or resolution unless the Senator or Representative shall submit a written or electronic request to be so shown to the Secretary of the Senate or person designated by the Secretary of the Senate. The change in authorship shall be shown on the face of the next official version of the bill or resolution; provided, however, a printed substitute for or an electronic version of a bill or resolution may be shown in parentheses, and the electronic voting machine may display immediately, any author or coauthor changes that have been submitted. While a Senate Bill, Senate Joint Resolution or Senate Concurrent Resolution is within the physical control of the Senate, the principal Senate author of the bill or resolution shall have full and complete discretion in determining who the principal House author of the bill or resolution shall be. RULE 5-6. DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATION. A. No legislation or amendment shall be considered by the Senate unless a copy has been distributed to the desks of all members of the Senate, or has been made available to all members electronically, on a legislative day previous to consideration of the legislation. B. Except as otherwise provided in this rule, no conference committee substitute shall be considered by the full Senate unless copies of such conference committee substitute shall have either: 1. Been distributed to the desks of all members of the Senate; or 2. Been made available to all members electronically and the members are notified of such electronic availability; and such distribution and notification of electronic availability occurs prior to the adjournment of the Senate on a legislative day previous to consideration of the measure. An announcement on the Senate floor, while the Senate is in session, of electronic availability shall constitute sufficient notification. C. Subsection B of this rule shall not be applicable to Page 6 1. Appropriation bills, or 2. Any measure which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1. D. For purposes of this rule, an “appropriation bill” shall mean a measure which has been recommended by the General Conference Committee on Appropriations or which affects the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law. RULE 5-7. FINAL ACTION. If final action is such as to defeat an amendment, a bill or a resolution, no other amendment, bill or resolution having the same effect and covering the same specific or substantially similar subject matter shall be considered by the Senate during either session of the current Legislature, unless otherwise approved by the President Pro Tempore. Action constituting “final action” includes: 1. Failure of the motion “Do Pass” or “Do Pass as Amended” on a vote in a committee, 2. If a vote is taken on Third Reading or Fourth Reading and the measure fails to receive the required number of votes for passage, and a. no notice is served to reconsider the vote, b. a motion to reconsider the vote fails to prevail or expires, or c. a motion to table the motion to reconsider prevails, or 3. In the case of an amendment, if the amendment fails to receive the required number of votes for adoption or if a motion to table prevails. RULE 5-8. FINANCIAL IMPACT VERIFICATION. A. No amendment, bill or resolution which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency shall be considered by the Senate or any committee thereof unless such amendment, bill or resolution is accompanied by documentation of the fiscal impact of the proposal on the policyholders and the state agency. The President Pro Tempore shall prescribe procedures for such documentation to be obtained from the Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board or the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, as applicable. The chair of a committee to which a bill or resolution subject to the provisions of this subsection is assigned may request the Majority Floor Leader to suspend the provisions of paragraph 4 or 6 of subsection A or paragraph 4 or 6 of subsection B of Rule 16-1; provided, any such suspension shall not suspend or affect any of the remaining dates set forth in Rule 16-1. B. No amendment, bill or resolution which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues shall be considered by the Senate or any committee thereof unless such amendment, bill or resolution is accompanied by documentation of the fiscal impact of such amendment, bill or resolution. The President Pro Tempore shall prescribe procedures for such documentation to be obtained from the Oklahoma Tax Commission pursuant to the Page 7 provisions of Section 118 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or from another source as designated by the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 6 PROPOSALS RULE 6-1. PROPOSALS. Any member of the Senate may submit in writing to the President Pro Tempore a proposal for study or consideration by the Senate, subject to such deadlines for interim studies as may be established by the President Pro Tempore. CHAPTER 7 COMMITTEES RULE 7-1. TYPES AND NUMBER. There shall be two types of Senate committees established by the President Pro Tempore, to-wit: standing committees and select committees. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of each standing committee and of each select committee. The President Pro Tempore may establish, and appoint the members of, as many ad hoc subcommittees of each standing committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. There shall be as many select committees as are created by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 7-2. MEMBERSHIP. Membership on standing committees and on select committees shall be subject to the following: A. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Senate, the Majority Caucus members and the chair and vice-chair of each standing committee. B. The Minority Floor Leader shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Senate, the Minority Caucus members of each standing committee, other than a Minority Caucus member who is appointed as a chair or vice-chair of a committee by the President Pro Tempore. C. Membership of standing committees shall be approved by a majority vote of members of the Senate. In the event of a vacancy or extended absence of a member of the Senate, a replacement member may be appointed by the President Pro Tempore or the Minority Floor Leader, as appropriate. Any such appointment shall be approved by a majority vote of members of the Senate. D. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint all members of select committees. E. The President Pro Tempore and Majority Floor Leader shall each be ex officio and voting members of all standing and select Senate committees. Page 8 RULE 7-3. DUTIES OF THE RULES COMMITTEE. The Rules Committee shall determine any policies of the Senate submitted to it by the President Pro Tempore. RULE 7-4. DUTIES OF LEGISLATION COMMITTEES. Each legislative committee shall be responsible for the formulation of legislative programs and determination of nonlegislative matters within the jurisdiction prescribed by the President Pro Tempore; shall inquire into the administration and execution of all laws within the same jurisdiction; shall consider such proposals as may be submitted to the committee by the President Pro Tempore; and shall be responsible for the continuing codification of all laws within the prescribed jurisdiction. RULE 7-5. DUTIES OF SELECT COMMITTEES. Select committees shall be responsible for such duties as are prescribed at the time of their formation. No select committee shall be formed without its duties being expressly stated at the time of its formation. If a select committee is appointed for the purpose of conducting an investigation, the Senator requesting the investigation shall not serve as chair of the committee. RULE 7-6. AUTHORITY OF COMMITTEES. Any Senate committee is authorized to issue process, compel attendance of witnesses, and to administer oaths to any person appearing before the committee. Any Senate committee which considers legislation is empowered to consolidate bills or resolutions, to develop committee substitutes for such bills or resolutions, to amend such bills or resolutions and to develop a committee bill or resolution irrespective of any other legislation. RULE 7-7. PROCEDURES. The following procedures shall be observed by all legislation committees of the Senate: A. Subject to such exceptions as are provided hereinafter, committees of the Senate shall comply with provisions of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. A copy of all notices required by said Act shall be provided to the Chief of Staff, who shall designate the appropriate place for such notices to be posted. The Chief of Staff shall cause to be posted one such notice on the bulletin board of the Senate located in a place in the Capitol accessible to the public and on the Senate web site and shall take such other actions as may be deemed appropriate to provide adequate notice to the public. B. The chair of a committee shall schedule meetings of the committee. Meetings at a time other than the regularly scheduled meeting time of a committee shall not conflict with any regularly scheduled meeting of any other committee, except with the consent of the President Pro Tempore. C. The agenda for any meeting of a committee shall be set by the chair and shall include the date, time and place of the meeting. A copy of the agenda shall be provided to members of the committee and to authors of legislation to be considered by the committee at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting unless otherwise approved by the President Pro Tempore. An agenda for a meeting scheduled to meet prior to or during the first three Page 9 days of session may reflect a measure for which assignment to the committee is anticipated, and the committee may act upon the measure; provided, the report of the committee's action on any such measure shall not be filed prior to the assignment of the measure; further provided, if the measure is not assigned to the committee during the first three days of session, any committee action on the measure taken prior to or during those days shall be of no force or effect and shall not be reported. D. A quorum shall be present when any committee votes on any matter. Any member of a committee may request a quorum call at any time the committee is meeting. A number equal to a majority of the appointed members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. E. The chair, or in the chair's absence the vice-chair, of the committee, or a designee, shall preside at meetings of the committee. F. When considering legislation or conducting other business, committees shall observe the following procedures: 1. No person shall address the committee unless first recognized by the chair for that purpose. 2. When a legislative measure is taken up for consideration, the Senate author shall be recognized for explanation of the measure. 3. The Senate author shall be given the opportunity to answer questions put by members of the committee or other persons recognized by the chair. 4. The chair shall provide opportunity for presentation of amendments to the legislation by the Senate author or by any member of the committee. Any amendment must be seconded to receive further consideration. Provided, the Senate author or any member of the committee offering a committee substitute must submit the proposed committee substitute in writing or electronically to the chair no later than noon on the legislative day before the meeting of the committee. The chair may, at his or her discretion, waive the deadline set forth in this rule. When a committee substitute is submitted, the chair may approve the substitute to be heard by the committee and the committee substitute shall be considered a public record from the time of such approval. 5. Amendments and motions may be adopted by a voice vote; provided, however, that the Senate author, or any member of the committee, may require a roll call vote. 6. Amendments shall be considered in the order they appear in the legislation, or in the order they are presented to the clerk of the committee; provided, an amendment to restore the title or enacting clause shall be considered after disposition of all other amendments. The chair shall resolve any conflict resulting from claimed priority of presentation. Page 10 7. The author of an amendment shall explain the amendment and be afforded the opportunity to answer questions about the amendment put by members of the committee, the author of the legislation, or other persons recognized by the chair. 8. The chair may recognize any person for debate or comment on the proposed legislation or amendments thereto. The chair may limit the amount of time for any such debate or comment. 9. The vote on a recommendation by the committee to the Senate concerning a legislative measure shall be by recorded roll call and shall require a majority vote of a quorum of the members of the committee for passage. The only permitted recommendations to the Senate on a legislative measure are “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED”. A tie vote in a committee on the motion of “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED” shall result in failure of the motion. All committee votes reflecting the votes of each member present and voting on the motion of “DO PASS” or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED” shall be entered in the Journal. G. Except for legislation containing appropriations, all legislation originating in the Senate which is recommended by a committee to the Senate shall contain an Enacting or Resolving Clause and both a Senate and a House author. H. The chair may assign to any subcommittee any legislation, proposal or inquiry; provided, however, no subcommittee shall be permitted to report directly to the Senate, but rather shall report to the parent committee. I. No person shall cause materials to be distributed at any committee meeting without first having obtained approval of the chair. The person causing the materials to be distributed shall be identified in writing on the face of such materials. Any document or other material distributed to all members of a committee of the Senate during a meeting which is open to the public shall be considered a public record from the time of such distribution. J. 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system, as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, to a bill or resolution which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its Page 11 form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. If such a committee amendment is deemed to be out of order after its adoption, the committee or the full Senate may amend the bill or resolution to its form prior to the amendment. If such amendment is not made, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the committee from which it was reported. CHAPTER 8 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE RULE 8-1. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Without prior notice, the Senate may, by motion approved by a majority of the members of the Senate, declare itself a Committee of the Whole, at which time the President Pro Tempore or a member designated by the President Pro Tempore shall chair the Committee of the Whole. Rules applicable to other Senate committees shall be applied to the Committee of the Whole, except those rules relating to notice. RULE 8-2. REPORTS. Once the Committee of the Whole has reported a bill or resolution “DO PASS“ or “DO PASS, AS AMENDED“, to the Senate, that bill or resolution shall be considered on Third Reading and shall be voted upon without consideration of amendments or debate. CHAPTER 9 EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS RULE 9-1. REFERRAL OF EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS. When Executive Nominations shall be made by the Governor or other appointing authority to the Senate, said nominations shall be referred for consideration to the standing committee which has in its jurisdiction the entity to which the nomination relates. RULE 9-2. REJECTION. No person whose nomination has been rejected by the Senate shall be eligible to be later confirmed by the Senate during the same session for appointment to the same position. If an executive nomination is not approved during the regular session in which it is submitted, it shall be deemed rejected. If an interim executive nomination is not approved during the first regular session following its submission it shall be deemed rejected. The President Pro Tempore shall notify the appointing authority of the rejection of an executive nomination by the Senate, and shall likewise notify the chief executive of the entity to which the nomination relates. CHAPTER 10 PROCEDURES FOR DAILY SESSIONS Page 12 RULE 10-1. TIME AND PLACE OF DAILY SESSIONS. A. On the first Tuesday following the first Monday in January of each odd numbered year, the Senate shall convene in its chamber on the fourth floor of the Capitol at twelve o'clock noon for the purposes only of performing the duties as required by Section 5 of Article VI of the Constitution and organizing pursuant to the provisions of Article V of the Constitution and shall recess not later than five o'clock p.m. of that same day until the following first Monday in February of the same year, beginning at twelve o'clock noon. B. On the first Monday in February of each year, the Senate shall convene in its chamber on the fourth floor of the Capitol at twelve o'clock noon. Thereafter, the Senate shall meet in daily sessions as necessary in the chamber until sine die adjournment. The time of each daily session shall be announced on the preceding legislative day; provided, however, that in the event no such announcement is made, the Senate shall convene at 1:30 p.m. C. The Senate may convene in a location other than its chamber in the event that the President Pro Tempore determines that a natural disaster or national security emergency prevents the Senate from meeting in its chamber. RULE 10-2. GALLERIES AND HALLWAYS. The President Pro Tempore or a designee is empowered to assign seats in the galleries of the Senate and is empowered to order the galleries and hallways of the Senate cleared to preserve order or to ensure the safety of the members of the Senate. Firearms and weapons are not allowed on the Senate floor, in the gallery, or in the Senate area without permission of the Chief of Staff. Conduct in the galleries of the Senate shall conform to the following: 1. No food, drink, signs, placards, noisemakers, flash cameras or any other item which might cause distraction or disturb the decorum of the Senate shall be allowed in the galleries; 2. Applause shall not be permitted; 3. Articles carried by visitors may be required to be checked at the door to the galleries by a Senate employee; and 4. Visitors in the galleries shall be required to conduct themselves with dignity and in an orderly fashion. RULE 10-3. ATTENDANCE. No business of the Senate shall be conducted without a quorum of its members being in attendance, other than a motion to adjourn, adjourn to a time certain, or operate under call of the Senate pursuant to Rule 10-5, made by the President Pro Tempore or a member designated by the President Pro Tempore. A majority of the members elected to the Senate shall constitute a quorum. A member of the Senate who is absent from a daily session shall be shown as "excused." RULE 10-4. QUORUM CALL. Any member of the Senate may, at any time, request the Presiding Officer to question the presence of a quorum. Upon such request, the Presiding Page 13 Officer shall determine whether a quorum is present, and no further business shall be conducted until it is determined that a quorum is present. RULE 10-5. CALL OF THE SENATE. The Senate may, by majority vote of the members present, operate under Call of the Senate, in which case the President Pro Tempore is empowered to compel the attendance of all members of the Senate and is empowered to confine the members of the Senate to the chamber. RULE 10-6. DECORUM. The decorum of members of the Senate and employees of the Senate during the daily sessions of the Senate shall be determined by the Code of Conduct and Standards for Members of the Senate and Staff and shall be enforced by the Presiding Officer. RULE 10-7. PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. Personal privilege shall be granted to a member of the Senate only to permit such member to respond to a public attack on the rights, integrity or reputation of a member of the Senate, or upon the Senate collectively or any committee or employee of the Senate. Remarks made by a member of the Senate who is granted personal privilege shall be confined to such a response. RULE 10-8. INTRODUCTIONS. No persons shall be introduced individually in the galleries, except that a member of the Senate may introduce family members. It shall also be permissible to introduce officials from other states and countries or other persons approved in advance by the Majority Floor Leader. RULE 10-9. PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR. No person shall be permitted in the Senate chamber or the lobbies at the front or rear of the chamber during the daily sessions of the Senate except members and former members of the Senate, employees of the Senate designated by the President Pro Tempore, members of the House of Representatives, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, former Governors and former Lieutenant Governors, spouses, children and grandchildren of members of the Senate, and any person who is permitted on the floor by a majority vote of those present; provided, however, that the above privileges shall exclude any person registered as a lobbyist under the statutes of Oklahoma. All persons permitted in the Senate chamber during the daily sessions of the Senate shall conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Senate and Staff. No person other than those specified in this rule shall be permitted in the Senate Lounge, unless accompanied by a member of the Senate. RULE 10-10. SENATE LOUNGE AND ANTEROOMS. The President Pro Tempore may prescribe policies restricting the use of the Senate lounge and any rooms adjoining the lounge or the Senate chamber. CHAPTER 11 ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR DAILY SESSIONS Page 14 RULE 11-1. ORDER OF BUSINESS. The Order of Business for each daily session of the Senate shall be: Prayer Executive Nominations General Order Third Reading House Amendments to Senate Bills and Resolutions Conference Committee Reports Fourth Reading Committee Reports Second Reading First Reading Communications Other Business Provided, no business shall be considered by the Senate during the daily session unless it has been approved by the Majority Floor Leader or the President Pro Tempore or unless it is otherwise specifically allowed under the Senate rules. CHAPTER 12 FLOOR PROCEDURES RULE 12-1. PRESIDING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY. The Presiding Officer shall maintain order in the Senate. No Senator or other person shall be permitted to address the Senate without first having been recognized by the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer may require a Senator to disclose the purpose of a request for recognition prior to acting upon such request. The Presiding Officer shall immediately recognize the Majority Floor Leader at his or her request notwithstanding the previous request of any other Senator, but otherwise may exercise discretion in granting recognition when more than one Senator seeks recognition. Page 15 RULE 12-2. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION. The Majority Floor Leader, or a designee, shall determine the order in which legislation is considered by the Senate. RULE 12-3. PLACEMENT OF MEASURES ON GENERAL ORDER. A. All bills and resolutions reported by a committee of the Senate or referred directly to the calendar shall be placed on General Order. B. When a committee report is filed, the clerk shall indicate on the face of the report the date and time the report was filed. C. A bill or resolution reported from committee shall be placed on General Order at the beginning of the legislative day following the legislative day that a committee report is filed. Committee reports shall not be filed later than 4:30 p.m. D. Bills and resolutions referred directly to the calendar shall be placed on General Order at the beginning of the legislative day following the day of such referral. E. A list of bills and resolutions on General Order, including a copy of the text of such bills and resolutions and the date such bills and resolutions were placed on General Order, shall be published electronically and a paper copy shall be made available each legislative day by request to all members of the Senate. RULE 12-4. AMENDMENTS. A. Amendments to bills or resolutions shall be in writing and shall be considered only if submitted as follows: 1. Once legislation has been placed on General Order as provided in Rule 12-3, any floor amendment to such legislation may be filed on the legislative day of such placement or the following legislative day. An amendment must be filed no later than 4:30 p.m. of a legislative day to be considered filed on such legislative day; 2. Any amendment which directly amends a previously-submitted floor amendment shall be filed no later than 4:30 p.m. of the legislative day following the day which is the last legislative day for filing a floor amendment as provided in paragraph 1 of this rule; and 3. A floor amendment or an amendment to a floor amendment may be withdrawn by its author at any time before it is voted upon. B. If any amendment to a bill or resolution is filed as provided in this subsection, a copy of the text of such amendment shall be provided or made available electronically to each member of the Senate and the bill or resolution shall not be voted upon until on or after the legislative day following the legislative day specified for filing an amendment to a floor amendment as provided in paragraph 2 of this rule. Page 16 C. This rule shall not apply to an amendment offered by the author of a bill or resolution: 1. To strike the title or enacting or resolving clause; or 2. To make non-substantive changes or technical corrections, subject to the approval of the Majority Floor Leader. D. 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system, as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, to a bill or resolution which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act, shall be deemed to be out of order. 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order. RULE 12-5. CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES ON GENERAL ORDER. A. On General Order, the following procedure shall be observed: 1. Explanation of the bill or resolution by the Senate author; 2. Questions; 3. Consideration of amendments; and 4. Advancement. B. Amendments shall be considered in the order in which they are submitted unless otherwise directed by the Majority Floor Leader; provided, an amendment to restore a title or enacting or resolving clause shall be considered after disposition of all other amendments. Once an amendment is read, it shall be explained by its author, who shall then answer questions concerning the amendment. If the author of the amendment is not in attendance at the time an amendment is read, the amendment shall be considered withdrawn unless another member of the Senate has taken or immediately takes coauthorship of the amendment and provides an explanation. An amendment shall be considered a public record from the time it is placed upon the clerk’s desk. C. After the final vote on third reading of any bill or joint resolution, no amendment to the measure shall be considered, by unanimous consent or otherwise, unless the final vote and advancement of the measure are properly reconsidered according to the Senate Rules. Page 17 D. For any bill which has been recommended to the full Senate by a Senate committee with a stricken title or enacting clause, the title or enacting clause shall not be restored as part of an amendment proposing a floor substitute, but an amendment to restore the title or enacting clause may be considered separately. RULE 12-6. ADVANCEMENT. Once a motion to advance has been adopted, the bill or resolution shall be considered engrossed and on Third Reading. RULE 12-7. THIRD READING. Upon Third Reading of a bill or resolution, the Senate shall not consider amendments, but shall debate passage of the bill or resolution and then vote upon passage. RULE 12-8. HOUSE AMENDMENTS. Upon receipt of House amendments to Senate bills or resolutions, the Senate author shall make a motion either to accept the amendments, in which case a successful vote on the motion shall automatically advance the bill to Fourth Reading and final passage, or to reject the amendments and request a conference with the House. RULE 12-9. CONFERENCE COMMITTEES. The President Pro Tempore shall appoint members of the Senate to serve on conference committees with members of the House of Representatives at such times and in such numbers as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. RULE 12-10. CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORTS. A. Any Conference Committee Report shall be considered by the Senate only when a majority of the Senate conferees and a majority of the House conferees have signed the report and only when the report is limited to matters germane to the bill or resolution. Provided: 1. An amendment affecting a retirement system as such term is defined in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which has not been submitted to the legislative actuary as provided in the Act shall be deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment; 2. An amendment which creates or expands a requirement for insurance coverage provided to state employees by a state agency to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof, as required in subsection A of Rule 5-8, shall be deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment; and 3. An amendment which creates a direct fiscal impact on state tax revenues to a bill or resolution reported from a conference committee which is not accompanied by written documentation of the fiscal impact thereof, as required in subsection B of Rule 5-8, shall be Page 18 deemed to be out of order and the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee from which it was reported with instructions to remove the amendment. If the Senate adopts a Conference Committee Report, the bill or resolution is before the Senate for Fourth Reading and final passage. If the Senate rejects a Conference Committee Report or a motion to adopt the report fails, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the conference committee. Upon a report by the Senate conferees that the conferees cannot agree, the bill or resolution reverts to its former status of consideration of House Amendments to Senate bills or resolutions. B. The committee report proposed by the Senate author of a measure considered by the General Conference Committee on Appropriations may not be amended during the committee meeting at which the measure is considered. RULE 12-11. FOURTH READING. Upon Fourth Reading of a bill or resolution, debate shall be in order on final passage of the bill or resolution, after which the vote shall occur on final passage. After final passage of a bill or resolution, it shall be signed by the Presiding Officer in open session. RULE 12-12. COMMITTEE REPORTS ON EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS. Committee reports on Executive Nominations may be combined by the Majority Floor Leader for consideration by the Senate. At the request of any member, however, a nominee shall be separated from the combined report and considered individually by the Senate. A majority vote of the members of the Senate shall be required for adoption of a combined report. RULE 12-13. OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS. Committee reports on matters other than legislation or Executive Nominations shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate and explained by the chair of the committee making the report, whereupon the Senate may consider any action called for in the report. RULE 12-14. FIRST READING. A bill or resolution shall be considered introduced upon First Reading and shall automatically be advanced to Second Reading. RULE 12-15. SECOND READING. A. The Second Reading of a bill or resolution shall occur the next legislative day following the First Reading. Upon or after Second Reading of a bill or resolution, the same shall be assigned for committee consideration or assigned directly to the calendar. All bills carrying appropriations which are referred to any committee other than the Appropriations Committee shall, immediately upon a report by the committee to which referred, be referred to the Appropriations Committee. Any bill or resolution which is determined to affect the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law may be double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Page 19 Committee or the Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. B. All “shell bills”, except for appropriation bills as defined in Rule 5-6, and except for a bill which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1, shall be assigned to the Rules Committee. For purposes of this rule a “shell bill” shall mean a measure which does not make a substantive change in the law. C. After preparation of a committee substitute which proposes a substantive change in the law, a shell bill which has been assigned to the Rules Committee may be withdrawn from the Rules Committee and assigned to another committee. No shell bill, except for appropriation bills as defined in Rule 5-6, and except for a bill which is exempt from Senate Rule 16-1, shall be reported out of a committee until it has been amended to include a substantive change in the law. RULE 12-16. DEBATE. When a question subject to debate is before the Senate, a motion to limit the time for debate shall be in order, even if debate already has begun. The motion shall fix the time limits to be allowed for and against the motion, provided that in no case shall the total debate allotted to each side be less than one-half hour. If such motion is successful, the Presiding Officer shall cause the time limits to be enforced and shall divide the time equally for each side of the question. If the motion is once rejected on a question being debated, it can only be adopted with the approval of two-thirds of those voting. RULE 12-17. ADJOURNMENT. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order except when the motion shall have been the last voted on and no business is transacted thereafter. RULE 12-18. AFTER ADOPTION OF MOTION TO ADJOURN. Once a motion to adjourn when the desk is clear has been adopted, no motion shall be considered from the floor of the Senate, whether by unanimous consent or otherwise. RULE 12-19. SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT. The date and time of sine die adjournment of the Senate shall be fixed by motion or resolution; provided, that once the date and time of such sine die adjournment has arrived, no further business shall be conducted by the Senate, and the Presiding Officer shall declare the Senate adjourned sine die. RULE 12-20. WITHDRAWAL FROM COMMITTEE. Any bill or resolution may be withdrawn from any committee of the Senate upon a two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate. Any bill or resolution so withdrawn shall be on General Order. The provisions of this rule shall not prevent a bill or resolution from being reassigned from one committee to another, from being assigned directly to the calendar, or from being double-assigned as provided in subsection A of Rule 12-15. RULE 12-21. RECONSIDERATION. The final vote on Third Reading or Fourth Reading of any bill or joint resolution or on the emergency clause or special election feature Page 20 or other special feature of any bill or joint resolution may be reconsidered only if a member of the Senate serves notice before any other business is considered by the Senate . Once such notice is served, the following procedures shall be observed: A. In anticipation of the closing days of a regular session or a deadline for third reading and final passage of a measure in the Senate, a majority of the members of the Senate may vote that all motions to reconsider made thereafter shall be disposed of on the same day such notice is served, or disposed of immediately on the last Friday in May, or an earlier day set for sine die adjournment pursuant to the provisions of Rule 12-19. B. Except as heretofore provided, the member serving notice for reconsideration shall not be permitted to make the motion to reconsider on the day notice is served, but shall have the exclusive right to make such a motion on the next two succeeding legislative days; provided, that on the third succeeding legislative day, any member of the Senate shall have the right to make such a motion. If no such motion is made on the third succeeding legislative day, then no reconsideration shall be permitted. C. If the Senate refuses to reconsider or if, upon reconsideration, affirms the first decision, no further consideration shall be in order. D. For adoption, a motion to reconsider the final vote on a bill or resolution or on the emergency clause or special election feature or other special feature must be approved by a majority of the members of the Senate. E. A motion to reconsider any other action by the Senate must be made by a Senator who voted on the prevailing side before any other business is considered by the Senate and shall be disposed of on the same day it is lodged. The motion to reconsider shall be decided by a majority of those voting on the question. F. It shall not be in order for the Senate, by suspension of the Rules or by any other means, to reconsider in the Second Regular Session of a Legislature the vote by which any bill or joint resolution was defeated in the First Regular Session. RULE 12-22. OVERRIDES OF VETOES. When a bill or resolution is returned to the Senate because of veto by the Governor, a motion to vote to override the veto shall be in order at any time. RULE 12-23. CORRECTIONS TO LEGISLATION. A. The Title of a bill or resolution shall be made to conform to the text, unless the same has been ordered stricken. A stricken title shall be shown in brackets. The ballot title of a bill or resolution proposing a state question shall be made to conform to the text. The Enacting Clause shall be a part of every bill unless the same shall have been ordered stricken. A stricken Enacting Clause shall be shown by striking through the words of the Enacting Clause. Page 21 B. The Senate Service Staff is authorized to correct misspelled words, incorrect citations, typographical errors, repeated words and other similar errors when engrossing or enrolling Senate bills or joint resolutions, or Senate amendments to engrossed House bills or joint resolutions and when preparing committee reports and floor versions of Senate bills or joint resolutions. C. When engrossing or enrolling Senate bills or joint resolutions, or Senate amendments to engrossed House bills or joint resolutions and when preparing committee reports and floor versions of Senate bills or joint resolutions, the Senate Service Staff is authorized to: 1. Remove sections from a bill or joint resolution labeled as amendatory sections but which consist entirely of existing law and contain no amendments to the existing law; 2. Incorporate amendments to sections of law in the bill or joint resolution which are contained in measures enacted previously during the same legislative session and amending the same sections of law and repeal such previous versions of the section at issue if, in the opinion of the General Counsel, or a staff attorney designated by the Chief of Staff, the incorporation of such amendments and repeal of the previous version would clearly not conflict with the amendments contained in the measure at issue; 3. Modify sections of such measures which provide for a measure to become effective on July 1 or a date earlier than ninety days after the date of expected sine die adjournment to read to reflect an effective date of ninety days after the date of sine die adjournment, or to delete such sections, if the emergency clause has failed to receive the required number of votes for passage; 4. Delete sections of such measures which provide for a measure to become effective on a date prior to such engrossment or enrollment; and 5. Include a designation of the subject of an act as provided in Section 452.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. D. The Secretary of the Senate shall, at the direction of the President Pro Tempore and with the approval of the Senate author, have the authority to correct nonsubstantive errors in the language of any bill or resolution at the time the same is engrossed or enrolled. A detailed record of all such corrections shall be maintained by the Secretary and printed in the Journal. CHAPTER 13 MOTIONS RULE 13-1. ORDER OF PRIORITY. Motions shall be considered in the following order of priority: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. Page 22 C. Substitute ruling motion. D. To recess. E. To operate under Call of the Senate. F. To limit debate. G. To advance a measure or adopt a Conference Committee Report. H. To suspend the rules. I. To commit to a committee or conference committee without instructions. J. To commit to a committee or conference committee with instructions. K. To amend. RULE 13-2. DEBATE. Debate shall be in order on all motions, except the following: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. C. To recess. D. To operate under Call of the Senate. E. To limit debate. F. To advance. G. To commit to a committee without instructions. H. To table. I. To suspend the rules. RULE 13-3. MOTIONS TO TABLE. Motions to table shall be in order for all motions except the following: A. To adjourn to a time certain. B. To adjourn. Page 23 C. To recess. D. To operate under Call of the Senate. E. To limit debate. F. To advance. RULE 13-4. PRECEDENCE. Motions to table shall take precedence over the original motion. If successful, a motion to table shall constitute a final disposition of the original motion. RULE 13-5. PRIORITY OF MOTIONS NOT ENUMERATED. Except for those motions otherwise enumerated by priority, all motions shall have equal priority and shall be considered in the order made, or in the order placed on the clerk's desk. RULE 13-6. WRITTEN MOTIONS OR OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS. The Presiding Officer may require any motion, point of order, substitute ruling, or other item of business to be in writing and placed upon the clerk's desk. RULE 13-7. SUBSTITUTE MOTIONS. Only one substitute motion for a motion of equal priority shall be considered. If the substitute motion fails, the original motion shall be disposed of before another motion of the same priority can be considered. RULE 13-8. VOTE REQUIRED. Unless otherwise provided, a motion shall be declared adopted if it is approved by a majority of the members present and voting thereon. CHAPTER 14 VOTING RULE 14-1. MANNER OF VOTING. All votes of the Senate shall be by voice vote, division or roll call vote subject to the following: A. The voting machine shall be used to record the vote whenever a roll call vote is taken on any question. The machine shall also be used to determine the presence or absence of a quorum. In the event the machine is not operating properly, all roll call votes and determinations of quorums may be taken by calling the roll. The voting machine shall be under the control of the Presiding Officer and shall be operated by a clerk designated by the Presiding Officer. B. During any roll call, every Senator present shall vote. During a roll call, the Presiding Officer shall request every Senator in the chamber who has not voted to vote. If any Senator so requested fails to vote, the Presiding Officer shall, upon declaring the roll, order that said Senator be shown as voting "NO" on the question. Said order shall be printed in the Journal directly following the printing of the results of the roll call as reflected by the Page 24 voting machine, and said "NO" vote shall be included in the determination of the passage or failure of the question. In all other cases, a Senator who fails to vote shall be shown as "excused" in the Journal. C. On any question for which a roll call vote is not required, a roll call vote shall be in order only if requested before the question is put. Once the question has been put and a voice vote taken, the Presiding Officer shall state the side that appears to the Presiding Officer to have prevailed, and any member then may request a division, but shall not be entitled to request a roll call vote. The declaration of the vote by the Presiding Officer shall be final. D. No Senator shall be permitted to vote or change a vote after the result has been announced by the Presiding Officer. E. If a member's voting machine is inoperative, the member shall rise and advise the Presiding Officer of the malfunction; and the Senator will be permitted to verbally vote on the question; and the vote will then be recorded by the clerk. F. When a division is called for, those voting in the affirmative shall rise at their seats and remain standing until counted; then those voting in the negative shall rise and stand until they are counted, whereupon the Presiding Officer shall declare the result. CHAPTER 15 LOBBYISTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES RULE 15-1. LOBBYISTS. All lobbying activities in the Senate shall be governed and regulated by law and by the Rules of the Senate. RULE 15-2. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES. The Chief of Staff, at the direction of the President Pro Tempore, may issue credentials to representatives of the news media and may limit access to the Press Gallery to those members of the news media holding such credentials. CHAPTER 16 RULE 16-1. SENATE LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE SCHEDULE. A. During the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, the Senate shall adhere to the following legislative procedure schedule: 1. The First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall convene at twelve noon on January 4, 2011, for the purpose only of performing the duties set forth in Section 5 of Article VI of the Constitution and organizing pursuant to the provisions of Article V of the Constitution, and shall recess no later than five p.m. on that same day until February 7, 2011, beginning at twelve noon. Page 25 2. December 10, 2010, shall be the final date for requesting the drafting of bills or joint resolutions in the Senate for introduction for consideration during the First Regular Session. 3. January 20, 2011, at 4:00 p.m., shall be the final date and time for introduction of bills and joint resolutions in the Senate for consideration on the floor of the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently introduced if reported from committee, shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 4. February 28, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions from committee in the Senate; provided, for Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, February 21, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and March 3, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently reported from committee shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 5. March 17, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a Senate bill or Senate joint resolution in the Senate. 6. April 7, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting House bills and House joint resolutions from Committee in the Senate; provided, for House bills and House joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, March 31, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and April 14, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. Bills and joint resolutions subsequently reported from Committee shall not be placed on the Calendar for consideration in the Senate until the first legislative day of the Second Regular Session. 7. April 28, 2011, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a House bill or a House joint resolution in the Senate. Page 26 8. The First Regular Session shall adjourn sine die not later than five p.m. on May 27, 2011. 9. Upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership of the Senate, a bill or joint resolution can be exempt from all cutoff dates in the Senate. B. During the Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, the Senate shall adhere to the following legislative procedure schedule: 1. December 9, 2011, shall be the final date for requesting the drafting of bills or joint resolutions in the Senate for introduction for consideration during the Second Regular Session. 2. January 19, 2012 at 4:00 p.m., shall be the final date and time for introduction of bills and joint resolutions in the Senate for consideration on the floor of the Senate during the Second Regular Session. 3. The Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall convene at twelve o'clock noon on February 6, 2012. 4. February 27, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions from Committee in the Senate; provided, for Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, February 20, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and March 1, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. 5. March 15, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a Senate bill or a Senate joint resolution in the Senate. 6. April 5, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting a House bill or a House joint resolution from Committee in the Senate; provided, for House bills and House joint resolutions double-assigned to a committee other than the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee, March 29, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the first committee to which assigned and April 12, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for reporting such bills and resolutions from the Appropriations Committee or Finance Committee. Committee Reports must be properly filed in the Senate within one (1) legislative day after the dates specified in this paragraph, no later than 4:30 p.m., in order for Page 27 the bill or joint resolution to be placed on the calendar for consideration in the Senate during the First Regular Session. 7. April 26, 2012, shall be the final legislative day for third reading and final passage of a House bill or a House joint resolution in the Senate. 8. The Second Regular Session shall adjourn sine die not later than five p.m. on May 25, 2012. 9. Upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership of the Senate, a bill or joint resolution can be exempt from all cutoff dates in the Senate. C. This rule shall be inapplicable to any: 1. Joint resolution introduced for the purpose of disapproving or approving agency rules pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act as set forth in Section 250 et seq. of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 2. Bill introduced for the purposes of incorporation and merging different versions of a statute amended in more than one measure at the same or different sessions of the Legislature as set forth in Section 23.1 of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 3. Bill or joint resolution introduced for the purpose of approving, disapproving, repealing or modifying rules of the Ethics Commission pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of Article XXIX of the Oklahoma Constitution; 4. Bill or joint resolution which proposes a special or local law and for which notice of intended introduction is published in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks pursuant to the provisions of Section 32 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution; 5. Bill or joint resolution authored by the chairs and vice-chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations and Budget Committee which affects the receipt, expenditure or budgeting of state funds or funds under the control of an entity created by state law; 6. Bill or joint resolution authored by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which is deemed by them to be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; or 7. Bill or joint resolution authored by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which provides for redistricting pursuant to the 2010 federal census. Page 28 D. Paragraph 2 of subsection A and paragraph 2 of subsection B of this rule shall be inapplicable to any bill or joint resolution which contains an “RB” number pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act. Such measures shall be submitted to the legislative actuary not later than the date specified in such paragraphs, and may be introduced not later than the first Monday in February following such submission. RULE 16-2. PENDING LEGISLATION AT ADJOURNMENT OF FIRST REGULAR SESSION A. Any bill or joint resolution pending in the Senate at the final adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall carry over to the Second Regular Session with the same status as if there had been no adjournment. Bills and joint resolutions pending in a Conference Committee at such time shall not carry over to the Second Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature. B. Simple and concurrent resolutions pending in the Senate at the final adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature shall not carry over for consideration during the Second Regular Session. CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS FOR MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND STAFF 1. A coat, tie and slacks or trousers shall be worn by male members and appropriate attire shall be worn by female members of the Senate and other persons granted privileges of the floor in the chamber during sessions of the Senate. 2. Each executive assistant is under the authority and supervision of the Senator designating him or her as such. All other staff members of the Senate are under the authority and supervision of the Chief of Staff. Complaints pertaining to employees should be made to the proper authority rather than to the individual. Under no circumstances should complaints pertaining to employees be made on the floor of the Senate, in committee meetings or in other public forums. 3. (a) On the floor during session and in committee, members should endeavor to be congenial and complimentary. Members should avoid personal attacks and dealing in personalities. (b) During public occasions away from the Capitol, members should endeavor to keep personalities out of their discussions and deal with programs, not personalities. 4. The consumption of alcohol is forbidden in the chamber, and any member who is in the chamber in an intoxicated state will be removed by security personnel. Page 29 5. It is beneath the dignity of the Senate for members to consume food products in the chamber. 6. Members of the Senate should continually conduct themselves in accordance with the standards which will reflect credit upon themselves and the Senate. It is beneath the dignity of the Senate for a member to sit upon a desk, or to place his or her feet upon a desk in the chamber. 7. While a Senator is speaking, no Senator should enter into any disturbing private conversation or pass between the speaking Senator and the Presiding Officer. Profane, obscene, or indecent language is discouraged in the Senate and in all standing or special committees of the Senate. The use of cellular telephones, pagers or other audible electronic devices during formal Senate proceedings, either on the floor of the Senate or in committee, is discouraged. 8. A Senator shall address other members with the title "Senator" when addressing one another during formal Senate proceedings either on the floor of the Senate or in committee. 9. The Presiding Officer may direct a designated Senate employee to activate his or her roll call switch. No member shall be permitted to vote on any question unless said member is physically present in the chamber at the time the vote is taken. 10. The President Pro Tempore (or the Majority Floor Leader) shall designate those Senate employees who shall be granted privileges of the floor during any session of the Senate, said employees to be limited to those whose work requires their presence. Any member desiring to bring a guest to the floor of the Senate shall first notify the Majority Floor Leader. No such guest shall enter the chamber until privileges of the floor have been granted pursuant to Rule 10-9. 11. No person other than a member of the Senate shall cause materials to be distributed on each desk in the Senate chamber without first having obtained approval by the Majority Floor Leader. The sponsoring Senator will be identified. Any material so distributed shall be considered a public record from the time of such distribution. 12. The President Pro Tempore shall designate persons to act as Sergeants-at-Arms for the Senate, who shall have responsibility of serving legal processes and enforcing Rules and policies of the Senate. 13. Any member who feels that the standards of the Senate are being violated by either a member of the Senate or the staff should seek redress by submitting a complaint to the President Pro Tempore concerning the violation. The President Pro Tempore may refer any matter concerning exercise of the Senate's discretionary powers and duties under Section 30 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution to a standing committee or select committee as the President Pro Tempore deems appropriate. |
Date created | 2011-07-21 |
Date modified | 2011-10-27 |