Special orders, how made.

Committee of the Whole.

Proceed

of Whole.

on his files by the Sergeant-at-Arms, in the same manner as other printed documents.

26. Any matter may be made a special order for any particular day by the assent of two-thirds of the members present. But it shall not be in order to make any matter a special order from day to day; and no more than three bills, or other matters, shall be made the special order for the same day. No special order shall be postponed or rescinded except by vote of two-thirds of the members present.

CHAPTER VIII.

OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.

27. The same rules shall be observed in Committee of the Whole as in the House, so far as the same are applicable; except that the previous question shall not apply, nor shall the number of times a member desires to speak be limited, and except that the yeas and nays shall not be taken.

28. A motion to rise and report progress shall be in order at any stage, and shall be decided without debate.

29. Bills and other matters shall be considered in ings in Com. Committee of the Whole in the following manner, viz: They shall be first read through, unless the committee shall otherwise order; and, unless the committee shall then strike out the enacting clause, they shall be read and considered by sections, leaving the title to be last considered. All amendments, in their coherence, shall be reported to the House by the chairman.

Quorum.

Introduc

tion of bills.

30. If, at any time when in Committee of the Whole House, it be ascertained that there is no quorum, the chairman shall immediately report that fact to the Speaker.

CHAPTER IX.

OF BILLS.

31. No bill shall be introduced in the House except in one of the following modes, viz:

1. By leave of the House, on one day's previous
notice being given of the motion therefor,

which notice must specify the subject matter
of the bill.

2. By unanimous consent of the House.
3. By report of a committee.

4. By order of the House.

5. By message from the Senate.

bills.

32. No private bill shall be introduced but upon a Private memorial or petition presented to the House and signed by the party or parties praying for the passage of the same, except by order of the House.

33. The title of all bills introduced shall state con- Title of bills. cisely the subject matter of such bills.

34. Every message from the Senate communicating Messages any bill, for the concurrence of the House, shall with from Senate the accompanying documents, if any, be referred to a standing or select committee to consider and report thereon, and every such message communicating an amendment shall take a like reference, except the House shall otherwise order.

35. All bills, whether introduced in the House or All bills to communicated by message from the Senate shall, after be referred. their second reading, be referred to a standing or select committee to consider and report thereupon. Such committee may report any bill either with or without amendments, or they may report against the same. All bills favorably reported shall be committed to the Bills reportCommittee of the Whole, unless otherwise ordered by the House; but where a bill has been reported adversely, and such report shall be agreed to by the House, it shall not go upon the General Orders but shall be considered as rejected.

ed.

of the whole

36. Bills reported by the Committee of the Whole Bills from shall still be subject to debate before the question to committee engross is put; but such amendments only shall be in order as were offered and decided in Committee of the Whole. And where a bill shall be reported by the Committee of the Whole, with the enacting clause

Three readings.

May be ordered to

a third

reading.

Engrossed bills.

Third read

i ng.

Ib.

Reconsideration.

Register to be kept.

stricken out, and the report shall be agreed to by the House, it shall be considered as rejected.

37. Every bill shall receive three several readings, previous to its final passage, and the third reading shall be on a day subsequent to that on which the bill passed in Committee of the Whole, unless the House by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, shall direct otherwise.

38. No bill shall be ordered to a third reading until it has been considered in the Committee of the Whole, nor shall it be in order to refer any bill to a select committee to report complete.

39. All bills shall be engrossed in the order in which they have been directed by the House to be engrossed.

40. No bill originating in the Assembly shall be put upon its third reading until it shall have been reported by the Committee on Engrossed Bills, as correctly engrossed. Nor shall any bill be read the last time unless it shall have been once printed, without the consent of two-thirds of the members present.

41. The third reading of bills shall take place in the order in which they have been ordered to a third reading, unless the House, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, direct otherwise, or the bill to be read be laid on the table. And the question on the final passage of every bill shall be taken immediately after such third reading, and without debate, unless the bill shall be ordered to be recommitted.

42. The same vote that would be required to pass any bill shall be requisite to carry a reconsideration thereof. But the final vote upon the passage of any bill creating, continuing or renewing any incorporation otherwise than municipal, shall not be reconsidered whenever such bill shall be rejected on its last reading. 43. A register shall be kept by the clerk of all bills introduced in the House or transmitted for concurrence from the Senate, in which shall be recorded, under appropriate heads, the progress of all such bills, from

the date of their introduction to the time of their transmission, if Assembly bills, to the Governor, or if Senate bills their return to the Senate.

CHAPTER X.

OF MOTIONS, AND THEIR PRECEDENCE.

44. When a question shall be under consideration, Precedence. no motion shall be received except as herein specified; which motions shall have precedence in the order stated, viz:

1. For an adjournment of the House.

2. A call of the House.

3. For the previous question.
4. To lay on the table.

5. To postpone indefinitely.

6. To postpone to a day certain.

7. To commit to the committee of the whole.

8. To commit to a standing committee.

9. To commit to a select committee.

10. To amend.

45. The motion to adjourn and to lay on the table, Non-debashall be decided without amendment or debate. The table. several motions to postpone or commit, shall preclude all debate of the main question.

ted.

46. Every motion shall be first stated by the Speaker, To be staor read by the Clerk, before debate and immediately before putting the question. And every motion, except those specified in the forty-fourth rule, shall be reduced to writing, if the Speaker or any member desires it.

47. After a motion shall be stated by the Speaker, it When may shall be deemed in the possession of the House, but be withmay be withdrawn at any time before it shall be decided or amended.

drawn.

48. When different sums are moved in filling blanks, Filling the question shall first be put on the largest sum and blanks. the longest time.

49. The motion to adjourn shall be always in order. Adjourn

ment.

To reconsider.

Lie over one day.

First to be referred.

Expenditure, resolu

tions to be

referred.

Previous question.

50. No motion for reconsideration of any vote shall be in order, unless on the same day or the following legislative day to that on which the decision proposed to be reconsidered took place; nor unless one of the majority shall move such reconsideration. A motion for reconsideration being put and lost shall not be renewed; nor shall any subject or vote be a second time reconsidered, without unanimous consent.

CHAPTER XI.

OF RESOLUTIONS.

51. The following class of resolutions shall lie over one day for consideration, after which they may be called up, of course, under their appropriate order of business:

1. All concurrent resolutions.

2. Resolutions containing calls for information on the Executive Department.

3. Resolutions giving rise to debate; except such as relate to the disposition of matters immediately before the House, such as relate to the business of the day on which they are offered, and such as relate to adjournments.

52. All resolutions for the printing of an extra number of any document, paper or bill, shall be referred, as of course, to the standing committee on public printing to consider and report thereon.

53. All other resolutions calling for or leading to expenditure, for the uses of the Legislature, shall be referred to and reported on by the committee on the expenditures of the House, unless the House shall designate some other committee.

CHAPTER XII.

OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.

54. The previous question" shall be as follows: "Shall the main question be now put?" and until it is decided shall preclude all amendments or debate.