THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

114

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

AMENDING THE RULES OF THE SENATE OF THE TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII, 2001-2002.

 

 

WHEREAS, the rules of the Senate may be amended pursuant to Senate Rule 85 with one day's notice of the change by a majority vote of the members of the Senate; and

WHEREAS, the House and Senate leadership traditionally, and as a matter of practice, have agreed to joint written procedures that specify administrative and logistical procedures for Conference Committees, including meeting times, decision-making deadlines, meeting notices and so forth; and

WHEREAS, the leadership of both Houses have prior to the 2001 Legislative Session agreed to certain Conference procedures that have included a provision that a majority of the quorum of House managers and a majority of the quorum of Senate managers must vote in favor of the proposed amendments to report a measure out of Conference Committee in amended form; and

WHEREAS, during the Regular Session of 2001, the leadership of both Houses adopted Conference procedures that for the first time gave a single conference committee chair the power to outvote a majority of the committee; and

WHEREAS, during the Regular Session of 2002, the leadership of both Houses again plan to include in the Conference procedures the requirement that all chairs must vote in favor of the proposed amendments to report a measure out of Conference Committee in amended form with perhaps a majority of chairs able to override a single chair veto; and

WHEREAS, the conference chair veto provision in the Conference procedures is in conflict with Senate Rule 23(3) by adding an additional requirement before a Conference Committee may report on the matter referred; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to the Senate Rules is now necessary to resolve this conflict; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that Senate Rule 23(3) be amended to read as follows (proposed changes underlined and deletetions bracketed and stricken):

(3) A Conference Committee shall [not report] take action upon the matter referred [unless] if a majority of the members appointed by the President have concurred [in] to the [report.] action. Any conference procedure that adds to or detracts from this rule's requirements is void.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: Amending Senate Rules, 21st Legislature