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6 LONG TITLE
7 General Description:
8 This rules resolution modifies House rules.
9 Highlighted Provisions:
10 This resolution:
11 ▸ simplifies language in the constitutional resolution related to the beginning of
12 House sessions;
13 ▸ modifies duties of the chief clerk of the House;
14 ▸ removes a restriction on a representative's leaving the chamber during a vote;
15 ▸ consolidates and modifies definitions for clarity;
16 ▸ clarifies provisions that prohibit lobbying on the House floor;
17 ▸ requires, with certain exceptions, legislation to have a favorable recommendation
18 from a committee before the House Rules Committee may place the legislation
19 directly on the third reading calendar;
20 ▸ modifies rules on verbal amendments;
21 ▸ modifies rules on the release of held legislation;
22 ▸ modifies provisions relating to notifications relating to the consent calendar;
23 ▸ prohibits certain actions during voting;
24 ▸ prohibits reference to committee actions during floor debate, with exceptions; and
25 ▸ modifies procedures relating to approved activities.
26 Special Clauses:
27 None
28 Legislative Rules Affected:
29 AMENDS:
30 HR1-1-102
31 HR1-4-102
32 HR2-2-105
33 HR2-4-101
34 HR2-4-101.2
35 HR2-4-101.3
36 HR2-4-101.4
37 HR2-4-102
38 HR2-4-103
39 HR3-1-102
40 HR3-2-406
41 HR4-3-301
42 HR4-4-202
43 HR4-4-301
44 HR4-7-103
45 HR5-4-101
46 ENACTS:
47 HR4-6-105.5
48
49 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
50 Section 1. HR1-1-102 is amended to read:
51 HR1-1-102. Constitutional motion.
52 At the beginning of each session of the House, before the reading of any piece of
53 legislation, the House Rules Committee chair shall make the following motion:
54 "Mr. (Madam) Speaker, as allowed by the Utah Constitution [
55
56 bills and resolutions as they are introduced or considered [
57
58 reading of the long title, short title, or both [
59 Section 2. HR1-4-102 is amended to read:
60 HR1-4-102. Duties of the chief clerk.
61 The general duties of the chief clerk are to:
62 (1) act as chief administrative officer of the House, subject to direction by the speaker
63 of the House;
64 (2) certify and transmit legislation to the Senate and inform the Senate of all House
65 action;
66 (3) assist in the preparation of the House Journal and certify it as an accurate reflection
67 of House action;
68 (4) make the following technical corrections to legislation either before or following
69 final passage:
70 (a) correct the spelling of words;
71 (b) correct the erroneous division and hyphenation of words;
72 (c) correct mistakes in numbering sections and their references;
73 (d) capitalize words or change capitalized words to lower case;
74 (e) change numbers from words to figures or from figures to words; and
75 (f) underscore or remove underscoring in legislation without a motion to amend;
76 (5) modify the long title of a piece of legislation to ensure that the long title accurately
77 reflects any changes to the legislation made by amendment or substitute;
78 (6) supervise all House of Representatives' non-partisan personnel during a session and
79 assign them duties and responsibilities;
80 (7) keep a record of the attendance of each in-session employee and ensure that each
81 in-session employee is paid only for hours worked;
82 (8) be the custodian of all official documents;
83 (9) receive all numbered legislation from the Office of Legislative Research and
84 General Counsel;
85 (10) record the number, title, sponsor, each action, and final disposition of each piece
86 of legislation on the legislation;
87 (11) prepare and distribute the daily order of business each day;
88 (12) advise the speaker on parliamentary procedure, constitutional requirements, and
89 Joint and House Rules;
90 (13) assist with amendments to legislation;
91 (14) record votes and, if requested, present the results to the speaker;
92 (15) transmit all enrolled House bills and House concurrent resolutions to the
93 governor;
94 (16) approve material for placement on the representatives' desks if a representative has
95 authorized that distribution;
96 (17) maintain all calendars for the House floor; and
97 (18) record the votes of any member who is present in the House chamber who
98 requests assistance of the chief clerk.
99 Section 3. HR2-2-105 is amended to read:
100 HR2-2-105. Movement within the House chamber.
101 [
102
103 [
104 representative and the speaker or presiding officer.
105 Section 4. HR2-4-101 is amended to read:
106 HR2-4-101. Definitions.
107 As used in this chapter:
108 (1) "Former legislator" means a person who is not a current member of the Legislature,
109 but who served in the Utah House or Utah Senate at one time.
110 (2) "Governor's staff" means:
111 (a) a person employed directly by the Office of the Governor or the Office of the
112 Lieutenant Governor; and
113 (b) the director of the Office of Planning and Budget.
114 (3) (a) "Guest" means an individual who[
115 under a provision of this chapter[
116 or a special guest as described under HR2-4-101.2(5).
117 (b) [
118 House or Senate staff, a member of professional legislative staff, a House intern, a lobbyist, the
119 governor, the lieutenant governor, the state attorney general, the state treasurer, or the state
120 auditor.
121 (4) "House conference rooms" means one of the conference rooms adjacent to the
122 House lounge, speaker's office, or the majority caucus room.
123 (5) "House halls" means the passageways that allow access to:
124 (a) the House chamber;
125 (b) the House lounge;
126 (c) the House offices; or
127 (d) any other nonpublic areas adjoining the House chamber.
128 (6) "House intern" means an individual who is:
129 (a) an official participant in the student intern program sponsored by the Utah
130 Legislature and administered by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel; and
131 (b) is assigned to a representative.
132 (7) "House offices" means:
133 (a) Representatives' offices adjacent to the House chamber;
134 (b) Representatives' offices on the third and fourth floors of the capitol building;
135 (c) Representatives' offices in the House building; and
136 (d) kitchens, restrooms, elevators, and any auxiliary rooms in the nonpublic areas
137 connected with the offices listed above.
138 (8) "House or Senate staff" means an individual who is employed directly by the House
139 or Senate.
140 [
141 House halls, and House conference rooms.
142 (b) "House space" does not mean the common public space outside the House
143 chamber.
144 [
145 grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew of a
146 member of the House, provided that the individual is not a lobbyist.
147 [
148
149 (11) "Lobbying" means communicating with a legislator for the purpose of influencing
150 the passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative action.
151 [
152 a lobbyist by Utah Code Section 36-11-103[
153 [
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155 [
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157 [
158 Legislature's profession-based staff offices, namely the Office of Legislative Research and
159 General Counsel, the Office of the Legislative [
160 Legislative Auditor General, or the Office of Legislative Printing.
161 Section 5. HR2-4-101.2 is amended to read:
162 HR2-4-101.2. Admittance to House floor -- Prohibition against lobbying -- Rules
163 for lobbyists on House floor.
164 (1) While the House is convened in annual general session or special session, the
165 following individuals are permitted on the House floor:
166 (a) a legislator;
167 [
168 (b) a member of House or Senate staff;
169 (c) a member of professional legislative staff;
170 (d) a House intern;
171 (e) a former legislator who is not a lobbyist; and
172 (f) the governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, state treasurer, and state
173 auditor.
174 (2) (a) While the House is convened in annual general session or special session, a
175 representative may invite one of the following individuals as a guest to accompany the
176 representative on the House floor:
177 (i) a member of the representative's immediate family;
178 (ii) an administrative assistant other than a House intern; or
179 (iii) a constituent who resides in the member's district.
180 (b) A representative may have no more than one guest on the House floor at any one
181 time.
182 (c) A representative who invites a guest onto the House floor shall:
183 (i) if the guest is not seated next to the representative as permitted under HR2-4-102,
184 ensure that the guest sits on a bench on the House floor, provided that seating is available; and
185 (ii) ensure that the guest stays only for a short visit not to exceed one hour.
186 (3) A lobbyist, a guest, or an individual described in Subsection (1)(e), Subsection
187 (1)(f), or Subsection (2) is prohibited from lobbying on the House floor.
188 [
189 on the [
190 (b) A representative sponsoring a piece of legislation being debated by the House may
191 invite one lobbyist with expertise on the legislation being considered to be present on the
192 House floor during the presentation and debate on the legislation, if:
193 (i) the representative informs the sergeant-at-arms that the lobbyist is present on the
194 House floor;
195 (ii) the representative ensures that the lobbyist is seated on a bench on the House floor
196 during the presentation and debate on the legislation;
197 (iii) the representative ensures that the lobbyist does not [
198 the House floor; and
199 (iv) the lobbyist leaves the House floor when the House moves to another item of
200 business.
201 (c) If the representative sponsoring the legislation needs the assistance of the lobbyist
202 during the course of debate on the legislation, the representative may request permission of the
203 speaker to have the lobbyist approach the representative sponsoring the legislation to provide
204 the needed information to the representative.
205 [
206 present in the House chamber or on the House floor.
207 [
208 sergeant-at-arms for the guests to be seated in the House gallery.
209 Section 6. HR2-4-101.3 is amended to read:
210 HR2-4-101.3. Admittance to the House lounge.
211 (1) While the House is convened in annual general session or special session only the
212 following individuals are permitted in the House lounge:
213 (a) a legislator;
214 [
215 (b) a member of House or Senate staff;
216 (c) a member of professional legislative staff;
217 (d) a member of the representative's immediate family;
218 (e) a House intern;
219 (f) a former legislator who is not a lobbyist;
220 (g) the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state attorney general, the state treasurer,
221 and the state auditor;
222 (h) the governor's staff, or a staff member for the attorney general, the state treasurer,
223 or the state auditor; and
224 (i) a lobbyist or guest as provided in Subsection (2).
225 (2) (a) A representative may invite a small number of lobbyists or guests to meet with
226 the representative in the House lounge for the purpose of educating the lobbyists or guests
227 about the legislative process or to discuss specific legislative issues.
228 (b) The representative shall ensure that the lobbyists and guests leave the House space
229 when the meeting is over.
230 Section 7. HR2-4-101.4 is amended to read:
231 HR2-4-101.4. Admittance to the House offices, conference rooms, and halls.
232 (1) While the House is convened in annual general session or special session only the
233 following individuals are permitted in the House offices:
234 (a) a legislator;
235 [
236 (b) a member of House or Senate staff;
237 (c) a member of professional legislative staff;
238 (d) a House intern;
239 (e) a member of the representative's immediate family;
240 (f) a former legislator who is not a lobbyist; and
241 (g) a lobbyist or guest, as provided in Subsection (3).
242 (2) An administrative assistant who is not a House intern is permitted in:
243 (a) the office of the representative who is employing the administrative assistant;
244 (b) the common areas of the House offices;
245 (c) a conference room in the House space, when meeting to discuss legislative business
246 with a representative; and
247 (d) the office of another representative with the consent of that representative.
248 (3) (a) A representative may invite a small number of lobbyists or guests to meet with
249 the representative in the representative's House office or a House conference room to discuss
250 specific legislative issues.
251 (b) The representative shall ensure that the lobbyists and guests leave the House space
252 when the meeting is over.
253 (4) (a) While the House is convened as a body on the House floor, and except as
254 provided in Subsection (4)(b), only the following individuals are allowed in the House halls:
255 (i) a legislator;
256 [
257 (ii) a member of House or Senate staff;
258 (iii) a member of professional legislative staff;
259 (iv) a House intern;
260 (v) an administrative assistant who is not a House intern;
261 (vi) a former legislator who is not a lobbyist; and
262 (vii) the governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, state treasurer, and state
263 auditor.
264 (b) Immediate family of a representative, a lobbyist, a guest, an administrative assistant
265 who is not a House intern, or any other authorized individual who is in transit to the House
266 chamber, House lounge, or House offices may pass through the House halls when traveling to
267 and from an authorized destination.
268 (5) An administrative assistant to a representative who is a not a House intern is not
269 permitted to use or be issued an access badge that grants access to the House floor, House
270 lounge, House offices, House conference rooms, or House hallways.
271 Section 8. HR2-4-102 is amended to read:
272 HR2-4-102. Representatives' chairs and seating on the House floor.
273 (1) When the House is convened in session, no one other than the speaker or a
274 representative may occupy the chair or use the desk of the speaker or any representative.
275 (2) A representative may invite one individual to sit next to the representative on the
276 House floor, if the representative complies with the requirements of HR2-4-101.2 and the
277 invited individual is:
278 (a) another legislator;
279 [
280 (b) a member of House or Senate staff;
281 (c) a member of professional legislative staff;
282 (d) a House intern;
283 (e) a member of the representative's immediate family;
284 (f) a constituent who resides in the representative's district; or
285 (g) a special guest who is authorized to access the House floor under
286 HR2-4-101.2[
287 Section 9. HR3-1-102 is amended to read:
288 HR3-1-102. House Rules Committee -- Assignment duties.
289 (1) The presiding officer shall submit all legislation introduced in the House of
290 Representatives to the House Rules Committee.
291 (2) For all legislation not specified in HR3-1-103 that is referred to the House Rules
292 Committee, the committee shall:
293 (a) examine the legislation for proper form, including fiscal note and interim
294 committee note, if any; and
295 (b) either:
296 (i) refer legislation to the House with a recommendation:
297 (A) that the legislation be referred to a standing committee for consideration; or
298 (B) that the legislation be read the second time and placed on the third reading
299 calendar[
300 (I) a House standing committee, except for those bills exempted from standing
301 committee review requirements under HR3-2-401; or
302 (II) the House Rules Committee meeting as a standing committee as permitted under
303 HR3-1-101; or
304 (ii) hold the legislation.
305 (c) If the chair of the House Rules Committee receives a summary report from the
306 Occupational and Professional Licensure Review Committee related to newly regulating an
307 occupation or profession within the two calendar years immediately preceding the session in
308 which a piece of legislation is introduced related to the regulation by the Division of
309 Occupational and Professional Licensing of that occupation or profession:
310 (i) the chair of the House Rules Committee shall ensure that the House Rules
311 Committee is informed of the summary report before the House Rules Committee takes action
312 on the legislation; and
313 (ii) if the House Rules Committee refers the legislation to the House as provided for in
314 Subsection (2)(b)(i):
315 (A) the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall make the summary
316 report reasonably available to the public and to legislators; and
317 (B) if the legislation is referred to a standing committee, the House Rules Committee
318 shall forward the summary report to the standing committee.
319 (3) In carrying out its functions and responsibilities under this rule, the House Rules
320 Committee may not:
321 (a) table legislation without the written consent of the sponsor;
322 (b) report out any legislation that has been tabled by a standing committee;
323 (c) amend legislation without the written consent of the sponsor; or
324 (d) substitute legislation without the written consent of the sponsor.
325 (4) The House Rules Committee may recommend a time certain for floor consideration
326 of any legislation when it is reported out of the House Rules Committee, or at any other time.
327 (5) When the committee is carrying out its functions and responsibilities under this
328 rule, the committee shall:
329 (a) during a legislative session, give notice of its meetings by either:
330 (i) providing oral notice from the House floor of the time and place of its next meeting;
331 or
332 (ii) when oral notice is impractical, post written notice of its next meeting;
333 (b) when the Legislature is not in session, post a notice of meeting at least 24 hours
334 before the meeting convenes;
335 (c) have as its agenda all legislation in its possession for assignment to committee or to
336 the House calendars; and
337 (d) prepare minutes that include a record, by individual representative, of votes taken.
338 (6) Anyone may attend a meeting of the rules committee, but comments and discussion
339 are limited to members of the committee and the committee's staff.
340 Section 10. HR3-2-406 is amended to read:
341 HR3-2-406. Amending legislation -- Verbal Amendments -- Amendments must be
342 germane.
343 (1) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2), and if recognized by the chair during the
344 committee action phase, a committee member may make a motion to amend the legislation that
345 is under consideration.
346 (b) (i) A committee member may propose a verbal amendment to the legislation under
347 consideration if the amendment contains [
348 (ii) Before proposing a motion to amend, a committee member shall ensure that a
349 proposed amendment that contains more than [
350 committee staff and to all committee members present.
351 (iii) Each word inserted shall count as one of the 15 words permitted under a verbal
352 amendment, except that:
353 (A) numbering shall not be counted as a word;
354 (B) instructions to delete a word or words shall not count as a word; and
355 (C) a word or an exact phrase that is inserted in multiple locations shall only be
356 counted for the first insertion.
357 (2) (a) A committee member may only make a motion to amend that is germane to the
358 subject of the legislation under consideration.
359 (b) A committee member who believes that an amendment is not germane to the
360 subject of the legislation may make a point of order or appeal as described in HR3-2-506.
361 Section 11. HR4-3-301 is amended to read:
362 HR4-3-301. Amendments in order on third reading -- 15 word rule -- Passage of
363 amendments by a majority vote.
364 (1) A motion to amend a piece of legislation is in order on third reading.
365 (2) (a) A representative may verbally propose an amendment to legislation if the
366 amendment contains 15 words or less.
367 (b) A representative shall ensure that a proposed amendment containing more than 15
368 words is printed on pink paper and available to the chief clerk and each representative present
369 before the motion to amend is made.
370 (c) Each word inserted shall count as one of the 15 words permitted under a verbal
371 amendment, except that:
372 (i) numbering shall not be counted as a word;
373 (ii) instructions to delete a word or words shall not count as a word; and
374 (iii) a word or an exact phrase that is inserted in multiple locations shall only be
375 counted for the first insertion.
376 (3) A constitutional amendment, resolution, or bill requiring a constitutional two-thirds
377 vote for final passage, may be amended by a majority vote.
378 (4) When legislation is amended by the House, the chief clerk shall:
379 (a) for each page of the legislation modified by a House amendment, cause a new page
380 to be printed that clearly identifies each House amendment to that page; and
381 (b) print that new page on lilac-colored paper.
382 Section 12. HR4-4-202 is amended to read:
383 HR4-4-202. Disposition of legislation voted on third reading.
384 (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), the chief clerk or the chief clerk's designee
385 shall:
386 (a) for a piece of House legislation passed by the House on third reading but not yet
387 acted upon by the Senate, transmit the House legislation to the Senate for its further action;
388 (b) for a piece of House legislation that fails to pass the House on third reading, file the
389 legislation;
390 (c) for a piece of House legislation that has passed both houses, follow the procedures
391 and requirements of JR4-6-101(1)(b);
392 (d) for a piece of Senate legislation passed by the House on third reading and not
393 amended or substituted in the House, transmit the Senate legislation to the presiding officer of
394 the House for the presiding officer's signature and return the legislation to the Senate for the
395 signature of the president of the Senate;
396 (e) for a piece of Senate legislation passed by the House on third reading that was
397 amended or substituted in the House, transmit the legislation to the Senate with the
398 amendments or substitute for further action by the Senate; and
399 (f) for a piece of Senate legislation that fails to pass the House on third reading,
400 transmit the legislation to the Senate with notice of the House's action.
401 (2) (a) The chief clerk shall ensure that the House retains possession of a piece of
402 legislation for no more than one legislative day when:
403 (i) a representative gives notice of intention to move for reconsideration to the chief
404 clerk;
405 (ii) a representative requests that the chief clerk hold the legislation; or
406 (iii) the House passes a motion to retain possession of the legislation.
407 (b) When a representative moves for reconsideration or requests a hold under
408 Subsection (2)(a)(i) or (2)(a)(ii), the chief clerk shall give notice of the action to the speaker
409 and to the sponsor of the legislation.
410 (c) Notwithstanding the requirements of Subsection (2)(a), a piece of legislation may
411 be released earlier than 24 hours if the [
412 is released.
413 Section 13. HR2-4-103 is amended to read:
414 HR2-4-103. Prohibitions on lobbying and fundraising.
415 (1) As used in this section[
416 [
417 [
418 collection of funds by means of a monetary contribution.
419 [
420 (2) Lobbying is [
421 provided under HR2-4-101.2.
422 (3) (a) Distribution of literature or any other information that announces or promotes
423 fundraising is [
424 (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (3)(a), a verbal announcement that involves or relates
425 to fundraising is permitted on the House floor if the announcement is:
426 (i) publicly made to all members on the House floor; and
427 (ii) an official announcement from the third house or authorized by the speaker of the
428 House.
429 Section 14. HR4-4-301 is amended to read:
430 HR4-4-301. Consent calendar.
431 (1) If a standing committee report recommends that a piece of legislation be placed on
432 the consent calendar and the standing committee report is adopted by the House, the chief clerk
433 or the chief clerk's designee shall place the legislation on the consent calendar.
434 [
435
436 [
437 [
438
439 [
440 or more representatives, the chief clerk shall:
441 [
442 [
443 calendar; and
444 [
445 (3) [
446 legislation is removed from the consent calendar, the presiding officer shall inform the House
447 of its removal.
448 (4) (a) If, after two calendar days, no more than five members have registered written
449 objections to the legislation with the chief clerk:
450 (i) the legislation shall be read the third time;
451 (ii) the presiding officer shall grant the sponsor of the legislation two minutes to
452 introduce and explain the legislation; and
453 (iii) the presiding officer shall pose the question and take the final vote on the
454 legislation.
455 (b) The presiding officer may not allow debate on legislation on the consent calendar.
456 (5) (a) If the representative sponsoring the legislation on the consent calendar is absent
457 from the floor when the legislation is ready to be read for the third time and considered for
458 passage, a representative may make a motion to circle the legislation.
459 (b) If the motion to circle is successful and the representative sponsoring the legislation
460 has not moved to uncircle the legislation before floor time is recessed or adjourned, the bill
461 shall be placed on the bottom of the third reading calendar.
462 Section 15. HR4-6-105.5 is enacted to read:
463 HR4-6-105.5. Reference to committee action or debate prohibited.
464 During debate on the House floor, a representative may not allude to or discuss what
465 was done or said in committee in relation to the legislation under debate, except that a
466 representative may allude to or discuss information contained on a House or Senate committee
467 report.
468 Section 16. HR4-7-103 is amended to read:
469 HR4-7-103. Voting -- Representatives required to vote -- Representatives must be
470 present to vote.
471 (1) (a) A representative present within the House chamber when a vote is being taken
472 shall vote.
473 (b) (i) The chief clerk may record the vote of any representative who is present in the
474 House Chamber who requests assistance of the chief clerk.
475 (ii) The representative shall ensure that the electronic vote is recorded accurately.
476 (c) Each representative shall vote within the time limit fixed by the presiding officer.
477 (d) Immediately before an electronic vote or a roll call vote, a representative may, upon
478 recognition by the presiding officer, make a brief statement explaining any conflict of interest.
479 (2) (a) A representative may not vote on a piece of legislation or motion unless the
480 representative is present in the House chamber.
481 (b) No representative, or any other person, may vote on behalf of another
482 representative. A representative is the only person authorized to use that representative's
483 assigned voting device.
484 [
485 chamber after the question is posed, and before the presiding officer closes the vote or
486 announces the result, may have the question stated and vote.
487 Section 17. HR5-4-101 is amended to read:
488 HR5-4-101. Approved activities.
489 (1) This rule governs the [
490 as authorized by Utah Code Title 36, Chapter 11, Lobbyist Disclosure and Regulation Act[
491
492
493
494 (2) [
495 [
496 [
497 [
498
499 [
500 (a) to which a representative is invited; and
501 (b) at which the representative's attendance is approved by the speaker of the House.
502 [
503 [
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505 [
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507 [
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509 [
510 [
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516 [
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