SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 12

(By Senators Walters, Barnes, Blair, Boley,

 Carmichael, Cole, M. Hall, Jenkins,

 Nohe and Sypolt)

Amending Senate Rule No. 28, relating to committee proceedings and setting of committee agendas.

    Resolved by the Senate:

    That Senate Rule No. 28 be amended to read as follows:

Committees

    28. All standing committees shall be appointed by the President. The President shall designate the chairperson of each standing committee and may also designate a vice chairperson of any standing committee when the President may deem it advisable.

    The chairperson of each standing committee of the Senate shall cause a record to be kept of every meeting of such committee, wherein shall be entered:

    (a) The time and place of each committee meeting and every hearing had before the committee.

    (b) The attendance of members of the committee at each meeting thereof.

    (c) The name of any person appearing before the committee and the interest represented by him or her.

    (d) The vote of each member of the committee when a yea and nay vote is taken.

    (e) The chairperson of each standing committee of the Senate shall cause to be published a committee agenda, which shall include and specifically state which bills, resolutions, concurrent resolutions or joint resolutions which will be brought before the respective committee during its meeting. The committee agenda shall be published no later than twenty-four hours prior to the commencement of the committee meeting at which a given bill, resolution, concurrent resolution or joint resolution will be considered. The chairperson may remove any item from consideration by the committee following publication of the committee agenda, but no bill, resolution, concurrent resolution or joint resolution shall be considered by a standing committee of the Senate which has not appeared on a published committee agenda, by reference to its number, at least twenty-four hours prior to the commencement of the meeting at which said bill, resolution, concurrent resolution or joint resolution shall have appeared by its number. Any agenda published under this rule shall be publicly posted and visible near the entrance to the clerk's office, and copies shall be made available to any person requesting such. The foregoing committee agenda requirements do not apply to the final seventy-two hours of the regular session.

    Any member of such standing committee may cause a notation to be made upon the record aforesaid of the reason for his or her absence at any former meeting of the committee; and, in the absence of any such explanatory note, the presumption shall be that his or her absence was without reasonable cause.

    The chairperson of each standing committee shall, upon request, make the record of any yea and nay vote taken, in open or executive session, available for public inspection no later than the next legislative day after the close of the standing committee meeting at which such yea and nay vote was taken.

    The several standing committees shall have leave to report by bill, resolution or otherwise, any proposed legislation originating therein, as well as to report back a committee substitute for a Senate bill or resolution, or otherwise. A committee substitute, with the consent of the original sponsor, shall carry the name of the original sponsor. Reports of committees shall be advisory only. All committees shall submit their reports to the Senate in writing and the same shall be printed in the Journal.

    On the adjournment of each session of the Legislature, the chairperson of the respective committees shall deliver to the Clerk of the Senate the record book herein provided for, and it shall be the duty of such Clerk to preserve the same among the archives of his or her office.