Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule XVII
Encyclopedia
Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XVII according to Standing Rules of the Senate, established by the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
, governs motions
to discharge committees
, reports to committees, and committee hearings within the United States Senate
.
. The exception being to add instructions.
or his designee and the minority leader or his designee. Notice of motions and proposed legislation to which it relates must be printed in the Congressional Record
. The motion shall be privileged and will not be in order until printed in the Congressional Record. Notice shall be printed and available to Senators for at least twenty-four hours. No amendment to any such motion will be in order except amendments to any instructions. Debate and amendments on any such motion as well as all amendments, debatable motions, and appeals in connection to any motion, shall be limited to not more than two hours. Time to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.
(b) Proposed legislation which is referred to two or more committees jointly may be reported only by such committees jointly and only one report may accompany any proposed legislation so jointly reported.
(c) A motion to refer any proposed legislation to two or more committees sequentially shall specify the order of referral.
(d) Any motion under this paragraph may specify the portion or portions of proposed legislation to be considered by the committees, or any of them, to which such proposed legislation is referred, and such committees or committee shall be limited, in the consideration of such proposed legislation, to the portion or portions so specified.
(e) Any motion under this subparagraph may contain instructions with respect to the time allowed for consideration by the committees, or any of them, to which proposed legislation is referred and the discharge of such committees, or any of them, from further consideration of such proposed legislation.
United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...
, governs motions
Motion (democracy)
A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...
to discharge committees
Discharge a committee
The motion to discharge a committee is used to take a matter out of a committee's hands before the committee has made a final report on it.-Explanation and Use:-Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised :...
, reports to committees, and committee hearings within the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Committee jurisdiction
Paragraph 1 states that in any case where controversy arises with respect to jurisdiction of any committee and any proposed legislation, jurisdiction will be decided by the presiding officer. This is without debate and in favor of the committee which has jurisdiction over the subject matter which predominates in such proposed legislation. This is subject to an appeal. The exception to this paragraph is outlined in paragraph 3.Motion for referral
Paragraph 2 states that a motion which simply is to refer will not be open to amendmentAmend (motion)
-Explanation and Use:-Main Motions:Any main motion and any motion to amend may be amended. However, a motion to amend a motion to amend may not be amended, due to the overly complex parliamentary situation that would frequently result.-Secondary Motions:...
. The exception being to add instructions.
Referral of proposed legislation
Paragraph 3 (a) states that proposed legislation may be referred to two or more committees jointly or sequentially by a motion by both the Senate majority leaderParty leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
or his designee and the minority leader or his designee. Notice of motions and proposed legislation to which it relates must be printed in the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
. The motion shall be privileged and will not be in order until printed in the Congressional Record. Notice shall be printed and available to Senators for at least twenty-four hours. No amendment to any such motion will be in order except amendments to any instructions. Debate and amendments on any such motion as well as all amendments, debatable motions, and appeals in connection to any motion, shall be limited to not more than two hours. Time to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.
(b) Proposed legislation which is referred to two or more committees jointly may be reported only by such committees jointly and only one report may accompany any proposed legislation so jointly reported.
(c) A motion to refer any proposed legislation to two or more committees sequentially shall specify the order of referral.
(d) Any motion under this paragraph may specify the portion or portions of proposed legislation to be considered by the committees, or any of them, to which such proposed legislation is referred, and such committees or committee shall be limited, in the consideration of such proposed legislation, to the portion or portions so specified.
(e) Any motion under this subparagraph may contain instructions with respect to the time allowed for consideration by the committees, or any of them, to which proposed legislation is referred and the discharge of such committees, or any of them, from further consideration of such proposed legislation.