PRIVILEGED MOTIONS.

89. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, ex- Motion to adjourn alcept when the House is voting; but this rule shall not au- ways in orthorize any member to move an adjournment while anoth- der. er member has the floor.

motions.

90. Any motion or resolution relating to the organi- Privileged zation of the Assembly, or to any of its officers, members, or committees, shall be privileged, and need not lie over for consideration under rule 34.

SUSPENDING AND CHANGING RULES, ETC.

tion of

91. No standing rule or order of the Assembly shall be Suspensi'n rescinded or changed, without one day's notice being and alteragiven of the motion therefor, which motion shall embrace Rules. the proposed amendment. Nor shall any rule be suspended, except by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members present. Nor shall the order of business as established by the rules of the Assembly, be postponed or changed, except by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members present.

Manual the standard.

92. The rules of Parliamentary practice, comprised in Jefferson's Jefferson's Manual, shall govern the Assembly in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with these rules, and the orders of the Assembly, and the joint rules and orders of the Senate and Assembly.

JOINT RULES AND ORDERS.

OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY.

Messages.

By whom sent.

Rejected bills and

1. When a message shall be sent from the Senate to the Assembly, it shall be announced at the door of the Assembly by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and shall be respectfully communicated to the Chair by the person by whom it may be sent.

2. The same ceremony shall be observed when a message shall be sent from the Assembly to the Senate.

3. Messages shall be sent by the Chief Clerk or his as sistant in each house.

4. When a bill or resolution which has passed in one House, shall be rejected in the other, notice thereof shall resolutions be given to the House in which the same originated.

5, When a bill or resolution, which has been passed in one House, is rejected in the other, it shall not be again brought in during the same session without a notice of five days, and leave of two-thirds of the House in which it shall be renewed.

Papers to 6. Each House shall transmit to the other all papers on accompany which any bill or resolution shall be founded.

bills.

Order re

7. When a bill, resolution or memorial, shall have passed either House, and requires the concurrence of the other, questing it shall be transmitted to said House without entering an concurren'e order upon the journal of the House in which it passed, requesting the concurrence of the other House.

OF JOINT COMMITTEES.

Joint Com- 8. The Joint Committees required by Statute are as follows:

mittees.

Visiting
Committe's

Reports.

1. On Claims.*-Three from Senate; five from Assembly.
2. On Public Printing.3-Two from Senate; three from Assembly.
3. On Local Legislation.+-Two from Senate; three from Assembly.
9. The Committees of the two Houses on State Prison,
and on Charitable and Benevolent Institutions, shall act
jointly in visiting the State institutions, and in reporting
upon the condition of such institutions.

Printing of 10. Whenever any report of a Joint Committee, or other document, shall be presented to both Houses of the Legislature, the first House acting on the same, if it shall be thought necessary to have it printed, shall order a sufficient number of copies for both branches, and shall immediately inform the other House of its action upon the subject.

*See Secs. 18 to 22 inclusive, of Chap. 9, Revised Statutes, page 122. ?See Secs. 22 and 23, of Chap. 114, Laws of 1858, (R.S., page 97.) See Chap. 370, General Laws of 1860, page 381.

COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE.

ences.

11. In all cases of disagreement between the Senate and Committe's Assembly, if either House shall request a conference, and of Conferappoint a committee for that purpose, the other House shall appoint a similar committee. Such commiitees shall at a convenient hour, to be agreed upon by their chairman, meet in the conference chamber, and state to each other verbally, or in writing, as either shall choose, the reasons of their respective Houses, for or against the disagreement, and confer freely thereon; and they shall be authorized to report for their respective Houses such modifications or amendments as they may think advisable.

12. After each House shall have adhered to their dis- Adherence agreement, a bill or resolution shall be lost.

ACTS OF A GENERAL NATURE.

to disagreement fatal.

13. The title of every bill of a general nature shall Titles of designate the object, purpose or subject of the bill, and bills. when such bill proposes to amend any chapter or act, the

title shall read thus:

"A bill relating to

of chapter, of the

and amendatory of section

filling the blanks with the proper subject, section and chapter of the Revised Statutes or General Laws, designating the same. And every bill shall recite at length every section which it proposes to amend as such section will read if amended as proposed: Provided, Such recitation shall not be required when the proposed amendment shall only add to such section, without changing the phraseology of the original.

14. The title of all bills for repealing any act, chapter, or section, and having no other object, shall be as follows: "A bill to repeal section - of chapter - of the

relating to -," filling the blanks with the proper section and chapter of the Revised Statutes or General Laws, designating the same and also the subject, object or purpose of the section or chapter repealed. And in the body of every such bill, the full title of the act repealed shall be recited at length.

Each House

15. It shall be in the power of each House to amend any amendment made by the other, to any bill, memorial may amend. or resolution.

OF BILLS PASSED.

16. After a bill has passed both Houses, it shall be duly Enrollment enrolled by or under the direction of the Chief Clerk of of bills. the House in which the same originated, before it shall be presented to the Governor for his approval.

17. When a bill is duly enrolled, it shall be examined Examint'n by the committees of the two Houses on Enrolled Bills, act- of enrolled ing jointly, who shall carefully compare the enrolled bill bills. with the engrossed bill as passed in the two Houses. Said committee shall correct any errors that may be discovered

Siguing of bills.

Presentat'n

the Gover

nor.

in the enrolled bill, and make their report forthwith to the House in which the bill originated.

18. After examination and report, each bill shall be signed in the respective Houses, first by the Speaker of the Assembly, then by the President of the Senate.

19. After a bill shall have been thus signed in each of bills to House, it shall be presented by the Committees on Enrolled Bills to the Governor for his approval, it being first endorsed on the back of the roll, certifying in which House the same originated, which certificate shall be signed by the Chief Clerk of such House. Said committees shall jointly report the day of presentation to the Governor, which report shall be entered on the journal of each House.

Resoluti'ns

20. All orders, resolutions and votes which are to be to take the presented to the Governor for his approval, shall, also, in same course the same manner, be previously enrolled, examined and signed, and then be presented in the same manner, and by the same committee, as is provided in case of bills.

as bills.

Accounts to

be verified.

OF CLAIMS, ETC.

21. No account presented shall be acted on, unless verified by affidavit of the person in whose favor the same may be.

All papers 22. All petitions, claims, bills, accounts or demands claiming money to be asking for an appropriation of money, shall be preserved preserved. by the committee to whom the same may be referred; and such committee shall endorse on every such petition, claim, bill, account or demand, whether they report in favor of allowing or disallowing the same; and if in favor of allowing a part thereof, only, then the sum so reported. After such committee shall have reported upon the same, such petition, claim, bill, account or demand, and every of them, shall be delivered to the Chief Clerk of the House in which the same was first presented, to be filed by such Clerk, and delivered, at the close of the session, to the Sec'y of State. 23. Resolutions involving the appropriation of money, appropria'g for printing the Governor's Message, or other public documents, shall receive the joint concurrence of the two Houses.

Resoluti'ns

money.

Joint Convention.

Adj'urnm't

JOINT CONVENTION, ETC.

24. Whenever there shall be a joint convention of the two Houses, the proceedings shall be entered at length on the journal of each House. The Lieutenant Governor or President of the Senate shall preside over such joint convention, and the Chief Clerk of the Senate shall act as Clerk thereof, assisted by the Chief Clerk of the Assembly: Provided, That the Lieutenant Governor shall not act in said convention except as presiding officer, and in no case shall have the right to give the casting vote.

25. Neither House shall adjourn during any session thereof, without the consent of the other, for a longer period than three days.

MANUAL OF

CUSTOMS, PRECEDENTS AND FORMS.

ORGANIZATION.

The Legislature convenes at 12 o'clock, M., on the second Wednesday in January in each year.

Custom, so prevalent and so ancient as to have the force of law, has made it the duty of the Chief Clerk of the previous Assembly to call to order, and to conduct the proceedings generally, until a Speaker is chosen.

The Secretary of State furnishes to the Clerk a certified statement of the names of the members elect, which is read. The members then advance to the Clerk's desk, generally the delegation of each county by itself, and subscribe the oath of office.

It often happens, that by neglect of the proper county officer, to return the proceedings of the county canvassers, some members find their election not to be on record in the Secretary's office. In such case, the certificate held by the member himself, should be produced to the Clerk. This answers every purpose, and should always be secured by members elect, from the Clerk of their county.

The oath of office is then administered to the members elect. It may be administered by the Speaker, the President of the Senate, the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, or any of the Judges of the Supreme Court. It has been administered in this State, usually, by one of the Judges. Members coming in after the first day of the session are sworn in by the Speaker.

After all are sworn, the roll is called, when, if a quorum is found present, the Clerk declares the House to be qualified and competent to proceed to business.

If the parties in the Assembly have determined their choice for officers, the election proceeds forthwith; if not, an adjournment is had until the next day.

The election for Speaker, Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms, is required to be viva voce, and these are the only offices which the Assembly can fill.

The roll is called, and each member announces audibly the name of the candidate of his choice.

The Clerk announces the result, and names a committee to conduct the Speaker elect to the chair; the other elections proceed in the same manner, except that when the result is announced by the Speaker, the officer elect advances to the Clerk's desk and is sworn in by the Speaker.