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JOINT RULES
OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND SENATE
Transmission of Messages.
Rule 1. All
messages necessary for
conducting legislative
business between the two
houses shall be
communicated in writing
and electronically by
the Secretary of the
Senate and the Clerk of
the House of
Representatives.
Amendments.
Rule 2. It
shall be in the power of
either house to amend an
amendment made by the
other to any bill or
resolution.
Conference Committees.
Rule 3. (a)
The house not concurring
in the amendments of the
other house shall
appoint conferees and
notify the amending
house of its action. The
amending house shall
request return of the
bill or resolution or
appoint conferees. The
conference committee
shall consist of three
members from each house,
to be appointed as each
house may determine. The
first named member of
the house in which the
bill or resolution
originated shall be
chairperson of the
conference committee.
Upon appointment of
conferees by both
houses, the bill or
resolution shall be
referred to the
conference committee.
When one house amends or
substitutes a bill that
has been returned for
concurrence from the
other house, but then
non-concurs in that bill
as amended or
substituted, those
amendments or that
substitute shall not be
referred to the
conference committee.
The conference
committee shall serve
until the conference
report has been adopted
by both houses or
rejected by a house.
(b) The
conference committee
shall consist of
committees of the two
houses with those two
committees voting
separately while in
conference. The
adoption of a conference
report shall require
concurring majorities of
the members of each
house. The conference
committees of the two
houses shall vote
separately while in
conference. The
majority of each
committee shall
constitute a quorum of
each committee and shall
determine the position
to be taken toward the
propositions of the
conference committee. If
the conferees agree, a
report shall be made
which shall be signed by
at least a majority of
the conferees of each
house who were present
and voted in the
conference committee
meeting to adopt the
report. The bill or
resolution, including
the original signed
conference report and
three copies, shall be
filed in the house of
origin where the
question shall be on the
adoption of the
conference report. If
the conference report is
adopted in the house of
origin, the bill or
resolution, including
the original signed
conference report, and
two copies of the
conference report shall
be transmitted to the
other house where the
question shall be on the
adoption of the
conference report. If
the conference report is
adopted in the other
house, the bill or
resolution and the
original signed copy of
the conference report
shall be returned to the
house of origin and
referred for enrollment
printing and
presentation to the
Governor, filing with
the Secretary of State,
or filing for record
with the Secretary of
the Senate or Clerk of
the House of
Representatives.
Conference Committee
Clerk.
Rule 4. The
conference committee
clerk shall be from the
house of origin, who
shall notify the
Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives
of all scheduled
meetings for public
posting and shall
deliver written notice
to each member of the
conference committee and
the majority and
minority leaders of each
house indicating the
time and place of all
scheduled meetings.
Conference committees on
appropriation bills may
use fiscal agency
personnel from the same
house as the Chairperson
for clerks.
Conference Report:
Rejection.
Rule 5. If
the conference report is
rejected by the house of
origin, it shall appoint
second conferees and
notify the other house
of its action. The
procedure shall then be
the same as for an
original conference.
If the
conference report is
rejected by the other
house, it shall appoint
second conferees, notify
the house of origin of
its action, and transmit
the bill or resolution
to the house of origin.
Upon receipt of the bill
or resolution, the house
of origin shall appoint
second conferees and
refer the bill or
resolution to the second
conference committee.
The procedure shall then
be the same as for an
original conference.
Disagreement
of Conferees.
Rule 6. If
the conferees are unable
to agree, a report of
that fact shall be made
to both houses. The
report, that the
conferees were unable to
agree, shall be
signed by at least a
majority of the
conferees of each house
who were present and
voted in the conference
committee meeting to
adopt the report. The
bill or resolution,
including the original
signed conference report
that the conferees were
unable to agree, and
three copies shall be
filed in the house of
origin. Both houses
shall appoint second
conferees, and the house
of origin shall refer
the bill or resolution
to the second conference
committee. The procedure
shall then be the same
as for an original
conference.
Second Conference:
Failure.
Rule 7. When
a second conference
committee fails to reach
agreement, or when a
second conference report
is rejected by either
house, no further
conference is in order.
Power of Conferees.
Rule 8. The
conference committee
shall not consider any
matters other than the
matters of difference
between the two houses.
For all
bills making
appropriations, adoption
of a substitute by
either house shall not
open identical
provisions contained in
the other house-passed
version of the bill as a
matter of difference;
nor shall the adoption
of a substitute by
either house open
provisions not contained
in either house version
of the bill as a matter
of difference.
When the
conferees arrive at an
agreement on the matters
of difference that
affects other parts of
the bill or resolution,
the conferees may
recommend amendments to
conform
with
the agreement. In
addition, the conferees
may also recommend
technical amendments to
the other parts of the
bill or resolution, such
as, necessary date
revisions, adjusting
totals,
cross-references,
misspelling and
punctuation corrections,
conflict amendments for
bills enacted into law,
additional anticipated
federal or other flow
through funding, and
corrections to any
errors in the bill or
resolution or the title.
Adoption of Conference
Report.
Rule 9.
Conference reports shall
not be subject to
amendments or division.
The vote on conference
reports shall be taken
by "yeas" and "nays" and
shall require the same
number of votes
constitutionally
required for passage of
the bill or adoption of
the resolution.
Conference reports shall
not be considered until
printed in the Journal.
The Journal printing
requirement may be
suspended by a house by
a majority vote in that
house, provided that a
copy of the conference
report has been made
available to each
Member.
Conference Reports:
Points of Order.
Rule 10.
Points of order
regarding conference
reports shall be decided
by the presiding
officer, subject to an
appeal, which appeal
shall be determined by a
majority vote. When a
conference report is
ruled out of order, the
conference report is
returned to the
originating conference
committee with
instructions to
eliminate from the
report such matters as
have been declared not
within the powers of the
conferees to consider.
Either House May Recede.
Rule 11. At
any time while in
possession of the bill
or resolution,
either house may recede
from its position in
whole or in part, and
the bill or resolution
upon request may be
returned to the other
house for that purpose.
If this further action
is agreed to by
both
houses, the bill
or resolution shall be
referred for enrollment
printing and
presentation to the
Governor, filing with
the Secretary of State,
or filing for record
with the Secretary of
the Senate or Clerk of
the House of
Representatives.
Correction of Errors.
Rule 12. If
errors are found in a
bill or resolution which
has been passed or
adopted by both houses,
the house in which the
bill or resolution
originated may make
amendments to correct
the errors and shall
notify the other house
of its action. If the
corrective amendments
are agreed to by the
other house, the
corrected bill or
resolution shall be
referred for enrollment
printing and
presentation to the
Governor, filing with
the Secretary of State,
or filing for record
with the Secretary of
the Senate or Clerk of
the House of
Representatives.
In addition,
the Secretary of the
Senate and Clerk of the
House of
Representatives, as the
case may be, shall
correct obvious
technical errors in the
enrolled bill or
resolution, including
adjusting totals,
misspellings, the
omission or redundancy
of grammatical articles,
cross-references,
punctuation, updating
bill or resolution
titles, capitalization,
citation formats, and
plural or singular word
forms.
Bills and Joint
Resolutions.
Rule 13.
Upon introduction, no
bill shall include catch
lines, a severing
clause, or a general
repealing clause, as
distinguished from a
specific or an express
repealing clause. The
Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives
shall delete such catch
lines and clauses from
all bills.
The same
joint resolution shall
not propose an amendment
to the Constitution on
more than one subject
matter. However, more
than one section of the
Constitution may be
included in the same
joint resolution if the
subject matter of each
section is germane to
the proposed amendment.
Yeas and Nays.
Rule 14. The
yeas and nays shall be
taken and printed in the
Journal of the house
taking action upon the
passage or adoption of
any bill, joint
resolution, conference
report, and amendments
made by the other house
to a bill or joint
resolution.
No Members Present.
Rule 15. In
the event the presiding
officer and all members
are absent on a day
scheduled for meeting,
the Secretary of the
Senate or the Clerk of
the House of
Representatives, as the
case may be, shall call
that house to order at
the designated time and
announce the absence of
a quorum. That house
shall be declared
adjourned until the
succeeding legislative
day and hour previously
designated.
In any event
where either or both
houses of the
Legislature adjourns to
a date certain for more
than two days, a
committee composed of
the Majority Leader of
the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of
Representatives may, by
a unanimous vote of that
committee, convene
either or both houses of
the Legislature at any
time in case of
emergency.
If a
gubernatorial
appointment that is
subject to the advice
and consent process is
made at a time such that
60 days would lapse
during an extended
recess of the Senate,
the Senate Majority
Leader may schedule a
session of the Senate
for the sole purpose of
carrying out the
Senate's constitutional
duties to advise and
consent on gubernatorial
appointments. No other
action shall be taken by
the Senate during
session convened under
this provision. The
Senate Majority Leader
shall notify the
Secretary of the Senate
at least 10 calendar
days prior to the date
of the scheduled
session, and the
Secretary of the Senate
shall take all
reasonable steps to
notify the members of
the Senate of the
scheduled session.
Passage, Adoption, and
Enrollment Printing.
Rule 16.
Every bill passed or
joint resolution adopted
by both houses and
returned to the house of
origin shall forthwith
be enrolled and signed
by the Secretary of the
Senate and the Clerk of
the House of
Representatives.
Enrolled bills shall be
presented to the
Governor, and enrolled
joint resolutions that
propose an amendment to
the Constitution shall
be filed with the
Secretary of State with
a certificate attached
to the effect that the
joint resolution has
been adopted by the
Senate and House of
Representatives,
respectively, in
accordance with the
provisions of the
Constitution. If the
house having last passed
the bill or adopted the
joint resolution
requests its return and
such request is granted
or a motion is made in
the house of origin to
amend errors in the bill
or joint resolution or
to give the bill
immediate effect, the
enrollment printing
shall not occur.
Every bill,
joint resolution, and
concurrent resolution
passed or adopted by
either house shall be
transmitted to the other
house unless a motion
for reconsideration is
pending.
Immediate Effect.
Rule 17.
Whenever both houses, by
the constitutional vote,
order that a bill take
immediate effect, a
statement shall be added
at the enrollment of the
bill in words to this
effect: "This act is
ordered to take
immediate effect."
Joint Resolutions.
Rule 18.
Joint resolutions shall
be used for the
following purposes:
1.
Amendments to the
Constitution of
Michigan.
2.
Ratification of
amendments to the
Constitution of the
United States submitted
by the Congress.
3. Matters
upon which power is
solely vested in the
Legislatures of the
several states by the
Constitution of the
United States.
Joint
resolutions proposing
amendments to the
Constitution of Michigan
shall require a 2/3 vote
of the members elected
and serving in
each house for adoption.
Other joint resolutions
shall require a majority
of the members elected
and serving in each
house for adoption. All
joint resolutions shall
require a record roll
call vote.
Veto Override: Filing
with Secretary of State.
Rule 19.
When a bill is passed by
both houses over the
objections of the
Governor or a bill is
not filed by the
Governor with the
Secretary of State
within the
constitutionally
mandated 14-day period,
and the Legislature
continues in session, an
official enrolled bill
with a letter from the
house of origin signed
by the Secretary of the
Senate or the Clerk of
the House of
Representatives, as
appropriate, shall be
filed with the Secretary
of State for a public
act number to be
assigned. The letter
shall certify that the
Governor's veto has been
overridden by both
houses of the
Legislature or that the
bill has not been
returned within the
specified time, as the
case may be, in
accordance with the
provisions of the
Constitution.
Section Numbers of
Compiled Laws -
Amendments.
Rule 20. The
title of every bill to
amend or repeal existing
laws shall be clear and
explicit so as to
definitely fix what is
proposed to be done.
Such title shall refer
to the act number and
the year in which it was
passed. If the bill was
passed at an extra
session of the
Legislature, the title
shall designate which
extra session.
Such title
shall contain the last
title of the act it is
proposed to amend.
However, the short title
(e.g., This act shall be
known and may be cited
as "The revised
judicature
act
of 1961,") shall be used
in acts where it has
been defined by
legislative enactment.
The title shall also
contain the chapter,
part numbers and
compiler's section
numbers, if any, and the
year of the compilation
containing the same.
Following
the passage of a bill
with a short title, the
house other than the
house of origin shall
replace the short title
with the last full title
of the act it is
proposed to amend or
repeal. Other corrective
amendments to the title
shall be made as may be
necessary. The full
title and amended title
shall be agreed to by
both houses.
When an
amendment to a bill or a
bill to amend an
existing law is printed,
words proposed to be
added to such law shall
be printed in upper case
bold type, and the words
to be omitted shall be
printed in
stricken-through type.
This style requirement
also applies to joint
resolutions that amend
the Constitution of
Michigan.
All bills
and joint resolutions
introduced, amendments
to joint resolutions,
substitute bills and
joint resolutions, and
conference committee
reports shall be
approved as to form and
section numbers by the
Legislative Service
Bureau.
Tie-bars.
Rule 21. A
bill or resolution that
is tie-barred to a
request number shall not
be considered for
passage or adoption
unless that tie-barred
request item has been
introduced. No bill or
resolution shall be
passed or adopted by
either house until the
tie-barred item has been
designated in the
appropriate blank space
provided.
Elections in Joint
Convention.
Rule 22.
Whenever there is an
election of any officer
in joint convention, the
result shall be
certified by the
President of the Senate
and the Speaker of the
House of
Representatives. The
results shall be
announced by the
presiding officers to
their respective houses,
printed in the Journal
of each house, and
communicated to the
Governor by the
Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the
House of
Representatives.
Legislative Handbook.
Rule 23. The
initial appointment of
the standing committee
members of the two
houses shall be printed
in their respective
Journals as soon as
possible after the
announcement. The
Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives
shall prepare and have
printed a legislative
handbook containing
these appointments and
other information they
deem appropriate.
Compensation.
Rule 24.
Compensation for
members, officers, and
employees of the
Legislature shall be
delivered to the
Secretary of the Senate
or Clerk of the House of
Representatives, as the
case may be, and
transmitted directly to
the payee.
If the
office of a member of
the Legislature becomes
vacant, the compensation
for the elected
successor shall begin on
the date of his or her
oath of office.
Committee Expenses.
Rule 25. No committee
created by concurrent
resolution shall incur
expenses in excess of
$2,500.00 unless
authorized in the
resolution creating that
committee.
Final Adjournment of
Regular Sessions.
Rule 26. In
the regular session in
each year, this rule for
adjournment shall
govern.
The Majority
Floor Leader of the
Senate and/or the
Majority Floor Leader of
the House of
Representatives shall
introduce a concurrent
resolution providing for
an adjournment schedule
for the Legislature for
that regular session.
Daily
Adjournment.
Rule 27.
Neither house shall
remain in session on any
legislative day beyond
12:00 midnight. If
either house is in
session at 12:00
midnight, the presiding
officer shall declare
that house adjourned
until a fixed hour for
meeting on the next
legislative day. That
house shall stand
adjourned until the next
fixed meeting time.
Pending Business.
Rule 28. Any
business, bill, or joint
resolution which has not
been defeated by either
house shall be
considered pending under
the provisions of
Article 4, Section 13 of
the Constitution.
It shall not
be in order for either
house, by suspension of
rules or any other
means, to reconsider in
a subsequent year the
vote by which any
business, bill, joint
resolution, or veto
override was defeated in
a previous year unless
there is a pending
motion to reconsider
offered in the
odd-numbered year. |
