RULES OF THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE, 1891.

RULES OF THE SENATE.

Opening.-Journal Read.- Quorum.

RULE 1. The president having taken the chair, at the hour to which the senate shall have adjourned, and a quorum being present, the journal of the preceding day shall be read, unless otherwise ordered by the senate. A majority of the members elected shall constitute a quorum.

Order of Business.

RULE 2. After the reading and approval of the journal, the order of business shall be as follows:

1. Presentation of petitions.

2. Introduction of bills.

3. Second reading and reference of bills.

4. Messages from the governor.

5. Communications from state officers.

6. Messages from the house of representatives.

7. Reports of standing committees.

8. Reports of select committees.

9. Third reading of bills.

10. Introduction of original motions and resolutions.

11. Consideration of motions and resolutions.

12. General orders.

In Order at Any Time.

RULE 3. Messages from the governor and house of representatives, and reports from the committee on engrossed bills, may be received under any order of business.

Address the President, to be Recognized. — Speak but Once on Same Subject.

RULE 4. Every senator rising to debate or present a petition or other paper, make a motion or report, shall address the president, and shall not proceed further until recognized by the chair. And when two or more senators shall address the president at the same time, he shall name the senator who is to speak first. No senator shall speak more than twice on the same day on the same subject, without leave of the senate.

Questions of Order.

RULE 5. When a senator shall be called to order, he shall cease speaking until the president shall have determined whether he was in order or not; and every question of order shall be decided by the president, subject to an appeal to the senate by any member; and if a senator shall be called to order for words spoken, the words excepted to shall be immediately taken down in writing, that the president or senate may be better enabled to judge of the matter.

Acting President - Does Not Lose Right to Vote.

RULE 6. The president may name any senator to perform the duties of the chair, who is thereby vested, during such time, with all the powers of the president; but such substitute shall not lose the right of voting on any subject while so presiding, nor shall his power as such substitute continue beyond an adjournment, without leave of the senate.

All Motions in Writing.

RULE 7. All motions shall be reduced to writing, if desired by the president or any member, and read by the secretary, before the same shall be put.

Motion Withdrawn.

RULE 8. Any motion may be withdrawn at any time before amendment or decision is made, by consent of the senate.

Bills in Regular Order.

RULE 9. The president shall see that all bills shall be acted on by the senate in the order in which they stand upon the calendar, unless otherwise ordered by two-thirds of the senators present.

Changing Order on Calendar.

RULE 10. Not more than one bill may be named in a motion to change the order of the calendar, and on such motion no member except the author of the motion shall speak more than once, nor longer than five minutes.

Yeas and Nays.

RULE 11. The yeas and nays shall be taken upon all questions upon the demand of three senators.

Motions in Order When Question is Under Debate. RULE 12. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be in order, except to adjourn, to lay on the table, for the previous question, to postpone to a day certain, to commit to a standing committee, to commit to a select committee, to commit to the committee of the whole, to amend, to postpone indefinitely; which several motions shall have precedence in the order named, and the first three shall be decided without debate.

Division of Question.-To Strike Out.

RULE 13. If the question in debate contains several points, any member may have the same divided. But a motion to strike out and insert shall be deemed indivisible. The rejection of a motion to strike out

and insert one proposition shall not prevent a motion to strike out and insert another proposition, nor prevent a subsequent motion simply to strike out; nor shall the rejection of a motion simply to strike out prevent a subsequent motion to strike out and insert.

Reconsideration.

RULE 14. When a question has been once put and decided, it shall be in order for any senator who voted with the majority to move for a reconsideration thereof, but no motion for reconsideration of any vote shall be in order after the bill, resolution, message, report, amendment, or motion, upon which the vote was taken, shall have gone out of the possession of the senate, nor shall any motion for reconsideration be in order, unless made on the same day on which the vote was taken, or on the next day of the actual session of the senate thereafter; nor shall any question be reconsidered more than once. The vote on the final passage of any bill appropriating the public moneys or property shall not be reconsidered whenever such bill shall be lost.

Previous Question.-Main Question.— Action on Amendments.— Previous Question on Amendment.

RULE 15. Any two senators shall have the right to demand the previous question. The previous question shall be as follows: "Shall the main question be now put?" and until it is decided shall preclude all amendments or debate. When, on taking the previous question, the senate shall decide that the main question shall not be now put, the main question shall be considered as still remaining under debate. The main question shall be on the passage of a bill, resolution, or other matter under consideration; but when amendments are pending, the question shall first be taken upon such amendments in their order; and when amendments have been adopted in committee of the whole and not acted on in the senate, the question shall be taken upon such amendments in like order, and without further debate or amendment. But the previous question can be moved on a pending amendment, and if adopted, debate is closed on the amendment only; and after the amendment is voted on, the main question shall again be open to debate and amendments. In this case the question shall be, "Shall the vote be now taken on the pending amendment?"

Special Order.

RULE 16. Whenever any bill or other matter is made the special order for a particular day, and it shall not be reached or completed on that day, it shall be returned to its place in the general orders, unless it shall be made the special order for another day; and when any special order is under consideration, it shall take precedence of any special order for a subsequent hour of the same day, but such subsequent special order may be taken up immediately after the previous order has been disposed of.

No Member shall be Interrupted, Except.

RULE 17. No member when speaking shall be interrupted, except by a call to order by the president, or by a member through the president,

or by a member to explain; nor shall any member be referred to by name in debate, unless for a transgression of the rules, and then by the president only.

Explaining Votes.

RULE 18. Members on the call of their names, on the passage of any bill or joint resolution, may explain their votes, but shall not be allowed more than five minutes for such explanation.

Bills Unfavorably Reported Do Not Go on Calendar unless Ordered - How Appearing.

RULE 19. When a bill is unfavorably reported by committee, it shall not be placed upon the calendar unless so ordered by the senate. A motion to place an unfavorably reported bill on the calendar shall be made when resolutions are in order, and the motion shall then lie over until that order is again reached, but if such motion be negatived once it shall not be renewed. If the motion to place the bill on the calendar shall prevail, the words "Unfavorably reported" shall be printed in a line underneath the title of the bill.

No House Substitute for Bills When in Regular Order. RULE 20. When any bill shall be reached in its regular order, no bill introduced in the house of representatives shall be substituted therefor except by unanimous consent.

Standing Committees.

RULE 21. All standing committees shall consist of five members each, except judiciary, legislative apportionment, judicial apportionment, and railroads, which shall consist of nine members each; and ways and means, cities of the first class, cities of the second class, congressional apportionment, and municipal indebtedness, which shall consist of seven members each; said committees to be appointed by the president of the senate.

RULE 22. The following are the standing committees of the senate: 1. Judiciary.

2. Ways and means.

3. Elections.

4. Federal relations.

5. Railroads.

6. Assessment and taxation.

7. Fees and salaries.

8. Municipal indebtedness.

9. Corporations.

10. State affairs.

11. Roads and bridges.

12. County seats and county lines.

13. Military affairs.

14. Claims.

15. Public health.

16. Temperance.

7. Immigration. 18. Agriculture.

19. Penal institutions.

20. Manufactures and industrial pursuits.
21. Mines and mining.

22. Banks and banking.

23. Internal improvements.
24. Printing.

25. Insurance.

26. Education.

27. State library.

28. Public buildings.
29. Charitable institutions.
30. Educational institutions.
31. Public lands.

32. Cities of the first class.

33. Cities of the second class.

34. Cities of the third class.
35. Legislative apportionment.
36. Judicial apportionment.
37. Congressional apportionment.
38. Mileage and per diem.
39. Engrossed bills.

40. Enrolled bills.

Duty of Committee on Engrossed Bills.

RULE 23. It is the duty of the committee on engrossed bills to compare all engrossed bills with the originals, to see that they are correct, deliver original and engrossed copy to the secretary of the senate, and report to the senate in writing, which report shall be immediately entered upon the journal.

Bills and Resolutions to be Returned in Five Days.

RULE 24. All bills or resolutions referred to committees shall be returned to the Senate, together with the report of committee thereon, written in duplicate, within five legislative days thereafter, unless further time be granted.

Care of Bills-No Mutilation. – Character of Bill Must not be Changed by Substitute.

RULE 25. No committee shall be allowed to mutilate any bill referred to it for consideration, by making interlineations, erasures, or marginal notes thereon. If the committee desires to recommend amendments to the bill, these shall be so indicated in the report as to be easily identified. But when it becomes necessary to rewrite any bill, the committee may substitute a new bill, designating the bill so rewritten as "Substitute for Senate Bill No. ;" and such substitute shall be printed as reported, an take the place of the original bill on the calendar, and the original bill shall be preserved and filed by the docket clerk: Provided, No substitute shall be made for any bill which changes the subject matter of the bill under consideration.