Engrossed bills. On Printing. On Expenditures. On claims. and the 14th section of article seven of the Constitution of this State; and when any bill shall have passed in Committee of the Whole House, on which the Speaker may entertain doubts whether it comes within the provision of either of the said sections, it shall be referred to the said committee to examine and report thereon, before the question on the final passage shall be taken. 19. The Committee on Engrossed Bills shall carefully examine, in the order in which they shall be directed by the House to be engrossed for a third reading, all bills so engrossed, and see that the same are correctly engrossed, and they shall report the same in like order to the House before they are read the third time. 20. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Public Printing to examine and report on all questions of printing referred to them, and to state an approximate estimate of the cost in the particular case referred, when practicable; to examine, from time to time, and ascertain whether the prices charged for printing are in conformity to the contract therefor, and whether it is done in conformity to the orders of the House, and without unreasonable delay; to ascertain and report what number of copies ought usually to be printed, and how distributed; and to report to the House, from time to time, any measure they may deem useful for the economical and proper management of the public printing. 21. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Expenditures of the House and in the Executive Department severally to inquire into the said expenditures, and whether the same have been made in conformity to law, and whether proper vouchers exist for the same, and whether the funds provided for the purpose are economically applied, and to report from time to time such provisions, laws and regulations as may conduce to economy, and secure the faithful disbursement of the moneys appropriated by law. 22. No report shall be received from the committee on claims, without a written statement, setting forth the reasons in brief for the action of such committee, shall accompany such report. to be taken from files. 23. No papers now on the files of this House, which Papers not have been reported upon adversely by a committee on claims, shall be taken therefrom, unless the claimant shall present a petition stating in what manner the committee have erred in their report, or that new evidence has been discovered since the report, and setting forth the new evidence in the petition. CHAPTER VII. OF THE GENERAL ORDERS AND OF SPECIAL ORDERS. 24. The matters referred to the Committee of the Of the ComWhole House shall constitute the General Orders, and mittee of the their titles shall be recorded in a calendar, kept for that purpose by the Clerk, in the order in which they shall be referred severally. Whole. 25. The business of the General Orders shall be General Ortaken up in the following manner, viz.: The Clerk ders. shall announce the title of each bill or other matter as it shall be reached in its order, whereupon it may be taken up on the motion of any member, without the putting of a question therefor; but if not so moved it shall lose its precedence for the day. And whenever three bills have been thus moved consecutively, the House shall go into Committee of the Whole upon them without further order; but no bill or other matter shall be taken out of its order, except by vote of two-thirds of the members present, nor shall any unprinted bill be taken up unless by order of the House. General Orders. 26. Tuesday and Thursday of each week shall be Days of set apart especially for the consideration of the General Orders; but they may be considered on any other day when reached in their order. 27. Each member shall be furnished daily with a List of Gene printed list of the General Orders, which shall be kept ral Orders. Special orders, how made. Committee on his files by the Sergeant-at-Arms, in the same manner as other printed documents. 28. Any matter may be made a special order for any particular day by the assent of two-thirds of the members present. But it shall not be in order to make any matter a special order from day to day; and no more than three bills or other matters shall be made the special order for the same day. No special order shall be postponed or rescinded except by vote of two-thirds of the members present. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. 29. The same rule shall be observed in Committee of the Whole of the Whole as in the House, so far as the same are applicable; except that the previous question shall not apply, nor shall the number of times a member desires to speak be limited, and except that the yeas and nays shall not be taken. Proceedings inCommittee of the Whole Quorum. Introduc 30. A motion to rise and report progress shall be in order at any stage, and shall be decided without debate. 31. Bills and other matters shall be considered in Committee of the Whole in the following manner, viz. They shall be first read through, unless the committee shall otherwise order; and, unless the committee shall then strike out the enacting clause, they shall be read and considered by sections, leaving the title to be last considered. All amendments, in their coherence, shall be reported to the House by the chairman. 32. If at any time, when in Committee of the Whole House, it be ascertained that there is no quorum, the chairman shall immediately report that fact to the Speaker. CHAPTER IX. OF BILLS. 33. No bill shall be introduced in the House except tion of bills. in one of the following modes, viz.: 1. By leave of the House, on one day's previous 2. By unanimous consent of the House. 4. By order of the House. 5. By message from the Senate. 34. No private bill shall be introduced but upon a Private bills. memorial or petition presented to the House and signed by the party or parties praying for the passage of the same, except by order of the House. 35. The title of all bills introduced shall state con- Title of bills. cisely the subject matter of such bills. 36. Every message from the Senate, communicating Messages any bill for the concurrence of the House, shall, with from Senate. the accompanying documents, if any, be referred to a standing or select committee to consider and report thereon; and every such message, communicating an amendment, shall take a like reference, except the House shall otherwise order. 37. All bills, whether introduced in the House or All bills to communicated by message from the Senate, shall, after be referred. their second reading, be referred to a standing or select committee to consider and report thereupon. Such committee may report any bill either with or without amendments, or they may report against the same. All bills favorably reported shall be committed to the Bills reportCommittee of the Whole, unless otherwise ordered by ed. the House; but where a bill has been reported adversely, and such report shall be agreed to by the House, it shall not go upon the General Orders but shall be considered as rejected. the Whole 38. Bills reported by the Committee of the Whole Bills from shall still be subject to debate before the question to Committee of engross is put; but such amendments only shall be in order as were offered and decided in Committee of the Whole. And where a bill shall be reported by the Committee of the Whole, with the enacting clause Three readings. May be or dered to a third read ing. Engrossed bills. Third read ing. Ib. Reconsidera tion. Register to be kept. stricken out, and the report shall be agreed to by the House, it shall be considered as rejected. 39. Every bill shall receive three several readings previous to its final passage, and the third reading shall be on a day subsequent to that on which the bill passed in Committee of the Whole, unless the House, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, shall direct otherwise. 40. No bill shall be ordered to a third reading until it has been considered in the Committee of the Whole, nor shall it be in order to refer any bill to a select committee to report complete. 41. All bills shall be engrossed in the order in which they have been directed by the House to be engrossed. 42. No bill originating in the Assembly shall be put upon its third reading until it shall have been reported by the Committee on Engrossed Bills as correctly engrossed; nor shall any bill be read the last time, unless it shall have been once printed, without the consent of two-thirds of the members present. 43. The third reading of bills shall take place in the order in which they have been ordered to a third reading, unless the House, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, direct otherwise, or the bill to be read be laid on the table; and the question on the final passage of every bill shall be taken immediately after such third reading, and without debate, unless the bill shall be ordered to be recommitted. 44. The same vote that would be required to pass any bill shall be requisite to carry a reconsideration thereof; but the final vote upon the passage of any bill creating, continuing or renewing any incorporation, otherwise than municipal, shall not be reconsidered whenever such bill shall be rejected on its last reading. 45. A register shall be kept by the Clerk of all bills introduced in the House or transmitted for concurrence from the Senate, in which shall be recorded, under appropriate heads, the progress of all such bills, from the date of their introduction to the time of their |