83R4406 JSA-D
	By: Smithee	H.R. No. 4

	R E S O L U T I O N
	BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of
	Texas, That the following are adopted as the permanent rules of the
	House of Representatives of the 83rd [82nd] Legislature:
	RULES OF
	THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
	OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE
	TABLE OF CONTENTS
	RULE
	1.  DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF THE SPEAKER   2
	2.  EMPLOYEES  10
	3.  STANDING COMMITTEES  22
	4.  ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF
	COMMITTEES  51
	5.  FLOOR PROCEDURE  85
	6.  ORDER OF BUSINESS AND CALENDARS 107
	7.  MOTIONS 127
	8.  BILLS 142
	9.  JOINT RESOLUTIONS 157
	10.  HOUSE RESOLUTIONS AND CONCURRENT
	RESOLUTIONS 159
	11.  AMENDMENTS 162
	12.  PRINTING 170
	13.  INTERACTIONS WITH THE GOVERNOR
	AND SENATE 174
	14.  GENERAL PROVISIONS 187
	STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION AND PRECEDENCE
	Pursuant to and under the authority of Section 11, Article
	III, Texas Constitution, and notwithstanding any provision of
	statute, the House of Representatives adopts the following rules to
	govern its operations and procedures. The provisions of these
	rules shall be deemed the only requirements binding on the House of
	Representatives under Section 11, Article III, Texas Constitution,
	notwithstanding any other requirements expressed in statute.
	RULE 1. DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF THE SPEAKER
	CHAPTER A. DUTIES AS PRESIDING OFFICER
	Sec. 1.  ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES.  The speaker shall
	enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the house in all
	deliberations of the house and shall enforce the legislative rules
	prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution of Texas.
	Sec. 2.  CALL TO ORDER.  The speaker shall take the chair on
	each calendar day precisely at the hour to which the house adjourned
	or recessed at its last sitting and shall immediately call the
	members to order.
	Sec. 3.  LAYING BUSINESS BEFORE THE HOUSE.  The speaker
	shall lay before the house its business in the order indicated by
	the rules and shall receive propositions made by members and put
	them to the house.
	Sec. 4.  REFERRAL OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO COMMITTEE.  All
	proposed legislation shall be referred by the speaker to an
	appropriate standing or select committee with jurisdiction,
	subject to correction by a majority vote of the house. A bill or
	resolution may not be referred simultaneously to more than one
	committee.
	Sec. 5.  PRESERVATION OF ORDER AND DECORUM.  The speaker
	shall preserve order and decorum. In case of disturbance or
	disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, the speaker may
	order that these areas be cleared. No signs, placards, or other
	objects of similar nature shall be permitted in the rooms, lobby,
	gallery, and hall of the house. The speaker shall see that the
	members of the house conduct themselves in a civil manner in
	accordance with accepted standards of parliamentary conduct and
	may, when necessary, order the sergeant-at-arms to clear the aisles
	and seat the members of the house so that business may be conducted
	in an orderly manner.
	Sec. 6.  RECOGNITION OF GALLERY VISITORS.  On written
	request of a member, the speaker may recognize persons in the
	gallery. The speaker shall afford that recognition at a convenient
	place in the order of business, considering the need for order and
	decorum and the need for continuity of debate. The request must be
	made on a form prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.
	The speaker may recognize, at a time he or she considers appropriate
	during floor proceedings, the person serving as physician of the
	day.
	Sec. 7.  STATING AND VOTING ON QUESTIONS.  The speaker shall
	rise to put a question but may state it sitting. The question shall
	be put substantially  in this form:  "The question occurs on
	______"  (here state the question or proposition under
	consideration).  "All in favor say 'Aye,'" and after the affirmative
	vote is expressed, "All  opposed say 'No.'" If the speaker is in
	doubt as to the result, or if a division is called for, the house
	shall divide:  those voting in the affirmative on the question
	shall register "Aye" on the voting machine, and those voting in the
	negative on the question shall register "No." The decision of the
	house on the question shall be printed in the journal and shall
	include the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered
	in accordance with the rules.
	Sec. 8.  VOTING RIGHTS OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER.  The
	speaker shall have the same right as other members to vote. If the
	speaker, or a member temporarily presiding, has not voted, he or she
	may cast the deciding vote at the time such opportunity becomes
	official, whether to make or break a tie. If a verification of the
	vote is called for and granted, the decision of the speaker, or a
	member temporarily presiding, to cast the deciding vote need not be
	made until the verification has been completed. In case of error in
	a vote, if the correction leaves decisive effect to the vote of the
	speaker, or a member temporarily presiding, the deciding vote may
	be cast even though the result has been announced.
	Sec. 9.  QUESTIONS OF ORDER.  (a)  The speaker shall decide
	on all questions of order; however, such decisions are subject to an
	appeal to the house made by any 10 members. Pending an appeal, the
	speaker shall call a member to the chair, who shall not have the
	authority to entertain or decide any other matter or proposition
	until the appeal has first been determined by the house. The
	question on appeal is, "Shall the chair be sustained?"
	(b)  No member shall speak more than once on an appeal unless
	given leave by a majority of the house.  No motion shall be in order,
	pending an appeal, except a motion to adjourn, a motion to lay on
	the table, a motion for the previous question, or a motion for a
	call of the house.  Responses to parliamentary inquiries and
	decisions of recognition made by the chair may not be appealed,
	except as provided by Rule 5, Section 24.
	(c)  Further consideration of the matter or proposition that
	is the subject of a question of order is prohibited until the
	speaker decides the question of order and any appeal of that
	decision has been determined by the house.  Consideration of any
	other matter or proposition is also prohibited while a question of
	order is pending, unless the question of order is temporarily
	withdrawn and the matter or proposition that is the subject of the
	question of order is postponed.  Withdrawal of the question of order
	does not prevent any member from raising that question of order when
	the matter or proposition is again before the house.
	Sec. 10.  APPOINTMENT OF SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE AND TEMPORARY
	CHAIR.  The speaker shall have the right to name any member to
	perform the duties of the chair and may name a member to serve as
	speaker pro tempore by delivering a written order to the chief clerk
	and a copy to the journal clerk. A permanent speaker pro tempore
	shall, in the absence or inability of the speaker, call the house to
	order and perform all other duties of the chair in presiding over
	the deliberations of the house and perform other duties and
	exercise other responsibilities as may be assigned by the speaker.
	If the house is not in session, and a permanent speaker pro tempore
	has not been named, or if the speaker pro tempore is not available
	or for any reason is not able to function, the speaker may deliver a
	written order to the chief clerk, with a copy to the journal clerk,
	naming the member who shall call the house to order and preside
	during the speaker's absence. The speaker pro tempore shall serve
	at the pleasure of the speaker.
	Sec. 11.  EMERGENCY ADJOURNMENT.  In the event of an
	emergency of such compelling nature that the speaker must adjourn
	the house without fixing a date and hour of reconvening, the speaker
	shall have authority to determine the date and hour of reconvening
	and to notify the members of the house by any means the speaker
	considers adequate. Should the speaker be disabled or otherwise
	unable to exercise these emergency powers, the permanent speaker
	pro tempore, if one has been named, shall have authority to act. If
	there is no permanent speaker pro tempore, or if that officer is
	unable to act, authority shall be exercised by the chair of the
	Committee on State Affairs, who shall preside until the house can
	proceed to the selection of a temporary presiding officer to
	function until the speaker or the speaker pro tempore is again able
	to exercise the duties and responsibilities of the office.
	Sec. 12.  POSTPONEMENT OF RECONVENING.  When the house is
	not in session, if the speaker determines that it would be a hazard
	to the safety of the members, officers, employees, and others
	attending the legislature to reconvene at the time determined by
	the house at its last sitting, the speaker may clear the area of the
	capitol under the control of the house and postpone the reconvening
	of the house for a period of not more than 12 hours. On making that
	determination, the speaker shall order the sergeant-at-arms to post
	an assistant at each first floor entrance to the capitol and other
	places and advise all persons entering of the determination and the
	time set for the house to reconvene. The speaker shall also notify
	the journal clerk and the news media of the action, and the action
	shall be entered in the house journal.
	Sec. 13.  SIGNING BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS.  All bills, joint
	resolutions, and concurrent resolutions shall be signed by the
	speaker in the presence of the house, as required by the
	constitution; and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas issued by
	order of the house shall be signed by the speaker and attested by
	the chief clerk, or the person acting as chief clerk.
	CHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES
	Sec. 14.  CONTROL OVER HALL OF THE HOUSE.  The speaker shall
	have general control, except as otherwise provided by law, of the
	hall of the house, its lobbies, galleries, corridors, and passages,
	and other rooms in those parts of the capitol assigned to the use of
	the house; except that the hall of the house shall not be used for
	any meeting other than legislative meetings during any regular or
	special session of the legislature unless specifically authorized
	by resolution.
	Sec. 15.  STANDING COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS.  (a)  The
	speaker shall designate the chair and vice-chair of each standing
	substantive committee and shall also appoint membership of the
	committee, subject to the provisions of Rule 4, Section 2.
	(b)  If members of equal seniority request the same
	committee, the speaker shall decide which among them shall be
	assigned to that committee.
	(c)  In announcing the membership of the standing
	substantive committees, the speaker shall designate which are
	appointees and which acquire membership by seniority.
	(d)  The speaker shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of
	each standing procedural committee and the remaining membership of
	the committee.
	Sec. 16.  APPOINTMENT OF SELECT AND CONFERENCE
	COMMITTEES.  (a)  The speaker shall appoint all conference
	committees. The speaker shall name the chair of each conference
	committee, and may also name the vice-chair thereof.
	(b)  The speaker may at any time by proclamation create a
	select committee. The speaker shall name the chair and vice-chair
	thereof. A select committee has the jurisdiction, authority, and
	duties and exists for the period of time specified in the
	proclamation. A select committee has the powers granted by these
	rules to a standing committee except as limited by the
	proclamation. A copy of each proclamation creating a select
	committee shall be filed with the chief clerk.
	(c)  If a new speaker is elected to fill a vacancy in the
	office after the appointment of standing committees, the new
	speaker may not alter the composition of any standing committee
	before the end of the session, except that the new speaker may:
	(1)  vacate the new speaker's membership on any
	committee;
	(2)  make committee appointments for the member who was
	removed as speaker;
	(3)  designate a different member of a standing
	committee as committee chair; and
	(4)  fill vacancies that occur on a committee.
	Sec. 17.  INTERIM STUDIES.  When the legislature is not in
	session, the speaker shall have the authority to direct committees
	to make interim studies for such purposes as the speaker may
	designate, and the committees shall meet as often as necessary to
	transact effectively the business assigned to them. The speaker
	shall provide to the chief clerk a copy of interim charges made to a
	standing or select committee.
	CHAPTER C. CAMPAIGNS FOR SPEAKER
	Sec. 18.  PLEDGES FOR SPEAKER PROHIBITED DURING REGULAR
	SESSION.  During a regular session of the legislature a member may
	not solicit written pledges from other members for their support of
	or promise to vote for any person for the office of speaker.
	RULE 2. EMPLOYEES
	CHAPTER A. DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE
	Sec. 1.  CHIEF CLERK.  (a)  The chief clerk shall:
	(1)  be the custodian of all bills, resolutions, and
	amendments;
	(2)  number in the order of their filing, with a
	separate sequence for each category, all bills, joint resolutions,
	concurrent resolutions, and house resolutions;
	(3)  provide for the keeping of a complete record of
	introduction and action on all bills and resolutions, including the
	number, author, brief description of the subject matter, committee
	reference, and the time sequence of action taken on all bills and
	resolutions to reflect at all times their status in the legislative
	process;
	(4)  on the day of numbering a bill relating to a
	conservation and reclamation district created under Article XVI,
	Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, send two copies of the bill,
	with two copies of the notice of intention to introduce the bill, to
	the governor and notify the journal clerk of the action;
	(5)  receive the recommendations of the Texas
	Commission on Environmental Quality on a bill forwarded to the
	commission under Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas
	Constitution, attach them to the bill to which they apply, and
	notify the journal clerk that the recommendations have been filed;
	(6)  forward to the committee chair a certified copy of
	each legislative document referred to a committee along with
	certified copies of all official attachments to the document;
	(7)  have printed and distributed correct copies of all
	legislative documents, as provided in the subchapter on printing,
	and keep an exact record of the date and hour of transmittal to the
	printer, return from the printer, and distribution of the document
	to members of the house with that information time-stamped on the
	originals of the document;
	(8)  certify the passage of bills and resolutions,
	noting on them the date of passage and the vote by which passed,
	including the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is
	ordered;
	(9)  be responsible for engrossing all house bills and
	resolutions that have passed second reading and those that have
	passed third reading, and for enrolling all house bills and
	resolutions that have passed both houses.
	All engrossed and enrolled documents shall be prepared
	without erasures, interlineations, or additions in the margin.
	House concurrent resolutions passed without amendment
	shall not be engrossed but shall be certified and forwarded
	directly to the senate.
	Engrossed riders may be used in lieu of full engrossment
	on second reading passage;
	(10)  be authorized to amend the caption to conform to
	the body of each house bill and joint resolution ordered engrossed
	or enrolled;
	(11)  be responsible for noting on each house bill or
	joint resolution, for certification by the speaker of the house,
	the lieutenant governor, the chief clerk of the house, and the
	secretary of the senate, the following information:
	(A)  date of final passage, and the vote on final
	passage, including the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and
	nays is ordered.  If the bill was amended in the senate, this fact
	shall also be noted;
	(B)  date of concurrence by the house in senate
	amendments, and the vote on concurrence, including the yeas and
	nays if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered;
	(C)  date of adoption by each house of a
	conference committee report and the vote on adoption, including the
	yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered;
	(D)  that a bill containing an appropriation was
	passed subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 49a, of the
	Texas Constitution; and
	(E)  that a concurrent resolution was adopted by
	both houses directing the correction of an enrolled bill, if
	applicable;
	(12)  transmit over signature all messages from the
	house to the senate, including typewritten copies of amendments to
	senate bills;
	(13)  prepare copies of senate amendments to house
	bills for the journal before the amendments and the bill or
	resolution to which they relate are sent to the printer or to the
	speaker;
	(14)  notify the speaker in writing that the senate did
	not concur in house amendments to a bill or resolution and requests
	a conference committee, and include in this notice the names of the
	senate conferees;
	(15)  provide a certified copy of a house bill or
	resolution which may be lost showing each parliamentary step taken
	on the bill; and
	(16)  request fiscal notes on house bills and joint
	resolutions with senate amendments and distribute fiscal notes on
	house bills and joint resolutions with senate amendments and
	conference committee reports as required by Rule 13, Sections 5 and
	10.
	(b)  The chief clerk shall also:
	(1)  attest all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by
	order of the house;
	(2)  receive reports of select committees and forward
	copies to the speaker and journal clerk;
	(3)  not later than 30 days after the close of each
	session, acquire from each of the various clerks of the house,
	except the journal clerk, all reports, records, bills, papers, and
	other documents remaining in their possession and file them with
	the Legislative Reference Library, unless otherwise provided by
	law;
	(4)  receive and file all other documents required by
	law or by the rules of the house;
	(5)  prepare a roster of members in order of seniority
	showing the number of years of service of each member, as provided
	in Rule 4, Section 2; and
	(6)  have posted the list of Items Eligible for
	Consideration as required by the rules.
	(c)  The chief clerk shall also provide for the following to
	be made available on the electronic legislative information system:
	(1)  all house calendars and lists of items eligible
	for consideration and the time-stamp information for those
	calendars and lists; and
	(2)  the time-stamp information for all official
	printings of bills and resolutions.
	(d)  The chief clerk shall provide notice to a Capitol e-mail
	address designated by each member when a new house calendar or list
	of items eligible for consideration is posted on the electronic
	legislative information system.  If a member informs the chief
	clerk that the member also desires to receive a paper copy of house
	calendars or lists of items eligible for consideration, the chief
	clerk shall place paper copies of those documents designated by the
	member in the newspaper box of the member as soon as practicable
	after the electronic copies are posted.
	Sec. 2.  JOURNAL CLERK.  (a)  The journal clerk shall:
	(1)  keep a journal of the proceedings of the house,
	except when the house is acting as a committee of the whole, and
	enter the following:
	(A)  the number, author, and caption of every bill
	introduced;
	(B)  descriptions of all congratulatory and
	memorial resolutions on committee report, motions, amendments,
	questions of order and decisions on them, messages from the
	governor, and messages from the senate;
	(C)  the summaries of congratulatory and memorial
	resolutions, as printed on the congratulatory and memorial
	calendar;
	(D)  the number of each bill, joint resolution,
	and concurrent resolution signed in the presence of the house;
	(E)  a listing of reports made by standing
	committees;
	(F)  reports of select committees, when ordered by
	the house;
	(G)  every vote where a record of the yeas and nays
	is ordered or registration of the house with a concise statement of
	the action and the result;
	(H)  the names of all absentees, both excused and
	not excused;
	(I)  senate amendments to house bills or
	resolutions, when concurred in by the house;
	(J)  the date each bill is transmitted to the
	governor;
	(K)  the date recommendations of the Texas
	Commission on Environmental Quality on each bill subject to Article
	XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, are filed with the chief
	clerk;
	(L)  all pairs as a part of a vote where a record
	of the yeas and nays is ordered;
	(M)  reasons for a vote;
	(N)  the vote of a member on any question where a
	record of the yeas and nays has not been ordered;
	(O)  the statement of a member who was absent when
	a vote was taken indicating how the member would have voted; and
	(P)  official state documents, reports, and other
	matters, when ordered by the house;
	(2)  prepare a daily journal for each calendar day that
	the house is in session and distribute on the succeeding calendar
	day or the earliest possible date copies to the members of the house
	who have submitted requests to the journal clerk to receive a copy;
	and
	(3)  prepare and have printed a permanent house journal
	of regular and special sessions in accordance with the law and the
	following provisions:
	(A)  When completed, no more than 300 copies shall
	be bound and distributed as follows:
	(i)  one copy to each member of the house of
	representatives who submitted a request to the journal clerk to
	receive a copy;
	(ii)  one copy to each member of the senate
	who submitted a request to the journal clerk to receive a copy; and
	(iii)  the remainder of the copies to be
	distributed by the Committee on House Administration.
	(B)  The journal clerk shall not receive or
	receipt for the permanent house journal until it has been correctly
	published.
	(b)  The journal clerk shall lock the voting machine of each
	member who is excused or who is otherwise known to be absent when
	the house is in session until the member personally requests that
	the machine be unlocked.
	Sec. 3.  READING CLERKS.  The reading clerks, under the
	supervision of the speaker, shall:
	(1)  call the roll of the house in alphabetical order
	when ordered to do so by the speaker; and
	(2)  read all bills, resolutions, motions, and other
	matters required by the rules or directed by the speaker.
	Sec. 4.  SERGEANT-AT-ARMS.  The sergeant-at-arms shall:
	(1)  under the direction of the speaker, have charge of
	and maintain order in the hall of the house, its lobbies and
	galleries, and all other rooms in the capitol assigned for the use
	of the house of representatives;
	(2)  attend the house and the committee of the whole
	during all meetings and maintain order under the direction of the
	speaker or other presiding officer;
	(3)  execute the commands of the house and serve the
	writs and processes issued by the authority of the house and
	directed by the speaker;
	(4)  supervise assistants to the sergeant-at-arms who
	shall aid in the performance of prescribed duties and have the same
	authority, subject to the control of the speaker;
	(5)  clear the floor of the house of all persons not
	entitled to the privileges of the floor at least 30 minutes prior to
	the convening of each session of the house;
	(6)  bring in absent members when so directed under a
	call of the house;
	(7)  not allow the distribution of any printed matter
	in the hall of the house, other than newspapers that have been
	published at least once a week for a period of one year, unless it
	first has been authorized in writing by at least one member of the
	house and the name of the member appears on the printed matter.  The
	sergeant-at-arms shall refuse to accept for distribution any
	printed matter which does not bear the name of the member or members
	authorizing the distribution;
	(8)  keep a copy of written authorization and a record
	of the matter distributed in the permanent files of the house;
	(9)  enforce parking regulations applicable to areas of
	the capitol complex under the control of the house and supervise
	parking attendants;
	(10)  provide for issuance of an identification card to
	each member and employee of the house; and
	(11)  supervise the doorkeeper.
	Sec. 5.  DOORKEEPER.  The doorkeeper, under the supervision
	of the sergeant-at-arms, shall:
	(1)  enforce strictly the rules of the house relating
	to privileges of the floor and perform other duties as directed by
	the speaker;
	(2)  close the main entrance and permit no member to
	leave the house without written permission from the speaker when a
	call of the house or a call of the committee of the whole is ordered,
	take up permission cards as members leave the hall, and take up
	permission cards of those who are admitted to the floor of the house
	under the rules and practice of the house;
	(3)  obtain recognition from the speaker and announce a
	messenger from the governor or the senate on arrival at the bar of
	the house; and
	(4)  obtain recognition from the speaker and announce
	the arrival of the governor or the senate on arrival at the bar of
	the house for official proceedings in the house.
	Sec. 6.  CHAPLAIN.  The chaplain shall open the first
	session on each calendar day with a prayer and shall perform such
	other duties as directed by the Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 7.  VOTING CLERK.  The voting clerk, under the
	supervision of the speaker, shall:
	(1)  open and close the voting machine on registrations
	and record votes as ordered by the speaker;
	(2)  record votes from the floor as directed by the
	speaker;
	(3)  prepare official copies of all record votes for
	the journal; and
	(4)  make no additions, subtractions, or other changes
	in any registration or record vote unless specifically granted
	permission by the house or directed by the speaker prior to the
	announcement of the final result.
	Sec. 8.  COMMITTEE COORDINATOR.  The committee coordinator
	shall:
	(1)  under the direction of the Committee on House
	Administration, prepare a schedule for regular meetings of all
	standing committees as provided by Rule 4, Section 8(a);
	(2)  post committee meeting notices, as directed by the
	chair of a committee, in accordance with Rule 4, Section 11(a);
	(3)  maintain duplicate originals of committee minutes
	as required by Rule 4, Sections 18(c) and (d);
	(4)  maintain sworn statements and, under the direction
	of the Committee on House Administration, prescribe the form of
	those statements, as required by Rule 4, Sections 20(a) and (c);
	(5)  receive and forward impact statements as required
	by Rule 4, Section 34(e);
	(6)  receive committee reports as required by Rule 4,
	Section 37, and refer them for printing as provided by Rule 6,
	Section 19; and
	(7)  receive and distribute the recommendations and
	final reports of interim study committees as provided by Rule 4,
	Section 61.
	Sec. 9.  PARLIAMENTARIAN.  (a)  The parliamentarian is an
	officer of the house who serves at the pleasure of the speaker. The
	parliamentarian shall advise and assist the presiding officer and
	the members of the house on matters of procedure. The
	parliamentarian has a duty of confidentiality to the speaker and to
	each member of the house and shall keep confidential all requests
	made by members of the house for advice or guidance regarding
	procedure unless the parties otherwise agree.
	(b)  After the initial appointment of a parliamentarian by
	the speaker, the appointment of a new parliamentarian to fill a
	vacancy must be approved by a majority of the membership of the
	house if the appointment is made during a regular or special
	session. If the appointment to fill the vacancy is made when the
	house is not in session, the appointment must be approved by a
	majority of the membership not later than the third day of the first
	special session that occurs after the date the appointment is made.
	If no special session occurs after the appointment, approval by the
	membership is not required.
	(c)  In the event of a conflict between this section and the
	housekeeping resolution, this section controls.
	CHAPTER B.  OTHER EMPLOYEES
	Sec. 10.  LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL EMPLOYEES: CONFIDENTIALITY.
	(a)  Communications between an attorney employed by the Texas
	Legislative Council and the speaker, another member of the house,
	or an employee of a member or committee of the house are
	confidential in accordance with the rules and laws concerning
	attorney-client privilege.
	(b)  Communications between any employee of the Texas
	Legislative Council and the speaker, another member of the house,
	or an employee of a member or committee of the house are
	confidential.  The General Investigating and Ethics Committee of
	the House may investigate an alleged violation of this subsection.
	(c)  This section does not prohibit the speaker, member, or
	committee from waiving a privilege as otherwise permitted by law or
	from waiving confidentiality under this section.
	RULE 3.  STANDING COMMITTEES
	Sec. 1.  AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK. The committee shall
	have seven [nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  agriculture, horticulture, and farm husbandry;
	(2)  livestock and stock raising, and the livestock
	industry;
	(3)  the development and preservation of forests, and
	the regulation, control, and promotion of the lumber industry;
	(4)  problems and issues particularly affecting rural
	areas of the state, including issues related to rural economic
	development and the provision of and access to infrastructure,
	education, and health services; and
	(5)  the following state agencies: the Department of
	Agriculture, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the State Soil and
	Water Conservation Board, the Texas Forest Service, the Office of
	South Central Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact, the Office
	of Chief Apiary Inspector, Texas AgriLife Research, the Texas
	AgriLife Extension Service, the Food and Fibers Research Council,
	the State Seed and Plant Board, the State Board of Veterinary
	Medical Examiners, the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic
	Laboratory, the Produce Recovery Fund Board, the board of directors
	of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc., [the Texas
	Department   of Rural Affairs,] and the Texas Wildlife Damage
	Management Service.
	Sec. 2.  APPROPRIATIONS. (a) The committee shall have 27
	members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  all bills and resolutions appropriating money from
	the state treasury;
	(2)  all bills and resolutions containing provisions
	resulting in automatic allocation of funds from the state treasury;
	(3)  [all matters related to federal economic stimulus
	legislation;
	[(4)]  all bills and resolutions diverting funds from
	the state treasury or preventing funds from going in that otherwise
	would be placed in the state treasury; and
	(4) [(5)]  all matters pertaining to claims and
	accounts filed with the legislature against the state unless
	jurisdiction over those bills and resolutions is specifically
	granted by these rules to some other standing committee.
	(b)  The appropriations committee may comment upon any bill
	or resolution containing a provision resulting in an automatic
	allocation of funds.
	Sec. 3 [4].  BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY. The committee shall
	have seven [nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  industry and manufacturing;
	(2)  industrial safety and adequate and safe working
	conditions, and the regulation and control of those conditions;
	(3)  hours, wages, collective bargaining, and the
	relationship between employers and employees;
	(4)  the regulation of business transactions and
	transactions involving property interests;
	(5)  the organization, incorporation, management, and
	regulation of private corporations and professional associations
	and the Uniform Commercial Code and the Texas Revised Limited
	Partnership Act;
	(6)  the protection of consumers, governmental
	regulations incident thereto, the agencies of government
	authorized to regulate such activities, and the role of the
	government in consumer protection;
	(7)  privacy and identity theft;
	(8)  homeowners' associations;
	(9)  oversight and regulation of the construction
	industry; and
	(10)  the following state agencies: the State Office of
	Risk Management, the Risk Management Board, the Division of
	Workers' Compensation of the Texas Department of Insurance, the
	workers' compensation research and evaluation group in the Texas
	Department of Insurance, the Office of Injured Employee Counsel,
	including the ombudsman program of that office, and the Texas
	Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors.
	Sec. 4 [5].  CALENDARS (PROCEDURAL). The committee shall
	have 15 members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  the placement of bills and resolutions on
	appropriate calendars, except those within the jurisdiction of the
	Committee on Rules and Resolutions;
	(2)  the determination of priorities and proposal of
	rules for floor consideration of such bills and resolutions; and
	(3)  all other matters concerning the calendar system
	and the expediting of the business of the house as may be assigned
	by the speaker.
	Sec. 5 [6].  CORRECTIONS. The committee shall have seven
	[nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted
	felons;
	(2)  the establishment and maintenance of programs that
	provide alternatives to incarceration;
	(3)  the commitment and rehabilitation of youths;
	(4)  the construction, operation, and management of
	correctional facilities of the state and facilities used for the
	commitment and rehabilitation of youths;
	(5)  juvenile delinquency and gang violence;
	(6)  criminal law, prohibitions, standards, and
	penalties as applied to juveniles;
	(7)  criminal procedure in the courts of Texas as it
	relates to juveniles; and
	(8)  the following state agencies:  the Texas
	Department of Criminal Justice, the Special Prosecution Unit, the
	Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Texas Juvenile Justice Board, the
	Texas Juvenile Justice Department [Youth Commission], the Office of
	Independent Ombudsman for [of] the Texas Juvenile Justice
	Department [Youth Commission], the Council on Sex Offender
	Treatment, the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical
	or Mental Impairments, [the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission,]
	and the Advisory Council on Juvenile Services.
	Sec. 6 [7].  COUNTY AFFAIRS. The committee shall have nine
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  counties, including their organization, creation,
	boundaries, government, and finance and the compensation and duties
	of their officers and employees;
	(2)  establishing districts for the election of
	governing bodies of counties;
	(3)  regional councils of governments;
	(4)  multicounty boards or commissions;
	(5)  relationships or contracts between counties;
	(6)  other units of local government not otherwise
	assigned by these rules to other standing committees; and
	(7)  the following state agency:  the Commission on
	Jail Standards.
	Sec. 7 [8].  CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE. The committee shall
	have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining
	to:
	(1)  criminal law, prohibitions, standards, and
	penalties;
	(2)  probation and parole;
	(3)  criminal procedure in the courts of Texas;
	(4)  revision or amendment of the Penal Code; and
	(5)  the following state agencies:  the Office of State
	Prosecuting Attorney and the Texas State Council for Interstate
	Adult Offender Supervision.
	Sec. 8 [9].  CULTURE, RECREATION, AND TOURISM. The
	committee shall have seven [nine] members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  the creation, operation, and control of state
	parks, including the development, maintenance, and operation of
	state parks in connection with the sales and use tax imposed on
	sporting goods, but not including any matter within the
	jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations;
	(2)  the regulation and control of the propagation and
	preservation of wildlife and fish in the state;
	(3)  the development and regulation of the fish and
	oyster industries of the state;
	(4)  hunting and fishing in the state, and the
	regulation and control thereof, including the imposition of fees,
	fines, and penalties relating to that regulation;
	(5)  the regulation of other recreational activities;
	(6)  cultural resources and their promotion,
	development, and regulation;
	(7)  historical resources and their promotion,
	development, and regulation;
	(8)  promotion and development of Texas' image and
	heritage;
	(9)  preservation and protection of Texas' shrines,
	monuments, and memorials;
	(10)  international and interstate tourist promotion
	and development;
	(11)  the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office
	as it relates to the subject-matter jurisdiction of this committee;
	(12)  the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Compact; and
	(13)  the following state agencies: the Parks and
	Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the State
	Cemetery Committee, the Texas State Library and Archives
	Commission, the Texas Historical Commission, the State
	Preservation Board, the San Jacinto Historical Advisory Board, and
	an office of state government to the extent the office promotes the
	Texas music industry.
	Sec. 9 [10].  DEFENSE AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS.  The committee
	shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  the relations between the State of Texas and the
	federal government involving defense, emergency preparedness, and
	veterans issues;
	(2)  the various branches of the military service of
	the United States;
	(3)  the realignment or closure of military bases;
	(4)  the defense of the state and nation, including
	terrorism response;
	(5)  emergency preparedness;
	(6)  veterans of military and related services; and
	(7)  the following state agencies: the Adjutant
	General's Department, the Texas Veterans Commission, the Veterans'
	Land Board, the Texas Military Preparedness Commission, the Texas
	Division of Emergency Management, and the Emergency Management
	Council.
	Sec. 10 [11].  ECONOMIC AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. (a)
	The committee shall have nine [seven] members, with jurisdiction
	over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  workforce training;
	(2)  commerce, trade, and manufacturing;
	(3)  economic and industrial development;
	(4)  development and support of small businesses;
	(5)  job creation and job-training programs;
	(6)  hours, wages, collective bargaining, and the
	relationship between employers and employees;
	(7)  unemployment compensation, including coverage,
	benefits, taxes, and eligibility;
	(8)  labor unions and their organization, control,
	management, and administration;
	(9)  weights and measures; and
	(10)  the following state agencies: the Texas Economic
	Development and Tourism Office, the Texas Workforce Commission, and
	the Texas Workforce Investment Council.
	(b)  The chair of the committee shall appoint a permanent
	subcommittee on manufacturing consisting of not fewer than five
	members to consider all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  manufacturing in the state, including the
	state's manufacturing capability;
	(2)  advances in manufacturing science and
	technology;
	(3)  the promotion of manufacturing research,
	development, and technology transfers in the state; and
	(4)  matters related to cooperation of state and
	local governments with the scientific, educational, and
	manufacturing communities, including industry, institutions of
	higher education, and federal or state experiment stations and
	laboratories.
	Sec. 11 [12].  ELECTIONS. The committee shall have seven
	[nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the right of suffrage in Texas;
	(2)  primary, special, and general elections;
	(3)  revision, modification, amendment, or change of
	the Election Code;
	(4)  the secretary of state in relation to elections;
	(5)  campaign finance;
	(6)  the duties and conduct of candidates for public
	office and of persons with an interest in influencing public
	policy; and
	(7)  the following state agencies: the Office of the
	Secretary of State and the Texas Ethics Commission.
	Sec. 12 [13].  ENERGY RESOURCES. The committee shall have
	11 [nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining
	to:
	(1)  the conservation of the energy resources of Texas;
	(2)  the production, regulation, transportation, and
	development of oil, gas, and other energy resources;
	(3)  mining and the development of mineral deposits
	within the state;
	(4)  the leasing and regulation of mineral rights under
	public lands;
	(5)  pipelines, pipeline companies, and all others
	operating as common carriers in the state;
	(6)  electric utility regulation as it relates to
	energy production and consumption;
	(7)  identifying, developing, and using alternative
	energy sources;
	(8)  increasing energy efficiency throughout the
	state; and
	(9)  the following state agencies:  the Railroad
	Commission of Texas, the Office of Interstate Oil Compact
	Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Interstate Mining Compact
	Commissioner for Texas, [the Texas Energy Coordination Council,]
	the State Energy Conservation Office, and the Office of Southern
	States Energy Board Member for Texas.
	Sec. 13 [14].  ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION. The committee
	shall have nine  members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  air, land, and water pollution, including the
	environmental regulation of industrial development;
	(2)  the regulation of waste disposal;
	(3)  environmental matters that are regulated by the
	Department of State Health Services or the Texas Commission on
	Environmental Quality;
	(4)  oversight of the Texas Commission on Environmental
	Quality as it relates to environmental regulation; and
	(5)  the following state agency: the Texas Low-Level
	Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission.
	Sec. 14 [15].  GENERAL INVESTIGATING AND ETHICS
	(PROCEDURAL). (a) The General Investigating and Ethics Committee
	shall have five members of the house appointed by the speaker. The
	speaker shall appoint the chair and the vice-chair of the
	committee.
	(b)  The committee has all the powers and duties of a general
	investigating committee and shall operate as the general
	investigating committee of the house according to the procedures
	prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, and the
	rules of the house, as applicable.
	(c)  The committee has jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to the conduct of and ethical standards applicable to
	state and local government officers and employees.
	Sec. 15 [16].  GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND REFORM. The
	committee shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over all
	matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the organization, operation, powers, regulations,
	and management of state departments, agencies, institutions, and
	advisory committees;
	(2)  elimination of inefficiencies in the provision of
	state services; [and]
	(3)  open government matters, including open records
	and open meetings; and
	(4)  the Sunset Advisory Commission.
	Sec. 16 [17].  HIGHER EDUCATION. The committee shall have
	nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  education beyond high school;
	(2)  the colleges and universities of the State of
	Texas; and
	(3)  the following state agencies: the Texas
	Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas Engineering Extension
	Service, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas
	Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, the State Medical Education
	Board, the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board, and the Texas
	Transportation Institute.
	Sec. 17 [18].  HOMELAND SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY. The
	committee shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all
	matters pertaining to:
	(1)  law enforcement;
	(2)  the prevention of crime and the apprehension of
	criminals;
	(3)  the provision of security services by private
	entities;
	(4)  homeland security, including:
	(A)  the defense of the state and nation,
	including terrorism response; and
	(B)  disaster mitigation, preparedness, response,
	and recovery; and
	(5)  the following state agencies: the Commission on
	Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, the Department of
	Public Safety, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the
	Emergency Management Council, the Texas Forensic Science
	Commission, the Texas Military Preparedness Commission, the Texas
	Private Security Board, the Commission on State Emergency
	Communications, and the Texas Crime Stoppers Council.
	Sec. 18 [19].  HOUSE ADMINISTRATION (PROCEDURAL). (a)  The
	committee shall have 11 members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  administrative operation of the house and its
	employees;
	(2)  the general house fund, with full control over all
	expenditures from the fund;
	(3)  all property, equipment, and supplies obtained by
	the house for its use and the use of its members;
	(4)  all office space available for the use of the house
	and its members;
	(5)  the assignment of vacant office space, vacant
	parking spaces, and vacant desks on the house floor to members with
	seniority based on cumulative years of service in the house, except
	that the committee may make these assignments based on physical
	disability of a member where it deems proper;
	(6)  all admissions to the floor during sessions of the
	house;
	(7)  all proposals to invite nonmembers to appear
	before or address the house or a joint session;
	(8)  all radio broadcasting and televising, live or
	recorded, of sessions of the house;
	(9)  the electronic recording of the proceedings of the
	house of representatives and the custody of the recordings of
	testimony before house committees, with authority to promulgate
	reasonable rules, regulations, and conditions concerning the
	safekeeping, reproducing, and transcribing of the recordings, and
	the defraying of costs for transcribing the recordings, subject to
	other provisions of these rules;
	(10)  all witnesses appearing before the house or any
	committee thereof in support of or in opposition to any pending
	legislative proposal; and
	(11)  the following state agency: the State
	Preservation Board.
	(b)  The committee must vote to adopt the annual budget for
	each house department.
	Sec. 19 [20].  HUMAN SERVICES. The committee shall have
	nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  welfare and rehabilitation programs and their
	development, administration, and control;
	(2)  oversight of the Health and Human Services
	Commission as it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of this
	committee;
	(3)  intellectual disabilities and the development of
	programs incident thereto;
	(4)  the prevention and treatment of intellectual
	disabilities; and
	(5)  the following state agencies:  the Department of
	Aging and Disability Services, the Department of Assistive and
	Rehabilitative Services, the Department of Family and Protective
	Services, the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners, the
	Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities, and the
	Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors.
	Sec. 20 [21].  INSURANCE. The committee shall have nine
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  insurance and the insurance industry;
	(2)  all insurance companies and other organizations of
	any type writing or issuing policies of insurance in the State of
	Texas, including their organization, incorporation, management,
	powers, and limitations; and
	(3)  the following state agencies: the Texas
	Department of Insurance, the Texas Health Benefits Purchasing
	Cooperative, and the Office of Public Insurance Counsel.
	Sec. 21 [3].  INTERNATIONAL TRADE [BORDER] AND
	INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS. The committee shall have seven [nine]
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the relations between the State of Texas and other
	nations, including matters related to trade relations and
	international trade zones;
	(2)  the relations between the State of Texas and the
	federal government other than matters involving defense, emergency
	preparedness, and veterans issues;
	(3)  the relations between the State of Texas and other
	states of the United States;
	(4)  international commerce and trade, including the
	regulation of persons participating in international commerce and
	trade;
	(5)  international and border regions (as described in
	Sections 2056.002(e)(2) and (3), Government Code) economic
	development, public health and safety issues affecting the border,
	tourist development, and goodwill, and economic development,
	tourist development, and goodwill in other areas of the state that
	have experienced a significant increase in the percentage of the
	population that consists of immigrants from other nations,
	according to the last two federal decennial censuses or another
	reliable measure;
	(6)  the provision of public services to persons
	residing in proximity to Texas' international border or in other
	areas of the state that have experienced a significant increase in
	the percentage of the population that consists of immigrants from
	other nations, according to the last two federal decennial censuses
	or another reliable measure; and
	(7)  the following state agency: the Office of
	State-Federal Relations.
	Sec. 22 [27].  [PENSIONS,] INVESTMENTS[,] AND FINANCIAL
	SERVICES. The committee shall have seven [nine] members, with
	jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  banking and the state banking system;
	(2)  savings and loan associations;
	(3)  credit unions;
	(4)  the regulation of state and local bonded
	indebtedness;
	(5)  the lending of money;
	(6)  [benefits or participation in benefits of a public
	retirement system and the financial obligations of a public
	retirement system;
	[(7)]  the regulation of securities and investments;
	(7) [(8)]  privacy and identity theft; and
	(8) [(9)]  the following state agencies: the Finance
	Commission of Texas, the Credit Union Commission, the Office of
	Consumer Credit Commissioner, the Office of Banking Commissioner,
	the Texas Department of Banking, the Department of Savings and
	Mortgage Lending, the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, the
	Texas Public Finance Authority, the Bond Review Board, [the Office
	of Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner, the Board of Trustees of
	the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Board of Trustees of the
	Employees Retirement System of Texas, the Board of Trustees of the
	Texas County and District Retirement System, the Board of Trustees
	of the Texas Municipal Retirement System, the State Pension Review
	Board,] and the State Securities Board.
	Sec. 23 [22].  JUDICIARY AND CIVIL JURISPRUDENCE. The
	committee shall have nine [11] members, with jurisdiction over all
	matters pertaining to:
	(1)  fines and penalties arising under civil laws;
	(2)  civil law, including rights, duties, remedies, and
	procedures thereunder, and including probate and guardianship
	matters;
	(3)  civil procedure in the courts of Texas;
	(4)  administrative law and the adjudication of rights
	by administrative agencies;
	(5)  permission to sue the state;
	(6)  civil law as it relates to familial relationships,
	including rights, duties, remedies, and procedures thereunder;
	(7)  uniform state laws;
	(8)  creating, changing, or otherwise affecting courts
	of judicial districts of the state;
	(9)  establishing districts for the election of
	judicial officers;
	(10)  the State Commission on Judicial Conduct;
	(11)  the Office of the Attorney General, including its
	organization, powers, functions, and responsibilities;
	(12)  courts and court procedures except where
	jurisdiction is specifically granted to some other standing
	committee; and
	(13)  the following state agencies: the Supreme Court,
	the Courts of Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the State
	Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Office of Court Administration
	of the Texas Judicial System, the State Law Library, the Texas
	Judicial Council, the Guardianship Certification Board, the Office
	of the Attorney General, the Court Reporters Certification Board,
	the Board of Law Examiners, the State Bar of Texas, and the State
	Office of Administrative Hearings.
	Sec. 24 [23].  LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. The committee
	shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  the management of public lands;
	(2)  the power of eminent domain;
	(3)  annexation, zoning, and other governmental
	regulation of land use; and
	(4)  the following state agencies:  the School Land
	Board, the Board for Lease of University Lands, [the Coastal
	Coordination Council,] and the General Land Office.
	Sec. 25 [24].  LICENSING AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES. The
	committee shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all
	matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the oversight of businesses, industries, general
	trades, and occupations regulated by this state;
	(2)  the regulation of greyhound and horse racing and
	other gaming industries;
	(3)  regulation of the sale of intoxicating beverages
	and local option control;
	(4)  the Alcoholic Beverage Code; and
	(5)  the following state agencies: the Texas
	Department of Licensing and Regulation, the State Office of
	Administrative Hearings, the Texas Board of Architectural
	Examiners, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, the Texas
	Real Estate Commission, the Texas State Board of Plumbing
	Examiners, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, the Real
	Estate Research Center, the Texas Board of Professional Land
	Surveying, the Texas Racing Commission, the Texas Appraiser
	Licensing and Certification Board, the Texas Lottery Commission,
	and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
	Sec. 26 [25].  LOCAL AND CONSENT CALENDARS (PROCEDURAL).
	The committee shall have 13 [11] members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  the placement on appropriate calendars of bills
	and resolutions that, in the opinion of the committee, are in fact
	local or will be uncontested, and have been recommended as such by
	the standing committee of original jurisdiction; and
	(2)  the determination of priorities for floor
	consideration of bills and resolutions except those within the
	jurisdiction of the Committee on Calendars.
	Sec. 27 [26].  NATURAL RESOURCES. The committee shall have
	11 members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the conservation of the natural resources of
	Texas;
	(2)  the control and development of land and water and
	land and water resources, including the taking, storing, control,
	and use of all water in the state, and its appropriation and
	allocation;
	(3)  irrigation, irrigation companies, and irrigation
	districts, and their incorporation, management, and powers;
	(4)  the creation, modification, and regulation of
	groundwater conservation districts and the modification and
	regulation of water supply districts, water control and improvement
	districts, conservation and reclamation districts, and all similar
	organs of local government dealing with water and water supply;
	(5)  oversight of the Texas Commission on Environmental
	Quality as it relates to the regulation of water resources; and
	(6)  the following state agencies: the Office of
	Canadian River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Pecos
	River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Red River
	Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Rio Grande Compact
	Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Sabine River Compact
	Administrator for Texas, the Multi-State Water Resources Planning
	Commission, and the Texas Water Development Board.
	Sec. 28 [27].  PENSIONS[, INVESTMENTS, AND   FINANCIAL
	SERVICES]. The committee shall have seven [nine] members, with
	jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  [banking and the state banking system;
	[(2)  savings and loan associations;
	[(3)  credit unions;
	[(4)     the regulation of state and local bonded
	indebtedness;
	[(5)  the lending of money;
	[(6)]  benefits or participation in benefits of a
	public retirement system and the financial obligations of a public
	retirement system; and
	(2) [(7)     the regulation of securities and
	investments;
	[(8)  privacy and identity theft; and
	[(9)]  the following state agencies: [the Finance
	Commission of Texas, the Credit Union Commission, the Office of
	Consumer Credit Commissioner, the Office of Banking Commissioner,
	the Texas Department of Banking, the Department of Savings and
	Mortgage Lending, the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, the
	Texas Public Finance Authority, the Bond Review Board,] the Office
	of Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner, the Board of Trustees of
	the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Board of Trustees of the
	Employees Retirement System of Texas, the Board of Trustees of the
	Texas County and District Retirement System, the Board of Trustees
	of the Texas Municipal Retirement System, and the State Pension
	Review Board[, and the State Securities Board].
	Sec. 29 [28].  PUBLIC EDUCATION. The committee shall have
	11  members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the public schools and the public school system of
	Texas and the financing thereof;
	(2)  the state programming of elementary and secondary
	education for the public school system of Texas;
	(3)  proposals to create, change, or otherwise alter
	school districts of the state; and
	(4)  the following state agencies: the State Board of
	Education, the Texas Education Agency, the Office of Compact for
	Education Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Southern Regional
	Education Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Texas School for the
	Blind and Visually Impaired, the State Board for Educator
	Certification, and the Texas School for the Deaf.
	Sec. 30 [29].  PUBLIC HEALTH. The committee shall have 11
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  the protection of public health, including
	supervision and control of the practice of medicine and dentistry
	and other allied health services;
	(2)  mental health and the development of programs
	incident thereto;
	(3)  the prevention and treatment of mental illness;
	(4)  oversight of the Health and Human Services
	Commission as it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of this
	committee; and
	(5)  the following state agencies: the Department of
	State Health Services, the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas,
	the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the State Committee of
	Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments, the
	Texas Health Services Authority, the Texas Optometry Board, the
	Radiation Advisory Board, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, the
	Interagency Obesity Council, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas
	Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Texas Board of Physical
	Therapy Examiners, the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical
	Examiners, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the
	State Board of Dental Examiners, the Texas Medical Board, the
	Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers, the Dental Hygiene Advisory
	Committee, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas,
	the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners, the Health
	Professions Council, the Office of Patient Protection, and the
	Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.
	Sec. 31 [30].  REDISTRICTING (PROCEDURAL). The committee
	shall have nine [17] members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  legislative districts, both house and senate, and
	any changes or amendments;
	(2)  congressional districts, their creation, and any
	changes or amendments;
	(3)  establishing districts for the election of
	judicial officers or of governing bodies or representatives of
	political subdivisions or state agencies as required by law; and
	(4)  preparations for the redistricting process.
	Sec. 32 [31].  RULES AND RESOLUTIONS (PROCEDURAL). The
	committee shall have 11 members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  Rules of Procedure of the House of
	Representatives, and all proposed amendments;
	(2)  Joint Rules of the House and Senate, and all
	proposed amendments;
	(3)  all procedures for expediting the business of the
	house in an orderly and efficient manner;
	(4)  all resolutions to congratulate, memorialize, or
	name mascots of the house; and
	(5)  other matters concerning rules, procedures, and
	operation of the house assigned by the speaker.
	Sec. 33.  SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICTS.  (a)  The committee
	shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters
	pertaining to:
	(1)  the creation of any special purpose district not
	otherwise assigned by these rules to other standing committees,
	including a hospital district, emergency services district, crime
	control and prevention district, library district, public
	improvement district, municipal management district, municipal
	development district, irrigation district, water improvement
	district, water control and improvement district, river authority,
	or navigation district; and
	(2)  any other local government special purpose
	district authorized or created under law that as the result of its
	creation may levy or impose a tax, assessment, or fee for a special
	purpose.
	(b)  In this section, "local government" means a political
	subdivision of this state and includes a corporation or other
	entity created by a political subdivision of this state.
	Sec. 34 [32].  STATE AFFAIRS. The committee shall have 13
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  questions and matters of state policy;
	(2)  the administration of state government;
	(3)  the organization, operation, powers, regulation,
	and management of state departments, agencies, and institutions;
	(4)  the operation and regulation of public lands and
	state buildings;
	(5)  the duties and conduct of officers and employees
	of the state government;
	(6)  the operation of state government and its agencies
	and departments; all of above except where jurisdiction is
	specifically granted to some other standing committee;
	(7)  access of the state agencies to scientific and
	technological information;
	(8)  the regulation and deregulation of electric
	utilities and the electric industry;
	(9)  the regulation and deregulation of
	telecommunications utilities and the telecommunications industry;
	(10)  electric utility regulation as it relates to
	energy production and consumption;
	(11)  pipelines, pipeline companies, and all others
	operating as common carriers in the state;
	(12)  the regulation and deregulation of other
	industries jurisdiction of which is not specifically assigned to
	another committee under these rules; and
	(13)  the following organizations and state agencies:
	the Council of State Governments, the National Conference of State
	Legislatures, the Office of the Governor, the Texas Facilities
	Commission, the Department of Information Resources, the Inaugural
	Endowment Fund Committee, the Sunset Advisory Commission, the
	Public Utility Commission of Texas, and the Office of Public
	Utility Counsel.
	Sec. 35 [33].  TECHNOLOGY. The committee shall have five
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  advances in science and technology, including in
	telecommunications, electronic technology, and automated data
	processing;
	(2)  the promotion of scientific research,
	technological development, and technology transfer in the state;
	(3)  matters relating to cooperation of state and local
	governments with the scientific and technological community,
	including industry, institutions of higher education, and federal
	governmental laboratories; and
	(4)  the Texas Emerging Technology Advisory Committee.
	Sec. 36 [34].  TRANSPORTATION. The committee shall have 11
	members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to:
	(1)  commercial motor vehicles, both bus and truck, and
	their control, regulation, licensing, and operation;
	(2)  the Texas highway system, including all roads,
	bridges, and ferries constituting a part of the system;
	(3)  the licensing of private passenger vehicles to
	operate on the roads and highways of the state;
	(4)  the regulation and control of traffic on the
	public highways of the State of Texas;
	(5)  railroads, street railway lines, interurban
	railway lines, steamship companies, and express companies;
	(6)  airports, air traffic, airlines, and other
	organizations engaged in transportation by means of aerial flight;
	(7)  water transportation in the State of Texas, and
	the rivers, harbors, and related facilities used in water
	transportation and the agencies of government exercising
	supervision and control thereover;
	(8)  the regulation of metropolitan transit; and
	(9)  the following state agencies: the Texas Department
	of Motor Vehicles, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the
	Texas Transportation Commission.
	Sec. 37 [35].  URBAN AFFAIRS. The committee shall have
	seven [nine] members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining
	to:
	(1)  municipalities, including their creation,
	organization, powers, government, and finance, and the
	compensation and duties of their officers and employees;
	(2)  home-rule municipalities, their relationship to
	the state, and their powers, authority, and limitations;
	(3)  the creation or change of metropolitan areas and
	the form of government under which those areas operate;
	(4)  problems and issues particularly affecting
	metropolitan areas of the state;
	(5)  other units of local government not otherwise
	assigned by these rules to other standing committees;
	(6)  establishing districts for the election of
	governing bodies of municipalities;
	(7)  land use regulation by municipalities; and
	(8)  the following state agencies: the Texas
	Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Texas
	Commission on Fire Protection.
	Sec. 38 [36].  WAYS AND MEANS. The committee shall have nine
	[11] members, with jurisdiction over:
	(1)  all bills and resolutions proposing to raise state
	revenue;
	(2)  all bills or resolutions proposing to levy state
	taxes or other fees;
	(3)  all proposals to modify, amend, or change any
	existing state tax or revenue statute;
	(4)  all proposals to regulate the manner of collection
	of state revenues and taxes;
	(5)  all bills and resolutions containing provisions
	resulting in automatic allocation of funds from the state treasury;
	(6)  all bills and resolutions diverting funds from the
	state treasury or preventing funds from going in that otherwise
	would be placed in the state treasury;
	(7)  all bills and resolutions proposing to permit a
	local government to raise revenue;
	(8)  all bills and resolutions proposing to permit a
	local government to levy or impose property taxes, sales and use
	taxes, or other taxes and fees;
	(9)  all proposals to modify, amend, or change any
	existing local government tax or revenue statute;
	(10)  all proposals to regulate the manner of
	collection of local government revenues and taxes;
	(11)  all bills and resolutions relating to the
	appraisal of property for taxation;
	(12)  all bills and resolutions relating to the Tax
	Code; and
	(13)  the following state agencies: the Office of
	Multistate Tax Compact Commissioner for Texas and the State
	Comptroller of Public Accounts.
	RULE 4. ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
	CHAPTER A. ORGANIZATION
	Sec. 1.  COMMITTEES, MEMBERSHIP, AND JURISDICTION. Standing
	committees of the house, and the number of members and general
	jurisdiction of each, shall be as enumerated in Rule 3.
	Sec. 2.  DETERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP.  (a)  Membership on
	the standing committees shall be determined at the beginning of
	each regular session in the following manner:
	(1)  For each standing substantive committee, a maximum
	of one-half of the membership, exclusive of the chair and
	vice-chair, shall be determined by seniority. The remaining
	membership of the committee shall be appointed by the speaker.
	(2)  Each member of the house, in order of seniority,
	may designate three committees on which he or she desires to serve,
	listed in order of preference. The member is entitled to become a
	member of the committee of his or her highest preference on which
	there remains a vacant seniority position.
	(3)  If members of equal seniority request the same
	committee, the speaker shall appoint the member from among those
	requesting that committee. Seniority, as the term is used in this
	subsection, shall mean years of cumulative service as a member of
	the house of representatives.
	(4)  After each member of the house has selected one
	committee on the basis of seniority, the remaining membership on
	each standing committee shall be filled by appointment of the
	speaker, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter.
	(5)  Seniority shall not apply to a procedural
	committee. For purposes of these rules, the procedural committees
	are the Committee on Calendars, the Committee on Local and Consent
	Calendars, the Committee on Rules and Resolutions, the General
	Investigating and Ethics Committee, the Committee on House
	Administration, and the Committee on Redistricting. The entire
	membership of these committees shall be appointed by the speaker.
	(6)  In announcing the membership of committees, the
	speaker shall designate those appointed by the speaker and those
	acquiring membership by seniority.
	(7)  The speaker shall designate the chair and
	vice-chair from the total membership of the committee.
	(b)  In the event of a vacancy in a representative district
	that has not been filled at the time of the determination of the
	membership of standing committees, the representative of the
	district who fills that vacancy shall not be entitled to select a
	committee on the basis of seniority. Committee appointments on
	behalf of that district shall be designated by the district number.
	(c)  In the event that a member-elect of the current
	legislature has not taken the oath of office by the end of the ninth
	day of the regular session, the representative of that district
	shall not be entitled to select a committee on the basis of
	seniority. If the member-elect has not taken the oath of office by
	the time committee appointments are announced, committee
	appointments on behalf of that district shall be designated by
	district number.
	Sec. 3.  RANKING OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS.  Except for the chair
	and vice-chair, members of a standing committee shall rank
	according to their seniority.
	Sec. 4.  MEMBERSHIP RESTRICTIONS.  (a)  No member shall serve
	concurrently on more than two standing substantive committees.
	(b)  A member serving as chair of the Committee on
	Appropriations or the Committee on State Affairs may not serve on
	any other substantive committee.
	Sec. 5.  VACANCIES ON COMMITTEES.  Should a vacancy occur on
	a standing, select, or interim committee subsequent to its
	organization, the speaker shall appoint an eligible member to fill
	the vacancy.
	Sec. 6.  DUTIES OF THE CHAIR.  The chair of each committee
	shall:
	(1)  be responsible for the effective conduct of the
	business of the committee;
	(2)  appoint all subcommittees and determine the number
	of members to serve on each subcommittee;
	(3)  in consultation with members of the committee,
	schedule the work of the committee and determine the order in which
	the committee shall consider and act on bills, resolutions, and
	other matters referred to the committee;
	(4)  have authority to employ and discharge the staff
	and employees authorized for the committee and have supervision and
	control over all the staff and employees;
	(5)  direct the preparation of all committee reports.
	No committee report shall be official until signed by the chair of
	the committee, or by the person acting as chair, or by a majority of
	the membership of the committee;
	(6)  determine the necessity for public hearings,
	schedule hearings, and be responsible for directing the posting of
	notice of hearings as required by the rules;
	(7)  preside at all meetings of the committee and
	control its deliberations and activities in accordance with
	acceptable parliamentary procedure; and
	(8)  have authority to direct the sergeant-at-arms to
	assist, where necessary, in enforcing the will of the committee.
	Sec. 7.  BILL ANALYSES. Except for the general
	appropriations bill, for each bill or joint resolution referred to
	the committee, the staff of the committee shall be responsible for
	distributing a copy of a bill analysis to each member of the
	committee and to the author of a house measure or sponsor of a
	senate measure at the earliest possible opportunity but not later
	than the first time the measure is laid out in a committee meeting.
	The author of the bill or joint resolution may request the Texas
	Legislative Council to prepare an analysis for purposes of this
	section suitable for distribution by committee staff to each member
	of the committee.
	CHAPTER B. PROCEDURE
	Sec. 8.  MEETINGS.  (a)  As soon as practicable after
	standing committees are constituted and organized, the committee
	coordinator, under the direction of the Committee on House
	Administration, shall prepare a schedule for regular meetings of
	all standing committees. This schedule shall be published in the
	house journal and posted in a convenient and conspicuous place near
	the entrance to the house and on other posting boards for committee
	meeting notices, as determined necessary by the Committee on House
	Administration.  To the extent practicable during each regular
	session, standing committees shall conduct regular committee
	meetings in accordance with the schedule of meetings prepared by
	the committee coordinator under the supervision of the Committee on
	House Administration.
	(b)  Standing committees shall meet at other times as may be
	determined by the committee, or as may be called by the chair.
	Subcommittees of standing committees shall likewise meet at other
	times as may be determined by the committee, or as may be called by
	the chair of the committee or subcommittee.
	(c)  Committees shall also meet in such places and at such
	times as the speaker may designate.
	Sec. 9.  MEETING WHILE HOUSE IN SESSION.  No standing
	committee or subcommittee shall meet during the time the house is in
	session without permission being given by a majority vote of the
	house. No standing committee or subcommittee shall conduct its
	meeting on the floor of the house or in the house chamber while the
	house is in session, but shall, if given permission to meet while
	the house is in session, retire to a designated committee room for
	the conduct of its meeting.
	Sec. 10.  PURPOSES FOR MEETING.  A committee or a
	subcommittee may be assembled for:
	(1)  a public hearing where testimony is to be heard,
	and where official action may be taken, on bills, resolutions, or
	other matters;
	(2)  a formal meeting where the committee may discuss
	and take official action on bills, resolutions, or other matters
	without testimony; and
	(3)  a work session where the committee may discuss
	bills, resolutions, or other matters but take no formal action.
	Sec. 11.  POSTING NOTICE.  (a)  No committee or
	subcommittee, including a calendars committee, shall assemble for
	the purpose of a public hearing during a regular session unless
	notice of the hearing has been posted in accordance with the rules
	at least five calendar days in advance of the hearing. No committee
	or subcommittee, including a calendars committee, shall assemble
	for the purpose of a public hearing during a special session unless
	notice of the hearing has been posted in accordance with the rules
	at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing. The committee minutes
	shall reflect the date of each posting of notice. Notice shall not
	be required for a public hearing on a senate bill which is
	substantially the same as a house bill that has previously been the
	subject of a duly posted public hearing by the committee.
	(b)  No committee or subcommittee, including a calendars
	committee, shall assemble for the purpose of a formal meeting or
	work session during a regular or special session unless written
	notice has been posted and transmitted to each member of the
	committee two hours in advance of the meeting or an announcement has
	been filed with the journal clerk and read by the reading clerk
	while the house is in session.
	(c)  All committees meeting during the interim for the
	purpose of a formal meeting, work session, or public hearing shall
	post notice in accordance with the rules and notify members of the
	committee at least five calendar days in advance of the meeting.
	Sec. 12.  MEETINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.  All meetings of a
	committee or subcommittee, including a calendars committee, shall
	be open to other members, the press, and the public unless
	specifically provided otherwise by resolution adopted by the house.
	However, the General Investigating and Ethics Committee or a
	committee considering an impeachment, an address, the punishment of
	a member of the house, or any other matter of a quasi-judicial
	nature may meet in executive session for the limited purpose of
	examining a witness or deliberating, considering, or debating a
	decision, but no decision may be made or voted on except in a
	meeting that is open to the public and otherwise in compliance with
	the rules of the house.
	Sec. 13.  RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS.  (a)  The Rules of
	Procedure of the House of Representatives, and to the extent
	applicable, the rules of evidence and procedure in the civil courts
	of Texas, shall govern the hearings and operations of each
	committee, including a calendars committee. Subject to the
	foregoing, and to the extent necessary for orderly transaction of
	business, each committee may promulgate and adopt additional rules
	and procedures by which it will function.
	(b)  No standing committee, including a calendars committee,
	or any subcommittee, shall adopt any rule of procedure, including
	but not limited to an automatic subcommittee rule, which will have
	the effect of thwarting the will of the majority of the committee or
	subcommittee or denying the committee or subcommittee the right to
	ultimately dispose of any pending matter by action of a majority of
	the committee or subcommittee. A bill or resolution may not be laid
	on the table subject to call in committee without a majority vote of
	the committee.
	Sec. 14.  APPEALS FROM RULINGS OF THE CHAIR.  Appeals from
	rulings of the chair of a committee shall be in order if seconded by
	three members of the committee, which may include the member making
	the appeal. Procedure in committee following an appeal which has
	been seconded shall be the same as the procedure followed in the
	house in a similar situation.
	Sec. 15.  PREVIOUS QUESTION.  Before the previous question
	can be ordered in a committee, the motion therefor must be seconded
	by not less than 4 members of a committee consisting of 21 or more
	members, 3 members of a committee consisting of less than 21 members
	and more than 10 members, or 2 members of a committee consisting of
	10 members or less. If the motion is properly seconded and ordered
	by a majority vote of the committee, further debate on the
	proposition under consideration shall be terminated, and the
	proposition shall be immediately put to a vote of the committee for
	its action.
	Sec. 16.  QUORUM.  A majority of a committee shall
	constitute a quorum. No action or recommendation of a committee
	shall be valid unless taken at a meeting of the committee with a
	quorum actually present, and the committee minutes shall reflect
	the names of those members of the committee who were actually
	present. No committee report shall be made to the house nor shall
	bills or resolutions be placed on a calendar unless ordered by a
	majority of the membership of the committee, except as otherwise
	provided in the rules, and a quorum of the committee must be present
	when the vote is taken on reporting a bill or resolution, on placing
	bills or resolutions on a calendar, or on taking any other formal
	action within the authority of the committee. No committee report
	shall be made nor shall bills or resolutions be placed on a calendar
	except by record vote of the members of the committee, with the yeas
	and nays to be recorded in the minutes of the committee. Proxies
	cannot be used in committees.
	Sec. 17.  MOVING A CALL OF A COMMITTEE.  (a)  It shall be in
	order to move a call of a committee at any time to secure and
	maintain a quorum for any one or more of the following purposes:
	(1)  for the consideration of a specific bill,
	resolution, or other matter;
	(2)  for a definite period of time; or
	(3)  for the consideration of any designated class of
	bills or other matters.
	(b)  When a call of a committee is moved for one or more of
	the foregoing purposes and seconded by two members, one of whom may
	be the chair, and is ordered by a majority of the members present,
	no member shall thereafter be permitted to leave the committee
	meeting without written permission from the chair. After the call
	is ordered, and in the absence of a quorum, the chair shall have the
	authority to authorize the sergeant-at-arms to locate absent
	members of the committee and to compel their attendance for the
	duration of the call.
	Sec. 18.  MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS.  (a)  For each committee,
	including a calendars committee, the chair, or the member acting as
	chair, shall keep complete minutes of the proceedings in committee,
	which shall include:
	(1)  the time and place of each meeting of the
	committee;
	(2)  a roll call to determine the members present at
	each meeting of the committee, whether that meeting follows an
	adjournment or a recess from a previous committee meeting;
	(3)  an accurate record of all votes taken, including a
	listing of the yeas and nays cast on a record vote;
	(4)  the date of posting of notice of the meeting; and
	(5)  other information that the chair shall determine.
	(b)  The minutes for each public hearing of a committee shall
	also include an attachment listing the names of the persons, other
	than members of the legislature, and the persons or entities
	represented by those persons, who were recognized by the chair to
	address the committee.  The attachment shall also list the name of
	each person, other than a member of the legislature, who submitted
	to the committee a sworn statement indicating that the person was
	present in favor of, in opposition to, or without taking a position
	on the measure or other matter, but who because of the person's
	departure or other reason was not recognized by the chair to address
	the committee; provided that the omission of the name of such a
	person is not a sustainable question of order.
	(c)  Committee minutes shall be corrected only at the
	direction of the chair as authorized by a majority vote of the
	committee. Duplicate originals of committee minutes shall be
	maintained, one to remain with the committee chair and the other to
	be filed with the committee coordinator. The committee minutes of a
	meeting of the Appropriations Committee on the general
	appropriations bill must be filed with the committee coordinator
	within five days of the committee meeting. All other committee
	minutes must be filed with the committee coordinator  within three
	days of the committee meeting for a substantive committee, and
	within one day of the committee meeting for a procedural committee.
	If the date on which the committee minutes are due occurs on a
	Saturday, Sunday, or holiday on which the house is not in session,
	the committee minutes shall be filed on the following working day.
	The time at which the minutes are filed shall be time-stamped on the
	duplicate originals of the minutes that are filed with the
	committee coordinator. The duplicate originals shall be available
	at all reasonable business hours for inspection by members or the
	public.
	(d)  The committee coordinator  shall maintain the minutes
	and records safe from loss, destruction, and alteration at all
	times, and may, at any time, turn them, or any portion, over to the
	Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 19.  RECORDING OF TESTIMONY.  All testimony before
	committees and subcommittees shall be electronically recorded
	under the direction of the Committee on House Administration.
	Copies of the testimony may be released under guidelines
	promulgated by the Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 20.  SWORN STATEMENT OF WITNESSES.  (a)  The committee
	coordinator, under the direction of the Committee on House
	Administration, shall prescribe the form of a sworn statement to be
	executed by all persons, other than members, who wish to be
	recognized by the chair to address the committee. The statement
	shall provide for showing at least:
	(1)  the committee or subcommittee;
	(2)  the name, address, and telephone number of the
	person appearing;
	(3)  the person, firm, corporation, class, or group
	represented;
	(4)  the type of business, profession, or occupation in
	which the person is engaged, if the person is representing himself
	or herself; and
	(5)  the matter before the committee on which the
	person wishes to be recognized to address the committee and whether
	for, against, or neutral on the matter.
	(b)  No person shall be recognized by the chair to address
	the committee in favor of, in opposition to, or without taking a
	position on a matter until the sworn statement has been filed with
	the chair of the committee. The chair of the committee shall
	indicate on the sworn statement whether the person completing the
	statement was recognized to address the committee.
	(c)  All sworn statements for those persons recognized by the
	chair to address the committee shall accompany the copy of the
	minutes of the meeting filed with the committee coordinator.
	(d)  All persons, other than members, recognized by the chair
	to address the committee shall give their testimony under oath, and
	each committee may avail itself of additional powers and
	prerogatives authorized by law.
	(e)  The committee shall ensure that an individual who is
	blind receives any necessary assistance in executing the sworn
	statement.
	(f)  The committee shall inform a witness who is blind which
	members of the committee are present when the witness begins to
	testify and shall inform the witness during the testimony of the
	departure and arrival of committee members.
	(g)  The chair may recognize a witness who has been invited
	by the committee to attend the meeting but is not present in the
	same physical location as the committee to testify before the
	committee through an Internet or other videoconferencing system if:
	(1)  the witness has executed a sworn statement under
	this section;
	(2)  the witness has filed the statement or an
	electronic copy of the statement with the chair before testifying;
	and
	(3)  two-way communication has been enabled to allow
	the witness to be clearly visible and audible to the committee
	members and the committee members to be clearly visible and audible
	to the witness.
	Sec. 21.  POWER TO ISSUE PROCESS AND SUMMON WITNESSES.  (a)
	By a record vote of not less than two-thirds of those present and
	voting, a quorum being present, each standing committee shall have
	the power and authority to issue process to witnesses at any place
	in the State of Texas, to compel their attendance, and to compel the
	production of all books, records, and instruments. If necessary to
	obtain compliance with subpoenas or other process, the committee
	shall have the power to issue writs of attachment. All process
	issued by the committee may be addressed to and served by an agent
	of the committee or a sergeant-at-arms appointed by the committee
	or by any peace officer of the State of Texas. The committee shall
	also have the power to cite and have prosecuted for contempt, in the
	manner provided by law, anyone disobeying the subpoenas or other
	process lawfully issued by the committee. The chair of the
	committee shall issue, in the name of the committee, the subpoenas
	and other process as the committee may direct.
	(b)  The chair may summon the governing board or other
	representatives of a state agency to appear and testify before the
	committee without issuing process under Subsection (a) of this
	section. The summons may be communicated in writing, orally, or
	electronically. If the persons summoned fail or refuse to appear,
	the committee may issue process under Subsection (a) of this
	section.
	Sec. 22.  MILEAGE AND PER DIEM FOR WITNESSES.  Subject to
	prior approval by the Committee on House Administration, witnesses
	attending proceedings of any committee under process of the
	committee shall be allowed the same mileage and per diem as are
	allowed members of the committee when in a travel status, to be paid
	out of the contingent expense fund of the house of representatives
	on vouchers approved by the chair of the committee, the chair of the
	Committee on House Administration, and the speaker of the house.
	Sec. 23.  POWER TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE OF STATE AGENCIES.
	Each committee is authorized to request the assistance, when
	needed, of all state departments, agencies, and offices, and it
	shall be the duty of the departments, agencies, and offices to
	assist the committee when requested to do so.  Each committee shall
	have the power and authority to inspect the records, documents, and
	files of every state department, agency, and office, to the extent
	necessary to the discharge of its duties within the area of its
	jurisdiction.
	Sec. 23A.  ASSISTANCE OF OTHER MEMBERS OF LEGISLATURE. At a
	meeting of a committee, the chair may recognize a member of the
	house who is not a member of the committee to provide information to
	the committee, and may recognize a member of the senate for that
	purpose. Recognition is solely within the discretion of the chair
	and is not subject to appeal by that member.
	CHAPTER C. COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS
	Sec. 24.  INTERIM STUDIES.  Standing committees, en banc or
	by subcommittees, are hereby authorized to conduct studies that are
	authorized by the speaker pursuant to Rule 1, Section 17. Studies
	may not be authorized by resolution. The speaker may appoint public
	citizens and officials of state and local governments to standing
	committees to augment the membership for the purpose of interim
	studies and shall provide a list of such appointments to the chief
	clerk. The chair of the standing committee shall have authority to
	name the subcommittees necessary and desirable for the conduct of
	the interim studies and shall also prepare a budget for interim
	studies for approval by the Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 25.  MOTION PREVENTING REPORTING OR PLACEMENT ON A
	CALENDAR.  No motion is in order in a committee considering a bill,
	resolution, or other matter that would prevent the committee from
	reporting it back to the house or placing it on a calendar in
	accordance with the Rules of the House.
	Sec. 26.  FINAL ACTION IN FORM OF REPORT.  No action by a
	committee on bills or resolutions referred to it shall be
	considered as final unless it is in the form of a favorable report,
	an unfavorable report, or a report of inability to recommend a
	course of action.
	Sec. 27.  VOTE ON MOTION TO REPORT.  Motions made in
	committee to report favorably or unfavorably must receive
	affirmative majority votes, majority negative votes to either
	motion being insufficient to report. If a committee is unable to
	agree on a recommendation for action, as in the case of a tie vote,
	it should submit a statement of this fact as its report, and the
	house shall decide, by a majority vote, the disposition of the
	matter by one of the following alternatives:
	(1)  leave the bill in the committee for further
	consideration;
	(2)  refer the bill to some other committee; or
	(3)  order the bill printed, in which case the bill
	shall go to the Committee on Calendars for placement on a calendar
	and for proposal of an appropriate rule for house consideration.
	Sec. 28.  MINORITY REPORTS.  The report of a minority of a
	committee shall be made in the same general form as a majority
	report. No minority report shall be recognized by the house unless
	it has been signed by not less than 4 members of a committee
	consisting of 21 or more members, 3 members of a committee
	consisting of less than 21 members and more than 10 members, or 2
	members of a committee consisting of 10 or less members. Only
	members who were present when the vote was taken on the bill,
	resolution, or other matter being reported, and who voted on the
	losing side, may sign a minority report. Notice of intention to
	file a minority report shall be given to the assembled committee
	after the vote on the bill, resolution, or other matter, and before
	the recess or adjournment of the committee, provided ample
	opportunity is afforded for the giving of notice; otherwise, notice
	may be given in writing to the chief clerk within 24 hours after the
	recess or adjournment of the committee.
	Sec. 29.  ACTION ON BILLS REPORTED UNFAVORABLY.  If the
	majority report on a bill is unfavorable, and a favorable minority
	report is not signed in accordance with Section 28 of this rule and
	filed with the chief clerk within two calendar days, exclusive of
	Sunday and the date of committee action, the chief clerk shall file
	the bill away as dead; except during the last 15 calendar days of a
	regular session, or the last 7 calendar days of a special session,
	when the chief clerk shall hold a bill only one calendar day,
	exclusive of Sunday and the date of committee action, awaiting the
	filing of a minority report before the bill is filed away as dead.
	If the favorable minority report is properly signed and filed, the
	chief clerk shall hold the bill for five legislative days,
	exclusive of the legislative day in which the minority report was
	filed, awaiting adoption by the house of a motion to print the bill
	on minority report. If the motion to print is carried, the bill
	shall be printed as if it had been reported favorably, and shall
	then be immediately forwarded to the Committee on Calendars for
	placement on a calendar and for proposal of an appropriate rule for
	house consideration. If a motion to print a bill on minority report
	is not made within the five legislative days authorized above, the
	chief clerk shall file the bill away as dead. It shall not be in
	order to move to recommit a bill adversely reported with no minority
	report, except as provided in Section 30 of this rule. A two-thirds
	vote of the house shall be required to print on minority report a
	joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
	Texas.
	Sec. 30.  MAKING ADVERSE REPORTS WITHOUT HEARING THE
	AUTHOR.  No adverse report shall be made on any bill or resolution
	by any committee without first giving the author or sponsor of the
	bill an opportunity to be heard. If it becomes evident to the house
	that a bill has been reported adversely without the author or
	sponsor having had an opportunity to be heard as provided in this
	section, the house may, by a majority vote, order the bill
	recommitted even though no minority report was filed in the manner
	prescribed by the rules. This provision shall have precedence over
	Rule 7, Section 20.
	Sec. 31.  ADVERSE REPORTS ON LOCAL BILLS.  If a local bill is
	reported adversely, it shall be subject to the same rules that
	govern other bills reported adversely.
	Sec. 32.  FORM OF REPORTS.  (a)  Reports of standing
	committees on bills and resolutions shall be made in duplicate,
	with one copy to be filed with the journal clerk for printing in the
	journal and the other to accompany the original bill.
	(b)  All committee reports must be in writing and shall:
	(1)  be signed by the chair, or the member acting as
	chair, or a majority of the membership of the committee;
	(2)  be addressed to the speaker;
	(3)  contain a statement of the recommendations of the
	committee with reference to the matter which is the subject of the
	report;
	(4)  contain the date the committee made its
	recommendation;
	(5)  indicate whether a copy of a bill or resolution was
	forwarded to the Legislative Budget Board for preparation of a
	fiscal note or other impact statement, if applicable;
	(6)  contain the record vote by which the report was
	adopted, including the vote of each member of the committee;
	(7)  contain the recommendation that the bill or
	resolution be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars
	for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar if
	applicable;
	(8)  state the name of the primary house sponsor of all
	senate bills and resolutions and indicate the names of all joint
	sponsors or cosponsors;
	(9)  include a summary of the committee hearing on the
	bill or resolution;
	(10)  include a list of the names of the persons, other
	than members of the legislature, and persons or entities
	represented by those persons, who submitted to the committee sworn
	statements indicating that the persons were present in favor of, in
	opposition to, or without taking a position on the bill or
	resolution. The omission from the list of the name of a person who
	submitted a sworn statement regarding a bill or resolution but who
	was not recognized by the chair to address the committee is not a
	sustainable question of order;
	(11)  for a joint resolution proposing a constitutional
	amendment, include the bill number of any enabling legislation for
	the constitutional amendment designated as such by the author or
	sponsor of the joint resolution; and
	(12)  for a bill that is designated by the author or
	sponsor of the bill as enabling legislation for a constitutional
	amendment proposed by a joint resolution, include the number of the
	joint resolution.
	(c)  Except for the general appropriations bill, each
	committee report on a bill or joint resolution, including a
	complete committee substitute, and, to the extent considered
	necessary by the committee, a committee report on any other
	resolution, must include in summary or section-by-section form a
	detailed analysis of the subject matter of the bill or resolution,
	specifically including:
	(1)  background information on the proposal and
	information on what the bill or resolution proposes to do;
	(2)  an analysis of the content of the bill or
	resolution, including a separate statement that lists each statute
	or constitutional provision that is expressly repealed by the bill
	or resolution;
	(3)  a statement indicating whether or not any
	rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to a state officer,
	department, agency, or institution, and, if so, identifying the
	sections of the measure in which that rulemaking authority is
	delegated;
	(4)  a statement of substantial differences between a
	complete committee substitute and the original bill; and
	(5)  a brief explanation of each amendment adopted by
	the committee.
	(d)  The author of a bill or resolution for which an analysis
	is required by Subsection (c) of this section and the committee to
	which the bill or resolution is referred may request the Texas
	Legislative Council to prepare the analysis required by Subsection
	(c) of this section.
	(e)  A committee chair shall provide to the author of a house
	measure or sponsor of a senate measure a copy of the analysis
	required by Subsection (c) of this section as soon as the analysis
	is complete.
	(f)  A point of order raised as to a violation of Subsection
	(c) of this section may be overruled if the analysis is not
	materially or substantially misleading.
	(g)  It shall be the duty of the committee chair, on all
	matters reported by the committee, to see that all provisions of
	Rule 12 are satisfied. The chair shall strictly construe this
	provision to achieve the desired purposes.
	Sec. 33.  FISCAL NOTES.  (a)  If the chair of a standing
	committee determines that a bill or joint resolution, other than
	the general appropriations bill, authorizes or requires the
	expenditure or diversion of state funds for any purpose, the chair
	shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for
	the preparation of a fiscal note outlining the fiscal implications
	and probable cost of the measure.
	(b)  If the chair of a standing committee determines that a
	bill or joint resolution has statewide impact on units of local
	government of the same type or class and authorizes or requires the
	expenditure or diversion of local funds, or creates or impacts a
	local tax, fee, license charge, or penalty, the chair shall send a
	copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
	preparation of a fiscal note outlining the fiscal implications and
	probable cost of the measure.
	(c)  In preparing a fiscal note, the director of the
	Legislative Budget Board may utilize information or data supplied
	by any person, agency, organization, or governmental unit that the
	director deems reliable. If the director determines that the fiscal
	implications of the measure cannot be ascertained, the director
	shall so state in the fiscal note and shall include in the note a
	statement of the reasons the director is unable to ascertain the
	fiscal implications of the measure, in which case the fiscal note
	shall be in full compliance with the rules. If the director of the
	Legislative Budget Board is unable to acquire or develop sufficient
	information to prepare the fiscal note within 15 days of receiving
	the measure from the chair of a committee, the director shall so
	state in the fiscal note and shall include in the note a statement
	of the reasons the director is unable to acquire or develop
	sufficient information, in which case the note shall be in full
	compliance with the rules.
	(d)  If the chair determines that a fiscal note is required,
	copies of the fiscal note must be distributed to the members of the
	committee not later than the first time the measure is laid out in a
	committee meeting. The fiscal note shall be attached to the measure
	on first printing. If the measure is amended by the committee so as
	to alter its fiscal implications, the chair shall obtain an updated
	fiscal note, which shall also be attached to the measure on first
	printing.
	(e)  All fiscal notes shall remain with the measure
	throughout the entire legislative process, including submission to
	the governor.
	Sec. 34.  OTHER IMPACT STATEMENTS.  (a)  It is the intent of
	this section that all members of the house are timely informed as to
	the impact of proposed legislation on the state or other unit of
	government.
	(a-1)  The chair of the appropriations committee shall send a
	copy of the general appropriations bill to the Legislative Budget
	Board for the preparation of a dynamic economic impact statement,
	specifically including the number of state employees to be affected
	and the estimated impact on private-sector employment in Texas as a
	result of any change in state expenditures made by the bill as
	compared to the biennium preceding the biennium to which the bill
	applies.
	(b)  If the chair of a standing committee determines that a
	bill or joint resolution:
	(1)  authorizes or requires a change in the sanctions
	applicable to adults convicted of felony crimes, the chair shall
	send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
	preparation of a criminal justice policy impact statement;
	(2)  authorizes or requires a change in the public
	school finance system, the chair shall send a copy of the measure to
	the Legislative Budget Board for the preparation of an equalized
	education funding impact statement;
	(3)  proposes to change benefits or participation in
	benefits of a public retirement system or change the financial
	obligations of a public retirement system, the chair shall send a
	copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
	preparation of an actuarial impact statement in cooperation with
	the State Pension Review Board;
	(4)  proposes to create a water district under the
	authority of Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution,
	the chair shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget
	Board for the preparation of a water development policy impact
	statement; or
	(5)  creates or impacts a state tax or fee, the chair
	shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for
	the preparation of a tax equity note that estimates the general
	effects of the proposal on the distribution of tax and fee burdens
	among individuals and businesses.
	(c)  In preparing an impact statement, the director of the
	Legislative Budget Board may utilize information or data supplied
	by any person, agency, organization, or governmental unit that the
	director deems reliable. If the director determines that the
	particular implications of the measure cannot be ascertained, the
	director shall so state in the impact statement, in which case the
	impact statement shall be in full compliance with the rules.
	(d)  An impact statement is not required to be present before
	a measure is laid out in a committee meeting. If timely received,
	the impact statement shall be attached to the measure on first
	printing. If the measure is amended by the committee so as to alter
	its particular implications, the chair shall obtain an updated
	impact statement. If timely received, the updated impact statement
	shall also be attached to the measure on first printing.
	(e)  An impact statement that is received after the first
	printing of a measure has been distributed to the members shall be
	forwarded by the chair of the committee to the committee
	coordinator. The committee coordinator  shall have the impact
	statement printed and distributed to the members.
	(f)  All impact statements received shall remain with the
	measure throughout the entire legislative process, including
	submission to the governor.
	Sec. 35.  REPORTS ON HOUSE AND CONCURRENT
	RESOLUTIONS.  Committee reports on house and concurrent
	resolutions shall be made in the same manner and shall follow the
	same procedure as provided for bills, subject to any differences
	otherwise authorized or directed by the rules.
	Sec. 36.  ACTION BY HOUSE ON REPORTS NOT REQUIRED.  No
	action by the house is necessary on the report of a standing
	committee. The bill, resolution, or proposition recommended or
	reported by the committee shall automatically be before the house
	for its consideration after the bill or resolution has been
	referred to the appropriate calendars committee for placement on a
	calendar and for proposal of an appropriate rule for house
	consideration.
	Sec. 37.  REFERRAL OF REPORTS TO COMMITTEE COORDINATOR.  All
	committee reports on bills or resolutions shall be immediately
	referred to the committee coordinator. The chair of the committee
	shall be responsible for delivery of the report to the committee
	coordinator.
	Sec. 38.  DELIVERY OF REPORTS TO CALENDARS
	COMMITTEES.  After printing, the chief clerk shall be responsible
	for delivery of a certified copy of the committee report to the
	appropriate calendars committee, which committee shall immediately
	accept the bill or resolution for placement on a calendar and for
	the proposal of an appropriate rule for house consideration.
	Sec. 38A.  NOTIFICATION OF SUNSET BILLS. The chief clerk
	shall provide notice to each member at the member's designated
	Capitol e-mail address when a committee report under Section 38 of
	this rule on a bill extending an agency, commission, or advisory
	committee under the Texas Sunset Act has been printed or posted and
	is available to be distributed to the appropriate calendars
	committee.
	Sec. 39.  COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS.  No committee shall have the
	power to amend, delete, or change in any way the nature, purpose, or
	content of any bill or resolution referred to it, but may draft and
	recommend amendments to it, which shall become effective only if
	adopted by a majority vote of the house.
	Sec. 40.  SUBSTITUTES.  The committee may adopt and report a
	complete germane committee substitute containing the title,
	enacting clause, and text of the bill in lieu of an original bill,
	in which event the complete substitute bill on committee report
	shall be laid before the house and shall be the matter then before
	the house for its consideration, instead of the original bill. If
	the substitute bill is defeated at any legislative stage, the bill
	is considered not passed.
	Sec. 41.  GERMANENESS OF SUBSTITUTE.  If a point of order is
	raised that a complete committee substitute is not germane, in
	whole or in part, and the point of order is sustained, the committee
	substitute shall be returned to the Committee on Calendars, which
	may have the original bill printed and distributed and placed on a
	calendar in lieu of the substitute or may return the original bill
	to the committee from which it was reported for further action.
	Sec. 42.  AUTHOR'S RIGHT TO OFFER AMENDMENTS TO
	REPORT.  Should the author or sponsor of the bill, resolution, or
	other proposal not be satisfied with the final recommendation or
	form of the committee report, the member shall have the privilege of
	offering on the floor of the house such amendments or changes as he
	or she considers necessary and desirable, and those amendments or
	changes shall be given priority during the periods of time when
	original amendments are in order under the provisions of Rule 11,
	Section 7.
	CHAPTER D. SUBCOMMITTEES
	Sec. 43.  JURISDICTION.  Each committee is authorized to
	conduct its activities and perform its work through the use of
	subcommittees as shall be determined by the chair of the committee.
	Subcommittees shall be created, organized, and operated in such a
	way that the subject matter and work area of each subcommittee shall
	be homogeneous and shall pertain to related governmental
	activities. The size and jurisdiction of each subcommittee shall
	be determined by the chair of the committee.
	Sec. 44.  MEMBERSHIP.  The chair of each standing committee
	shall appoint from the membership of the committee the members who
	are to serve on each subcommittee. Any vacancy on a subcommittee
	shall be filled by appointment of the chair of the standing
	committee. The chair and vice-chair of each subcommittee shall be
	named by the chair of the committee.
	Sec. 45.  RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS.  The Rules of
	Procedure of the House of Representatives, to the extent
	applicable, shall govern the hearings and operations of each
	subcommittee. Subject to the foregoing, and to the extent
	necessary for orderly transaction of business, each subcommittee
	may promulgate and adopt additional rules and procedures by which
	it will function.
	Sec. 46.  QUORUM.  A majority of a subcommittee shall
	constitute a quorum, and no action or recommendation of a
	subcommittee shall be valid unless taken at a meeting with a quorum
	actually present. All reports of a subcommittee must be approved by
	record vote by a majority of the membership of the subcommittee.
	Minutes of the subcommittee shall be maintained in a manner similar
	to that required by the rules for standing committees. Proxies
	cannot be used in subcommittees.
	Sec. 47.  POWER AND AUTHORITY.  Each subcommittee, within
	the area of its jurisdiction, shall have all of the power,
	authority, and rights granted by the Rules of Procedure of the House
	of Representatives to the standing committee, except subpoena
	power, to the extent necessary to discharge the duties and
	responsibilities of the subcommittee.
	Sec. 48.  REFERRAL OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO
	SUBCOMMITTEE.  All bills and resolutions referred to a standing
	committee shall be reviewed by the chair to determine appropriate
	disposition of the bills and resolutions. All bills and
	resolutions shall be considered by the entire standing committee
	unless the chair of that standing committee determines to refer the
	bills and resolutions to subcommittee. If a bill or resolution is
	referred by the chair of the standing committee to a subcommittee,
	it shall be considered by the subcommittee in the same form in which
	the measure was referred to the standing committee, and any action
	taken by the standing committee on a proposed amendment or
	committee substitute before a measure is referred to subcommittee
	is therefore voided at the time the measure is referred to
	subcommittee. The subcommittee shall be charged with the duty and
	responsibility of conducting the hearing, doing research, and
	performing such other functions as the subcommittee or its parent
	standing committee may determine. All meetings of the subcommittee
	shall be scheduled by the subcommittee chair, with appropriate
	public notice and notification of each member of the subcommittee
	under the same rules of procedure as govern the conduct of the
	standing committee.
	Sec. 49.  REPORT BY SUBCOMMITTEE.  At the conclusion of its
	deliberations on a bill, resolution, or other matter referred to
	it, the subcommittee may  prepare a written report, comprehensive
	in nature, for submission to the full committee. The report shall
	include background material as well as recommended action and shall
	be accompanied by a complete draft of the bill, resolution, or other
	proposal in such form as the subcommittee shall determine.
	Sec. 50.  ACTION ON SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS.  Subcommittee
	reports shall be directed to the chair of the committee, who shall
	schedule meetings of the standing committee from time to time as
	necessary and appropriate for the reception of subcommittee reports
	and for action on reports by the standing committee. No
	subcommittee report shall be scheduled for action by the standing
	committee until at least 24  hours after a copy of the subcommittee
	report is provided to each member of the standing committee.
	CHAPTER E. COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE HOUSE
	Sec. 51.  RESOLUTION INTO A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
	HOUSE.  The house may resolve itself into a committee of the whole
	house to consider any matter referred to it by the house. In
	forming a committee of the whole house, the speaker shall vacate the
	chair and shall appoint a chair to preside in committee.
	Sec. 52.  RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS.  The rules governing
	the proceedings of the house and those governing committees shall
	be observed in committees of the whole, to the extent that they are
	applicable.
	Sec. 53.  MOTION FOR A CALL OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE
	WHOLE.  (a)  It shall be in order to move a call of the committee of
	the whole at any time to secure and maintain a quorum for the
	following purposes:
	(1)  for the consideration of a certain or specific
	matter; or
	(2)  for a definite period of time; or
	(3)  for the consideration of any designated class of
	bills.
	(b)  When a call of the committee of the whole is moved and
	seconded by 10 members, of whom the chair may be one, and is ordered
	by majority vote, the main entrance of the hall and all other doors
	leading out of the hall shall be locked, and no member shall be
	permitted to leave the hall without written permission. Other
	proceedings under a call of the committee shall be the same as under
	a call of the house.
	Sec. 54.  HANDLING OF A BILL.  A bill committed to a
	committee of the whole house shall be handled in the same manner as
	in any other committee. The body of the bill shall not be defaced or
	interlined, but all amendments shall be duly endorsed by the chief
	clerk as they are adopted by the committee, and so reported to the
	house. When a bill is reported by the committee of the whole house
	it shall be referred immediately to the appropriate calendars
	committee for placement on the appropriate calendar and shall
	follow the same procedure as any other bill on committee report.
	Sec. 55.  FAILURE TO COMPLETE WORK AT ANY SITTING.  In the
	event that the committee of the whole, at any sitting, fails to
	complete its work on any bill or resolution under consideration for
	lack of time, or desires to take any action on that measure that is
	permitted under the rules for other committees, it may, on a motion
	made and adopted by majority vote, rise, report progress, and ask
	leave of the house to sit again generally, or at a time certain.
	Sec. 56.  REPORTS OF SELECT COMMITTEES.  Reports of select
	committees made during a session shall be filed with the chief clerk
	and printed in the journal, unless otherwise determined by the
	house.
	CHAPTER F. INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEES
	Sec. 57.  INTERIM STUDIES.  Pursuant to Rule 1, Section 17,
	the speaker may create interim study committees to conduct studies
	by issuing a proclamation for each committee, which shall specify
	the issue to be studied, committee membership, and any additional
	authority and duties. A copy of each proclamation creating an
	interim study committee shall be filed with the chief clerk. An
	interim study committee expires on release of its final report or
	when the next legislature convenes, whichever is earlier. An
	interim study committee may not be created by resolution.
	Sec. 58.  APPOINTMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.  The speaker shall
	appoint all members of an interim study committee, which may
	include public citizens and officials of state and local
	governments. The speaker shall also designate the chair and
	vice-chair and may authorize the chair to create subcommittees and
	appoint citizen advisory committees.
	Sec. 59.  RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS.  The rules governing
	the proceedings of the house and those governing standing
	committees shall be observed by an interim study committee, to the
	extent that they are applicable. An interim study committee shall
	have the power to issue process and to request assistance of state
	agencies as provided for a standing committee in Sections 21, 22,
	and 23 of this rule.
	Sec. 60.  FUNDING AND STAFF.  An interim study committee
	shall use existing staff resources of its members, standing
	committees, house offices, and legislative service agencies. The
	chair of an interim study committee shall prepare a detailed budget
	for approval by the speaker and the Committee on House
	Administration. An interim study committee may accept gifts,
	grants, and donations for the purpose of funding its activities as
	provided by Sections 301.032(b) and (c), Government Code.
	Sec. 61.  STUDY REPORTS.  (a) The final report or
	recommendations of an interim study committee shall be approved by
	a majority of the committee membership. Dissenting members may
	attach statements to the final report.
	(b)  An interim study committee shall submit the committee's
	final report to the committee coordinator in the manner prescribed
	by the committee coordinator. The committee coordinator shall:
	(1)  distribute copies of the final report to the
	speaker, the Legislative Reference Library, and other appropriate
	agencies; and
	(2)  make a copy of the final report available on the
	house's Internet website.
	(c)  This section shall also apply to interim study reports
	of standing committees.
	Sec. 62.  JOINT HOUSE AND SENATE INTERIM
	STUDIES.  Procedures may be established by a concurrent resolution
	adopted by both houses, by which the speaker may authorize and
	appoint, jointly with the senate, committees to conduct interim
	studies. A copy of the authorization for and the appointments to a
	joint interim study committee shall be filed with the chief clerk.
	Individual joint interim study committees may not be authorized or
	created by resolution.
	RULE 5. FLOOR PROCEDURE
	CHAPTER A. QUORUM AND ATTENDANCE
	Sec. 1.  QUORUM.  Two-thirds of the house shall constitute a
	quorum to do business.
	Sec. 2.  ROLL CALLS.  On every roll call or registration,
	the names of the members shall be called or listed, as the case may
	be, alphabetically by surname, except when two or more have the same
	surname, in which case the initials of the members shall be added.
	Sec. 3.  LEAVE OF ABSENCE.  (a)  No member shall be absent
	from the sessions of the house without leave, and no member shall be
	excused on his or her own motion.
	(b)  A leave of absence may be granted by a majority vote of
	the house and may be revoked at any time by a similar vote.
	(c)  Any member granted a leave of absence due to a meeting of
	a committee or conference committee that has authority to meet
	while the house is in session shall be so designated on each roll
	call or registration for which that member is excused.
	Sec. 4.  FAILURE TO ANSWER ROLL CALL.  Any member who is
	present and fails or refuses to record on a roll call after being
	requested to do so by the speaker shall be recorded as present by
	the speaker and shall be counted for the purpose of making a quorum.
	Sec. 5.  POINT OF ORDER OF "NO QUORUM." (a) The point of
	order of "No Quorum" shall not be accepted by the chair if the last
	roll call showed the presence of a quorum, provided the last roll
	call was taken within two hours of the time the point of order is
	raised.
	(b)  If the last roll call was taken more than two hours
	before the point of order is raised, it shall be in order for the
	member who raised the point of order to request a roll call. Such a
	request must be seconded by 25 members. If the request for a roll
	call is properly seconded, the chair shall order a roll call.
	(c)  Once a point of order has been made that a quorum is not
	present, it may not be withdrawn after the absence of a quorum has
	been ascertained and announced.
	Sec. 6.  MOTIONS IN ORDER WHEN QUORUM NOT PRESENT.  If a
	registration or record vote reveals that a quorum is not present,
	only a motion to adjourn or a motion for a call of the house and the
	motions incidental thereto shall be in order.
	Sec. 7.  MOTION FOR CALL OF THE HOUSE.  It shall be in order
	to move a call of the house at any time to secure and maintain a
	quorum for one of the following purposes:
	(1)  for the consideration of a specific bill,
	resolution, motion, or other measure;
	(2)  for the consideration of any designated class of
	bills; or
	(3)  for a definite period of time.
	Motions for, and incidental to, a call of the house are not
	debatable.
	Sec. 8.  SECURING A QUORUM.  When a call of the house is
	moved for one of the above purposes and seconded by 15 members (of
	whom the speaker may be one) and ordered by a majority vote, the
	main entrance to the hall and all other doors leading out of the
	hall shall be locked and no member permitted to leave the house
	without the written permission of the speaker. The names of members
	present shall be recorded. All absentees for whom no sufficient
	excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent
	for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the
	sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms
	for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and
	retained. The house shall determine on what conditions they shall
	be discharged. Members who voluntarily appear shall, unless the
	house otherwise directs, be immediately admitted to the hall of the
	house and shall report their names to the clerk to be entered in the
	journal as present.
	Until a quorum appears, should the roll call fail to show one
	present, no business shall be transacted, except to compel the
	attendance of absent members or to adjourn. It shall not be in
	order to recess under a call of the house.
	Sec. 9.  FOLLOWING ACHIEVEMENT OF A QUORUM.  When a quorum
	is shown to be present, the house may proceed with the matters on
	which the call was ordered, or may enforce the call and await the
	attendance of as many of the absentees as it desires. When the
	house proceeds to the business on which the call was ordered, it
	may, by a majority vote, direct the sergeant-at-arms to cease
	bringing in absent members.
	Sec. 10.  REPEATING A RECORD VOTE.  When a record vote
	reveals the lack of a quorum, and a call is ordered to secure one, a
	record vote shall again be taken when the house resumes business
	with a quorum present.
	CHAPTER B. ADMITTANCE TO HOUSE CHAMBER
	Sec. 11.  PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE FLOOR.  Only the following
	persons shall be entitled to the privileges of the floor of the
	house when the house is in session: members of the house; employees
	of the house when performing their official duties as determined by
	the Committee on House Administration; members of the senate;
	employees of the senate when performing their official duties; the
	Governor of Texas and the governor's executive and administrative
	assistant; the lieutenant governor; the secretary of state; duly
	accredited reporters, photographers, correspondents, and
	commentators of press, radio, and television who have complied with
	Sections 20(a), (b), (c), and (d) of this rule; contestants in
	election cases pending before the house; and immediate families of
	the members of the legislature on such special occasions as may be
	determined by the Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 12.  ADMITTANCE WITHIN THE RAILING.  Only the following
	persons shall be admitted to the area on the floor of the house
	enclosed by the railing when the house is in session: members of
	the house; members of the senate; the governor; the lieutenant
	governor; officers and employees of the senate and house when those
	officers and employees are actually engaged in performing their
	official duties as determined by the Committee on House
	Administration; spouses of members of the house on such occasions
	as may be determined by the Committee on House Administration; and,
	within the area specifically designated for media representatives,
	duly accredited reporters, photographers, correspondents, and
	commentators of press, radio, and television who have complied with
	Sections 20(a), (b), (c), and (d) of this rule.
	Sec. 13.  SOLICITORS AND COLLECTORS PROHIBITED.  Solicitors
	and collectors shall not be admitted to the floor of the house while
	the house is in session.
	Sec. 14.  INVITATION TO ADDRESS THE HOUSE.  A motion to
	invite a person to address the house while it is in session shall be
	in order only if the person invited is entitled to the privileges of
	the floor as defined by Section 11 of this rule and if no business is
	pending before the house.
	Sec. 15.  LOBBYING ON FLOOR.  No one, except the governor or
	a member of the legislature, who is lobbying or working for or
	against any pending or prospective legislative measure shall be
	permitted on the floor of the house or in the adjacent rooms while
	the house is in session.
	Sec. 16.  SUSPENSION OF FLOOR PRIVILEGES.  If any person
	admitted to the floor of the house under the rules, except the
	governor or a member of the legislature, lobbies or works for or
	against any pending or prospective legislation or violates any of
	the other rules of the house, the privileges extended to that person
	under the rules shall be suspended by a majority vote of the
	Committee on House Administration. The action of the committee
	shall be reviewable by the house only if two members of the
	committee request an appeal from the decision of the committee. The
	request shall be in the form of a minority report and shall be
	subject to the same rules that are applicable to minority reports on
	bills. Suspension shall remain in force until the accused person
	purges himself or herself and comes within the rules, or until the
	house, by majority vote, reverses the action of the committee.
	Sec. 17.  MEMBERS LOUNGE PRIVILEGES.  Only the following
	persons shall be admitted to the members lounge at any
	time:  members of the house; members of the senate; and former
	members of the house and senate who are not engaged in any form of
	employment requiring them to lobby or work for or against any
	pending or prospective legislative measures.
	Sec. 18.  FLOOR DUTIES OF HOUSE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.  It
	shall be the duty of the Committee on House Administration to
	determine what duties are to be discharged by officers and
	employees of the house on the floor of the house, specifically in
	the area enclosed by the railing, when the house is in session. It
	shall be the duty of the speaker to see that the officers and
	employees do not violate the regulations promulgated by the
	Committee on House Administration.
	Sec. 19.  PROPER DECORUM.  No person shall be admitted to,
	or allowed to remain in, the house chamber while the house is in
	session unless properly attired, and all gentlemen shall wear a
	coat and tie. Food or beverage shall not be permitted in the house
	chamber at any time, and no person carrying food or beverage shall
	be admitted to the chamber, whether the house is in session or in
	recess. Reading newspapers shall not be permitted in the house
	chamber while the house is in session.  Smoking is not permitted in
	the member's lounge or bathrooms.  The Committee on House
	Administration shall designate an area for smoking that is easily
	accessible to the house chamber.
	Sec. 20.  MEDIA ACCESS TO HOUSE CHAMBER.  (a)  When the
	house is in session, no media representative shall be admitted to
	the floor of the house or allowed its privileges unless the person
	is a salaried staff correspondent, reporter, or photographer
	regularly employed by a newspaper, a press association or news
	service serving newspapers, a publication requiring telegraphic
	coverage, or a duly licensed radio or television station or
	network.
	(b)  Any media representative seeking admission to the floor
	of the house under the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section
	must present to the Committee on House Administration fully
	accredited credentials from his or her employer certifying that the
	media representative is engaged primarily in reporting the sessions
	of the legislature. Regularly accredited media representatives who
	have duly qualified under the provisions of this section may, when
	requested to do so, make recommendations through their professional
	committees to the Committee on House Administration as to the
	sufficiency or insufficiency of the credentials of any person
	seeking admission to the floor of the house under this section.
	Every media representative, before being admitted to the
	floor of the house during its sessions, shall file with the
	Committee on House Administration a written statement showing the
	paper or papers, press association, news service, publication
	requiring telegraphic coverage, or radio or television station or
	network which he or she represents and certifying that no part of
	his or her salary for legislative coverage is paid by any person,
	firm, corporation, or association except the listed news media
	which he or she represents.
	(c)  If the Committee on House Administration determines
	that a person's media credentials meet the requirements of this
	section, the committee shall issue a pass card to the person. This
	pass card must be presented to the doorkeeper each time the person
	seeks admission to the floor of the house while the house is in
	session. Pass cards issued under this section shall not be
	transferable. Persons admitted to the floor of the house pursuant
	to the provisions of this section shall work in appropriate
	convenient seats or work stations in the house, which shall be
	designated for that purpose by the Committee on House
	Administration.
	(d)  Members of the house shall not engage in interviews and
	press conferences on the house floor while the house is in session.
	The Committee on House Administration is authorized to enforce this
	provision and to prescribe such other regulations as may be
	necessary and desirable to achieve these purposes. Persons
	governed by this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of
	Section 15 of this rule.
	(e)  Permission to make live or recorded television or radio
	broadcasts in or from the house chamber while the house is in
	session may be granted only by the Committee on House
	Administration. The committee shall promulgate regulations
	governing television or radio broadcasts, and such regulations
	shall be printed as an addendum to the rules of the house. When
	television or radio broadcasts from the floor of the house are
	recommended by the Committee on House Administration, the
	recommendation shall identify those persons in the technical crews
	to whom pass cards to the floor of the house and galleries are to be
	issued. Passes granted under this authority shall be subject to
	revocation on the recommendation of the Committee on House
	Administration. Each committee of the house shall have authority
	to determine whether or not to permit television or radio
	broadcasts of any of its proceedings.
	Sec. 21.  PUBLIC ADMISSION TO AND NONLEGISLATIVE USE OF THE
	HOUSE CHAMBER.  When the house is not in session, the floor of the
	house shall remain open on days and hours determined by the
	Committee on House Administration. By resolution, the house may
	open the floor of the house during its sessions for the inauguration
	of the governor and lieutenant governor and for such other public
	ceremonies as may be deemed warranted.
	CHAPTER C. SPEAKING AND DEBATE
	Sec. 22.  ADDRESSING THE HOUSE.  When a member desires to
	speak or deliver any matter to the house, the member shall rise and
	respectfully address the speaker as "Mr. (or Madam) Speaker" and,
	on being recognized, may address the house from the microphone at
	the reading clerk's desk, and shall confine all remarks to the
	question under debate, avoiding personalities.
	Sec. 23.  WHEN TWO MEMBERS RISE AT ONCE.  When two or more
	members rise at once, the speaker shall name the one who is to speak
	first. This decision shall be final and not open to debate or
	appeal.
	Sec. 24.  RECOGNITION.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided
	by this section, there  shall be no appeal from the speaker's
	recognition, but the speaker shall be governed by rules and usage in
	priority of entertaining motions from the floor.  When a member
	seeks recognition, the speaker may ask, "For what purpose does the
	member rise?" or "For what purpose does the member seek
	recognition?" and may then decide if recognition is to be granted,
	except that the speaker shall recognize a member who seeks
	recognition on a question of privilege.
	(b)  If the speaker denies recognition of a member who seeks
	recognition on a question of privilege, other than a question of
	privilege relating to the right of the house to remove the speaker
	and elect a new speaker, the decision of recognition may be appealed
	using the procedures provided in Rule 1, Section 9.
	(c)  If the speaker denies recognition of a member who seeks
	recognition on a question of privilege relating to the right of the
	house to remove the speaker and elect a new speaker, the member may
	appeal the speaker's denial of recognition if the member submits to
	the speaker a written request, signed by at least 76 members of the
	house, to appeal the decision of recognition.  Upon receiving a
	request for appeal in accordance with this subsection, the speaker
	shall announce the request to the house.  The names of the members
	who signed the request and the time that the announcement was made
	shall be entered in the journal.  The appeal of a decision of
	recognition under this subsection is eligible for consideration 24
	hours after the request for appeal has been announced in accordance
	with this subsection.  The appeal and consideration of the question
	of privilege, if the appeal is successful, takes precedence over
	all other questions except motions to adjourn.
	Sec. 25.  INTERRUPTION OF A MEMBER WHO HAS THE FLOOR.  A
	member who has the floor shall not be interrupted by another member
	for any purpose, unless he or she consents to yield to the other
	member. A member desiring to interrupt another in debate should
	first address the speaker for the permission of the member
	speaking. The speaker shall then ask the member who has the floor
	if he or she wishes to yield, and then announce the decision of that
	member. The member who has the floor may exercise personal
	discretion as to whether or not to yield, and it is entirely within
	the member's discretion to determine who shall interrupt and when.
	Sec. 26.  YIELDING THE FLOOR.  A member who obtains the
	floor on recognition of the speaker may not be taken off the floor
	by a motion, even the highly privileged motion to adjourn, but if
	the member yields to another to make a motion or to offer an
	amendment, he or she thereby loses the floor.
	Sec. 27.  RIGHT TO OPEN AND CLOSE DEBATE.  The mover of any
	proposition, or the member reporting any measure from a committee,
	or, in the absence of either of them, any other member designated by
	such absentee, shall have the right to open and close the debate,
	and for this purpose may speak each time not more than 20 minutes.
	Sec. 28.  TIME LIMITS ON SPEECHES.  All speeches shall be
	limited to 10 minutes in duration, except as provided in Section 27
	of this rule, and the speaker shall call the members to order at the
	expiration of their time. If the house by a majority vote extends
	the time of any member, the extension shall be for 10 minutes only.
	A second extension of time shall be granted only by unanimous
	consent. During the last 10 calendar days of the regular session,
	and the last 5 calendar days of a special session, Sundays excepted,
	all speeches shall be limited to 10 minutes and shall not be
	extended. The time limits established by this rule shall include
	time consumed in yielding to questions from the floor.
	Sec. 29.  LIMIT ON NUMBER OF TIMES TO SPEAK.  No member shall
	speak more than twice on the same question without leave of the
	house, nor more than once until every member choosing to speak has
	spoken, nor shall any member be permitted to consume the time of
	another member without leave of the house being given by a majority
	vote.
	Sec. 30.  EFFECT OF ADJOURNMENT ON SPEAKING LIMIT.  If a
	pending question is not disposed of because of an adjournment of the
	house, a member who has spoken twice on the subject shall not be
	allowed to speak again without leave of the house.
	Sec. 31.  OBJECTION TO READING A PAPER.  When the reading of
	a paper is called for, and objection is made, the matter shall be
	determined by a majority vote of the house, without debate.
	Sec. 32.  PASSING BETWEEN MICROPHONES DURING DEBATE.  No
	person shall pass between the front and back microphones during
	debate or when a member has the floor and is addressing the house.
	Sec. 33.  TRANSGRESSION OF RULES WHILE SPEAKING.  If any
	member, in speaking or otherwise, transgresses the rules of the
	house, the speaker shall, or any member may, call the member to
	order, in which case the member so called to order shall immediately
	be seated; however, that member may move for an appeal to the house,
	and if appeal is duly seconded by 10 members, the matter shall be
	submitted to the house for decision by majority vote. In such
	cases, the speaker shall not be required to relinquish the chair, as
	is required in cases of appeals from the speaker's decisions. The
	house shall, if appealed to, decide the matter without debate. If
	the decision is in favor of the member called to order, the member
	shall be at liberty to proceed; but if the decision is against the
	member, he or she shall not be allowed to proceed, and, if the case
	requires it, shall be liable to the censure of the house, or such
	other punishment as the house may consider proper.
	Sec. 34.  ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF ALL HOUSE PROCEEDINGS. (a)
	All proceedings of the house of representatives shall be
	electronically recorded under the direction of the Committee on
	House Administration. Copies of the proceedings may be released
	under guidelines promulgated by the Committee on House
	Administration.
	(b)  Archived video broadcasts of proceedings in the house
	chamber that are available through the house's Internet or intranet
	website may, under the direction of the Committee on House
	Administration, include a link to the point in time in the video
	where each measure under consideration by the house is laid out.
	Such a link shall be provided as soon as the committee determines is
	practical.
	CHAPTER D. QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE
	Sec. 35.  QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE DEFINED.  Questions of
	privilege shall be:
	(1)  those affecting the rights of the house
	collectively, its safety and dignity, and the integrity of its
	proceedings, including the right of the house to remove the speaker
	and elect a new speaker; and
	(2)  those affecting the rights, reputation, and
	conduct of members individually in their representative capacity
	only.
	Sec. 36.  PRECEDENCE OF QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE.  Questions
	of privilege shall have precedence over all other questions except
	motions to adjourn. When in order, a member may address the house
	on a question of privilege, or may at any time print it in the
	journal, provided it contains no reflection on any member of the
	house.
	Sec. 37.  WHEN QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE NOT IN ORDER.  (a) It
	shall not be in order for a member to address the house on a question
	of privilege:
	(1)  between the time an undebatable motion is offered
	and the vote is taken on the motion;
	(2)  between the time the previous question is ordered
	and the vote is taken on the last proposition included under the
	previous question; or
	(3)  between the time a motion to table is offered and
	the vote is taken on the motion.
	(b)  If a question of privilege relating to removal of the
	speaker and election of a new speaker fails, a subsequent attempt to
	remove the same speaker can be made only by reconsidering the vote
	by which the original question of privilege failed. Such
	reconsideration shall be subject to the rules of the house
	governing reconsideration.
	Sec. 38.  CONFINING REMARKS TO QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE;
	INTERRUPTIONS PROHIBITED. (a)  When speaking on privilege,
	members must confine their remarks within the limits of Section 35
	of this rule, which will be strictly construed to achieve the
	purposes hereof.
	(b)  When a member is speaking on privilege, the member shall
	not be interrupted by another member for any purpose. While the
	member is speaking, another member may submit a question of order to
	the speaker in writing or by approaching the podium in person. The
	member submitting the question of order shall not interrupt the
	member who is speaking. The speaker may interrupt the member who is
	speaking if the speaker determines it is appropriate to address the
	question of order at that time.
	Sec. 39.  DISCUSSION OF MERITS OF MOTION FORBIDDEN.  Merits
	of a main or subsidiary motion shall not be discussed or debated
	under the guise of speaking to a question of privilege.
	CHAPTER E. VOTING
	Sec. 40.  RECORDING ALL VOTES ON VOTING MACHINE.  On all
	votes, except viva voce votes, members shall record their votes on
	the voting machine and shall not be recognized by the chair to cast
	their votes from the floor. If a member attempts to vote from the
	floor, the speaker shall sustain a point of order directed against
	the member's so doing. This rule shall not be applicable to the
	mover or the principal opponent of the proposition being voted on
	nor to a member whose voting machine is out of order. If a member
	demands strict enforcement of this section, Section 47 shall not
	apply to the taking of a vote, and the house may discipline a member
	in violation of this rule pursuant to its inherent authority.
	Sec. 41.  REGISTRATION EQUIVALENT TO ROLL CALL VOTE.  A
	registration or vote taken on the voting machine of the house shall
	in all instances be considered the equivalent of a roll call or yea
	and nay vote, which might be had for the same purpose.
	Sec. 42.  DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL OR PRIVATE INTEREST.  Any
	member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill
	proposed or pending before the house shall disclose the fact and not
	vote thereon.
	Sec. 43.  DIVIDING THE QUESTION.  By a majority vote of the
	house, a quorum being present, the question shall be divided, if it
	includes propositions so distinct in substance that, one being
	taken away, a substantive proposition remains. A motion for a
	division vote cannot be made after the previous question has been
	ordered, after a motion to table has been offered, after the
	question has been put, nor after the yeas and nays have been
	ordered. Under this subsection, the speaker may divide the
	question into groups of propositions that are closely related.
	Sec. 44.  FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO VOTE.  Any member who is
	present and fails or refuses to vote after being requested to do so
	by the speaker shall be recorded as present but not voting, and
	shall be counted for the purpose of making a quorum.
	Sec. 45.  PRESENCE IN HOUSE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO VOTE.  A
	member must be on the floor of the house or in an adjacent room or
	hallway on the same level as the house floor, in order to vote.
	Sec. 46.  LOCKING VOTING MACHINES OF ABSENT MEMBERS.  During
	each calendar day in which the house is in session, it shall be the
	duty of the journal  clerk to lock the voting machine of each member
	who is excused or who is otherwise known to be absent. Each such
	machine shall remain locked until the member in person contacts the
	journal clerk and personally requests the unlocking of the machine.
	Unless otherwise directed by the speaker, the journal  clerk shall
	not unlock any machine except at the personal request of the member
	to whom the machine is assigned. Any violation, or any attempt by a
	member or employee to circumvent the letter or spirit of this
	section, shall be reported immediately to the speaker for such
	disciplinary action by the speaker, or by the house, as may be
	warranted under the circumstances.
	Sec. 47.  VOTING FOR ANOTHER MEMBER.  Any member found
	guilty by the house of knowingly voting for another member on the
	voting machine without that other member's permission shall be
	subject to discipline deemed appropriate by the house.
	Sec. 48.  INTERRUPTION OF A ROLL CALL.  Once a roll call has
	begun, it may not be interrupted for any reason. While a yea and nay
	vote is being taken, or the vote is being counted, no member shall
	visit the reading clerk's desk or the voting clerk's desk.
	Sec. 49.  EXPLANATION OF VOTE.  (a)  No member shall be
	allowed to interrupt the vote or to make any explanation of a vote
	that the member is about to give after the voting machine has been
	opened, but may record in the journal the reasons for giving such a
	vote.
	(b)  A "Reason for Vote" must be in writing and filed with the
	journal clerk. If timely received, the "Reason for Vote" shall be
	printed immediately following the results of the vote in the
	journal. Otherwise, "Reasons for Vote" shall be printed in a
	separate section at the end of the journal for the day on which the
	reasons were recorded with the journal clerk. Such "Reason for
	Vote" shall not deal in personalities or contain any personal
	reflection on any member of the legislature, the speaker, the
	lieutenant governor, or the governor, and shall not in any other
	manner transgress the rules of the house relating to decorum and
	debate.
	(c)  A member absent when a vote was taken may file with the
	journal clerk while the house is in session a statement of how the
	member would have voted if present. If timely received, the
	statement shall be printed immediately following the results of the
	vote in the journal. Otherwise, statements shall be printed in a
	separate section at the end of the journal for the day on which the
	statements were recorded with the journal clerk.
	Sec. 50.  PAIRS.  (a) All pairs must be announced before the
	vote is declared by the speaker, and a written statement sent to the
	journal clerk.  The statement must be signed by the absent member to
	the pair, or the member's signature must have been authorized in
	writing or by telephone, and satisfactory evidence presented to the
	speaker if deemed necessary.  If authorized in writing, the writing
	shall be delivered to the chief clerk by personal delivery or by
	commercially acceptable means of delivery, including electronic
	transmission by PDF or similar secure format that is capable of
	transmitting an accurate image of the member's signature.  If
	authorized by telephone, the call must be to and confirmed by the
	chief clerk in advance of the vote to which it applies.  Pairs shall
	be entered in the journal, and the member present shall be counted
	to make a quorum.
	(b)  The speaker may not refuse to recognize a pair that
	complies with the requirements of Subsection (a), if both members
	consent to the pair.
	Sec. 51.  ENTRY OF YEA AND NAY VOTE IN JOURNAL. (a) At the
	desire of any member present, the yeas and nays of the members of
	the house on any question shall be taken and entered in the journal.
	No member or members shall be allowed to call for a yea and nay vote
	after a vote has been declared by the speaker.
	(b)  A motion to expunge a yea and nay vote from the journal
	shall not be in order.
	(c)  The yeas and nays of the members of the house on final
	passage of any bill, and on any joint resolution proposing or
	ratifying a constitutional amendment, shall be taken and entered in
	the journal. For purposes of this subsection, a vote on final
	passage means a vote on:
	(1)  third reading;
	(2)  second reading if the house suspends or otherwise
	dispenses with the requirement for three readings;
	(3)  whether to concur in the senate's amendments; or
	(4)  whether to adopt a conference committee report.
	Sec. 51A.  REAL-TIME ACCESS BY PUBLIC TO YEAS AND NAYS.  The
	Committee on House Administration shall ensure that:
	(1)  the recorded yeas and nays are available to the
	public on the Internet and on any televised broadcast of the house
	proceedings produced by or under the direction of the house; and
	(2)  members of the public may view the yeas and nays in
	real time to the extent possible on the Internet and on any
	televised broadcast of the house proceedings produced by or under
	the direction of the house.
	Sec. 52.  JOURNAL RECORDING OF VOTES ON ANY QUESTION.  On
	any question where a record of the yeas and nays has not been
	ordered, members may have their votes recorded in the journal as
	"yea" or "nay" by filing such information with the journal clerk
	before adjournment or recess to another calendar day.
	Sec. 53.  CHANGING A VOTE.  Before the result of a vote has
	been finally and conclusively pronounced by the chair, but not
	thereafter, a member may change his or her vote; however, if a
	member's vote is erroneous, the member shall be allowed to change
	that vote at a later time provided:
	(1)  the result of the record vote is not changed
	thereby;
	(2)  the request is made known to the house by the chair
	and permission for the change is granted by unanimous consent; and
	(3)  a notation is made in the journal that the member's
	vote was changed.
	Sec. 54.  TIE VOTE.  All matters on which a vote may be taken
	by the house shall require for adoption a favorable affirmative
	vote as required by these rules, and in the case of a tie vote, the
	matter shall be considered lost.
	Sec. 55.  VERIFICATION OF A YEA AND NAY VOTE.  When the
	result of a yea and nay vote is close, the speaker may on the request
	of any member order a verification vote, or the speaker may order a
	verification on his or her own initiative. During verification, no
	member shall change a vote unless it was erroneously recorded, nor
	may any member not having voted cast a vote; however, when the clerk
	errs in reporting the yeas and nays, and correction thereof leaves
	decisive effect to the speaker's vote, the speaker may exercise the
	right to vote, even though the result has been announced. A
	verification shall be called for immediately after the vote is
	announced. The speaker shall not entertain a request for
	verification after the house has proceeded to the next question, or
	after a recess or an adjournment. A vote to recess or adjourn, like
	any other proposition, may be verified. Only one vote verification
	can be pending at a time. A verification may be dispensed with by a
	two-thirds vote.
	Sec. 56.  VERIFICATION OF A REGISTRATION.  The speaker may
	allow the verification of a registration (as differentiated from a
	record vote) if in the speaker's opinion there is serious doubt as
	to the presence of a quorum.
	Sec. 57.  MOTION FOR A CALL OF THE HOUSE PENDING
	VERIFICATION.  A motion for a call of the house, and all incidental
	motions relating to it, shall be in order pending the verification
	of a vote. These motions must be made before the roll call on
	verification begins, and it shall not be in order to break into the
	roll call to make them.
	Sec. 58.  ERRONEOUS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESULT OF A
	VOTE.  If, by an error of the voting clerk or reading clerk in
	reporting the yeas and nays from a registration or verification,
	the speaker announces a result different from that shown by the
	registration or verification, the status of the question shall be
	determined by the vote as actually recorded. If the vote is
	erroneously announced in such a way as to change the true result,
	all subsequent proceedings in connection therewith shall fail, and
	the journal shall be amended accordingly.
	RULE 6.  ORDER OF BUSINESS AND CALENDARS
	Sec. 1.  DAILY ORDER OF BUSINESS. (a) When the house
	convenes on a new legislative day, the daily order of business shall
	be as follows:
	(1)  Call to order by speaker.
	(2)  Registration of members.
	(3)  Prayer by chaplain, unless the invocation has been
	given previously on the particular calendar day.
	(4)  Pledge of allegiance to the United States flag.
	(5)  Pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag.
	(6)  Excuses for absence of members and officers.
	(7)  First reading and reference to committee of bills
	filed with the chief clerk; and motions to introduce bills, when
	such motions are required.
	(8)  Requests to print bills and other papers; requests
	of committees for further time to consider papers referred to them;
	and all other routine motions and business not otherwise provided
	for, all of which shall be undebatable except that the mover and one
	opponent of the motion shall be allowed three minutes each.
	The mover of a routine motion shall be allowed his or her
	choice of making the opening or the closing speech under this rule.
	If the house, under a suspension of the rules, extends the time of a
	member under this rule, such extensions shall be for three minutes.
	Subsidiary motions that are applicable to routine motions shall be
	in order, but the makers of such subsidiary motions shall not be
	entitled to speak thereon in the routine motion period, nor shall
	the authors of the original routine motions be allowed any
	additional time because of subsidiary motions.
	(9)  Unfinished business.
	(10)  Third reading calendars of the house in their
	order of priority in accordance with Section 7 of this rule, unless
	a different order is determined under other provisions of these
	rules.
	(11)  Postponed matters to be laid before the house in
	accordance with Rule 7, Section 15.
	(12)  Second reading calendars  of the house in their
	order of priority in accordance with Section 7 of this rule, unless
	a different order is determined under other provisions of these
	rules.
	(b)  When the house reconvenes for the first time on a new
	calendar day following a recess, the daily order of business shall
	be:
	(1)  Call to order by the speaker.
	(2)  Registration of members.
	(3)  Prayer by the chaplain.
	(4)  Pledge of allegiance to the United States flag.
	(5)  Pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag.
	(6)  Excuses for absence of members and officers.
	(7)  Pending business.
	(8)  Calendars of the house in their order of priority
	in accordance with Section 7 of this rule, unless a different order
	is determined under other provisions of these rules.
	Sec. 2.  SPECIAL ORDERS.  (a)  Any bill, resolution, or
	other measure may on any day be made a special order for the same day
	or for a future day of the session by an affirmative vote of
	two-thirds of the members present. A motion to set a special order
	shall be subject to the three-minute pro and con debate rule. When
	once established as a special order, a bill, resolution, or other
	measure shall be considered from day to day until disposed of; and
	until it has been disposed of, no further special orders shall be
	made.
	A three-fourths vote of the members present shall be required
	to suspend the portion of this rule which specifies that only one
	special order may be made and pending at a time.
	(b)  After the first eight  items under the daily order of
	business for a legislative day have been passed, a special order
	shall have precedence when the hour for its consideration has
	arrived, except as provided in Section 9 of this rule.
	(c)  After the 115th day of a regular session, if a joint
	resolution has appeared on a daily house calendar and is adopted,
	and a bill that is enabling legislation for the joint resolution is
	either on or eligible to be placed on a calendar, the author or
	sponsor of the bill or another member may immediately be recognized
	for a motion to set the bill that is the enabling legislation as a
	special order pursuant to this section. For purposes of this
	subsection, the bill must have been designated as the enabling
	legislation for the joint resolution in writing filed with the
	chief clerk not later than the date the committee report for the
	enabling legislation is printed and distributed.
	Sec. 3.  POSTPONEMENT OF A SPECIAL ORDER.  A special order
	may be postponed to a day certain by a two-thirds vote of those
	present, and when so postponed, shall be considered as disposed of
	so far as its place as a special order is concerned.
	Sec. 4.  TABLED MEASURES AS SPECIAL ORDERS.  A bill or
	resolution laid on the table subject to call may be made a special
	order.
	Sec. 5.  SUBSTITUTION IN MOTION FOR A SPECIAL ORDER.  When a
	motion is pending to set a particular bill or resolution as a
	special order, it shall not be in order to move as a substitute to
	set another bill or resolution as a special order. It shall be in
	order, however, to substitute, by majority vote, a different time
	for the special order consideration than that given in the original
	motion.
	Sec. 6.  MEMBER'S SUSPENSION AND SPECIAL ORDER PRIVILEGES.
	If a member moves to set a bill or joint resolution as a special
	order, or moves to suspend the rules to take up a bill or joint
	resolution out of its regular order, and the motion prevails, the
	member shall not have the right to make either of these motions
	again until every other member has had an opportunity, via either of
	these motions, to have some bill or joint resolution considered out
	of its regular order during that session of the legislature. A
	member shall not lose the suspension privilege if the motion to
	suspend or set for special order does not prevail.
	Sec. 7.  SYSTEM OF CALENDARS.  (a)  Legislative business of
	the house shall be controlled by a system of calendars, consisting
	of the following:
	(1)  EMERGENCY CALENDAR, on which shall appear bills
	considered to be of such pressing and imperative import as to demand
	immediate action, bills to raise revenue and levy taxes, and the
	general appropriations bill. A bill submitted as an emergency
	matter by the governor may also be placed on this calendar.
	(2)  MAJOR STATE CALENDAR, on which shall appear bills
	of statewide effect, not emergency in nature, which establish or
	change state policy in a major field of governmental activity and
	which will have a major impact in application throughout the state
	without regard to class, area, or other limiting factors.
	(3)  CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS CALENDAR, on which
	shall appear joint resolutions proposing amendments to the Texas
	Constitution, joint resolutions proposing the ratification of
	amendments to the Constitution of the United States, and joint
	resolutions applying to Congress for a convention to amend the
	Constitution of the United States.
	(4)  GENERAL STATE CALENDAR, on which shall appear
	bills of statewide effect, not emergency in nature, which establish
	or change state law and which have application to all areas but are
	limited in legal effect by classification or other factors which
	minimize the impact to something less than major state policy, and
	bills, not emergency in nature, which are not on the local, consent,
	and resolutions calendar.
	(5)  LOCAL, CONSENT, AND RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR, on which
	shall appear bills, house resolutions, and concurrent resolutions,
	not emergency in nature, regardless of extent and scope, on which
	there is such general agreement as to render improbable any
	opposition to the consideration and passage thereof, and which have
	been recommended by the appropriate standing committee for
	placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar by the
	Committee on Local and Consent Calendars.
	(6)  RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR, on which shall appear house
	resolutions and concurrent resolutions, not emergency in nature and
	not privileged.
	(7)  CONGRATULATORY AND MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR,
	on which shall appear congratulatory and memorial resolutions whose
	sole intent is to congratulate, memorialize, or otherwise express
	concern or commendation. The Committee on Rules and Resolutions
	may provide separate categories for congratulatory and memorial
	resolutions.
	(b)  A calendars committee shall strictly construe and the
	speaker shall strictly enforce this system of calendars.
	Sec. 8.  SENATE BILL CALENDARS.  (a)  Senate bills and
	resolutions pending in the house shall follow the same procedure
	with regard to calendars as house bills and resolutions, but
	separate calendars shall be maintained for senate bills and
	resolutions, and consideration of them on senate bill days shall
	have priority in the manner and order specified in this rule.
	(b)  No other business shall be considered on days devoted to
	the consideration of senate bills when there remain any bills on any
	of the senate calendars, except with the consent of the senate. When
	all senate calendars are clear, the house may proceed to
	consideration of house calendars on senate bill days.
	Sec. 9.  SENATE BILL DAYS.  (a)  On calendar Wednesday and
	on calendar Thursday of each week, only senate bills and senate
	resolutions shall be taken up and considered, until disposed of.
	Senate bills and senate resolutions shall be considered in the
	order prescribed in Section 7 of this rule on separate senate
	calendars prepared by the Committee on Calendars. In case a senate
	bill or senate resolution is pending at adjournment on calendar
	Thursday, it shall go over to the succeeding calendar Wednesday as
	unfinished business.
	(b)  Precedence given in Rule 8 to certain classes of bills
	during the first 60 calendar days of a regular session shall also
	apply to senate bills on senate bill days.
	Sec. 10.  CONSIDERATION OF SENATE BILL ON SAME
	SUBJECT.  When any house bill is reached on the calendar or is
	before the house for consideration, it shall be the duty of the
	speaker to give the place on the calendar of the house bill to any
	senate bill containing the same subject that has been referred to
	and reported from a committee of the house and to lay the senate
	bill before the house, to be considered in lieu of the house bill.
	Sec. 11.  PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONGRATULATORY AND
	MEMORIAL CALENDARS.  As the volume of legislation shall warrant,
	the chair of the Committee on Rules and Resolutions shall move to
	designate periods for the consideration of congratulatory and
	memorial calendars. Each such motion shall require a two-thirds
	vote for its adoption. In each instance, the Committee on Rules and
	Resolutions shall prepare and post on the electronic legislative
	information system a calendar at least 24 hours in advance of the
	hour set for consideration. No memorial or congratulatory
	resolution will be heard by the full house without having first been
	approved, at least 24 hours in advance, by a majority of the
	membership of the Committee on Rules and Resolutions, in accordance
	with Rule 4, Section 16. It shall not be necessary for the
	Committee on Rules and Resolutions to report a memorial or
	congratulatory resolution from committee in order to place the
	resolution on a congratulatory and memorial calendar. If the
	Committee on Rules and Resolutions determines that a resolution is
	not eligible for placement on the congratulatory and memorial
	calendar the measure shall be sent to the Committee on Calendars for
	further action. A congratulatory and memorial calendar will
	contain the resolution number, the author's name, and a brief
	description of the intent of the resolution. On the congratulatory
	and memorial calendar, congratulatory resolutions may be listed
	separately from memorial resolutions. Once a calendar is posted,
	no additional resolutions will be added to it, and the requirements
	of this section shall not be subject to suspension.
	Sec. 12.  PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONGRATULATORY AND
	MEMORIAL CALENDARS.  During the consideration of a congratulatory
	and memorial calendar, resolutions shall not be read in full unless
	they pertain to members or former members of the legislature, or
	unless the intended recipient of the resolution is present on the
	house floor or in the gallery. All other such resolutions shall be
	read only by number, type of resolution, and name of the person or
	persons designated in the resolutions. Members shall notify the
	chair, in advance of consideration of the calendar, of any
	resolutions that will be required to be read in full. In addition,
	the following procedures shall be observed:
	(1)  The chair shall recognize the reading clerk to
	read the resolutions within each category on the calendar only by
	number, type of resolution, author or sponsor, and name of the
	person or persons designated in the resolutions, except for those
	resolutions that have been withdrawn or that are required to be read
	in full. The resolutions read by the clerk shall then be adopted in
	one motion for each category.
	(2)  Subsequent to the adoption of the resolutions read
	by the clerk, the chair shall proceed to lay before the house the
	resolutions on the calendar that are required to be read in full.
	Each such resolution shall be read and adopted individually.
	(3)  If it develops that any resolution on the
	congratulatory and memorial calendar does not belong on that
	calendar, the chair shall withdraw the resolution from further
	consideration, remove it from the calendar, and refer it to the
	appropriate calendars committee for placement on the proper
	calendar.
	Sec. 13.  PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL, CONSENT, AND
	RESOLUTIONS CALENDARS.  (a)  As the volume of legislation shall
	warrant, the chair of the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars
	shall move to designate periods for the consideration of local,
	consent, and resolutions calendars. Each such motion shall require
	a two-thirds vote for its adoption. In each instance, the Committee
	on Local and Consent Calendars shall prepare and post on the
	electronic legislative information system a calendar at least 48
	hours in advance of the hour set for consideration. Once a calendar
	is posted, no additional bills or resolutions will be added to it.
	This requirement can be suspended only by unanimous consent. No
	local, consent, and resolutions calendar may be considered by the
	house if it is determined that the rules of the house were not
	complied with by the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars in
	preparing that calendar.
	(b)  The period designated for the consideration of a local,
	consent, and resolutions calendar under this section or under a
	special order under Section 2 of this rule may not exceed one
	calendar day.
	Sec. 14.  PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL, CONSENT, AND
	RESOLUTIONS CALENDARS.  During the consideration of a local,
	consent, and resolutions calendar set by the Committee on Local and
	Consent Calendars the following procedures shall be observed:
	(1)  The chair shall allow the sponsor of each bill or
	resolution three minutes to explain the measure, and the time shall
	not be extended except by unanimous consent of the house. This rule
	shall have precedence over all other rules limiting time for
	debate.
	(2)  If it develops that any bill or resolution on a
	local, consent, and resolutions calendar is to be contested on the
	floor of the house, the chair shall withdraw the bill or resolution
	from further consideration and remove it from the calendar.
	(3)  Any bill or resolution on a local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar shall be considered contested if notice is
	given by five or more members that they intend to oppose the bill or
	resolution, either by a raising of hands or the delivery of written
	notice to the chair.
	(4)  Any bill or resolution on a local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar shall be considered contested if debate
	exceeds 10 minutes. The chair shall strictly enforce this time
	limit and automatically withdraw the bill from further
	consideration if the time limit herein imposed is exceeded.
	(5)  Any bill or resolution on a local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar that is not reached for floor consideration
	because of the expiration of the calendar day period for
	consideration established by Section 13 of this rule shall carry
	over onto the next local, consent, and resolutions calendar.  Bills
	or resolutions that carry over must appear in the same relative
	order as on the calendar on which the bills or resolutions initially
	appeared, and bills or resolutions originally from older calendars
	must appear before those originally from more recent calendars.
	Sec. 15.  ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF CALENDARS.  Except for
	local, consent, and resolutions calendars and congratulatory and
	memorial calendars, consideration of calendars shall be in the
	order named in Section 7 of this rule, subject to any exceptions
	ordered by the Committee on Calendars.  Bills  and resolutions on
	third reading shall have precedence over bills and resolutions on
	second reading.
	Sec. 16.  DAILY CALENDARS, SUPPLEMENTAL CALENDARS, AND LISTS
	OF ITEMS ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION.  (a)  Calendars shall be
	prepared daily when the house is in session. A calendar must be
	posted on the electronic legislative information system at least 36
	hours if convened in regular session and 24 hours if convened in
	special session before the calendar may be considered by the house,
	except as otherwise provided by these rules for the calendar on
	which the general appropriations bill is first eligible for
	consideration on second reading when convened in regular session.
	A calendar that contains a bill extending an agency, commission, or
	advisory committee under the Texas Sunset Act must be posted at
	least 48 hours if convened in regular or special session before the
	calendar may be considered by the house.  Deviations from the
	calendars as posted shall not be permitted except that the
	Committee on Calendars shall be authorized to prepare and post, not
	later than two hours before the house convenes, a supplemental
	daily house calendar, on which shall appear:
	(1)  bills or resolutions which were passed to third
	reading on the previous legislative day;
	(2)  bills or resolutions which appeared on the Daily
	House Calendar for a previous calendar day which were not reached
	for floor consideration;
	(3)  postponed business from a previous calendar day;
	and
	(4)  notice to take from the table a bill or resolution
	which was laid on the table subject to call on a previous
	legislative day.
	In addition to the items listed above, the bills and
	resolutions from a daily house calendar that will be eligible for
	consideration may be incorporated, in their proper order as
	determined by these rules, into the supplemental daily house
	calendar.
	(a-1)  If the house is convened in regular session, the
	calendar on which the general appropriations bill is first eligible
	for consideration on second reading must be posted on the
	electronic legislative information system at least 144 hours before
	the calendar may be considered by the house. The posted calendar
	must indicate the date and time at which the calendar is scheduled
	for consideration by the house, which date and time must be in
	accordance with Rule 8, Section 14.
	(b)  In addition, when the volume of legislation shall
	warrant, and upon request of the speaker, the chief clerk shall have
	prepared a list of Items Eligible for Consideration, on which shall
	appear only:
	(1)  house bills with senate amendments that are
	eligible for consideration under Rule 13, Section 5, including the
	number of senate amendments and the total number of pages of senate
	amendments;
	(2)  senate bills for which the senate has requested
	appointment of a conference committee; and
	(3)  conference committee reports that are eligible for
	consideration under Rule 13, Section 10.
	(c)  The list of Items Eligible for Consideration must be
	posted on the electronic legislative information system at least
	six hours before the list may be considered by the house.
	(d)  The time at which a calendar or list is posted on the
	electronic legislative information system shall be time-stamped on
	the originals of the calendar or list.
	(e)  No house calendar shall be eligible for consideration if
	it is determined that the rules of the house were not complied with
	by the Committee on Calendars in preparing that calendar.
	(f)  If the Committee on Calendars has proposed a rule for
	floor consideration of a bill or resolution that is eligible to be
	placed on a calendar of the daily house calendar, the rule must be
	printed and a copy distributed to each member. If the bill or
	resolution to which the rule will apply has already been placed on a
	calendar of the daily house calendar, a copy of the rule must also
	be posted with the calendar on which the bill or resolution appears.
	The speaker shall lay a proposed rule before the house prior to the
	consideration of the bill or resolution to which the rule will
	apply. The rule shall be laid before the house not earlier than six
	hours after a copy of the rule has been distributed to each member
	in accordance with this subsection. The rule shall not be subject
	to amendment, but to be effective, the rule must be approved by the
	house by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of those members present
	and voting, except that the rule must be approved by an affirmative
	vote of a majority of those members present and voting if the rule
	applies to a tax bill, an appropriations bill, or a redistricting
	bill. If approved by the house in accordance with this subsection,
	the rule will be effective for the consideration of the bill or
	resolution on both second and third readings.
	Sec. 17.  POSITION ON A CALENDAR. (a) Unless removed from
	the calendar under Subsection (b) of this section, once a bill or
	resolution is placed on its appropriate calendar under these rules,
	and has appeared on a house calendar, as posted on the electronic
	legislative information system, the bill shall retain its relative
	position on the calendar until reached for floor consideration, and
	the calendars committee with jurisdiction over the bill or
	resolution shall have no authority to place other bills on the
	calendar ahead of that bill, but all additions to the calendar shall
	appear subsequent to the bill.
	(b)  If a bill or resolution that has been placed on a house
	calendar, as posted on the electronic legislative information
	system, is recommitted or withdrawn from further consideration, the
	bill or resolution relinquishes its position on the calendar, and
	the bill or resolution shall be removed from the calendar.
	Sec. 18.  REQUIREMENTS FOR PLACEMENT ON A CALENDAR.  Except
	as provided in Section 11 of this rule as it relates to
	congratulatory and memorial resolutions, no bill or resolution
	shall be placed on a calendar until:
	(1)  it has been referred to and reported from its
	appropriate standing committee by favorable committee action; or
	(2)  it is ordered printed on minority report or after a
	committee has reported its inability to recommend a course of
	action.
	Sec. 19.  REFERRAL TO CALENDARS COMMITTEES.  All bills and
	resolutions, on being reported from committee, shall be referred
	immediately to the committee coordinator  for printing and then to
	the appropriate calendars committee for placement on the
	appropriate calendar.
	Sec. 20.  TIME LIMIT FOR VOTE TO PLACE ON A CALENDAR.  Within
	30 calendar days after a bill or resolution has been referred to the
	appropriate calendars committee, the committee must vote on whether
	to place the bill or resolution on one of the calendars of the daily
	house calendar or the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, as
	applicable. A vote against placement of the bill or resolution on a
	calendar does not preclude a calendars committee from later voting
	in favor of placement of the bill or resolution on a calendar.
	Sec. 21.  MOTION TO PLACE ON A CALENDAR.  (a)  When a bill or
	resolution has been in the appropriate calendars committee for 30
	calendar days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was
	referred, awaiting placement on one of the calendars of the daily
	house calendar or on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar,
	it shall be in order for a member to move that the bill or resolution
	be placed on a specific calendar of the daily house calendar or on
	the local, consent, and resolutions calendar without action by the
	committee. This motion must be seconded by five members and shall
	require a majority vote for adoption.
	(b)  A motion to place a bill or resolution on a specific
	calendar of the daily house calendar or on the local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar is not a privileged motion and must be made
	during the routine motion period unless made under a suspension of
	the rules.
	Sec. 22.  REQUEST FOR PLACEMENT ON LOCAL, CONSENT, AND
	RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR.  No bill or resolution shall be considered
	for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar by
	the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars unless a request for
	that placement has been made to the chair of the standing committee
	from which the bill or resolution was reported and unless the
	committee report of the standing committee recommends that the bill
	or resolution be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent
	Calendars for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions
	calendar. The recommendation of the standing committee shall be
	advisory only, and the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars
	shall have final authority to determine whether or not a bill or
	resolution shall be placed on the local, consent, and resolutions
	calendar. If the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars
	determines that the bill or resolution is not eligible for
	placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, the
	measure shall be sent to the Committee on Calendars for further
	action.
	Sec. 23.  QUALIFICATIONS FOR PLACEMENT ON THE LOCAL,
	CONSENT, AND RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR.  (a) No bill defined as a local
	bill by Rule 8, Section 10(c), shall be placed on the local,
	consent, and resolutions calendar unless:
	(1)  evidence of publication of notice in compliance
	with the Texas Constitution and these rules is filed with the
	Committee on Local and Consent Calendars; and
	(2)  it has been recommended unanimously by the present
	and voting members of the committee from which it was reported that
	the bill be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars for
	placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar.
	(b)  No other bill or resolution shall be placed on the
	local, consent, and resolutions calendar unless it has been
	recommended unanimously by the present and voting members of the
	committee from which it was reported that the bill be sent to the
	Committee on Local and Consent Calendars for placement on the
	local, consent, and resolutions calendar.
	(c)  No bill or resolution shall be placed on the local,
	consent, and resolutions calendar that:
	(1)  directly or indirectly prevents from being
	available for purposes of funding state government generally any
	money that under existing law would otherwise be available for that
	purpose, including a bill that transfers or diverts money in the
	state treasury from the general revenue fund to another fund; or
	(2)  authorizes or requires the expenditure or
	diversion of state funds for any purpose, as determined by a fiscal
	note attached to the bill.
	Sec. 24.  REPLACEMENT OF CONTESTED BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS.  A
	bill or resolution once removed from the local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar shall be returned to the Committee on Local
	and Consent Calendars for further action. The Committee on Local
	and Consent Calendars, if it feels such action is warranted, may
	again place the bill or resolution on the local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar, provided, however, that if the bill or
	resolution is not placed on the next local, consent, and
	resolutions calendar set by the Committee on Local and Consent
	Calendars, the bill or resolution shall immediately be referred to
	the Committee on Calendars for further action. If the bill or
	resolution is then removed from the calendar a second time by being
	contested on the floor of the house, the bill or resolution shall
	not again be placed on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar
	by the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars during that session
	of the legislature but shall be returned to the Committee on
	Calendars for further action.
	Sec. 25.  DISCRETION IN PLACEMENT ON CALENDARS.  Subject to
	the limitations contained in this rule, the Committee on Calendars
	shall have full authority to make placements on calendars in
	whatever order is necessary and desirable under the circumstances
	then existing, except that bills on third reading shall have
	precedence over bills on second reading.  It is the intent of the
	calendar system to give the Committee on Calendars wide discretion
	to insure adequate consideration by the house of important
	legislation.
	RULE 7.  MOTIONS
	CHAPTER A.  GENERAL MOTIONS
	Sec. 1.  MOTIONS DECIDED WITHOUT DEBATE.  The following
	motions, in addition to any elsewhere provided herein, shall be
	decided without debate, except as otherwise provided in these
	rules:
	(1)  to adjourn;
	(2)  to lay on the table;
	(3)  to lay on the table subject to call;
	(4)  to suspend the rule as to the time for introduction
	of bills;
	(5)  to order a call of the house, and all motions
	incidental thereto;
	(6)  an appeal by a member called to order;
	(7)  on questions relating to priority of business;
	(8)  to amend the caption of a bill or resolution;
	(9)  to extend the time of a member speaking under the
	previous question or to allow a member who has the right to speak
	after the previous question is ordered to yield the time, or a part
	of it, to another;
	(10)  to reconsider and table.
	Sec. 2.  MOTIONS SUBJECT TO DEBATE.  The speaker shall permit
	the mover and one opponent of the motion three minutes each during
	which to debate the following motions without debating the merits
	of the bill, resolution, or other matter, and the mover of the
	motion may elect to either open the debate or close the debate, but
	the mover's time may not be divided:
	(1)  to suspend the regular order of business and take
	up some measure out of its regular order;
	(2)  to instruct a committee to report a certain bill or
	resolution;
	(3)  to rerefer a bill or resolution from one committee
	to another;
	(4)  to place a bill or resolution on a specific
	calendar without action by the appropriate calendars committee;
	(5)  to take up a bill or resolution laid on the table
	subject to call;
	(6)  to set a special order;
	(7)  to suspend the rules;
	(8)  to suspend the constitutional rule requiring bills
	to be read on three several days;
	(9)  to pass a resolution suspending the joint rules;
	(10)  to order the previous question;
	(11)  to order the limiting of amendments to a bill or
	resolution;
	(12)  to print documents, reports, or other material in
	the journal;
	(13)  to take any other action required or permitted
	during the routine motion period by Rule 6, Section 1;
	(14)  to divide the question.
	Sec. 3.  MOTIONS ALLOWED DURING DEBATE.  When a question is
	under debate, the following motions, and none other, shall be in
	order, and such motions shall have precedence in the following
	order:
	(1)  to adjourn;
	(2)  to take recess;
	(3)  to lay on the table;
	(4)  to lay on the table subject to call;
	(5)  for the previous question;
	(6)  to postpone to a day certain;
	(7)  to commit, recommit, refer, or rerefer;
	(8)  to amend by striking out the enacting or resolving
	clause, which, if carried, shall have the effect of defeating the
	bill or resolution;
	(9)  to amend;
	(10)  to postpone indefinitely.
	Sec. 4.  STATEMENT OR READING OF A MOTION.  When a motion has
	been made, the speaker shall state it, or if it is in writing, order
	it read by the clerk; and it shall then be in possession of the
	house.
	Sec. 5.  ENTRY OF MOTIONS IN JOURNAL.  Every motion made to
	the house and entertained by the speaker shall be reduced to writing
	on the demand of any member, and shall be entered on the journal
	with the name of the member making it.
	Sec. 6.  WITHDRAWAL OF A MOTION.  A motion may be withdrawn
	by the mover at any time before a decision on the motion, even
	though an amendment may have been offered and is pending. It cannot
	be withdrawn, however, if the motion has been amended. After the
	previous question has been ordered, a motion can be withdrawn only
	by unanimous consent.
	Sec. 7.  MOTIONS TO ADJOURN OR RECESS.  A motion to adjourn
	or recess shall always be in order, except:
	(1)  when the house is voting on another motion;
	(2)  when the previous question has been ordered and
	before the final vote on the main question, unless a roll call shows
	the absence of a quorum;
	(3)  when a member entitled to the floor has not yielded
	for that purpose; or
	(4)  when no business has been transacted since a
	motion to adjourn or recess has been defeated.
	Sec. 8.  CONSIDERATION OF SEVERAL MOTIONS TO ADJOURN OR
	RECESS.  When several motions to recess or adjourn are made at the
	same period, the motion to adjourn carrying the shortest time shall
	be put first, then the next shortest time, and in that order until a
	motion to adjourn has been adopted or until all have been voted on
	and lost; and then the same procedure shall be followed for motions
	to recess.
	Sec. 9.  WITHDRAWAL OR ADDITION OF A MOTION TO ADJOURN OR
	RECESS.  A motion to adjourn or recess may not be withdrawn when it
	is one of a series upon which voting has commenced, nor may an
	additional motion to adjourn or recess be made when voting has
	commenced on a series of such motions.
	Sec. 10.  RECONSIDERATION OF VOTE TO ADJOURN OR RECESS.  The
	vote by which a motion to adjourn or recess is carried or lost shall
	not be subject to a motion to reconsider.
	Sec. 11.  ADJOURNING WITH LESS THAN A QUORUM.  A smaller
	number of members than a quorum may adjourn from day to day, and may
	compel the attendance of absent members.
	Sec. 12.  MOTION TO TABLE.  A motion to lay on the table, if
	carried, shall have the effect of killing the bill, resolution,
	amendment, or other immediate proposition to which it was applied.
	Such a motion shall not be debatable, but the mover of the
	proposition to be tabled, or the member reporting it from
	committee, shall be allowed to close the debate after the motion to
	table is made and before it is put to a vote. When a motion to table
	is made to a debatable main motion, the main motion mover shall be
	allowed 20 minutes to close the debate, whereas the movers of other
	debatable motions sought to be tabled shall be allowed only 10
	minutes to close. The vote by which a motion to table is carried or
	lost cannot be reconsidered. After the previous question has been
	ordered, a motion to table is not in order. The provisions of this
	section do not apply to motions to "lay on the table subject to
	call"; however, a motion to lay on the table subject to call cannot
	be made after the previous question has been ordered.
	Sec. 13.  MATTERS TABLED SUBJECT TO CALL.  When a bill,
	resolution, or other matter is pending before the house, it may be
	laid on the table subject to call, and one legislative day's notice,
	as provided on the Supplemental House Calendar, must be given
	before the proposition can be taken from the table, unless it is on
	the same legislative day, in which case it can be taken from the
	table at any time except when there is another matter pending before
	the house. A bill, resolution, or other matter can be taken from
	the table only by a majority vote of the house. When a special order
	is pending, a motion to take a proposition from the table cannot be
	made unless the proposition is a privileged matter.
	Sec. 14.  MOTION TO POSTPONE.  A motion to postpone to a day
	certain may be amended and is debatable within narrow limits, but
	the merits of the proposition sought to be postponed cannot be
	debated. A motion to postpone indefinitely opens to debate the
	entire proposition to which it applies.
	Sec. 15.  POSTPONED MATTERS.  (a)  A bill or proposition
	postponed to a day certain shall be laid before the house at the
	time on the calendar day to which it was postponed, provided it is
	otherwise eligible under the rules and no other business is then
	pending.  If business is pending, the postponed matter shall be
	deferred until the pending business is disposed of without
	prejudice otherwise to its right of priority.  When a privileged
	matter is postponed to a particular time, and that time arrives, the
	matter, still retaining its privileged nature, shall be taken up
	even though another matter is pending.
	(b)  Consideration of a bill postponed to a day certain from
	the local, consent, and resolutions calendar is governed on second
	reading by the rules applicable to the calendar from which it was
	postponed to the extent practicable.
	Sec. 16.  ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF POSTPONED MATTERS.  If
	two or more bills, resolutions, or other propositions are postponed
	to the same time, and are otherwise eligible for consideration at
	that time, they shall be considered in the chronological order of
	their setting.
	Sec. 17.  MOTION TO REFER.  When motions are made to refer a
	subject to a select or standing committee, the question on the
	subject's referral to a standing committee shall be put first.
	Sec. 18.  MOTION TO RECOMMIT.  A motion to recommit a bill,
	after being defeated at the routine motion period, may again be made
	when the bill itself is under consideration; however, a motion to
	recommit a bill shall not be in order at the routine motion period
	if the bill is then before the house as either pending business or
	unfinished business.
	A motion to recommit a bill or resolution can be made and
	voted on even though the author, sponsor, or principal proponent is
	not present.
	Sec. 19.  TERMS OF DEBATE ON MOTIONS TO REFER, REREFER,
	COMMIT, OR RECOMMIT.  A motion to refer, rerefer, commit, or
	recommit is debatable within narrow limits, but the merits of the
	proposition may not be brought into the debate. A motion to refer,
	rerefer, commit, or recommit with instructions is fully debatable.
	Sec. 20.  RECOMMITTING TO COMMITTEE FOR A SECOND TIME.
	Except as provided in Rule 4, Section 30, when a bill has been
	recommitted once at any reading and has been reported adversely by
	the committee to which it was referred, it shall be in order to
	again recommit the bill only if a minority report has been filed in
	the time required by the rules of the house. A two-thirds vote of
	those present shall be required to recommit a second time.
	CHAPTER B.  MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
	Sec. 21.  MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.  There shall be a
	motion for the previous question, which shall be admitted only when
	seconded by 25 members. It shall be put by the chair in this manner:
	"The motion has been seconded. Three minutes pro and con debate
	will be allowed on the motion for ordering the previous question."
	As soon as the debate has ended, the chair shall continue: "As many
	as are in favor of ordering the previous question on (here state on
	which question or questions) will say 'Aye,'" and then, "As many as
	are opposed say 'Nay.'" As in all other propositions, a motion for
	the previous question may be taken by a record vote if demanded by
	any member. If ordered by a majority of the members voting, a
	quorum being present, it shall have the effect of cutting off all
	debate, except as provided in Section 23 of this rule, and bringing
	the house to a direct vote on the immediate question or questions on
	which it has been asked and ordered.
	Sec. 22.  DEBATE ON MOTION FOR PREVIOUS QUESTION.  On the
	motion for the previous question, there shall be no debate except as
	provided in Sections 2 and 21 of this rule. All incidental
	questions of order made pending decision on such motion shall be
	decided, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate.
	Sec. 23.  LIMITATION OF DEBATE AFTER PREVIOUS QUESTION
	ORDERED.  After the previous question has been ordered, there shall
	be no debate upon the questions on which it has been ordered, or
	upon the incidental questions, except that the mover of the
	proposition or any of the pending amendments or any other motions,
	or the member making the report from the committee, or, in the case
	of the absence of either of them, any other member designated by
	such absentee, shall have the right to close the debate on the
	particular proposition or amendment. Then a vote shall be taken
	immediately on the amendments or other motions, if any, and then on
	the main question.
	Sec. 24.  SPEAKING AND VOTING AFTER THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
	ORDERED.  All members having the right to speak after the previous
	question has been ordered shall speak before the question is put on
	the first proposition covered by the previous question. All votes
	shall then be taken in the correct order, and no vote or votes shall
	be deferred to allow any member to close on any one of the
	propositions separately after the voting has commenced.
	Sec. 25.  SPEAKING ON AN AMENDMENT AS SUBSTITUTED.  When an
	amendment has been substituted and the previous question is then
	moved on the adoption of the amendment as substituted, the author of
	the amendment as substituted shall have the right to close the
	debate on that amendment in lieu of the author of the original
	amendment.
	Sec. 26.  SPEAKING ON A MOTION TO POSTPONE OR AMEND.  When
	the previous question is ordered on a motion to postpone
	indefinitely or to amend by striking out the enacting clause of a
	bill, the member moving to postpone or amend shall have the right to
	close the debate on that motion or amendment, after which the mover
	of the proposition or bill proposed to be so postponed or amended,
	or the member reporting it from the committee, or, in the absence of
	either of them, any other member designated by the absentee, shall
	be allowed to close the debate on the original proposition.
	Sec. 27.  APPLICATION OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.  The
	previous question may be asked and ordered on any debatable single
	motion or series of motions, or any amendment or amendments
	pending, or it may be made to embrace all authorized debatable
	motions or amendments pending and include the bill, resolution, or
	proposition that is on second or third reading. The previous
	question cannot be ordered, however, on the main proposition
	without including other pending motions of lower rank as given in
	Section 3 of this rule.
	Sec. 28.  LIMIT OF APPLICATION.  The previous question shall
	not extend beyond the final vote on a motion or sequence of motions
	to which the previous question has been ordered.
	Sec. 29.  AMENDMENTS NOT YET LAID BEFORE THE HOUSE.
	Amendments on the speaker's desk for consideration which have not
	actually been laid before the house and read cannot be included
	under a motion for the previous question.
	Sec. 30.  MOVING THE PREVIOUS QUESTION AFTER A MOTION TO
	TABLE.  If a motion to table is made directly to a main motion, the
	motion for the previous question is not in order. In a case where an
	amendment to a main motion is pending, and a motion to table the
	amendment is made, it is in order to move the previous question on
	the main motion, the pending amendment, and the motion to table the
	amendment.
	Sec. 31.  NO SUBSTITUTE FOR MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS
	QUESTION.  There is no acceptable substitute for a motion for the
	previous question, nor can other motions be applied to it.
	Sec. 32.  MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION NOT SUBJECT TO
	TABLING.  The motion for the previous question is not subject to a
	motion to table.
	Sec. 33.  MOTION TO ADJOURN AFTER MOTION FOR PREVIOUS
	QUESTION ACCEPTED.  The motion to adjourn is not in order after a
	motion for the previous question is accepted by the chair, or after
	the seconding of such motion and before a vote is taken.
	Sec. 34.  MOTIONS IN ORDER AFTER PREVIOUS QUESTION ORDERED.
	After the previous question has been ordered, no motion shall be in
	order until the question or questions on which it was ordered have
	been voted on, without debate, except:
	(1)  a motion for a call of the house, and motions
	incidental thereto;
	(2)  a motion to extend the time of a member closing on
	a proposition;
	(3)  a motion to permit a member who has the right to
	speak to yield the time or a part thereof to another member;
	(4)  a request for and a verification of a vote;
	(5)  a motion to reconsider the vote by which the
	previous question was ordered. A motion to reconsider may be made
	only once and that must be before any vote under the previous
	question has been taken;
	(6)  a motion to table a motion to reconsider the vote
	by which the previous question has been ordered;
	(7)  a double motion to reconsider and table the vote by
	which the previous question was ordered.
	Sec. 35.  MOTION TO ADJOURN OR RECESS AFTER PREVIOUS
	QUESTION ORDERED.  No motion for an adjournment or a recess shall be
	in order after the previous question is ordered until the final vote
	under the previous question has been taken, unless the roll call
	shows the absence of a quorum.
	Sec. 36.  ADJOURNING WITHOUT A QUORUM.  When the house
	adjourns without a quorum under the previous question, the previous
	question shall remain in force and effect when the bill,
	resolution, or other proposition is again laid before the house.
	CHAPTER C.  RECONSIDERATION
	Sec. 37.  MOTION TO RECONSIDER A VOTE.  (a)  When a question
	has been decided by the house and the yeas and nays have been called
	for and recorded, any member voting with the prevailing side may, on
	the same legislative day, or on the next legislative day, move a
	reconsideration; however, if a reconsideration is moved on the next
	legislative day, it must be done before the order of the day, as
	designated in the 10th  item of Rule 6, Section 1(a), is taken up.
	If the house refuses to reconsider, or on reconsideration, affirms
	its decision, no further action to reconsider shall be in order.
	(b)  Where the yeas and nays have not been called for and
	recorded, any member, regardless of whether he or she voted on the
	prevailing side or not, may make the motion to reconsider; however,
	even when the yeas and nays have not been recorded, the following
	shall not be eligible to make a motion to reconsider:
	(1)  a member who was absent;
	(2)  a member who was paired and, therefore, did not
	vote; and
	(3)  a member who was recorded in the journal as having
	voted on the losing side.
	(c)  A motion to reconsider the vote by which a bill, joint
	resolution, or concurrent resolution was defeated is not in order
	unless a member has previously provided at least one hour's notice
	of intent to make the motion by addressing the house when the house
	is in session and stating that a member intends to make a motion to
	reconsider the vote by which the bill or resolution was defeated.
	It is not necessary for the member providing the notice to be
	eligible to make or to be the member who subsequently makes the
	motion to reconsider.  If notice of intent to make a motion to
	reconsider is given within the period that the motion to reconsider
	may be made under Subsection (a) of this section and that period
	expires during the one-hour period required by this subsection,
	then the period within which the motion may be made under Subsection
	(a) is extended by the amount of time, not to exceed one hour during
	which the house is in session, necessary to satisfy the one-hour
	notice required by this subsection.  For purposes of this
	subsection, a motion to reconsider includes a motion to reconsider
	and table and a motion to reconsider and spread on the journal.
	Sec. 38.  DEBATE ON MOTION TO RECONSIDER.  A motion to
	reconsider shall be debatable only when the question to be
	reconsidered is debatable. Even though the previous question was
	in force before the vote on a debatable question was taken, debate
	is permissible on the reconsideration of such debatable question.
	Sec. 39.  MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED.  Every motion to
	reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote, even though the vote
	on the original question requires a two-thirds vote for affirmative
	action. If the motion to reconsider prevails, the question then
	immediately recurs on the question reconsidered.
	Sec. 40.  WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION TO RECONSIDER.  A motion to
	reconsider cannot be withdrawn unless permission is given by a
	majority vote of the house, and the motion may be called up by any
	member.
	Sec. 41.  TABLING MOTION TO RECONSIDER.  A motion to
	reconsider shall be subject to a motion to table, which, if carried,
	shall be a final disposition of the motion to reconsider.
	Sec. 42.  DOUBLE MOTION TO RECONSIDER AND TABLE.  The double
	motion to reconsider and table shall be in order. It shall be
	undebatable. When carried, the motion to reconsider shall be
	tabled. When it fails, the question shall then be on the motion to
	reconsider, and the motion to reconsider shall, without further
	action, be spread on the journal, but it may be called up by any
	member, in accordance with the provisions of Section 43 of this
	rule.
	Sec. 43.  DELAYED DISPOSITION OF MOTION TO RECONSIDER.  (a)
	If a motion to reconsider is not disposed of when made, it shall be
	entered in the journal, and cannot, after that legislative day, be
	called up and disposed of unless one legislative day's notice has
	been given.
	(b)  Unless called up and disposed of prior to 72 hours
	before final adjournment of the session, all motions to reconsider
	shall be regarded as determined and lost.
	(c)  All motions to reconsider made during the last 72 hours
	of the session shall be disposed of when made; otherwise, the motion
	shall be considered as lost.
	Sec. 44.  MOTION TO RECONSIDER AND SPREAD ON JOURNAL.  (a)  A
	member voting on the prevailing side may make a motion to reconsider
	and spread on the journal, which does not require a vote, and on the
	motion being made, it shall be entered on the journal. Any member,
	regardless of whether he or she voted on the prevailing side or not,
	who desires immediate action on a motion to reconsider which has
	been spread on the journal, can call it up as soon as it is made, and
	demand a vote on it, or can call it up and move to table it.
	(b)  If the motion to table the motion to reconsider is
	defeated, the motion to reconsider remains spread on the journal
	for future action; however, any member, regardless of whether he or
	she voted on the prevailing side or not, can call the motion from
	the journal for action by the house, and, once disposed of, no other
	motion to reconsider can be made.
	Sec. 45.  MOTION TO REQUIRE COMMITTEE TO REPORT.  (a)  During
	the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, when any bill,
	resolution, or other paper has been in committee for 6 calendar
	days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was referred, it
	shall be in order for a member to move that the committee be
	required to report the same within 7 calendar days.  This motion
	shall require a two-thirds vote for passage.
	(b)  After the first 76 calendar days of a regular session,
	when any bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for
	6 calendar days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was
	referred, it shall be in order for a member to move that the
	committee be required to report the same within 7 calendar days.
	This motion shall require a majority vote for passage.
	(c)  A motion to instruct a committee to report is not a
	privileged motion and must be made during the routine motion period
	unless made under a suspension of the rules.
	(d)  The house shall have no authority to instruct a
	subcommittee directly; however, instructions recognized under the
	rules may be given to a committee and shall be binding on all
	subcommittees.
	Sec. 46.  MOTION TO REREFER TO ANOTHER COMMITTEE.  (a)
	During the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, when any
	bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for 7
	calendar days after the committee was instructed by the house to
	report that measure by a motion made under Section 45 of this rule,
	it shall be in order for a member to move to rerefer the bill,
	resolution, or other paper to a different committee. This motion
	shall require a two-thirds vote for passage.
	(b)  After the first 76 calendar days of a regular session,
	when any bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for
	7 calendar days after the committee has been instructed to report
	that measure by a motion made under Section 45  of this rule, it
	shall be in order for a member to move to rerefer the bill,
	resolution, or other paper to a different committee. This motion
	shall require a majority vote for passage.
	(c)  A motion to rerefer a bill, resolution, or other paper
	from one committee to another committee is not a privileged motion
	and must be made during the routine motion period unless made under
	a suspension of the rules.
	RULE 8.  BILLS
	Sec. 1.  CONTENTS OF BILLS.  Proposed laws or changes in laws
	must be incorporated in bills, which shall consist of:
	(1)  a title or caption, beginning with the words "A
	Bill to be Entitled An Act" and a brief statement that gives the
	legislature and the public reasonable notice of the subject of the
	proposed measure;
	(2)  an enacting clause, "Be It Enacted by the
	Legislature of the State of Texas"; and
	(3)  the bill proper.
	Sec. 2.  PUBLISHING ACTS IN THEIR ENTIRETY.  No law shall be
	revived or amended by reference to its title. The act revived, or
	the section or sections amended, shall be reenacted and published
	at length. This rule does not apply to revisions adopted under
	Article III, Section 43, of the Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 3.  LIMITING A BILL TO A SINGLE SUBJECT.  Each bill
	(except a general appropriations bill, which may embrace the
	various subjects and accounts for which money is appropriated or a
	revision adopted under Article III, Section 43, of the Texas
	Constitution) shall contain only one subject.
	Sec. 4.  CHANGING GENERAL LAW THROUGH AN APPROPRIATIONS
	BILL.  A general law may not be changed by the provisions in an
	appropriations bill.
	Sec. 5.  COAUTHORSHIP, JOINT AUTHORSHIP, SPONSORSHIP,
	COSPONSORSHIP, AND JOINT SPONSORSHIP.  (a) A house bill or
	resolution may have only one primary author. The signature of the
	primary author shall be the only signature that appears on the
	original measure and all copies filed with the chief clerk. The
	signatures of all coauthors or joint authors shall appear on the
	appropriate forms in the chief clerk's office.
	(b)  Any member may become the coauthor of a bill or
	resolution by securing permission from the author. If permission
	is secured from the author prior to the time the measure is filed
	with the chief clerk, the primary author and the coauthor shall sign
	the appropriate form, which shall be included with the measure when
	it is filed with the chief clerk. If a member wishes to become the
	coauthor of a measure after it has been filed, no action shall be
	required by the house, but it shall be the duty of the member
	seeking to be a coauthor to obtain written authorization on the
	appropriate form from the author. This authorization shall be
	filed with the chief clerk before the coauthor signs the form for
	the bill or resolution. The chief clerk shall report daily to the
	journal clerk the names of members filed as coauthors of bills or
	resolutions. If a coauthor of a bill or resolution desires to
	withdraw from such status, the member shall notify the chief clerk,
	who in turn shall notify the journal clerk.
	(c)  The primary author of a measure may designate up to four
	joint authors by providing written authorization on the appropriate
	form to the chief clerk. If a member designated as a joint author
	has not already signed on the measure as a coauthor, that member
	must also sign the form before the records will reflect the joint
	author status of that member. The names of all joint authors shall
	be shown immediately following the primary author's name on all
	official printings of the measure, on all house calendars, in the
	house journal, and in the electronic legislative information
	system.
	(d)  The determination of the house sponsor of a senate
	measure is made at the time the measure is reported from committee.
	In the case of multiple requests for house sponsorship, the house
	sponsor of a senate measure shall be determined by the chair of the
	committee, in consultation with the senate author of the measure.
	The chair of the committee must designate a primary sponsor and may
	designate up to four joint sponsors or an unlimited number of
	cosponsors. The names of all joint sponsors shall be shown
	immediately following the primary sponsor's name on all official
	printings of the measure, on all house calendars, in the house
	journal, and in the electronic legislative information system.
	Sec. 6.  FILING, FIRST READING, AND REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE.
	Each bill shall be filed with the chief clerk when introduced and
	shall be numbered in its regular order. Each bill shall be read
	first time by caption and referred by the speaker to the appropriate
	committee with jurisdiction.
	Sec. 7.  PREFILING.  Beginning the first Monday after the
	general election preceding the next regular legislative session, or
	within 30 days prior to any special session, it shall be in order to
	file with the chief clerk bills and resolutions for introduction in
	that session. On receipt of the bills or resolutions, the chief
	clerk shall number them and make them a matter of public record,
	available for distribution. Once a bill or resolution has been so
	filed, it may not be recalled. This shall apply only to
	members-elect of the succeeding legislative session.
	Sec. 8.  DEADLINE FOR INTRODUCTION.  (a)  Bills and joint
	resolutions introduced during the first 60 calendar days of the
	regular session may be considered by the committees and in the house
	and disposed of at any time during the session, in accordance with
	the rules of the house.  After the first 60 calendar days of a
	regular session, any bill or joint resolution, except local bills,
	emergency appropriations, and all emergency matters submitted by
	the governor in special messages to the legislature, shall require
	an affirmative vote of four-fifths of those members present and
	voting to be introduced.
	(b)  In addition to a bill defined as a "local bill" under
	Section 10(c) of this rule, a bill is considered local for purposes
	of this section if it relates to a specified district created under
	Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution (water
	districts, etc.), a specified hospital district, or another
	specified special purpose district, even if neither these rules nor
	the Texas Constitution require publication of notice for that bill.
	Sec. 9.  NUMBER OF COPIES FILED.  (a)  Nine copies of every
	bill, except bills relating to conservation and reclamation
	districts and governed by the provisions of Article XVI, Section
	59, of the Texas Constitution, must be filed with the chief clerk at
	the time that the bill is introduced.
	(b)  Eleven copies of every bill relating to conservation and
	reclamation districts and governed by the provisions of Article
	XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, with copies of the
	notice to introduce the bill attached, must be filed with the chief
	clerk at the time that the bill is introduced if the bill is
	intended to:
	(1)  create a particular conservation and reclamation
	district; or
	(2)  amend the act of a particular conservation and
	reclamation district to:
	(A)  add additional land to the district;
	(B)  alter the taxing authority of the district;
	(C)  alter the authority of the district with
	respect to issuing bonds; or
	(D)  alter the qualifications or terms of office
	of the members of the governing body of the district.
	(c)  No bill may be laid before the house on first reading
	until it is in compliance with the provisions of this section.
	Sec. 10.  LOCAL BILLS.  (a)  The  house may not consider a
	local bill unless notice of intention to apply for the passage of
	the bill was published as provided by law and evidence of the
	publication is  attached to the bill.  If not attached to the bill on
	filing with the chief clerk or receipt of the bill from the senate,
	copies of the evidence of timely publication shall be filed with the
	chief clerk and must be distributed to the members of the committee
	not later than the first time the bill is laid out in a committee
	meeting.  The evidence shall be attached to the bill on first
	printing and shall remain with the measure throughout the entire
	legislative process, including submission to the governor.
	(b)  Neither the house nor a committee of the house may
	consider a bill whose application is limited to one or more
	political subdivisions by means of population brackets or other
	artificial devices in lieu of identifying the political subdivision
	or subdivisions by name. However, this subsection does not prevent
	consideration of a bill that classifies political subdivisions
	according to a minimum or maximum population or other criterion
	that bears a reasonable relation to the purpose of the proposed
	legislation or a bill that updates laws based on population
	classifications to conform to a federal decennial census.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section,
	"local bill" for purposes of this section means:
	(1)  a bill for which publication of notice is required
	under Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution (water
	districts, etc.);
	(2)  a bill for which publication of notice is required
	under Article IX, Section 9, of the Texas Constitution (hospital
	districts);
	(3)  a bill relating to hunting, fishing, or
	conservation of wildlife resources of a specified locality;
	(4)  a bill creating or affecting a county court or
	statutory court or courts of one or more specified counties or
	municipalities;
	(5)  a bill creating or affecting the juvenile board or
	boards of a specified county or counties; or
	(6)  a bill creating or affecting a road utility
	district under the authority of Article III, Section 52, of the
	Texas Constitution.
	(d)  A bill is not considered to be a local bill under
	Subsection (c)(3), (4), or (5) if it affects a sufficient number of
	localities, counties, or municipalities so as to be of general
	application or of statewide importance.
	Sec. 11.  CONSIDERATION IN COMMITTEE.  (a)  No bill shall be
	considered unless it first has been referred to a committee and
	reported from it.
	(b)  After a bill has been recommitted, it shall be
	considered by the committee as a new subject.
	Sec. 12.  ORDER OF CONSIDERATION.  All bills and resolutions
	before the house shall be taken up and acted on in the order in which
	they appear on their respective calendars, and each calendar shall
	have the priority accorded to it by the provisions of Rule 6,
	Sections 7 and 8.
	Sec. 13.  DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION.  (a)  No house bill
	that is local as defined by Section 10(c) of this rule and that
	appears on a local, consent, and resolutions calendar shall be
	considered for any purpose after the 130th day of a regular session,
	except to:
	(1)  act on senate amendments;
	(2)  adopt a conference committee report;
	(3)  reconsider the bill to make corrections; or
	(4)  pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of
	the governor.
	(b)  No other house bill or joint resolution shall be
	considered on its second reading after the 122nd day of a regular
	session if it appears on a daily or supplemental daily house
	calendar, or for any purpose after the 123rd day of a regular
	session, except to:
	(1)  act on senate amendments;
	(2)  adopt a conference committee report;
	(3)  reconsider the bill or resolution to make
	corrections; or
	(4)  pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of
	the governor.
	(c)  No senate bill or joint resolution shall be considered
	on its second reading after the 134th day of a regular session if it
	appears on a daily or supplemental daily house calendar, or for any
	purpose after the 135th day of a regular session, except to:
	(1)  adopt a conference committee report;
	(2)  reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house
	amendments;
	(3)  reconsider the bill or resolution to make
	corrections; or
	(4)  pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of
	the governor.
	(d)  The speaker shall not lay any bill or joint resolution
	before the house or permit a vote to be taken on its passage on the
	136th and 137th days of a regular session, except to:
	(1)  act on senate amendments;
	(2)  adopt a conference committee report;
	(3)  reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house
	amendments;
	(4)  reconsider the bill or resolution to make
	corrections; or
	(5)  pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of
	the governor.
	(e)  The speaker shall not lay any bill or joint resolution
	before the house or permit a vote to be taken on its passage on the
	138th and 139th days of a regular session, except to:
	(1)  adopt a conference committee report;
	(2)  reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house
	amendments;
	(3)  discharge house conferees and concur in senate
	amendments;
	(4)  reconsider the bill or resolution to make
	corrections; or
	(5)  pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of
	the governor.
	(f)  No vote shall be taken upon the passage of any bill or
	resolution within 24 hours of the final adjournment of a regular
	session unless it be to reconsider the bill or resolution to make
	corrections, or to adopt a corrective resolution.
	Sec. 14.  DELIVERY PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION. (a)  Each bill or
	resolution, except the general appropriations bill, shall be
	delivered to each member by making a copy of the bill or resolution
	available in an electronic format for viewing by the member and,
	when the electronic format copy of the appropriate printing becomes
	available, by sending notice of that fact to a Capitol e-mail
	address designated by the member, at least 36 hours if convened in
	regular session and 24 hours if convened in special session before
	the bill can be considered by the house on second reading. If a
	member informs the chief clerk in writing that the member desires to
	receive paper copies of bills and resolutions under this section in
	addition to delivery in an electronic format, the chief clerk shall
	place a paper copy of the bill or resolution in the newspaper box of
	the member as soon as practicable after the electronic copies of the
	bill or resolution are made available for viewing.
	(a-1)  A printed copy of the general appropriations bill
	shall be placed in the newspaper mailbox of each member at least 168
	hours during a regular session and at least 72 hours during a
	special session before the bill can be considered by the house on
	second reading.
	(b)  By majority vote, the house may order both the original
	bill or resolution and the complete committee substitute to be
	printed. It shall not be necessary for the house to order complete
	committee substitutes printed in lieu of original bills.
	(c)  A two-thirds vote of the house is necessary to order
	that bills, other than local bills, be not printed. It shall not be
	necessary for the house to order that local bills be not printed.
	Sec. 15.  REQUIREMENT FOR THREE READINGS.  A bill shall not
	have the force of law until it has been read on three several
	legislative days in each house and free discussion allowed, unless
	this provision is suspended by a vote of four-fifths of the members
	present and voting, a quorum being present. The yeas and nays shall
	be taken on the question of suspension and entered in the journal.
	Sec. 16.  CONSIDERATION SECTION BY SECTION.  (a)  During the
	consideration of any bill or resolution, the house may, by a
	majority vote, order the bill or resolution to be considered
	section by section, or department by department, until each section
	or department has been given separate consideration. If such a
	procedure is ordered, only amendments to the section or department
	under consideration at that time shall be in order. However, after
	each section or department has been considered separately, the
	entire bill or resolution shall be open for amendment, subject to
	the provisions of Rule 11, Section 8(b). Once the consideration of
	a bill section by section or department by department has been
	ordered, it shall not be in order to move the previous question on
	the entire bill, to recommit it, to lay it on the table, or to
	postpone it, until each section or department has been given
	separate consideration or until the vote by which section by
	section consideration was ordered is reconsidered.
	(b)  A motion to consider a bill section by section is
	debatable within narrow limits; that is, the pros and cons of the
	proposed consideration can be debated but not the merits of the
	bill.
	Sec. 17.  PASSAGE TO ENGROSSMENT OR THIRD READING.  After a
	bill or complete committee substitute for a bill has been taken up
	and read, amendments shall be in order.  If no amendment is made, or
	if those proposed are disposed of, then the final question on its
	second reading shall be, in the case of a house bill, whether it
	shall be passed to engrossment, or, in the case of a senate bill,
	whether it shall pass to its third reading.  All bills ordered
	passed to engrossment or passed to a third reading shall remain on
	the calendar on which placed, but with future priority over bills
	that have not passed second reading.
	Sec. 18.  CERTIFICATION OF FINAL PASSAGE.  The chief clerk
	shall certify the final passage of each bill, noting on the bill the
	date of its passage, and the vote by which it passed, if by a yea and
	nay vote.
	Sec. 19.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  Every law passed by the
	legislature, except the General Appropriations Act, shall take
	effect or go into force on the 91st day after the adjournment of the
	session at which it was enacted, unless the legislature provides
	for an earlier effective date by a vote of two-thirds of all the
	members elected to each house. The vote shall be taken by yeas and
	nays and entered in the journals.
	Sec. 20.  BILLS CONTAINING SAME SUBSTANCE AS DEFEATED BILL.
	After a bill or resolution has been considered and defeated by
	either house of the legislature, no bill or resolution containing
	the same substance shall be passed into law during the same session.
	Sec. 21.  CONSIDERATION OF BILLS INVOLVING STATE FUNDS.  (a)
	In order to assure the continuation of financial support of
	existing state services through the passage of the general
	appropriations bill, it shall not be in order during the first 118
	days of the regular session for the speaker to lay before the house,
	prior to the consideration, passage, and certification by the
	comptroller of the general appropriations bill, any bill that
	directly or indirectly prevents from being available for purposes
	of funding state government generally any money that under existing
	law would otherwise be available for that purpose, including a bill
	that transfers or diverts money in the state treasury from the
	general revenue fund to another fund.
	(b)  In order to assure compliance with the limitation on
	appropriations of state tax revenue not dedicated by the
	constitution as provided by Article VIII, Section 22, of the Texas
	Constitution, it is not in order for the speaker to lay before the
	house, prior to the time that the general appropriations bill has
	been finally passed and sent to the comptroller, any bill that
	appropriates funds from the state treasury that are not dedicated
	by the constitution.
	(c)  When bills subject to the provisions of Subsection (a)
	of this section become eligible for consideration, they shall be
	considered for passage under the rules of the house and the joint
	rules as any other bill but shall not be signed by the speaker as
	required by the Constitution of Texas and the rules of the house
	until the general appropriations bill has been signed by the
	presiding officers of both houses of the legislature and
	transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for certification
	as required by Article III, Section 49a, of the Constitution of
	Texas.
	(d)  All bills subject to the provisions of Subsection (a) of
	this section that have finally passed both houses shall be enrolled
	as required by the rules and transmitted to the speaker. The
	speaker shall note on each bill the date and hour of final
	legislative action and shall withhold his or her signature and any
	further action on all such bills until the general appropriations
	bill has been signed by the presiding officers of both houses and
	transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for
	certification. Immediately thereafter, the speaker shall sign in
	the presence of the house all bills on which further action was
	being withheld because the bills were subject to the provisions of
	this section. After being signed by the speaker, the bills shall
	then be transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for
	certification or to the governor, as the case may be, in the order
	in which final legislative action was taken. "Final legislative
	action," as that term is used in this subsection, shall mean the
	last act of either house meeting in general session necessary to
	place the bill in its final form preparatory to enrollment.
	(e)  Subsections (a)-(d) of this section shall not apply to
	any bills providing for:
	(1)  the payment of expenses of the legislature;
	(2)  the payment of judgments against the state;
	(3)  any emergency matter when requested by the
	governor in a formal message to the legislature; or
	(4)  the reduction of taxes.
	(f)  Unless within the authority of a resolution or
	resolutions adopted pursuant to Article VIII, Section 22(b), of the
	Texas Constitution, it is not in order for the house to consider for
	final passage on third reading, on motion to concur in senate
	amendments, or on motion to adopt a conference committee report, a
	bill appropriating funds from the state treasury in an amount that,
	when added to amounts previously appropriated by bills finally
	passed and sent or due to be sent to the comptroller, would exceed
	the limit on appropriations established under Chapter 316,
	Government Code.
	(g)  The general appropriations bill shall be reported to the
	house by the Committee on Appropriations not later than the 90th
	calendar day of the regular session. Should the Committee on
	Appropriations fail to report by the deadline, Subsections (a)-(d)
	of this section shall be suspended for the balance of that regular
	session.