PRINTER'S NO. 958
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
75
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY CAPPELLETTI, KANE, L. WILLIAMS, MUTH, SCHWANK,
BREWSTER, KEARNEY, COMITTA, SAVAL AND COSTA, JUNE 24, 2021
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JUNE 24, 2021
A RESOLUTION
Amending the Rules of the Senate, further providing for bills
and for committees.
RESOLVED, That Senate Rules 12 and 14(e) be amended to read:
Rule 12. Bills.
(a) Passage of bills.--
(1) No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill
shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either
House, as to change its original purpose. (Const. Art. III,
Sec. 1)
(2) No alteration or amendment shall be considered which
is not appropriate and closely allied to the original purpose
of the bill. If a bill has been amended after being reported
by the Appropriations Committee and if the amendment may
require the expenditure of Commonwealth funds or funds of a
political subdivision or cause a loss of revenue to the
Commonwealth or a political subdivision, the Appropriations
Committee shall make a fiscal note reflecting the impact of
the amendment available to the Senators.
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(b) Reference and printing.--No bill shall be considered
unless referred to a committee, printed for the use of the
members and returned therefrom. (Const. Art. III, Sec. 2)
(c) Form of bills.--No bill shall be passed containing more
than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title,
except a general appropriation bill or a bill codifying or
compiling the law or a part thereof. (Const. Art. III, Sec. 3)
(d) Consideration of bills.--Every bill shall be considered
on three different days in each House. All amendments made
thereto shall be available pursuant to Rule 13(a)(2) for the use
of the members before the final vote is taken on the bill. Upon
written request addressed to the presiding officer of the Senate
by at least 25% of the Members elected to the Senate, any bill
shall be read at length in that House. No bill shall become a
law, unless on its final passage the vote is taken by yeas and
nays, the names of the persons voting for and against it are
entered on the Journal, and a majority of the Members elected to
each House is recorded thereon as voting in its favor. (Const.
Art. III, Sec. 4)
(e) Local and special bills.--No local or special bill shall
be passed unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall
have been published in the locality where the matter or the
thing to be effected may be situated, which notice shall be at
least 30 days prior to the introduction into the General
Assembly of such bill and in the manner to be provided by law;
the evidence of such notice having been published shall be
exhibited in the General Assembly before such act shall be
passed. (Const. Art. III, Sec. 7)
(f) Revenue bills.--All bills for raising revenue shall
originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may
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propose amendments as in other bills. (Const. Art. III, Sec. 10)
(g) Appropriation bills.--
(1) The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing
but appropriations for the executive, legislative and
judicial departments of the Commonwealth, for the public debt
and for public schools. All other appropriations shall be
made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject.
(Const. Art. III, Sec. 11)
(2) No appropriation shall be made for charitable,
educational or benevolent purposes to any person or community
nor to any denomination and sectarian institution,
corporation or association: Provided, That appropriations may
be made for pensions or gratuities for military service and
to blind persons 21 years of age and upwards and for
assistance to mothers having dependent children and to aged
persons without adequate means of support and in the form of
scholarship grants or loans for higher educational purposes
to residents of the Commonwealth enrolled in institutions of
higher learning, except that no scholarship, grants or loans
for higher educational purposes shall be given to persons
enrolled in a theological seminary or school of theology.
(Const. Art. III, Sec. 29)
(h) Charitable and educational appropriations.--No
appropriation shall be made to any charitable or educational
institution not under the absolute control of the Commonwealth,
other than normal schools established by law for the
professional training of teachers for the public schools of the
State, except by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected
to each House. (Const. Art. III, Sec. 30)
(i) Land transfer legislation.--
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(1) No bills granting or conveying Commonwealth land or
taking title thereto shall be reported by any committee of
the Senate unless there has been filed with the Secretary-
Parliamentarian and the Chair of the Reporting Committee, a
memorandum from the Department of General Services indicating
the use to which the property is presently employed, the full
consideration for the transfer, if any, a departmental
appraisal of the property, including its valuation and a list
of recorded liens and encumbrances, if any, the use to which
the property will be employed upon its transfer, the date by
which the land is needed for its new use and the senatorial
district or districts in which the land is located. The
memorandum shall be filed within 60 days after a request is
made for same and contain a statement by a responsible person
in the Department of General Services indicating whether or
not the departments involved favor the transfer which is the
subject of the bill under consideration. The sponsor of the
bill or the Chair of the Reporting Committee may request the
memorandum from the Department of General Services.
(2) No amendment granting or conveying Commonwealth land
or taking title thereto shall be considered by the Senate
unless there has been filed with the Secretary-
Parliamentarian and the Chair of the committee reporting the
bill a memorandum from the Department of General Services
indicating the use to which the property is presently
employed, the full consideration for the transfer, if any, a
departmental appraisal of the property, including its
valuation and a list of recorded liens and encumbrances, if
any, the use to which the property will be employed upon its
transfer, the date by which the land is needed for its new
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use, the senatorial district or districts in which the land
is located and a statement by a responsible person in the
Department of General Services indicating whether or not the
departments involved favor the transfer which is the subject
of the amendment under consideration. The memorandum shall be
filed within 60 days after a request is made. The sponsor of
the amendment or the Chair of the Reporting Committee may
request the memorandum from the Department of General
Services.
(3) If a memorandum is not filed within 60 days after a
request is made to the Department of General Services, the
Senate or any committees of the Senate may consider bills or
amendments granting or conveying Commonwealth land or taking
title thereto, notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2).
(j) Consideration during second regular session.--All bills,
joint resolutions, resolutions, concurrent resolutions or other
matters pending before the Senate upon the recess of a first
regular session convening in an odd-numbered year shall maintain
their status and be pending before a second regular session
convening in an even-numbered year but not beyond adjournment
sine die or November 30th of such year, whichever first occurs.
(k) Introduction.--All bills shall be introduced in
quadruplicate or filed electronically with the Secretary-
Parliamentarian's Office through a process determined by the
Secretary-Parliamentarian. A sponsor may be added after a bill
has been printed but the addition of sponsors shall not require
that the bill be reprinted. All bills shall be examined by the
Legislative Reference Bureau for correctness as to form and
shall be imprinted with the stamp of the Bureau before being
filed with the Secretary-Parliamentarian for introduction.
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(l) Character of bills to be introduced.--No Member shall
introduce, nor shall any committee report any bill for the
action of the Senate, proposing to legislate upon any of the
subjects prohibited by Article III, section 32 of the
Constitution.
(m) Printing of amended bills.--
(1) All bills reported or re-reported from committee, if
amended by the committee, and all bills on the Calendar, if
amended by the Senate, shall be reprinted and a new printer's
number assigned thereto before any action is taken thereon.
(2) No bill or joint resolution re-reported from
committee as amended shall be voted upon on final passage
until at least six hours have elapsed from the time of the
committee report.
(n) First consideration.--Bills on first consideration shall
not be subject to amendment, debate or a vote thereon.
(o) Second consideration.--Bills on second consideration may
be subject to amendment, debate and a vote thereon.
(p) Third consideration and final passage.--
(1) The following apply:
(i) Bills on third consideration may be amended and
are subject to debate. Bills on final passage may not be
amended but are open to debate. The vote on final passage
shall be taken by a roll call. The names of the Senators
voting for and against shall be recorded, entered in the
Journal and posted on the Internet website maintained by
the Senate. No bill shall be declared passed unless a
majority of all Senators elected to the Senate shall be
recorded as voting for the same.
(ii) No bill which may require an expenditure of
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Commonwealth funds or funds of any political subdivision
or cause a loss of revenue to the Commonwealth or any
political subdivision shall be given third consideration
on the Calendar until it has been referred to the
Appropriations Committee and a fiscal note attached
thereto.
(iii) In obtaining the information required by these
Rules, the Appropriations Committee may utilize the
services of the Budget Office and any other State agency
as may be necessary.
(iv) No bills appropriating money for charitable or
benevolent purposes shall be considered finally until
after the general appropriation bill shall have been
reported from committee.
(2) The following apply:
(i) It shall not be in order, by suspension of this
Rule or otherwise, to consider a bill on final passage
unless it is printed, together with amendments, if any,
and made available to the Senators.
(ii) No bill or joint resolution amended on third
consideration shall be voted on final passage until at
least six hours have elapsed from the time of adoption of
the amendment.
(q) Prefiling of bills, joint resolutions and resolutions.--
Any Senator or Senator-elect may file, via paper or electronic
format, bills, joint resolutions and resolutions with the
Secretary-Parliamentarian of the Senate commencing on December
15 of each even-numbered year. The Secretary-Parliamentarian of
the Senate shall number the bills, joint resolutions and
resolutions and shall have them available for distribution. Upon
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the naming of the committees of the Senate at the convening of a
First Regular Session, the President Pro Tempore shall refer all
prefiled measures to the proper committee within 14 calendar
days.
(r) Normal filing of bills, joint resolutions and
resolutions.--Senators may introduce bills, joint resolutions
and resolutions by filing the same, via paper or electronic
format, with the Secretary-Parliamentarian of the Senate. The
Secretary-Parliamentarian of the Senate shall number the bills,
joint resolutions and resolutions and shall notify the President
Pro Tempore of the fact of such filing.
(s) Referral to committee by President Pro Tempore.--Every
bill, joint resolution and resolution introduced by a Senator or
received from the House of Representatives shall be referred by
the President Pro Tempore to the appropriate committee within 14
calendar days. Upon referral, the Secretary-Parliamentarian of
the Senate shall deliver the bills, joint resolutions and
resolutions, via paper or electronic format, to the committees
to which they have been referred. The Secretary-Parliamentarian
of the Senate shall have the bills, joint resolutions and
resolutions available for distribution.
(t) Senate calendar.--Members of the Senate shall receive a
marked Senate calendar no later than 12 hours in advance of the
start of the Senate session.
Rule 14. Committees.
* * *
(e) Notice of meetings.--
(1) The following apply:
(i) The Chair of a committee or, in the absence of
the Chair, the Vice Chair, with the approval of the
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Chair, shall provide each member of the committee with
written notice of committee meetings, which shall include
the date, time and location of the meeting and the number
of each bill, resolution or other matter which may be
considered. The Chair shall give due notice of a standing
committee meeting or hearing not later than 72 hours
before the date and time the standing committee meeting
or hearing is to be scheduled. Committee members shall
give due notice of amendments to be offered not later
than 24 hours before the scheduled standing committee
meeting. During session, notice of meetings of standing
committees shall be published daily. Notice shall be
delivered by the Chair to the Secretary-Parliamentarian's
office on a form prescribed by the Secretary-
Parliamentarian of the Senate by the end of the session
on the day preceding its intended publication.
(ii) Whenever the Chair of any standing committee
shall refuse to call a regular meeting, then a majority
plus one of the members of the standing committee may
vote to call a meeting by giving two days' written notice
to the Secretary-Parliamentarian of the Senate, setting
the time and place for such meeting. Such notice shall be
read in the Senate and the same posted by the Secretary-
Parliamentarian in the Senate. Thereafter, the meeting
shall be held at the time and place specified in the
notice. In addition, any such meeting shall comply with
all provisions of 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open
meetings) relative to notice of meetings.
(iii) When the majority plus one of the members of a
standing committee believe that a certain bill or
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resolution in the possession of the standing committee
should be considered and acted upon by such committee,
they may request the Chair to include the same as part of
the business of a committee meeting. Should the Chair
refuse such request, the membership may require that such
bill be considered by written motion made and approved by
a majority plus one vote of the entire membership to
which the committee is entitled.
(2) A committee meeting, or hearing for which notice has
not been published as provided in paragraph (1), may be held
during a session only if approval is granted by [the Majority
Leader and the Minority Leader] two-thirds vote of the
members of the relevant standing committee and if notice of
the bills to be considered is given during session.
* * *
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