USA > Michigan > Michigan official directory and legislative manual for the years 1909-1910 > Part 59
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RULE 13. The legislative postoffice shall be kept open every week day from 8 o'clock a. m. to 9 o'clock p. m., and on each Sunday from 12 o'clock noon until 1 o'clock p. m., and the mail shall be delivered to the Lansing postoffice in time for the outgoing trains on Sunday evenings.
JOINT CONVENTION RULES.
RULE 1. Joint conventions shall be held in the liall of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate shall preside.
RULE 2. The secretary of the senate and clerk of the house of representatives shall be secretaries of the joint convention, and the proceedings of the convention shall be published with the journals of the house, and the final result, as announced by the president on return of the senate to their chamber, shall be entered on the journals of the senate.
RULE 3. The rules of the house of representatives, so far as the same may be ap- plicable, shall govern the proceedings in joint convention.
RULE 4. Whenever a president pro tempore presides he shall be entitled to vote Oll all occasions, and in case of a tie the question shall be declared lost.
RULE 5. Joint conventions shall have the power to compel the attendance of absent members in the mode and under the penalties prescribed by the rules of the house to which such meinbers respectively belong, and for that purpose the sergeant-at-arms of each house sliall attend.
RULE 6. Joint conventions may adjourn from time to time, as may be found neces- sary, and it shall be the duty of the house of representatives to prepare to receive the senate, and of the senate to proceed to the hall of the house of representatives, at the time fixed by law or resolution, or to which the joint convention may have adjourned
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THE LEGISLATURE.
PRACTICE AND PROCEEDINGS.
The legislature having convened, been called to order, the list of members-elect read and the oath administered [see Act No. 67, laws of 1877, p. 53], it is customary to immediately adopt the rules of the preceding house, they having no force until so adopted. The joint rules are adopted afterwards by concurrent resolution. The election of officers is then proceeded with viva voce, each member rising as his name is called and naming the candidate of his choice; a majority of all the votes cast elects. The house having chosen a speaker, a committee is appointed to conduct him to the chair; he then assumes the duties of the office. The officers usually elected are: By the senate, president pro tempore, secretary and sergeant-at-arms. By the house, speaker, speaker pro tempore, clerk and sergeant-at-arms.
By concurrent resolution, the postmaster and assistant postmaster.
The assistant sergeants-at-arms, janitors, keepers of the cloak-rooms, and messengers (except the messengers of the secretary and the clerk), are appointed by the lieutenant governor or the speaker.
The assistant secretaries and proofreaders of the senate are appointed by the secre- tary. The journal clerk, bill clerk, reading clerk, financial clerk and proofreaders of the house are appointed by the clerk.
Each house, having completed its organization, appoints a committee to wait upon the other and inform them that it is ready for business; after which a joint committee is appointed to wait upon the governor and inform him that the legislature is duly organized and ready to receive any communication that he may be pleased to make. At the time fixed by the governor the senate and house meet in joint convention and receive his message. The standing committees of the senate and house are appointed by the lieutenant governor and the speaker respectively, as soon as possible after the organization.
COMPENSATION.
Section 9, Art. V of the constitution, fixes the compensation and mileage of members. The compensation of officers is fixed by Act No. 3, laws of 1873, as amended by Act No. 255, laws of 1905, and Act No. 85, laws of 1907. The manner of paying the com- pensation of members of the legislature is prescribed by Act No. 1 of 1909. Pay is drawn upon certificates signed by the presiding officer and secretary, or clerk, and countersigned by the auditor general. Such stationery as is needed by the committees is furnished by the state.
DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYES.
President and speaker .- Senate rules 2, 3, and 4, and house rules 4 to 12, inclusive, prescribe the duties of presiding officers.
Secretary and assistants .- Senate rules 5 to 10, set forth the duties of the officers. One assistant keeps the journal of the senate, the other the bill record, and perform such other clerical duties as are assigned to them by the secretary.
Clerk .- House rules 13 to 21, prescribe the general duties of the clerk and he assigns such duties to his assistants as he deems proper. The assignment of duties to them has heretofore been as follows.
Journal clerk .- It is his duty to keep a record of each day's proceedings; to enter in the journal all documents ordered printed therein; to correct the daily journal for the publication of the official journal; and in case of the absence of the clerk to perform his duties generally.
Bill clerk .- It is his duty to keep the bill history, showing the number, file number, and all action on bills and joint resolutions, with the date thereof, to furnish the journal clerk, for entry on the journal, a copy of the titles of all petitions, etc., presented, and bills and joint resolutions introduced, in numerical order, together with the name of the member presenting the same, and the reference to committees; to distribute to
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the proper committees, or officers, all bills, petitions and documents referred; to pre- pare and transmit the messages to be delivered to the senate.
Proofreaders .- It is their duty to attend to the enrollment printing of all bills and resolutions passed by the house, and present the same to the governor, taking a receipt therefor, showing the day and hour at which each bill was deposited in the executive office.
Reading clerk .- It is his duty to attend to all reading from the clerk's desk and per- form such other duties as may be assigned to him.
Financial clerk .- It is his duty to make out and have signed the pay rolls and to dis- tribute the pay envelopes received from the state treasurer; to make out all vouchers for incidental and committee expenses; to keep a ledger account of all money paid out or vouchers issued; and to perform such other duties as the clerk may assign him.
Sergeants-at-arms .- They are the police officers of their respective houses. They have charge of the keepers of cloak-rooms, janitors and messengers; control of the police regulations. They also attend to the warming and ventilation of the halls, provide rooms for committees, and supply them with furniture and conveniences, and serve subpoenas and warrants. The assistants perform such duties as are assigned them.
Postmaster and assistant .- They attend to the receipt and delivery of all mail matter coming to members and officers, and the proper delivery and mailing, at the general postoffice, of all matters sent by them.
Committee clerks .- Committees are grouped at the beginning of the session and the clerks are assigned to the several groups. The clerks act for all committees in their respective groups, keeping a record of all actions taken upon matters referred to their committees, preparing reports to be made to the house, and doing such stenographic and other work as the members may require. The clerks of the judiciary committees are law clerks of the respective houses.
Document room keeper and assistant .- The printed files and journals are received at the document room by these employes and are prepared for filing by being stamped with the date of receipt and punched for the files. They have the custody of all docu- ments printed and it is their duty to furnish copies on request to persons entitled thereto.
Mailing clerk .- It is his duty to attend to the folding, wrapping, pasting and mailing of all documents ordered mailed by the house.
Cloak room keeper and assistant .- They have charge of the cloak room and the custody of all coats, etc., left in their possession by the members.
Janitors .- They, under the supervision of the sergeant-at-arms, attend to the warm- ing, ventilation, sweeping, and dusting of the halls and committee rooms; have charge of the document rooms, and when required by the sergeant-at-arms, act as door- keepers.
Messengers .- Each messenger, at the opening of the session, has assigned to him by the sergeant-at-arms a pro rata number of desks in his house for his special attention. He is expected to keep the journals and bills thereon carefully and correctly filed- adding eachı morning, before the opening of the session, all such as have been delivered from the printing office. He is also to arrange and keep in order on his desk all other books, papers and documents belonging thereto. During the daily sessions he is ex- pected to occupy the position assigned to him on the floor and hold himself in readiness to carry messages and papers to and from the members, the presiding officer and the secretary or clerk. All these and such other duties as may be assigned him by the presiding officer or sergeant-at-arms, under whose special direction and control he is placed, he is expected to perform in a quiet, gentlemanly manner, avoiding at all times in the house, all rude, boisterous conduct, and all laughing, talking, whispering, and the like during session. The officers' messengers perform such duties as are required .of them by the officers to whom they are respectively assigned.
QUORUM AND MAJORITIES.
A majority of the members-elect constitute a quorum in each house. A majority of all the members-elect is necessary to pass a bill. The assent of two-thirds of all the members-elect is necessary to pass a bill or concurrent resolution in the following cases:
1. Over the governor's veto; 2. Appropriating public money or property for local
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or private purposes; 3. Providing for the incorporation of trust companies or corpor- ations for banking purposes or regulating the business thereof, or amending or repealing any law providing for such incorporation or regulation; 4. Proposing amendments to the constitution.
The assent of two-thirds of all the members-elect is also necessary to expel a mem- ber; to order an act to take immediate effect ; to request the governor to remove a judge; and to amend a bill or concurrent resolution in the house, after its consideration in com- mittee of the whole.
ORDER OF BUSINESS.
The order of business is essentially the same in both houses, the only difference being one of arrangement. It is as follows:
Presentation of petitions .- Under this head are presented all petitions, remonstrances, memorials and resolutions adopted by boards of supervisors, or other bodies. Before presentation they should be indorsed as follows: "Petition of A. B. and others for -; " "Remonstrance of A. B. and others against - ;" "Memorial of - relative to ," or "Resolutions adopted by - relative to - -; " following each one, as the case may be, with a brief statement of the subject matter, and the name of the member presenting it.
Announcements by clerk or secretary .- Under the constitution, a bill may not be passed until it has been printed and in the possession of each house five days. The time begins to run after the announcement of printing. Under this order of business, the clerk announces the printing and filing of all bills ordered printed and the enrollment and presentation to the governor of all bills passed by both houses.
Reports of standing committees .- Here are received all reports from standing com- mittees relative to bills, etc., referred to them. If the report is favorable the bill is ordered printed, if not already printed, referred to the committee of the whole and placed on the general order, after concurrence or non-concurrence in amendments recommended. Amendments made in one house to a bill which originated in the other, whether by committee or otherwise, are written on slips of paper and attached to the bill. They do not become a part of the bill until concurred in by the house in which the bill originated. If the report is adverse the bill is subject to the order of the house, and is usually tabled. Blanks for making reports are furnished by the secretary or clerk.
Reports of select committees .- Under this head all committees appointed for a special purpose make their reports, and action is taken thereon.
Messages from the governor .- Here are announced and read all 'messages from the executive, whether of approval or veto, returning bills or relative to other matters.
Communications from state officers .- State officers frequently have occasion to send communications to the legislature, and are often called upon for information on certain matters connected with their departments. Their communications and replies are announced under this head.
Messages from the other house .- In the course of business many messages are received by one house from the other and are announced here. If they transmit bills the latter are read a first and second time and referred to the proper committees. If bills are returned without amendment they are referred to the clerk or secretary for enrollment, printing and presentation to the governor. If amended they are subject to the action of the house by concurrence or otherwise. If the message contains concurrent resolu- tions, they are usually acted upon at once.
Notices .- This is the proper time for giving the requisite notice of the future intro- duction of bills. Forms are furnished by the secretary or clerk for the use of members. This previous notice is required only in the case of bills to amend a charter of a corpo - ration.
Introduction of bills .- Members having prepared their bills with due regard to con- stitutional requirements (Const. Art. V., Secs. 19, 20 and 21), are now permitted to introduce them. The bill is sent to the secretary or clerk, who reads the title, and the president or speaker announces "First reading of the bill;" the title is again read, and the presiding officer announces "Second reading of the bill." The first and second
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readings are by the titles only. The bill is then referred to the proper committee. Be- fore it is offered for introduction it should be indorsed as follows: "A bill to -," giving the title in full and also the name of the introducer. Proposals to amend the constitution must be in the form of concurrent resolutions and take the same course as bills.
Third reading of bills .- Under this order such bills as have received the proper con- sideration and have been printed and in possession five days are put upon their passage. They are taken up in the order in which they are found on the files of the secretary or clerk. He announces the bill by number and title and reads the bill at length, unless the bill is by unanimous consent considered read. The president or speaker then says: "Third reading of the bill. The question is on its passage." Debate is now in order. If a member wishes to explain his vote, or to be excused from voting, he must make the explanation or request at this time; for nothing of the kind is in order after the calling of the roll is commenced. As all bills have usually been fully considered before they reach this order, no amendments can be made to them in the senate unless seconded by a majority of the senate (rule 28) nor in the house except by a vote of two-thirds of all the members present and voting (rule 61). Debate having been concluded, the presiding officer says: "The question is now on the passage of the bill. All who are in favor of its passage will, as your names are called, say 'Aye'; those who are opposed will say 'No.' The secretary [or clerk] will call the roll." The roll is then called, the "Ayes" and "Noes" read and the number of each announced. If the requisite number of votes has been given in the affirmative, the presiding officer says: "A majority [or two-thirds] of all the members-elect having voted therefor, the bill is passed." If the bill has not received the requisite number of votes, the announcement is made in the negative. If the bill passes, the presiding officer says, " The question is now on the title. The title will be agreed to unless there be objections." If any amendments are necessary to the title, they must be made now. A majority vote is all that is neces- sary to make such amendments. If it is desirable to give the bill immediate effect, now is the time to make the motion. The bill is then transmitted or returned to the other house, unless notice is given by some member of his intention to move a recon- sideration of the vote by which it passed.
Motions and resolutions .- This is the proper order for all motions which do not arise properly from the business under the other orders-such as motions to discharge com- mittees from the further consideration of bills; to take bills from the table; to transfer bills from one stage of their progress through the house to another; to request the governor or the other house to return a bill; and all resolutions on subjects outside of the usual order of business. Any business may be brought before the house at this time by appropriate motions and resolutions.
Unfinished business .- In the course of the regular business of the session from day to day, it often happens that an adjournment is taken in the midst of the action on some matter before the house and before any final disposition is made of the question under discussion. In such case the whole matter comes up under this order as soon as it is reached on any succeeding day .- See last sentence in next paragraph.
Special orders of the day .- If any business has been made the special order for a certain day, it is taken up as soon as this order of business is reached. If, however, it has been made the special order for any fixed hour of the day, it is taken up when that hour arrives, and takes precedence of all other business. In order to make any business a special order for a time certain, a two-thirds vote is necessary in the house, as it is equivalent to a suspension of the rule prescribing the daily order of business; in the senate a majority vote only is requisite to suspend that rule. If any matter on the special order is not reached on the day set, it comes up afterwards under the order of unfinished business.
General orders of the day .- The work on this order is done in committee of the whole. After bills have been favorably reported by standing committees, they are ordered printed, referred to the committee of the whole, and placed on the general order. When this order is announced, some member moves that the house resolve itself into com- mittee of the whole on the general order. If the motion prevails, the presiding officer appoints a chairman for the committee and leaves the chair. The chairman calls the committee to order, and the bills are taken up in the order in which they are found
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on the files. The committee of the whole is an expedient to simplify the business of legislative bodies, by removing it from the formality of the house to the freedom and informality of a committee. No record is kept of its proceedings, and the only evidence of its work is the report made by its chairman and entered on the journal. Each member speaks as often as he pleases; hence all propositions may be thoroughly considered. When the committee is ready for work, the secretary or clerk announces the first bill on the order by number and title. He then reads the first section and. the chairman asks, " Are there any amendments to section one of the bill?" After a pause, if no amendments are offered, he says, "If not the section will be passed. It is passed." The other sections of the bill are then considered in the same way. When the whole bill has been read, he asks, " Are there any amendments to the body of the bill?" Paus- ing again, if no amendments are offered, he says, "If not, the bill will be passed .. It is passed." No amendments to a section are in order until the section has been read, nor any to the body of the bill until the whole bill has been read. The committee of the whole cannot amend the title nor strike out the enacting clause. It may recom- mend that all after the enacting clause be stricken out; that it be laid on the table; recommitted to a committee; indefinitely postponed; made a special order; put upon its immediate passage, or otherwise disposed of. If the committee desires to rise before finishing the consideration of a bill, the usual motion is "That the committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again." If all the bills on the general order have been considered, or if the committee has just finished the consideration of a bill and wishes to rise instead of taking up further work, the proper motion is "That the com - mittee rise." This motion is always in order; yet if it prevails, pending action on any measure, the bill is not reported to the house by the chairman, but stays in its place upon the files. If the motion to rise is decided in the affirmative, the speaker or presi- dent resumes the chair and calls the house to order. The chairman makes his report through the secretary or clerk and tlie house acts upon its recommendations and amend- ments. If the house concurs in the committee's recommendations, the bills are disposcd of in accordance therewith. If the house refuses to concur, the bills are disposed of as the house directs. If the committee has stricken out all after the enacting clause of a bill and the house concurs, the title and enacting clause are laid on the table. The amendments made in committee of the whole are written on slips of paper, and are not incorporated with the body of the bill unless the house concurs in the same. [In reference to amendments, see "Reports of standing committees."]
The bills which have been reported to the house with the recommendation that they do pass are then placed on the order of third reading of bills for consideration at or after the expiration of the five day limit.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The day's work, after the legislative session has fairly begun and the general order files are well filled, usually closes with the work in committee of the whole. The house may, however, resume the regular order of business, or it may take a recess, or adjourn to give standing committees time to work and dispose of the bills on hand, that they may be printed and placed on the general orders. Committee work is done in the rooms assigned to the respective committees.
A recess is taken from one hour of the same day to another, fixed in the motion for recess. An adjournment is taken to the usual hour of meeting on the next day, or some special hour fixed in the motion for adjournment. Each house determines the hour for the beginning of its daily sessions. When it is desirable to convene at some other hour, a motion is made "That when this house adjourns to day, it stand adjourned until tomorrow at - o'clock - M." If this motion prevails then a simple motion to adjourn carries the session over to the time fixed. Each house makes such adjourn- ments as it deems best, subject only to the restrictions of section 18, Art. V., of the constitution.
After a bill has passed both houses and has been returned to the house in which it originated, it is there referred to the clerk or secretary to be printed and presented to the governor for his approval. The clerk then has the bill printed in accordance with the provisions of sections 39-41, C. L., 1897, changing its title from " A bill" to
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" An act." If it has been ordered to take immediate effect and so appears by the certifi- cates of the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the house, an additional clause is added stating that "This act is ordered to take immediate effect." This clause is often improperly added by members in drafting a bill. It should be omitted in the draft, as it has no force unless the bill is ordered to take immediate effect, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members-elect in each house and is so certified by the two clerical officers, in which case it becomes the duty of the clerk or secretary to add the clause. The draft should also be endorsed "a bill," and not "an act," as is sometimes done. The copy of the act so printed is then submitted to the president of the senate and speaker of the house for their signatures. It is next submitted to the governor for his approval, and the clerk or secretary reports the bill as having been presented to the governor. The original bills, as well as the enrolled copies, after approval by the governor, are finally filed in the office of the secretary of state. Any variations between the two are indicated by the use of brackets in the printing of the session laws.
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