Introduced Version
Senate Resolution 1 History
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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1
(By Senator Unger)
Adopting rules of the Senate.
Resolved by the Senate:
That the rules of the Senate be adopted as follows and shall
govern the proceedings of the Senate during the eighty-first
Legislature, subject to amendment as provided in the rules:
RULES OF THE SENATE
QUORUM
1. A majority of the members elected to the Senate shall
constitute a quorum and a quorum shall be necessary to proceed to
business, but two members may adjourn, and three members may
order a call of the Senate, send for absentees and make any order
for their censure or discharge. On a call of the Senate, the
doors shall not be closed against any member until his or her
name shall have been twice called.
2. In case a less number than a quorum of the Senate shall
convene, the members present are hereby authorized to send the
Sergeant at Arms, or any other person or persons by them
authorized, for any and all absent members as the majority of
such members shall agree, at the expense of such absent members,
respectively, unless such excuse for nonattendance shall be made
as the Senate, when a quorum is convened, shall judge sufficient; and, in that case, the expense shall be paid out of the
contingent fund of the Senate. This rule shall apply, as well to
the first meeting of the Senate at the legal time of meeting, as
to each day of the session, after the hour has arrived to which
the Senate stood adjourned.
OFFICERS
3. The Senate, at the commencement of each new Legislature,
shall elect as its officers a President, Clerk, Sergeant at Arms
and Doorkeeper. If at any time the President is obligated to act
as Governor pursuant to Article VII, Section 16 of the West
Virginia Constitution
, the Senate shall immediately elect one of
its remaining members to serve as Acting President. The Acting
President shall act and serve at all times when the duly elected
President is acting as Governor and shall perform all of the
duties of the office of Senate President without limitation,
including any duties imposed by the West Virginia Constitution,
any statute, the Senate Rules and any adopted Joint Rules of the
Senate and House of Delegates, and he or she shall receive the
compensation and expenses of the President of the Senate as
provided in article two-a, chapter four of the Code of West
Virginia. The Acting President shall not be in the line of
succession to act as Governor under the provisions of Article
VII, Section 16 of the West Virginia Constitution. The vote of
a majority of all the members elected to the Senate shall be
necessary for the election of these officers and the vote shall be by voice vote and be entered upon the Journal.
4. The President of the Senate or acting President shall
appoint a President pro Tempore, who, during the absence of the
President or acting President, if any, shall preside and perform
all the duties of the President.
5. The President may call a member to the chair who shall
perform the duties of the chair until the President returns to
the chair, but no member by virtue of such appointment shall
preside for a longer period than three consecutive legislative
days.
6. The Clerk of the Senate shall not allow any records or
papers to be taken from the table or out of his or her custody
except by a chairperson of a committee to which they may have
been referred and then only upon a proper receipt therefor and
except as required by these rules or by the Joint Rules of the
Senate and House of Delegates.
ORDER OF BUSINESS AND PROCEDURE
7. The order of business of the Senate shall be:
1.To read, correct and approve the Journal.
2.Introduction of guests.
3.To dispose of communications from the House of
Delegates and the Executive.
4. To receive reports from standing committees.
5. To receive reports from select committees.
6. To receive bills, resolutions, motions and petitions.
7. To act upon unfinished business of the preceding
day and resolutions lying over from the previous
day, and no resolution shall lose its place on the
calendar by not being acted upon on the day
following that on which it was offered.
8. Senate and House bills on third reading.
9. Senate and House bills on second reading.
10. Senate and House bills on first reading.
11. Introduction of guests.
12. Remarks by members of the Senate.
13. Miscellaneous business.
8. Every member desiring to speak shall stand in his or her
own place, address the President and, upon being recognized,
shall proceed, confining oneself to the question under debate,
avoiding all indecorous or disrespectful language. The President
may recognize the member by name; but no member in debate or
remarks shall designate another by name.
9. If the question in debate contains several points, any
member may have the same divided. On motion to strike out and
insert, it shall not be in order to move for a division of the
question.
10. The rejection of a motion to strike out and insert one
proposition shall not prevent a motion to strike out and insert
a different proposition and shall not prevent a subsequent motion to simply strike out. The rejection of a motion simply to strike
out shall not prevent a subsequent motion to strike out and
insert.
11. No question shall be debated until it has been
propounded by the President. The President, after calling a
member to assume the chair, the mover of the question, the
chairperson of the committee that reported the matter or the
sponsor of the bill or resolution, in that order of preference,
shall have the right to explain his or her views in preference to
any other member.
12. No member shall speak more than twice upon the same
question without leave of the Senate or more than once until
every member choosing to speak shall have spoken, except that the
mover of the question shall have the right to close the debate
thereon.
13. While the President is putting the question, any member
who has not spoken before to the matter may speak to the question
before the negative is put.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
14. No Senate bill, other than a Senate supplementary
appropriation bill, and no Senate joint resolution shall be
introduced in the Senate after the forty-first day of a regular
session unless permission to introduce the bill or the joint
resolution be given by a Senate resolution, setting out the title
to the bill or the joint resolution and adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate members present. When permission is requested
to introduce a bill or joint resolution under the provisions of
this rule, duplicate copies of the bill or the joint resolution
shall accompany the resolution when introduced and all such bills
or joint resolutions shall be filed electronically with the
Clerk's office.
A standing committee of the Senate may originate a bill or
resolution and report the same after the forty-first day.
The forty-first day of the regular session held in the year
one thousand nine hundred seventy-seven and every fourth year
thereafter shall be computed from and include the second
Wednesday of February of such years.
15. Each bill or resolution for introduction shall be
presented in duplicate and electronically, bearing the name of
the member or members by whom it is to be introduced, and shall
be filed with the Clerk not later than twelve o'clock meridian on
the legislative day next preceding its introduction: Provided,
That the pre-filing requirement shall not apply to the first day
of any session of the Legislature. A bill may be introduced by
request. All bills introduced by request shall bear the words
"by request", following the designation of the name or names of
the bill sponsor or sponsors.
The Clerk shall designate one copy of a bill or resolution
the official copy and it shall constitute the official bill or
resolution for use of committees and for the permanent files of the Senate. One copy shall be used for printing.
Each bill or resolution shall be numbered, edited and
corrected as to form by the Clerk and reported by the Clerk to
the Senate on the next legislative day, under the sixth order of
business. In case of urgency, on motion for leave agreed to by
a majority of the members present, a member may introduce a bill
or resolution from the floor.
15a. Prior to final consideration, by any committee in the
Senate, of any bill which either increases or decreases the
revenue or fiscal liability of the State or any county,
municipality or other subdivision of the State or in any manner
changes or modifies any existing tax or rate of taxation, such
bill shall have attached thereto a fiscal note, if available,
which "Fiscal Note" shall conform to the requirements as to form
and content prescribed by the "Fiscal Note Manual", prepared and
adopted by the Committee on Rules to govern preparation of fiscal
notes to bills introduced in the Senate.
It shall be the responsibility of the legislator introducing
a bill to obtain such note when required. Such note shall be
attached to the bill when filed for introduction, if at all
possible, and shall accompany any bill requiring such note when
the same is reported from committee.
The jackets of all measures with fiscal notes attached or
requiring such notes shall have the words "Fiscal Note" or the
initials "FN" clearly stamped or endorsed thereon.
16. All concurrent and simple resolutions when introduced
shall lie on the table at least one day, and then be referred to
the appropriate committee unless the Senate directs otherwise by
a vote of a majority of the members present.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Senate that
concurrent resolutions be limited to the general purposes of
expressing the sentiments of the Legislature, for authorizing
expenditures incidental to the sessions and business of the
Legislature, for agreeing upon adjournments beyond the
constitutional limitation, for creating special joint committees,
for raising a joint assembly and other inferior and incidental
purposes of legislation, and such other purposes as the
Legislature may deem proper. The adoption of such resolutions
must be concurred in by both houses.
Concurrent resolutions shall be restricted to expressions of
sentiments and actions having a bearing upon matters incident to
legislative business and the functioning of the legislative
process insofar as possible.
Concurrent resolutions shall not embrace congratulatory
expressions to individuals, organizations, associations or other
entities having no relation to the Legislature or public affairs
generally, athletic events, scholastic contests, or any other
matter not related to the scope and areas of legislative
business: Provided, That this rule shall not bar the introduction
of resolutions memorializing deceased members of the Legislature and public officials or commending or congratulating public
officials on actions in connection with governmental affairs.
Before any concurrent resolution is introduced, it shall be
submitted to the Clerk for determination of compliance with this
rule. If the Clerk determines that it is in compliance with this
rule, the concurrent resolution shall be introduced. If the
Clerk determines that it is not in compliance with this rule, or
if the Clerk is in doubt about its compliance, the Clerk shall
submit it to the Committee on Rules for this determination, and
then the concurrent resolution shall be introduced only if the
Committee determines that it is in compliance with this rule.
17. Unless otherwise directed by the Committee on Rules all
bills, resolutions or business originating in the Senate shall be
considered at the appropriate order of business in the order in
which they are introduced, and all bills and resolutions received
from the House of Delegates shall be introduced in the order in
which they are received and shall be considered at the
appropriate order of business in their numerical order.
18. All bills and resolutions passed or adopted by and
reported from the House of Delegates shall be read by their
titles and referred to the appropriate committee unless the
Senate directs otherwise by a vote of a majority of the members
present. They shall then be proceeded with in the same manner as
Senate bills or resolutions. All bills and joint resolutions
introduced shall be read by their titles and referred to the appropriate committee without printing and shall be treated in
committee as resolutions of inquiry. If the committee reports a
bill or resolution different, either by amendment or
substitution, from the one introduced, it shall be received and
treated by the Senate as the original bill or resolution. All
Senate bills and joint resolutions reported by a committee shall
be printed, with the proposed committee amendments printed on the
foot thereof, and shall be then read a first time, unless in any
of the aforesaid cases the Senate directs otherwise by a vote of
a majority of the members present.
18a. Any bill, resolution or business which does not follow
the procedures of Rule Nos. 17 and 18 shall remain in the
possession of the Senate Committee on Rules.
19. All bills shall be read on three different days, unless
in case of urgency, by a vote of four fifths of the members
present, taken by yeas and nays, on each bill, this rule be
dispensed with.
20. All engrossed bills shall be fully and distinctly read
when put upon their passage.
21. On each reading of the bill the Clerk shall state
whether it is the first, second or third reading of such bill,
but no bill shall be put upon its second reading until the same
shall have been printed and delivered to the members of the
Senate at least one day previous to such reading, unless the
Senate directs otherwise by a vote of a majority of the members present.
21a. Upon motion of any member, on any legislative day or the
day preceding, the Senate may, by a vote of two thirds of those
present, establish a period of time known as "Bill Reading
Docket".
Such motion shall state each bill to be read, the time and
order for such bill reading docket to commence and to conclude,
and may provide for the adjournment or recess of the Senate for
not more than one legislative day, during which reading of the
docket no motion, except a motion to postpone the reading of the
bills, by two-thirds vote of those elected, shall be heard. A
quorum shall not be required during the reading of the docket.
Any and all members requesting that a bill be read shall be
present at all times in the Chamber during its reading.
All bills read on the bill reading docket shall be considered
as having been read fully and distinctly.
22. On the first reading of a bill, a motion to reject the
bill shall be in order.
23. If a committee shall have reported adversely to a bill,
the President immediately after the report of said committee is
read shall put the question, "Shall the bill be rejected?" which
question shall have precedence over all motions, except a motion
to adjourn.
24. A bill shall be amended only on second reading. When a
bill is being read for amendment, it shall be read section by section on the demand of any two members. When the amendments
which may be moved shall be disposed of, the question shall be
taken on ordering a Senate bill to be engrossed and ordered to
third reading and on ordering a House bill to third reading. If
a Senate bill should be ordered to its engrossment and third
reading and amendments thereto have been made, the type from
which the bill was originally printed shall be changed to conform
to the amendments. The bill shall then be reprinted and shall be
the engrossed bill. If no amendments are made, the bill as
originally printed may be ordered to its third reading and shall
become the engrossed bill. All Senate bills so ordered shall be
jacketed, endorsed with their number, title, by whom introduced,
and if the bill is finally passed, the date of its passage and
the signature of the Clerk. If a Senate bill should be passed by
the House and returned to the Senate without amendments, or if
amended, and the amendments should be agreed to, the bill shall
be enrolled by the Clerk and delivered to the Joint Committee on
Enrolled Bills. In the case of a House bill on second reading if
the same be amended, the amendment or amendments shall be noted
in full in typewriting on slips of paper and attached to the bill
at the proper place by the Clerk before the bill is returned to
the House, and all amendments shall appear in the Senate Journal.
25. When a bill or joint resolution is put upon its passage
or adoption, respectively, the President shall propound the
question, "Shall the bill pass?" or "Shall the resolution be adopted?" On the passage or adoption, respectively, of every bill
or joint resolution, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays.
When the bill or joint resolution is on second reading and the
question is upon striking out, the President shall propound the
question, "Shall these words be stricken out?"
26. When a Senate bill or Senate joint resolution passed by
the Senate shall be amended by the House of Delegates, the
question on agreeing to the bill or joint resolution, as amended,
shall be again voted on by yeas and nays in the Senate. In all
such cases the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members
elected to the Senate shall be necessary.
COMMITTEES
27. At the commencement of each Legislature, standing
committees shall be appointed, each committee to consist of the
number of members indicated in the parentheses following the
naming of the committee. The following committees shall be
named:
1. On Agriculture and Rural Development (11).
2.On Banking and Insurance (13).
3. On Confirmations (9).
4. On Economic Development (14).
5.On Education (14).
6. On Energy, Industry and Mining (13).
7. On Enrolled Bills (5).
8.On Finance (17).
9.On Government Organization (14).
10.On Health and Human Resources (13).
11.On Interstate Cooperation (7); (the presiding
officer of the Senate is to be ex officio co-
chairperson).
12. On the Judiciary (17).
13.On Labor (11).
14. On Military (9).
15.On Natural Resources (13).
16. On Pensions (7).
17.On Rules (11); (the presiding officer of the
Senate is to be ex officio chairperson).
18.On Transportation and Infrastructure (9).
28. All standing committees shall be appointed by the
President. The President shall designate the chairperson of each
standing committee and may also designate a vice chairperson of
any standing committee when the President may deem it advisable.
The chairperson of each standing committee of the Senate
shall cause a record to be kept of every meeting of such
committee, wherein shall be entered:
(a) The time and place of each committee meeting and every
hearing had before the committee.
(b) The attendance of members of the committee at each
meeting thereof.
(c) The name of any person appearing before the committee and the interest represented by him or her.
(d) The vote of each member of the committee when a yea and
nay vote is taken.
Any member of such standing committee may cause a notation to
be made upon the record aforesaid of the reason for his or her
absence at any former meeting of the committee; and, in the
absence of any such explanatory note, the presumption shall be
that his or her absence was without reasonable cause.
The chairperson of each standing committee shall, upon
request, make the record of any yea and nay vote taken, in open
or executive session, available for public inspection no later
than the next legislative day after the close of the standing
committee meeting at which such yea and nay vote was taken.
The several standing committees shall have leave to report by
bill, resolution, or otherwise, any proposed legislation
originating therein, as well as to report back a committee
substitute for a Senate bill or resolution, or otherwise. A
committee substitute, with the consent of the original sponsor,
shall carry the name of the original sponsor. Reports of
committees shall be advisory only. All committees shall submit
their reports to the Senate in writing and the same shall be
printed in the Journal.
On the adjournment of each session of the Legislature, the
chairperson of the respective committees shall deliver to the
Clerk of the Senate the record book herein provided for, and it shall be the duty of such Clerk to preserve the same among the
archives of his or her office.
29. The President shall refer bills and resolutions
introduced and such other matters as the President shall deem
appropriate to a standing committee.
30. Select committees shall consist of not less than three
nor more than five members, unless the Senate directs otherwise
by a vote of a majority of the members present.
31. The Committee on Rules shall examine the oaths taken by
each member and the evidence of their election and report to the
Senate.
The Committee on Rules shall report in all cases of
privileges and contested elections, the principles and reasons on
which their resolutions are founded.
The Committee on Rules shall see that all papers belonging to
the Clerk's Office are properly labeled and filed and that the
books belonging to the office are chronologically arranged.
32. All meetings of Senate standing committees, other than
executive sessions, shall be open to the public, and an executive
session may be held only upon a majority vote of the members
present.
33. When the Senate shall resolve itself into the Committee
of the Whole, the President shall leave the chair and appoint a
chairperson to preside in the committee.
The Committee of the Whole shall consider and report on such subjects as may be committed to it by the Senate. The rules of
the Senate shall be observed in the Committee of the Whole, so
far as they are applicable, except the rules limiting the number
of times speaking, concerning the previous question and taking
the yeas and nays. The proceedings in the Committee of the Whole
shall not be recorded on the Journal of the Senate, except so far
as reported to the Senate by the chairperson of the committee.
34. Any bill, resolution or business may, by a vote of the
majority of the members present, be withdrawn from the committee
to which it had been referred or be taken from the table, and
placed upon the calendar of the Senate in such order of business
as the Senate may direct: Provided, That those bills, resolutions
or business referred to the Senate Committee on Rules under
authority of Rule No. 17 may by a vote of two thirds of the
members present be withdrawn from the Senate Committee on Rules.
DECORUM AND DEBATE
35. If a member be called to order for words spoken in
debate, the person calling the member to order shall repeat the
words excepted to, and they shall be taken down in writing at the
Clerk's table; and no member shall be held to answer, or be
subject to the censure of the Senate, for words spoken in debate
if any other member has spoken or other business has intervened
after the words spoken and before the exception to them was
taken.
36. While the President is reporting or putting a question, no one shall entertain private discourse or walk into, out of or
across the Senate Chamber.
37. No member or other person except the Clerk and the
Clerk's assistants shall visit or remain by the Clerk's table
while the yeas and nays are being taken.
38. During any debate, any Senator, though he or she has
spoken to the matter, may arise and speak to the orders of the
Senate, if they be transgressed, in case the President does not.
MOTIONS
39. When a question is pending, no motion shall be received
except:
1. To adjourn.
2. To lay on the table.
3. For the previous question.
4. To postpone the question to a different day.
5. To commit.
6. To amend.
7. To postpone indefinitely.
These several motions shall have precedence in order in which
they are arranged.
40. The following motions shall be decided without debate,
and shall not be amended:
1. To adjourn.
2. To fix the time to which the Senate shall adjourn.
3. To lay on the table.
4. For the previous question.
5. To suspend the constitutional rule requiring bills
to be read on three several days.
6. To recess.
41. There shall be a motion for the previous question, which
being ordered by a majority of the members present, shall have
the effect to cut off all debate and bring the Senate to a direct
vote upon the immediate question or questions on which it has
been asked and ordered. The previous question may be asked and
ordered upon a single motion, a series of motions, or may be made
to embrace all authorized motions or amendments and include the
bill to its engrossment and third reading and then, on renewal
and second of said motion, to its passage or rejection. It shall
be in order, pending a motion for, or after the previous question
shall have been ordered on its passage, for the President to
entertain and submit a motion to commit with or without
instructions to a standing or select committee. A motion to lay
upon the table pending a motion for the previous question shall
be in order only when the previous question has been moved on the
second or third reading of a bill.
A call of the Senate shall not be in order after the previous
question is ordered, unless it shall appear upon an actual count
by the President that a quorum is not present.
All incidental questions of order arising after a motion is
made for the previous question, and pending such motion, shall be decided, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate.
RECONSIDERATION OF VOTE
42. After any question has been decided in the affirmative
or in the negative, it shall be in order for any member who voted
with the prevailing side to move for a reconsideration of the
vote thereon at any time on the same day or the next succeeding
day of actual session. When the yeas and nays have not been
recorded in the Journal, any member, irrespective of whether he
or she voted with the prevailing side or not, may make the motion
to reconsider. If the Senate refuse to reconsider, or upon
reconsideration shall affirm its first decision, no further
motion to reconsider shall be in order. No vote shall be
reconsidered upon motions to adjourn, to lay on the table, to
take from the table or for the previous question.
The motion to reconsider may be put and acted upon when made.
If seconded, it shall take precedence of all other questions,
except the consideration of a conference report and the motion to
adjourn, and unless by motion postponed until some future date be
acted upon at once. When a motion to reconsider is made and not
acted upon at the time, it shall be placed upon the calendar,
under unfinished business, and be acted upon the next succeeding
day of actual session. A motion to reconsider shall not be
withdrawn without leave of the Senate.
No bill, resolution, message, report, amendment or motion,
upon which a motion is pending to reconsider the vote thereon, shall be taken out of the possession of the Senate until final
disposition of the motion to reconsider. No motion for
reconsideration of the vote on any question, which has gone out
of the possession of the Senate, shall be in order unless
subsequently recalled by vote of the Senate and in possession of
the Clerk.
When a motion to reconsider has been carried, its effect
shall be to place before the Senate the original question in the
exact position it occupied before it was voted upon.
VOTING
43. Every member within the Senate Chamber, when a question
is put, shall vote unless he or she is immediately and
particularly interested therein, meaning an interest that affects
the member directly and not as one of a class, or the Senate
excuses him or her. All motions to excuse a member from voting
must be made by the member requesting to be excused before the
Senate divides, or before the call of the yeas and nays is
commenced, and it shall be decided without debate, except that
the member making the motion to be excused from voting may
briefly state the reason why it ought to be adopted.
44. The yeas and nays shall be taken on motions to dispense
with the constitutional rule requiring a bill to be fully and
distinctly read on three different days and on fixing the
effective date of an act of the Legislature; on agreeing to a
joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State; on the passage of a bill notwithstanding the
objections of the Governor; on the passage of a supplementary
appropriation bill; on the passage of a Senate bill or Senate
joint resolution amended by the House; on all questions where a
specific vote is required by the Constitution, the Joint Rules of
the Senate and House of Delegates, or by these rules; on the
passage of a bill; and on quorum calls: Provided, That the yeas
and nays shall be taken on demand of any member on any question
unless another member objects. Upon any such objection the
President shall inquire of the membership if the demand for the
yeas and nays is sustained. If the demand is so sustained by one
tenth of the members present, the yeas and nays shall be taken,
and, if the demand is not sustained by one tenth of the members
present, then the yeas and nays shall not be taken.
The result of all votes taken by yeas and nays shall be
entered on the Journal. When the yeas and nays are inserted on
the Journal, the result of the vote as to total yeas, nays and
absentees shall be recorded, with the names of the Senators
voting yea or nay, and those absent.
When the yeas and nays are ordered, or a call of the Senate
is directed, the names of the members shall be called in
alphabetical order; excepting, however, the name of the
President, which shall be called last.
After completion of a roll call vote, no member shall speak
to explain his or her vote. A member's vote explanation shall not be printed in the daily Journal. A member may have his or
her vote explanation printed in the bound Journal provided the
member obtains the floor and makes this request immediately
following announcement of the results of the roll call vote and
disposition of the matter and delivers his or her written vote
explanation to the Clerk within three legislative days during the
session or, if there are less than three legislative days
remaining in the session, within seventy-two hours after
adjournment sine die. The Clerk shall note on the daily Journal
for the day of the roll call vote that the member has reserved
the privilege of having his or her vote explanation printed later
in the bound Journal.
45. On all roll calls of the yeas and nays when the voting
machine is not used, and before the result is announced, the
Clerk shall at the request of any member read either the names of
those who voted yea or of those who voted nay, whichever is the
smaller number, and the names of those absent and not voting, if
any, and shall announce that all others voted either yea or nay,
whichever is the larger number. In the event of a tie vote, the
Clerk shall upon such request read the names of those who voted
yea and the names of those absent and not voting, if any, and
shall announce that all others voted nay. At that time any
member shall have the right to correct any mistake committed in
enrolling his or her name. The vote then shall be announced and
the count entered on the Journal.
45a. The voting machine may be used in taking the yeas and
nays on any question. It may also be used for quorum calls and
for determining the result when a division is demanded. When the
machine is used for calling the attendance roll, a member shall
indicate "present" by use of the green "yea" button.
When a vote is to be taken on the voting machine, the
President shall announce the question to be voted upon and direct
the Clerk to prepare the machine. When the machine is ready for
voting, the President shall state, "The members will now vote."
After reasonable time has been given for all members to vote, the
President shall ask, "Have all members voted?" After a brief
pause, the President shall direct the Clerk to close the machine
and ascertain the result. The Clerk shall hand the record of the
vote to the President who shall promptly announce the result.
Voting shall be continuous and shall be permitted until the
result thereof is announced by the President: Provided, That any
vote cast after the machine has been closed shall be stated by
the President as having been cast and such shall be entered on
the Journal: Provided, however, That no vote may be cast after
the vote has been announced.
While the members are voting and before the machine is
closed, the wall display boards shall continuously display the
vote of each member and the total pending vote.
Under no circumstance shall a member or nonmember vote on
behalf of another member.
All other rules governing voting and the taking of the yeas
and nays, insofar as applicable, shall apply to taking votes by
means of the voting machine.
MESSAGES
46. The Clerk of the Senate may interchange messages with
the Clerk of the House of Delegates during sessions of the Senate
and between the hours of adjournment and that of meeting on the
following legislative day.
47. Messages may be received in any stage of business except
when a question is being put by the President, while the yeas and
nays are being called by the Clerk or while the votes are being
counted.
48. When a bill or resolution of the House of Delegates is
passed or rejected by the Senate, the fact of its passage or
rejection, with the bill or resolution shall be communicated to
the House of Delegates.
JOURNAL
49. The Journal of the Senate shall be daily drawn up by the
Clerk and shall be read, corrected and approved the succeeding
day. It shall be printed under the supervision of the Clerk and
delivered to the members without delay. After the printed
Journal has been approved and fully marked for corrections, the
type from which it was printed shall be changed in accordance
therewith, and from the type so corrected shall be printed the
number of copies required by law for the regular bound volumes of the Journal. In addition thereto ten copies shall be printed on
6 x 9 heavy weight bond paper with a certificate at the end
thereof signed by the President and Clerk of the Senate
certifying that the same is the Official Journal of the Senate.
They shall be bound in flexible binding and bear the imprint on
the back, "Official Journal of the Senate of West Virginia", with
designation of regular or extraordinary session and the year.
After being signed by the proper officers, two of these copies
shall be retained in the office of the Clerk, one copy shall be
lodged in the office of the Governor, one with the Secretary of
State, one with the Division of Archives and History and one with
the Clerk of the House of Delegates.
ABSENCE OF MEMBERS
50. No member shall absent himself or herself from the
service of the Senate during its sittings without leave of the
Senate, except in case of his or her sickness or other
unavoidable cause which may prevent his or her attendance.
POWER OVER MEMBERS
51. No Senator shall be taken into custody by the Sergeant
at Arms on any question of complaint of breach of privilege until
the matter is examined by the Committee on Rules and reported to
the Senate, unless by order of the President of the Senate.
52. The Senate may punish its own members for disorderly
behavior, and with the concurrence of two thirds of the members
elected thereto, expel a member, but not twice for the same offense.
POWER OVER OTHERS
53. The Senate may punish by imprisonment, any person not a
member, for disrespectful behavior in its presence; for
obstructing any of its officers in the discharge of their duties,
or for any assault, threat or abuse of any member for words
spoken in debate; but such imprisonment shall not extend beyond
the termination of the session.
GUESTS AND PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
54. No person except members of the House of Delegates,
former members of the West Virginia Legislature who are not
lobbyists, duly accredited representatives of the press, radio
and television and legislative officers and employees engaged in
the proper discharge of their duties shall be admitted within the
Senate Chamber while the Senate is in session. The rear or east
balcony of the Senate Chamber shall be reserved for guests of the
members of the Senate, and admission thereto shall be by pass
signed by the President and the member seeking admission of the
guest.
LOBBYING
55. No person, not a member of the Senate, shall, while
within the Chamber when the Senate is in session, seek in any
manner whatsoever to influence the vote or opinion of any Senator
on any subject of legislative consideration, under penalty of
disbarment from the Chamber for the remainder of the legislative session. No employee of the Senate shall, at any time, engage in
such activity, under penalty of immediate dismissal by the
Committee on Rules.
56. Repealed by S. R. 16, February 1, 1978.
NOMINATIONS AND CONFIRMATIONS
57. Unless the Senate directs otherwise by a vote of a
majority of the members present, when nominations shall be made
in writing by the Governor to the Senate, a future day shall be
assigned for taking them into consideration and the nominations
shall be referred to the Committee on Confirmations.
When considering and acting on the nominations of the
Governor, the Senate shall be in open session. The voting on
each nomination shall be by yeas and nays. The result of Senate
action upon any nomination by the Governor shall be forthwith
certified to the Governor in a formal communication signed by the
President and attested by the Clerk.
57a. The phrase "next meeting of the Senate" contained in
article seven, section nine of the Constitution of West Virginia
means any time the full Senate is convened and includes, but is
not limited to, any regular session, any extraordinary session
called during any recess or adjournment of the Legislature,
during any impeachment proceeding or any time the Senate is
convened pursuant to section ten-a, article one, chapter four of
the code of West Virginia.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
58. When an amendment to be proposed to the Constitution of
West Virginia is under consideration, the vote of a majority of
the members present shall be sufficient to decide an amendment
thereto or any collateral or incidental questions. A proposed
amendment to the Constitution of West Virginia, to be adopted,
must be agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to
the Senate.
ADJOURNMENT
59. When the Senate adjourns each day, it shall stand
adjourned to 2 o'clock P.M. the next day, unless the Senate
directs otherwise by a vote of a majority of the members present,
and every member shall keep his or her seat until the President
leaves the chair.
AMENDING RULES
60. All propositions to amend these standing rules or any
order of the Senate shall be by resolution and be at once
referred, without debate, to the Committee on Rules and shall be
reported therefrom within seven legislative days. Any such
resolution may be adopted by a majority vote.
SUSPENSION OF RULES OR ORDER
61. No standing rule or order of the Senate shall be
suspended except by a vote of two thirds of all the members of
the Senate present.
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
62. In all cases not provided for by the Rules of the Senate or any adopted Joint Rules of the Senate and House of Delegates,
the Senate shall be governed by Jefferson's Manual and Rules of
the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and
practices thereunder.