Rules of Procedure
(In Addition to the Senate Rules of Order)

Subject to the discretion of the chairman, if no quorum has been obtained within 30 minutes immediately following the posted time of the meeting, the meeting may adjourn.

A. No person other than legislators or legislative staff may come on the platform where the committee members are seated, unless otherwise specifically directed by a committee member.

B. Any person, other than a legislator, presenting a bill on behalf of the author shall obtain and deliver to the committee secretary written authorization containing the date, bill number, presenter's name, and the author's signature.

C. Other than legislators and legislative staff, no person shall be address the committee without first signing and delivering to the committee secretary a form or card stating their name, agency, organization or other interest represented, and the bill number or other matter for which they are appearing. Subject to the discretion of the chairman, all testimony shall be delivered from the witness table.

D. A handout for presentation to the committee by a witness should include at least 15 copies for distribution to the committee members or staff.

Requests to staff for review, preparation, and/or copying of amendments shall be made prior to the meeting as early as possible and must be authorized by a legislator. Subject to the discretion of the chairman, lengthy or complicated substantive amendments shall be requested or prepared and delivered to staff at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting.

It is within the discretion of the chairman to entertain motions while testimony is pending.

All speakers will conduct themselves in a decorous manner. The person who proposes legislation is encouraged to limit their opening and closing presentations to ten minutes each. Persons speaking on the proposed legislation are encouraged to limit their presentations to five minutes each. At the discretion of the chairman, time limitations may be imposed upon witness presentations in order to completely and efficiently address each item on the agenda.