6 Decorum and Debate.

13. Every member presenting a petition, memorial, or remonstrance, shall endorse his name thereon, and in the filing thereof, state briefly the nature and object of the instrument, and shall also give, in his place, a brief summary thereof, and the reading of the same shall be dispensed with, unless specially ordered by the board.

14. Every motion shall be received and considered, and shall be reduced to writing if the President direct it; and no member shall be permitted to lay a motion in writing on the table, until he has read the same in his place.

15. When a vote has passed, it shall be in order for any member to move for a reconsideration thereof, on the same or the succeeding day; and notice given by any member on the day when the vote is passed of an intention to move a reconsideration on the next day, shall preclude a motion for present reconsideration; but no motion for reconsideration shall be received when the paper on which the vote was taken shall have gone out of the possession of the Senate; and when a motion for reconsideration is decided, that decision shall not be reconsidered.

16. A question containing two or more propositions capable of division, shall be divided whenever desired by any member. A motion to strike out and insert shall be deemed indivisible. But a motion to strike out, being lost, shall neither preclude amendment nor a motion to strike out and insert.

17. The unfinished business in which the Senate was engaged at the time of the last adjournment, shall have the preference in the orders of the day.

Of Committees. 7

18. No member shall absent himself from the Senate without leave, unless there be a quorum left present at the Board.

19. Any rule or order, except the thirty-first, may be altered, dispensed with, or rescinded, two thirds of the members present consenting thereto.

20. Whenever a question shall be taken by yeas and nays, the clerk shall call the names of all the members, except the President, in alphabetical order, and every member present shall answer to his name, unless excused; and no member shall be permitted, under any circumstances, to vote after the decision is announced from the chair.

Of Committees.

21. The following Standing Committees shall be appointed at the commencement of the first session, to wit:— A Committee on the Judiciary; A Committee on Matters in Probate and Chancery; A Committee on the Treasury; And each of these Committees shall consist of Three Members. A Committee on Bills in the third reading; A Committee on Engrossed Bills; And each of these Committees shall consist of Six Members.

22. All Committees shall be appointed by the President, unless otherwise specially directed by the Senate, and the person first named shall be chairman. In all elections of Committees by ballot, 8 Of Bills and Resolves.

the person having the highest number of votes shall act as chairman.

23. When a motion is made to commit any subject, and different Committees shall be proposed, the question shall be taken in the following order: A Standing Committee of the Senate—a Select Committee of the Senate—a Joint Standing Committee—a Joint Select Committee.

24. Reports of Committees, except such as do not propose final action, shall, unless otherwise specially ordered, be made the order of the day next succeeding that on which they shall be presented to the Senate.

25. No Committee, other than a Joint Committee or a Special Committee of this Board, shall be allowed to occupy the Senate Chamber without leave of the Board.

Of Bills and Resolves.

26. No bill or resolve shall be introduced by a member without special leave, and all bills and resolves, when so introduced, shall be committed before they are passed to a second reading.

27. All bills and resolves from the House of Representatives, after they are read a first time, shall be committed to a committee of this Board, except when said bills or resolves shall have been reported by a joint committee. *

28. No bill or resolve shall pass to be engrossed without three readings on three several days, and Of Bills and Resolves. 9

bills and resolves in the second and third readings, shall be made the order of the day for the day next succeeding that on which leave shall have been given to read them a second or third time, and the president shall order them accordingly; and after entering upon the orders of the day, they shall be disposed of in course; and matters passed over in the orders of the day shall go to the foot of the list, and shall not be considered till the next day.

29. All bills and resolves in the third reading shall be committed to the committee on bills in the third reading, whose duty it shall be to compare their relations with the constitution, and any existing laws relating to the same subject matter, and to see that all such bills and resolves are in the technical form.

30. All engrossed bills and resolves shall be committed to the standing committee on engrossed bills, whose duty it shall be strictly to examine the same, and if found by them to be rightly and truly engrossed, they shall so endorse on the envelope thereof, and the final question shall be taken thereon without any further reading, unless, on motion of any member, a majority of the Senate shall be in favor of reading the same as engrossed.

31. No engrossed bill or resolve shall be amended, without the unanimous consent of the members present.

32. When any measure shall be finally rejected, it shall not be revived except by reconsideration, and no measure substantially the same shall be introduced during the session; and this rule shall apply as well to measures originating in the House as to those originating in the Senate.

10 Reporters.

33. The clerk shall transmit to the House of Representatives, immediately after their passage, all bills, resolves, and other papers, which require the concurrence of that branch, unless a motion be made to reconsider the vote by which they were passed, or notice be given of an intention to move a reconsideration thereof. *

34. The Rules of Parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's Manual shall govern the Senate in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Standing Rules and Orders of the Senate or the Joint Rules of the two branches of the Legislature.

Elections by Ballot.

35. In all elections by ballot, a time shall be assigned for such election, at least one day previous thereto.

Senate Library.

36. The books belonging to the Senate Chamber, shall be in the care of the Clerk, who shall keep an accurate list thereof; and no book shall be taken from the Senate Chamber by any person without giving notice thereof to the Clerk, who shall enter in a book to be kept by him, the name of the book, and the name of the person taking the same.

37. Seats for reporters shall be assigned by the President under such regulations as he may prescribe.