HF 750

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to legislative organization; requiring all conference committee provisions
to have been passed by one or the other body; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [3.051] RULES OF PROCEEDINGS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Applicability. new text end

new text begin The rules of each house and the joint rules of the
legislature must conform to this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Conference committees; content. new text end

new text begin A conference committee report must
not contain significant changes to current policies or statutes if those changes have not
been contained substantially in a bill or resolution that has been passed by one of the two
bodies. Any member may object to a conference committee report on these grounds, and if
such an objection is received and sustained by a majority of the members of one house, the
conference committee report must be referred to a joint meeting of the Rules Committees
of both houses for review. This joint committee must meet within three calendar days of
receiving such a referral, and shall either:
new text end

new text begin (1) determine that one body has passed a substantially similar policy in bill or
resolution form, and therefore refer the conference report back to the floor of both bodies
with a statement to that effect, including in the statement the time, date, and details
of the passage; or
new text end

new text begin (2) report the conference committee report back to the floors with a notation that the
policy in question has not been passed in a substantially similar form by either body, and
therefore make a recommendation that the report be rejected.
new text end