Title: A resolution amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit the consideration of legislation in the Senate unless the text of the legislation that will be considered has been made publicly available in electronic form for a mandatory minimum review period.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
This resolution prohibits the Senate from considering any measure unless the text of the measure has been publicly available in electronic form for the mandatory minimum review period, and it requires each Senator to certify that they have read a measure prior to voting on it.
The mandatory minimum review period, calculated from the time the measure is made publicly available, is the greater of (1) the number of minutes that are equal to two times the number of pages in the measure, or (2) 72 hours.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 84 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 84

Amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit the consideration 
 of legislation in the Senate unless the text of the legislation that 
will be considered has been made publicly available in electronic form 
                 for a mandatory minimum review period.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2021

Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Marshall, 
and Mr. Kennedy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
              to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit the consideration 
 of legislation in the Senate unless the text of the legislation that 
will be considered has been made publicly available in electronic form 
                 for a mandatory minimum review period.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITING CONSIDERATION OF TEXT OF LEGISLATION UNTIL 
              COMPLETION OF MANDATORY MINIMUM REVIEW PERIOD.

    (a) In General.--Rule XII of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5)(a) It shall not be in order to consider a bill, joint 
        resolution, resolution, or conference report unless the text of 
        the bill, joint resolution, resolution, or conference report 
        which will be considered has been publicly available in 
        electronic form for the mandatory minimum review period.
            ``(b) Each Senator shall self certify that the Senator has 
        read a bill, joint resolution, resolution, or conference report 
        before voting on the bill, joint resolution, resolution, or 
        conference report.
            ``(c) In this paragraph, the term `mandatory minimum review 
        period' means, with respect to a bill, joint resolution, 
        resolution, or conference report, the greater of--
                    ``(i) the period--
                            ``(I) that begins with the first hour 
                        beginning after the text of the bill, joint 
                        resolution, resolution, or conference report 
                        which will be considered is first made publicly 
                        available in electronic form; and
                            ``(II) that consists of a number of minutes 
                        equal to two times the number of pages of the 
                        text of the bill, joint resolution, resolution, 
                        or conference report which will be considered; 
                        and
                    ``(ii) 72 hours after the text of the bill, joint 
                resolution, resolution, or conference report which will 
                be considered is first made publicly available in 
                electronic form.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            The Standing Rules of the Senate is amended--
            (1) in paragraph 1 of rule VIII, by inserting ``the text of 
        which has been available for the mandatory minimum review 
        period, as defined in paragraph 5 of rule XII, and'' after 
        ``bills and resolutions'';
            (2) in rule XIV--
                    (A) in paragraph 3, by striking ``on that day'' and 
                inserting ``before the expiration of the mandatory 
                minimum review period, as defined in paragraph 5 of 
                rule XII,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph 6, by striking ``one day'' and 
                inserting ``for the mandatory minimum review period, as 
                defined in paragraph 5 of rule XII,'';
            (3) in paragraph 5 of rule XVII, by striking ``two calendar 
        days (excluding Sundays and legal holidays'' and inserting 
        ``the mandatory minimum review period, as defined in paragraph 
        5 of rule XII,''; and
            (4) in paragraph 5 of rule XXVIII, by striking ``shall be 
        immediately put'' and inserting ``shall be put after the 
        expiration of the mandatory minimum review period, as defined 
        in paragraph 5 of rule XII''.
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