Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0001
House Amendment HA_D_H4 (House)

HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Joint Rules" 
,~" to S.P. 1, "Joint Order to Adopt the 
Amend the Joint Order by striking out all of the first 
paragraph and inserting in its place the following: 
'ORDERED, the House concurring, that the Joint Rules of the 
120th Maine Legislature shall be adopted as the Joint Rules of 
the 121st Maine Legislature, except for the following changes. 
Joint Rules 301, 304 and 308 are amended by striking out all 
of Joint Rules 301, 304 and 308 and inserting in their place the 
following: 
, Rule 
301. 
Joint 
Standing 
Cooanittee 
Responsibilities 
and 
Jurisdiction. 
Joint 
standing 
committees 
are--
formed 
to 
assist 
the 
Legislature in the performance of its constitutional duties and 
are vested with the general authority granted in the 
Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 165 and certain other specific 
authori ty granted from time to time by the Legislature. 
The 
responsibilities of joint standing committees include, but are 
not limited to: 
1. 
Pending Legislation. 
Considering and reporting to both 
chambers on legislation pending before the Legislature: 
2. 
Budget and Fiscal Policy Issues. 
Reviewing and making 
recommendations on budgeting and fiscal policy issues concerning 
State Government; 
Page l-LR0236(7) 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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~. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT :1). to S. P. 1 
3. 
Actions 
of 
Departments 
and 
Aqencies. 
Conducting 
oversight and review of the actions of departments and agencies 
of State Government, 
including, but not limited to, review of 
agency rules under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapters 2 and 2-A 
and agency evaluations under the State Government Evaluation Act; 
4. 
Gubernatorial 
Appointments. 
Reviewing 
and 
making 
recommendations 
on 
gubernatorial 
appointments 
that 
require 
legislative confirmation under Title 3, chapter 6; and 
5. 
Other Tasks. 
Performing other tasks assigned to them, 
including, but not limited to, reviewing specific provisions of 
law, conducting studies on assigned topics, issuing reports on 
policy and legal issues of interest to the Legislature, reporting 
out specific legislation pursuant to joint order and authorizing 
the annual budgets of certain counties. 
There 
are 
joint standing committees, 
which must 
be 
appointed at the commencement of the first regular session and 
which exercise jurisdiction in the following areas: 
Agriculture, conservation and forestry 
Appropriations and financial affairs 
Criminal justice and public safety 
Education and cultural affairs 
Health and human services 
Inland fisheries and wildlife 
Insurance and financial services 
Judiciary 
Labor 
Legal and veterans affairs 
Marine resources 
Natural resources 
Research, development and business affairs 
State and local government 
Taxation 
Transportation 
Utilities and en~rgy 
Rule 304. 
Procedures for Public Bearinqs and Work Sessions. 
At 
the 
beginning 
of 
each 
legislative 
biennium, 
all 
committees shall adopt procedures that govern public hearings, 
work sessions and confirmation hearings, which shall include the 
order in which testimony will be heard. 
Copies of the procedures 
must be sent to the presiding officers, the Secretary of the 
Senate, the Clerk of the House and the Executive Director of the 
Legislative Council upon adoption and must be posted and made 
available upon request at all public hearings and work sessions. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
~.~. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT J.. to S. P. 1 
The rules of procedure in committee are the same as the 
rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives to the 
extent applicable. 
Committee procedures must be consistent with 
these rules. 
The presiding chair shall decide all questions of order, 
subject to appeal to the committee. 
The chair I s ruling stands 
unless overruled by a majority vote of the committee membership. 
Scheduling of bills to be considered in public hearings and 
work sessions must be arranged by the Senate chair with the 
agreement of the House chair; if agreement is not reached, the 
committee shall decide by majority vote of the membership. 
At 
public 
hearings, 
the 
chair 
may 
limit 
testimony 
as 
necessary for the orderly conduct of the hearing. 
Members may 
question witnesses to clarify testimony and to elicit helpful and 
pertinent information. 
While aggressive and probing questions 
may sometimes be appropriate, members shall exhibit respect for 
the witnesses and for one another. 
Members shall refrain from 
interrogation that is argumentative, oppressive, repetitive or 
unnecessarily embarrassing to hearing participants. 
Advocacy and 
discussion among members are not appropriate at public hearings. 
A committee member who is the primary sponsor of a bill and any 
member who testifies for or against the bill should ordinarily 
refrain from questioning other witnesses. 
Rule 308. 
Reference of Bills to Committee. 
All bills and resolves must be referred to committee, except 
that this provision may be suspended by a majority vote in each 
chamber. 
1. 
Legislature in Session. 
When the Legislature is in 
session, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 
shall jointly suggest an appropriate committee 
reference for 
every 
bill, 
resolve 
and 
petition 
offered. 
The 
suggested 
reference must be placed upon the Advance Journal and Calendar of 
each chamber. 
If they are unable to agree, 
the question of 
reference must be referred to a conference of the President of 
the Senate and the Speaker of the House. 
Upon their agreement, 
the suggested reference must be placed upon the Advance Journal 
and Calendar of each chamber. 
If they are unable to agree, the 
question 
of 
suggested 
reference 
must 
be 
referred 
to 
the 
Legislative Council for resolution. 
Upon the decision of the 
Legislative Council, the suggested reference must be placed upon 
the Advance Journal and Calendar of each chamber. 
HOUSE' AMENDMENT 
Q. ,,~. 
" ... 
" 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 0" to S.P. 1 
Each suggested reference appearing upon the Advance Journal 
and Calendar of each chamber must contain a recommendation for 
the printing of the document being referred and may contain a 
recommendation on the number of copies of that document to be 
printed. 
Any 
member 
may 
move 
reference 
on 
the floor. 
majority vote is necessary 
reference. 
for 
reconsideration of 
a 
committee 
Notwithstanding Joint 
Rule 
103, 
a 
to overturn the original committee of 
2. 
Legislature Not in Session. 
When the Legislature is not 
in session or is in recess for more than 4 days, the Secretary of 
the Senate and Clerk of the House may refer the bills to the 
appropriate joint standing committee for public hearing and order 
printing, subject to the approval of the President of the Senate 
and the Speaker of the House. 
3. 
Reference to More Than One Committee. 
When a bill or 
resolve has a subject matter that falls within the jurisdiction 
of more than one committee, suggested references may be made and 
the full Legislature may vote to refer a bill or resolve to more 
than one committee. 
When references are made to more than one 
committee, 
the first named committee is responsible for the 
scheduling 
and 
conduct 
of all 
public 
hearings, 
subject to 
approval of the chairs of the other committee or committees. 
Committees to whom a bill or resolve is referred pursuant to this 
rule shall participate equally in all public hearings and work 
sessions and shall make a joint report or joint reports. 
The 
public hearing or hearings and work session or work sessions must 
be conducted jointly by both committees. 
The chairs of the 
committees involved shall establish the process for conduct of 
the work session or work sessions on the bill. 
If the chairs are 
unable to agree, 
the presiding officers shall establish the 
process. 
The work session process must provide for balanced 
representation for each committee. 
The report or reports on a 
jointly referred bill is as voted by the full membership of each 
committee, 
except that if a 
member serves on more than one 
committee to whom a bill or resolve is referred, that member may 
cast only one vote.' , 
SUMMARY 
This amendment accomplishes the following. 
1. 
It establishes the jurisdiction and the names of the 
formerly 
known 
as 
"Banking 
and 
Economic Development" 
and 
"Criminal 
and 
Financial 
Services," 
"Research, 
joint 
standing 
committees 
Insurance," "Business and 
Justice" 
as 
"Insurance 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
, 
, 
Q. .. ~~< 
HOUSE AMENDMENT :1J" to S. P. 1 
Development 
and 
Business Affairs" 
and 
"Criminal Justice 
and 
Public Safety," respectively. 
2. 
It requires that, when the joint standing committees 
adopt committee rules, the committee adopt a procedure for the 
order for speakers testifying before the committee. 
3. 
It 
bill, those 
sessions. 
SPONSORED BY: 
requires when 
committees 
(Representative O'NEIL) 
TOWN: 
Saco 
committees 
be required 
are jointly 
to meet in 
referred a 
joint work 
HOUSE AMENDMENT