House Resolution 5

A RESOLUTION TO AMEND RULE 6O OF THE HOUSE RULES TO CREATE A STANDING LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON GAMING.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That Rule 60 of the 2000-2004 Rules of the House is amended as follows:

"60. (1) The following shall be the standing committees of the House:

(a) Rules Committee, as provided for in Rule 11 of these rules;

(b) Management Committee, as provided for in Rule 11A of these rules;

(d) Committee Number of Members

Agriculture 33

Apportionment and Elections 17

Appropriations 33

Banks and Banking 11

Conservation and Water Resources 29

Constitution 15

County Affairs 19

Education 31

Fees and Salaries of Public Officers 15

Game and Fish 15

Gaming 15

Insurance 17

Interstate Cooperation 7

Judiciary 50

Juvenile Justice 25

Labor 11

Local and Private Legislation 7

Military Affairs 11

Municipalities 17

Oil, Gas and Other Minerals 17

Penitentiary 17

Public Buildings, Grounds and Lands 19

Public Health and Welfare 28

Public Utilities 17

Transportation 29

Universities and Colleges 11

Ways and Means 33

(2) No member shall serve on both the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Appropriations. Each member may serve on at least four (4) committees listed in this rule.

(3) The Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Ways and Means each shall consist of thirty-three (33) members appointed by the Speaker, six (6) members from each congressional district as constituted on January 1, 1996, and three (3) members from the state at large. Appointments from the congressional districts shall be made on the basis of seniority. For the purposes of this rule, "seniority" shall mean length of service, continuous or interrupted, in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. However, seniority among members having the same length of service shall be determined as follows: first, continuous, uninterrupted service in the House; second, continuous, uninterrupted service in the House and Senate; third, interrupted service in the House; and fourth, interrupted service in the House and Senate.

(4) In order for a member to be eligible for the rights accorded by this subsection (4), a member shall submit a list of his or her committee preferences, setting forth at least ten (10) committees in order of preference with the most preferred being first on the list, to the Clerk of the House by 5:00 p.m. on the third calendar day of the first legislative session immediately following the year in which the members of the Legislature are elected. With regard to committee appointments, the following shall be followed by the Speaker of the House in making such appointments:

(a) Each member of the House who has served in the House for less than four (4) years, whether such service be continuous or interrupted, and who is not appointed to be a member of the Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on Ways and Means shall, as a matter of right, be appointed to serve on at least two (2) of the first seven (7) committees on such list, not to include Appropriations and Ways and Means; and

(b) Each member of the House who has served in the House for four (4) years or more, whether such service be continuous or interrupted, and who is not appointed to be a member of the Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on Ways and Means shall, as a matter of right, be appointed to serve on at least three (3) of the first seven (7) committees on such list.

(5) In making committee appointments, the Speaker shall give consideration to the preferences as expressed by the members on their lists as provided in subsection (4) of this rule, and to the seniority, abilities, and geographic location of the members."