House Resolution 7

A RESOLUTION ADOPTING PERMANENT RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 2012-2016 TERM.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the temporary rules adopted by this House on January 3, 2012, are adopted as the permanent rules of the House for the 2012-2016 term, except that House Rule 60 shall read as follows:

"STANDING COMMITTEES

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

Banking and Financial Services 15

Conservation and Water Resources 29

Constitution 15

Corrections 17

County Affairs 19

Education 31

Energy 17

Fees and Salaries of Public Officers 15

Forestry 11

Gaming 15

Insurance 17

Interstate Cooperation 7

Judiciary 50

* * *

Local and Private Legislation 7

Marine Resources 11

Medicaid 19

Military Affairs 11

Municipalities 17

* * *

Ports, Harbors and Airports 11

Public Health and Human Services 29

Public Property 19

Public Utilities 17

Tourism 17

Transportation 29

Universities and Colleges 27

Ways and Means 33

Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks 15

Workforce Development 11

Youth and Family Affairs 25

(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 by the final judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi dated December 30, 2011, and nine (9) 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."