House Concurrent Resolution 7

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO AMEND THE JOINT RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE BY CREATING A NEW RULE 9B TO LIMIT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS THAT A LEGISLATOR MAY REQUEST FOR DRAFTING AND INTRODUCE DURING A REGULAR LEGISLATIVE SESSION.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the Rules of the House are amended by creating a new Joint Rule 9B to read as follows:

"9B. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this rule, beginning with bills and resolutions for the 2014 Regular Session of the Legislature, a member of the House or Senate shall not:

(a) Request the House Legislative Services Office to draft more than ten (10) general bills, revenue bills and resolutions for proposed constitutional amendments, and ten (10) other resolutions, in the aggregate, for a regular legislative session; or

(b) Introduce more than ten (10) general bills, revenue bills and resolutions for proposed constitutional amendments, and ten (10) other resolutions, in the aggregate, for a regular legislative session.

(2) For the purpose of this rule, the terms "general bills" and "revenue bills" mean only those bills that are considered to be general bills and revenue bills for deadline purposes under Joint Rule 40.

(3) The provisions of subsection (1) of this rule do not apply to:

(a) Appropriation bills; local and private bills; bills to restore suffrage; resolutions suspending the deadlines for the drafting and introduction of a new bill or resolution, and any new bills or resolutions resulting from the adoption of those suspension resolutions; and resolutions suspending the deadlines for further consideration of a bill or resolution;

(b) Bills and resolutions requested to be drafted, and bills and resolutions introduced, by the Speaker of the House, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, or the Chairman of the House Rules Committee; and

(c) Bills and resolutions requested to be drafted, and bills and resolutions introduced, by a member who is chairman of a standing committee or a select committee of the House or Senate to which bills or resolutions are referred, if:

(i) The bill or resolution is requested to be introduced by a statewide elected official, or by the executive director or governing board of a state agency, department or institution in any of the three (3) branches of government, or by the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and the bill or resolution pertains to subject matter that is within the jurisdiction of the committee that the member chairs; or

(ii) The bill is to reenact, and to extend or remove the repealer on, provisions of law which are subject to a repealer that is scheduled to take effect during the calendar year in which the legislative session occurs, and the provisions of law subject to the repealer pertain to subject matter that is within the jurisdiction of the committee that the member chairs."