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(b)
Hearing Requirement for Favorable Report
. Except as provided in Rule 32 (2)(A), no bill
and no resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution or other substantive resolution shall be
reported favorably by a committee unless a public hearing has been held as provided in Rule 6, but no
further public hearing shall be required for a favorable report on a substitute for such bill or resolution,
provided the substitute is based on or is germane to the subject matter of the original bill or resolution,
or for a bill or resolution petitioned under Rule 11 on which a subject matter public hearing has been
held.
(c)
Fiscal Notes and Bill Analyses; Bills or Resolutions Unfavorably Reported; List of
Reported Bills or Resolutions
.
(1) Any bill or resolution reported favorably by any committee which if passed or adopted,
would affect state or municipal revenue or would require the expenditure of state or municipal
funds, shall have a fiscal note attached, as required by section 2-24 of the general statutes with
respect to bills. The fiscal note for a bill or resolution and the analysis of a bill shall be printed with
the bill or resolution and shall bear the same file number as the bill or resolution. Any fiscal note
printed with or prepared for a bill or resolution and any analysis of a bill printed with or prepared
for a bill, are solely for the purpose of information, summarization and explanation for members of
the General Assembly and shall not be construed to represent the intent of the General Assembly
or either chamber thereof for any purpose. Each such fiscal note and bill analysis shall bear the
following disclaimer: "The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for
the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information,
summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either
chamber thereof for any purpose." When an amendment is offered to a bill or resolution in the
House or the Senate, which, if adopted, would require the expenditure of state or municipal funds
or affect state or municipal revenue, a fiscal note shall be available at the time the amendment is
offered and, in the case of an amendment which is substantially similar to a favorably-reported bill
for which a racial and ethnic impact statement has been prepared pursuant to this rule, such fiscal
note may include a copy of such impact statement. Any fiscal note prepared for such an
amendment shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of this rule and shall bear the
disclaimer required under this rule. Each fiscal note prepared under this subdivision shall include a
brief statement of the sources of information, in addition to the general knowledge of the fiscal
analyst, consulted or relied on to calculate the fiscal impact.
(2) Whenever a committee reports a bill favorably which, if passed, would increase or
decrease the pretrial or sentenced population of correctional facilities in this state, a majority of
the committee members present may request that a racial and ethnic impact statement be
prepared. The racial and ethnic impact statement shall be prepared by the Office of Legislative
Research and the Office of Fiscal Analysis, which may, in the preparation of such statement,
consult with any person or agency including, but not limited to, the Judicial Branch, the Office of
Policy and Management, the Department of Correction and the Connecticut Sentencing
Commission. The statement shall indicate: (A) Whether the bill would have a disparate impact
on the racial and ethnic composition of the correctional facility population and an explanation of
that impact, (B) that it cannot be determined whether the bill would have a disparate impact on
the racial and ethnic composition of the correctional facility population, or (C) that the offices
cannot determine within the time limitation specified in Rule 13(c) whether the bill would have a
disparate impact on the racial and ethnic composition of the correctional facility population. The
racial and ethnic impact statement shall be attached to and printed with the bill and shall bear the
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same file number as the bill. Any racial and ethnic impact statement printed with or prepared for
a bill is solely for the purpose of information, summarization and explanation for members of the
General Assembly and shall not be construed to represent the intent of the General Assembly or
either chamber thereof for any purpose. Each racial and ethnic impact statement shall bear the
following disclaimer: "The following Racial and Ethnic Impact Statement is prepared for the
benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information,
summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or
either chamber thereof for any purpose."
(3) All bills or resolutions unfavorably reported by a committee shall be submitted to the
Legislative Commissioners' Office not later than 5:00 p.m. on the final reporting out date for favorable
reports for that committee, designated in the schedule shown in this rule.
(4) The legislative commissioners shall prepare a list of the bills or resolutions submitted
to them which at the deadline time for each committee are not printed and in the files and the
clerks shall print the same in the House and Senate journals.
(d)
Bills or Resolutions Not Acted on by Committee; Bills or Resolutions Not Printed
and in Files
. All bills or resolutions not acted on by the committees within the time limits
established by this section shall be deemed to have failed in committee, except that (1) a bill or
resolution shall be reported to the chamber in which it originated if the Speaker of the House and
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate certify, in writing, the facts which in their opinion
necessitate it being acted on by the General Assembly or (2) if a majority of the members of
either chamber present to the clerk of such chamber a written petition as provided by Rule 19,
requesting that a bill or resolution be reported, it shall be reported to the chamber in which the
petition originated. Any bill or resolution not printed and in the files of the members of the
General Assembly may be acted upon by the General Assembly if the Speaker of the House and
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate certify, in writing, the facts which in their opinion
necessitate an immediate vote on the bill or resolution, in which case a copy of the bill or
resolution, accompanied by a fiscal note, shall nevertheless be upon the desks of the members,
but not necessarily printed, before the bill or resolution is acted upon.
(e)
Bills Authorizing Conveyance of Real Property by State
. Notwithstanding any provision
of these rules to the contrary (1) no bill authorizing the conveyance of real property, or any interest
therein, by the state of Connecticut to any person or entity shall be printed or placed on the calendar or
in the files for action unless the bill has received a favorable or unfavorable report from the joint
standing committee on government administration and elections, and (2) no bill which has been
amended to authorize the conveyance of real property, or any interest therein, by the state of
Connecticut to any person or entity shall be passed by either chamber unless such bill, as amended,
has been referred to the joint standing committee on government administration and elections, and that
committee has reported favorably or unfavorably on such amended bill to the chamber from which it
was referred at any time thereafter but before the start of the session on the third regular session day of
the chamber making the referral after the date that the motion to refer is adopted, but no later than
seven calendar days after such date of adoption.
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(f)
Referral of Bill or Resolution by Chamber to Committee After Deadline
.
(1) Whenever a bill or resolution favorably or unfavorably reported by one committee is
referred by the House or the Senate to another committee after its deadline under subsection (a)
of this rule has passed, the committee receiving such referred bill or resolution shall meet to
consider such bill or resolution on any day of the week and at any time (A) before the start of the
session of the third regular session day of the referring chamber after the date that the motion to
refer is adopted, or (B) not later than seven calendar days after such date of adoption, whichever
occurs first. Such committee may take the following action on such referred bill or resolution: (i)
report it favorably or unfavorably in accordance with the provisions of subdivisions (2) and (3)
of this rule, (ii) box it, or (iii) take no action. Under no circumstances shall such committee refer
such bill or resolution to another committee.
(2) If the committee reports the bill or resolution favorably or unfavorably, and the bill or
resolution has not been amended in either chamber, the committee may report a substitute bill or
resolution, in which case, there shall be a reprinting of the file. The entry on the calendar in both
chambers shall indicate the actions of the committee.
(3) If the committee reports the bill or resolution favorably or unfavorably, and the bill or
resolution has been amended in either chamber, the committee shall include in its report its
recommendation on the adoption or rejection of each amendment, and may submit additional
amendments to be offered on the floor. In such a case there shall be no reprinting of the file. The
entry on the calendar in both chambers shall indicate the actions and recommendations of the
committee.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS - READINGS
16. First reading of all bills and resolutions shall be (1) by the acceptance by each
chamber of a printed list of bills and resolutions, prepared by the clerks of the House and Senate,
setting forth numbers, introducers, titles and committees to which referred, or (2) by title,
number and reference to a committee.
Second reading shall be the report of a committee.
Third reading shall be passage or rejection of a bill or adoption or rejection of a
resolution on the calendar. Each bill and each resolution proposing an amendment to the
constitution shall receive three readings in each chamber prior to passage or adoption, and no bill
or resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution shall be read twice on the same day.
FAVORABLE REPORTS
17. (a)
Committee Clerk's Signature
. When the House and Senate members of any
committee jointly vote to report a committee or raised bill or resolution favorably, the committee
clerk shall sign the committee report form.
(b)
Resolutions on Appointments and Nominations
. A favorable report by a joint
standing committee of a resolution concerning a General Assembly appointment or a nomination
requiring joint confirmation and a favorable report of any committee to which executive and
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legislative nominations are referred shall be tabled for the calendar and printed by number and
title only. The report may be accepted and the resolution adopted after it has appeared on the
calendar for two days.
(c)
File Copies Available to Members
. All bills and all resolutions proposing
amendments to the constitution and other substantive resolutions reported favorably by the
committees to which they have been referred, or by a majority of the members of the Senate or
House committee making the report, before third reading, shall be laid upon the table, and
sufficient copies of each bill or resolution together with the number of committee members
voting yea and the number voting nay shall be printed under the supervision of the Legislative
Commissioners' Office for the use of the General Assembly.
(d)
Timing of Action by Chambers
. Each bill and each joint resolution proposing an
amendment to the constitution and each other substantive resolution so printed shall be in the
files and on the calendar with a file number for two session days and shall be starred for action
on the session day next succeeding, except that: (1) A bill or resolution certified in accordance
with section 2-26 of the general statutes, if filed in the House, may be transmitted to and acted
upon first by the Senate with the consent of the Speaker; and if filed in the Senate, may be
transmitted to and acted upon first by the House with the consent of the President Pro Tempore,
(2) any bill or resolution certified in accordance with section 2-26 of the general statutes may be
acted upon immediately and may be transmitted immediately to the second chamber and may be
acted upon immediately when received by the second chamber, (3) if one chamber rejects an
amendment adopted by the other chamber, the bill or resolution after final action may be
transmitted immediately to and may be placed on the calendar immediately in the second
chamber, (4) during the last five calendar days of the session, if one chamber rejects an
amendment adopted by the other chamber or adopts an amendment to a bill or resolution
received from the other chamber, or takes any action on such bill or resolution requiring further
action by the other chamber, the bill or resolution after final action may be transmitted
immediately to the second chamber and placed immediately on the calendar and may be acted
upon immediately in the second chamber, or (5) during the last five calendar days of the session,
any bill or resolution, after final action in one chamber, may be transmitted immediately to the
second chamber and may be placed on the calendar immediately in the second chamber.
(e)
Action on Calendar
. All bills and resolutions starred for action shall be acted upon
only when reached and any bill or resolution not acted upon shall retain its place on the calendar,
unless it is put at the foot of the calendar or unless its consideration is made the order of the day
for some specified time.
(f)
Other Provisions.
When the House or Senate members only of a committee vote to
report a bill or resolution favorably, the House or Senate chairperson of the committee, as the
case may be, shall sign the bill or resolution. When the House members and Senate members of a
committee vote to report separate versions of a bill or resolution and each chamber adopts its
own version, both bills or resolutions may be referred by a joint resolution to a committee of
conference, appointed as provided in Rule 22, with instructions to report a bill or resolution, as
the case may be. If no bill or resolution is reported within three session days following the
committee's appointment, the committee shall submit an interim report to both chambers and
shall continue to report every second session day thereafter until a final decision is reached. If a
bill or resolution is agreed upon by the committee it shall be submitted to the Legislative
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Commissioners' Office as a favorable report for processing as provided in Rule 13. A legislative
commissioner shall transmit the bill or resolution with his or her approval to the clerk of the
chamber which initiated the joint resolution for a committee of conference and the bill or
resolution shall thereupon be tabled for the calendar and printing. The report of the committee
may be accepted or rejected, but the bill or resolution may not be amended.
No bill or resolution shall appear on the calendar of either chamber unless it has received
a joint favorable report or a favorable report of the members of the committee of that chamber,
except as provided in this rule or in Rule 19 or 20.
(g)
Roll Call Requirement
. Each bill and each resolution proposing an amendment to the
constitution and each other substantive resolution appearing on the regular calendar shall be
voted upon by a roll call vote.
REPRINTING AFTER AMENDMENT
18. Whenever a bill or resolution is substantively amended there shall be no action on
passage of the bill or resolution until it has been re-examined by the legislative commissioners
for the purposes set forth in Rule 13 and it has been reprinted as amended. The chamber in which
the bill or resolution is pending shall not take final action thereon until the reprinted bill or
resolution has been made available to the members. This rule shall not apply to amendments
offered solely for the purposes of correcting clerical defects or imperfections, such as but not
limited to, grammatical or spelling errors or mistakes as to form or dates, or to make other
changes which do not alter the substance of a bill or resolution. Reprinting of amended bills or
resolutions shall not be required for bills or resolutions passed after May 30, 2015, for the 2015
session and April 30, 2016, for the 2016 session.
PETITION FOR COMMITTEE REPORT
19. Upon presentation to the clerk of either chamber of a petition signed in the original by
not less than a majority of the members of either chamber requesting a joint standing committee
to report a bill or resolution in its possession, the clerk shall immediately give notice to the
committee of the filing of the petition. The petition may not be presented sooner than the day
following the committee's deadline, designated in the schedule shown in Rule 15, to report the
bill or resolution out of committee and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the seventh calendar day after
that deadline. Within two regular session days thereafter the committee shall report the bill or
resolution with or without its recommendations to the chamber from which the petition was
received. If no recommendation is made, the bill or resolution shall be considered as having
received an unfavorable report and the procedures in Rule 20 shall be followed. Each petition or
page of the petition shall contain a statement of its purpose and may be circulated only by a
member of the chamber whose clerk will receive the petition. If the committee members of one
chamber vote to report a bill or resolution favorably, the petition so circulated and presented to
the clerk may be signed only by the members of the other chamber.
Any bill or resolution so petitioned, except those carrying or requiring appropriations,
shall not be referred to any other committee without first having been voted upon by the House
or Senate. Those carrying or requiring appropriations shall be referred first to the joint standing
committee on Appropriations. The Appropriations committee shall, within two session days after
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such reference, report such bill or resolution back to the chamber in which the petition originated
with either a favorable or unfavorable report thereon and the bill or resolution shall then be voted
upon. In the event of a conflict between the report of the original committee and that of the
Appropriations committee, the vote shall be on the report of the Appropriations committee.
UNFAVORABLE REPORTS
20. All bills and resolutions reported unfavorably shall first be printed under the
supervision of the legislative commissioners, without correction and without their approval, and
shall be in the files and on the calendar as if favorably reported but shall appear on the calendar
under the heading "Unfavorable Reports." If the unfavorable report is rejected by the chamber of
origin, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the legislative commissioners for their approval
and reprinting in final form, except that in the case of an unfavorable report of the committee on
executive and legislative nominations, or an unfavorable report of the committee on judiciary of
a judicial nomination, a nomination of a workers' compensation commissioner or a nomination
of a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the resolution shall not be returned to the
legislative commissioners and may be acted upon immediately. If the bill or resolution is
returned to the legislative commissioners after May 20, 2015, in the 2015 session or April 20,
2016, in the 2016 session, the legislative commissioners shall transmit the bill or resolution, with
or without approval, to the clerk of the chamber from which it was received, not later than five
calendar days after it is received. It shall then be in the files, with special marking on the
calendar, as if favorably reported with a file number for two session days and starred for action
on the session day next succeeding in the chamber of origin. If the unfavorable report is accepted
by the chamber of origin, the bill or resolution shall be lost.
When an unfavorable report is rejected by the first chamber and the bill is passed or the
resolution adopted by that chamber, it shall then be in the files and on the calendar of the other
chamber, but shall appear on the calendar under the heading "Unfavorable Reports".
RECALL FROM OTHER CHAMBER FOR RECONSIDERATION
21. No resolution or motion to recall a bill, resolution or other matter from the other chamber
shall be allowed for the purpose of reconsideration or amendment after the time has elapsed for the
reconsideration of any vote thereon except when there has clearly been a mistake in such vote or an
error in the language of the bill, resolution or other matter.
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
22. (a)
Appointment of Committee
. When one chamber rejects an amendment adopted by
the other chamber, the bill or resolution shall be returned to the other chamber for further action.
If that chamber readopts the rejected amendment, the readoption constitutes a matter for a
committee of conference, and a committee of conference shall be appointed by the Speaker and
the President Pro Tempore. The committee of conference shall be comprised of three members
from each chamber. If the vote has not been unanimous there shall be at least one member of the
committee who was not on the prevailing side in such member's chamber, except that in all
cases, at least one member in each chamber shall be a member of the minority party.
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(b)
Committee Reports
. The committee may propose any changes within the scope of the
bill or resolution, but any action, including changes, taken by the committee shall be by a
majority vote of the members of each chamber on the committee. The committee report shall be
made to both chambers at the same time. The committee report shall contain the following
information: The bill or resolution number and title, the members of the committee, the action of
the committee, indicating the adoption or rejection of each House or Senate amendment
previously adopted, identified by schedule letter, which accompanied the bill or resolution, the
adoption of a new amendment, if any, and the signature of the members of the committee
accepting or rejecting the report. A member's refusal to sign shall be deemed a rejection. Any
new amendment shall be prepared by the Legislative Commissioners' Office and shall be
attached to and made a part of the report and shall be identified by a schedule letter of the
chamber which created the disagreeing action.
(c)
Action by Chambers
. Each chamber shall vote to accept or reject the report. A vote by
either chamber to accept the report of the committee shall be final action by that chamber on the
bill or resolution. If both chambers vote to accept the report of the committee, the bill is passed
or the resolution is adopted as of the time the last chamber votes to accept the report. If either
chamber rejects the report of the committee, the bill or resolution is defeated and the second
chamber shall not be required to consider the committee report. The report of the committee may
be accepted or rejected, but it may not be amended.
RETURN OF BILL FROM GOVERNOR OR LEGISLATIVE COMMISSIONERS
23. Whenever a bill has passed both chambers and has been transmitted to the Governor
for approval, or to the legislative commissioners for engrossing, if either chamber desires its
return for further consideration, the General Assembly may, by resolution adopted by both
chambers, appoint a joint committee of one senator and two representatives to be sent to the
Governor or the commissioners to request the return of the bill. In the case of a bill transmitted to
the Governor, if the Governor consents, and in the case of a bill transmitted to the legislative
commissioners, the bill shall be returned first to that chamber in which the motion for its return
originated, and the bill may then be altered or totally rejected by a concurrent vote of the two
chambers; but, if not altered or rejected by concurrent vote, it shall be again transmitted to the
Governor or the legislative commissioners, as the case may be, in the same form in which it was
first presented to the Governor or the legislative commissioners.
EXAMINATION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
24. (a)
Examination and Correction
. All bills, and all resolutions proposing amendments
to the constitution, when finally passed or adopted, shall be examined immediately by the
legislative commissioners. If the legislative commissioners find that any correction should be
made in the text, they shall report it to the committee on legislative management. If the
committee believes that no correction should be made, it shall so inform the legislative
commissioners. If the committee believes a correction should be made, it shall so inform the
legislative commissioners who shall report the bill or resolution to the chamber which last took
action upon it, with the proposed correction in the form of an amendment, within five calendar
days, Sundays and holidays excepted, after its passage or adoption.
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