SPONSOR:

Sen. Buckson

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 6

TO

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 2

AMEND Senate Resolution No. 2 by inserting the following after line 32 and before line 33:

“24A. Bill Introduction Limits”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Resolution No. 2 by inserting the following after line 613 and before line 614:

Rule 24A. Bill Introduction Limits.

(a) In this rule:

(1) “Bill” means a legislative measure introduced as a Senate Bill.

(2) “Member” means a Senator.

(3) “Regular session” means each of the following:

a. From the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November of an even numbered year to July 1 of an odd numbered year.

b. From July 1 of an odd number year to the first Monday of November of an even numbered year.

(4) “Secretary” means Secretary of the Senate.

(b) Except as provided under subsection (c) or (d) of this rule, a member may not be the prime sponsor of more than 5 bills introduced in the Senate each regular session.

(c) Subsection (b) of this rule does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any of the following joint committees that vote to have a bill introduced:

a. Legislative Council.

b. The Joint Finance Committee.

c. The Joint Committee on Capital Improvement.

d. The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee.

(2) A substitute for an introduced bill.

(3) A bill that is stricken by the prime sponsor of the bill within 15 calendar days of introduction.

(4) A bill introduced at the request of a legislative task force.

(5) A bill that has received a waiver of subsection (b) of this rule under subsection (d) of this rule.

(6) A bill to amend a single municipality’s charter.

(d) A member may seek a waiver of the limit imposed under subsection (b) of this rule for a bill that exceeds the member’s bill limit.

(1) A member must seek the waiver from the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee.

(2) A request for a waiver must meet all of the following:

a. Be in writing.

b. State the member’s justification for the request for the waiver.

c. Contain a draft of the bill the member seeks the waiver to introduce.

(3) The Senate Rules & Ethics Committee may adopt rules for the consideration of a request for a waiver under this subsection.

(4) When the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee grants or denies a waiver under this subsection, the Committee shall notify all of the following of the grant or denial:

a. The member who requests the waiver.

b. The Secretary.

(e) If a member seeks to introduce a bill in excess of the bill limit applicable to the member, the Secretary shall reject the bill and inform the member that the introduction of the bill exceeds the bill limit applicable to the member.

(f) The Secretary shall keep a record of all of the following:

(1) The number of bills introduced by each member.

(2) The number of bills introduced by a member under each exception under subsection (c) of this rule.

(3) The number of members who have reached the maximum number of introduced bills.

(g) The Secretary shall prepare a report not later than November 1 of each year containing the information compiled under subsection (f) of this rule.

(h) The Secretary shall submit the report under subsection (g) of this rule to the following:

(1) Majority and minority Senate leadership.

(2) The Legislative Librarian for the Division of Legislative Services.”.

SYNOPSIS

The General Assembly, like its counterparts in many other states is a time-limited legislature. The General Assembly’s regular session is restricted to run from the second Tuesday in January to June 30, but operationally the General Assembly is meeting to consider legislation less than 50 days during each regular session. The ability to consider a large volume of bills is not necessarily compatible with restricted session time. At least 24 state legislative chambers impose limits on the number of bills that may be introduced by their members in an effort to reduce the number of bills entering the legislative process and allow legislators more time to consider and debate the complex issues facing their states.

This Amendment limits the number of bills introduced by Senators to 5 bills each regular session, which would add up to 10 bills for this General Assembly.

The Amendment provides for exceptions for certain bills and for a process to request a waiver of the bill introduction limit by filing a request with the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee.

The Amendment requires the Secretary of the Senate to keep records on and issue a report by November 1 of each year containing the following information:

(1) The number of bills introduced by each member.

(2) The number of bills introduced by a member under each exception to this rule.

(3) The number of members who have reached the maximum number of introduced bills.

Author: Senator Buckson