House Judiciary Committee opens session with orientation on rules, voting and bill-carrying duties

The North Dakota House Judiciary Committee opened its meeting with an orientation in which Chairman Lawrence Clamine reviewed hearing procedures, electronic testimony protocols, voting practices and expectations for bill carriers.

The chair said the committee will hold most hearings beginning at 9 a.m., will take testimony from proponents before opponents, and will accept witnesses by Microsoft Teams when in-person attendance is impractical. He reminded members that hearings are recorded and publicly available online and asked members to keep personal microphones muted when not speaking.

Clamine said the committee will continue to take oral roll-call votes but will have clerks record votes electronically so the results are entered into the legislative system immediately. He described the consent calendar process: bills that pass the committee unanimously can be placed on the consent calendar for expedited floor consideration but any member of the House may request that an item be removed for floor debate. He also reviewed deadlines tied to crossover and said workload might require afternoon meetings.

Members heard the chair’s guidance on bill-carrying: the bill carrier explains the bill and committee recommendation on the House floor and should be prepared even if a bill is placed on the consent calendar. The chair recommended separating the bill-carrier explanation from any personal floor statements and noted the bill carrier may speak multiple times if necessary.

Committee members introduced themselves and described their backgrounds; several members asked procedural clarifying questions about quorum, evening meetings and how to be recognized during hearings. Vice chairs and staff explained practical matters such as microphone use and where restrooms are located in the building.

The committee recessed until the first hearing at 9:30 a.m.