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House adopts 5-minute limit on bill debate for rest of 2007 session
Summary
The Utah House on Jan. 17 adopted a procedural rule limiting debate on bills to five minutes for sponsor presentation, five minutes per questioner and five minutes for summation to expedite floor business for the remainder of the 2007 general session.
The Utah House of Representatives voted on Jan. 17 to limit debate on bills for the remainder of the 2007 general session, imposing a five-minute cap on sponsors’ presentations, five minutes per questioner and five minutes for summation.
Representative Clark moved the rule, saying, “I’d like to make a motion that we limit debate to 5 minutes,” framing the change as an effort “to be as compact and concise” and to move more bills through the session. Members sought clarifications on whether yielded time would count against a questioner’s allotment; the sponsor and others confirmed the floor procedure and mechanics before the chair put the motion to the body.
Supporters said the change would speed consideration and help the House reach more items on the calendar; members who questioned the motion sought assurance about how sponsor-questioner exchanges would be timed. The speaker ruled the motion passed by voice vote and the limit was adopted under suspension of the rules.
The new rule applies to presentations, questioning and summation for the remainder of the 2007 session. No recorded roll-call tally for the procedural motion was provided in the transcript.
