Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rules Change topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House adopts rules changes after debate over sine die and floor questioning
Summary
The South Carolina House of Representatives adopted a rules change that will send sine die-related resolutions to the Rules Committee for consideration and restrict members who accept questions during speeches from later refusing follow-up questions; the move followed hours of debate and a negotiated amendment.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House of Representatives adopted a rules resolution on the floor after a day of debate that touched on how the chamber handles sine die resolutions and whether members may refuse questions once they begin accepting them during speeches.
Mister Kaskey, explaining the resolution for the House Rules Committee, said the package makes two changes. First, "when resolutions affecting sine die are introduced to the body, they're given immediate consideration," but the proposed amendment would require that any resolution concerning sine die be referred to the Rules Committee and would receive immediate consideration only if the Rules Committee reported it favorably. Second, Kaskey said, "If you decide to take questions, you have to take questions in the order that they are identified by the speaker." Under the proposal, a member who agrees to accept questions could not selectively refuse subsequent questioners without forfeiting the remainder of their time.
Supporters said the changes are intended to prevent last-minute, partisan insertions into sine die measures. "We saw last year . . . resolutions that were introduced . . . designed to force votes on things knowing full well that our colleagues across the hall did not have time to take up that sine die resolution on their side," Kaskey told the chamber, arguing the new process would "insist on a deliberate" path for such measures.
Opponents and some private-members objectors said the change could make it harder to respond to unforeseen events and risked limiting a member's time to speak for constituents. "This process has not been transparent," Representative Hart said during floor debate, adding concerns that members had not been adequately consulted. Other members warned that referring sine die matters to committee could complicate responses to emergent situations such as court decisions or public-health emergencies.
Lawmakers added and then adopted Amendment 3, offered by a group of sponsors as a compromise. Sponsor Mister Pace summarized the change as a practical safeguard: if a member is taking a long sequence of questions from a single questioner, the member at the well may ask the speaker for permission to move on so others may be recognized. "Essentially, if you're taking questions and that questioner has a long series of questions and you'd like to move on to the next 17 people asking questions, you could ask the speaker, could I move on to the next person?" Pace said.
The House tabled a separate motion to recommit the resolution to the Rules Committee by a roll-call vote of 65 to 37. After the amendment's adoption, the clerk recorded that House Resolution 5012 was adopted as amended.
Other routine business followed: the chamber adjourned debate on House Bill 4,385, gave Senate Bill 287 a third reading and recorded its passage, and approved Concurrent Resolution 49 62 on the design and site for the Robert Smalls monument. Members were also advised the chamber was monitoring an approaching storm and asked to watch official email and text alerts.
The House completed the day's business and adjourned.
(Reporting by the House Clerk's office and floor debate transcripts.)
