PRINCIPLES AND PROHIBITIONS OF COMMITTEE MARK UPS
- Committees do not actually amend measures during their markups; instead a committee votes on what amendments it wishes to recommend to the House.
- Bills are read for amendment by section or paragraph unless unanimous consent is received to read a bill by title or to consider a bill open for amendment at any point. When a bill is read by paragraph, section, or title, an amendment must be offered at the appropriate time.
- An amendment must be reduced to writing on demand.
- An amendment must be read (after it is offered and before it is debated) unless such reading is dispensed with by unanimous consent.
- Debate is under the five-minute rule -- 5 minutes in favor; 5 minutes in opposition; then pro forma amendments.
- An amendment should not affect the bill in more than one place.
- A bill is subject to amendment in two degrees; 3rd degree amendments are not in order.
- An amendment can be divided if it consists of 2 or more parts each of which could be considered independently.
- The same amendment can not be offered more than once.
- It is not in order to consider an amendment that proposes only to amend language that has already been amended.
- An amendment must be germane (if it is not, it is subject to a point of order). The Chair rules on questions of germaneness. The tests of germaneness are:
- An amendment must relate to the subject matter under consideration;
- The fundamental purpose of the amendment must be germane to the fundamental purpose of the bill;
- The amendment when considered as a whole should be within the jurisdiction of the committee;
- An individual proposition may not be amended by another individual proposition even if they are of the same class;
- A specific subject may not be amended by a provision general in nature;
- A general subject may be amended by specific propositions of the same class;
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