Consideration of bills; requests by sponsor

§ 5. Consideration of bills; requests by sponsor. a. Each standing committee may consider any bill referred to it at any time if otherwise in conformity with these Rules. (1) In considering any bill, a standing committee may vote favorably, unfavorably or to hold the bill for further action and/or study, provided, however, that a motion to hold which fails shall not be deemed to satisfy a request for consideration. Insofar as may be practicable, each standing committee shall vote upon such bills in the order in which such requests are filed, provided, however, that a chairperson may schedule the consideration of bills jointly if such bills deal with similar subject matter. Committees having original jurisdiction over bills upon which a request for consideration has been filed shall schedule all such bills for committee consideration by the third Tuesday in May of the second year of the term of the Assembly. (2) No bill shall be considered by a standing committee unless the final printed copy of the bill has been available to each member of the committee for at least seven days and copies thereof have been available to the general public and representatives of the news media for at least such period of time. A bill reported by a standing committee with amendments shall not be deemed to be a new bill for the purposes of the provisions of this subdivision requiring bills to be available for at least seven days prior to consideration by a standing committee. Provided, however, that upon consent of a majority of the members of such committee, any bill which is not in compliance with the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, may be transmitted to the Committee on Rules for further action in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (b) of paragraph one of subdivision b of section ten of this Rule. b. The sponsor of a bill referred to a standing committee may require the committee to formally vote upon such bill by filing a request therefor on an appropriate form to be furnished by the Office of Journal Operations. With respect to such request for consideration: (1) The clerk of each standing committee, upon receiving such a request must immediately issue a receipt therefor acknowledging the date and time of filing; (2) Requests for consideration may be submitted on bills that are printed, as follows: (a) no later than the second Tuesday in April of the second year of the term of the Assembly, except that after the second Tuesday in April of such second year through the first Tuesday in May each member may submit a total of five additional requests for consideration with a committee of original jurisdiction, and a copy of such additional request shall be filed by the Committee Clerk with the Committee on Standing Committees; and (b) in the case of a bill that is referred to a subsequent standing committee, such request shall be submitted within thirty days after such referral; (3) Except with respect to bills referred to a standing committee pursuant to the provisions of paragraph two of subdivision f of section two of Rule III, requests for consideration of any bill introduced by or at the request of a member may be made only once in any two-year term of the Assembly; (4) Once a committee has acted pursuant to such request, such committee shall not be required, during such two-year term, to again consider such bill or to consider any substantially duplicative bill introduced by, or at the request of such member subsequent to the consideration of such bill by the committee; and (5) With respect to a bill sponsored by the Committee on Rules at the request of a member, either the Committee or the member at whose request the bill has been introduced may file a request for consideration.