Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1–Senators Raggio and Titus

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

SENATE Concurrent RESOLUTION—Adopting the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly for the 17th Special Session of the Legislature.

 

   Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly

 Concurring, That the following Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly

 for the 17th Special Session of the Legislature are hereby adopted:

 

APPLICABILITY OF JOINT RULES

 

Rule No. 1.  Generally.

   The Joint Rules for the 17th Special Session of the Legislature are

 applicable only during the 17th Special Session of the Legislature.

 

JOINT RULES COMMITTEE

 

Rule No. 2.  Duties.

   1.  There is hereby created a Joint Rules Committee for the 17th

 Special Session of the Legislature. The membership of the committee

 consists of:

   (a) Two members appointed by the majority floor leader of the Senate;

   (b) One member appointed by the minority floor leader of the Senate;

   (c) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and

   (d) One member appointed by the minority floor leader of the

 Assembly.

   2.  The members of the Joint Rules Committee shall elect a chairman

 and vice chairman from among their members. The chairman must be

 elected from one house of the legislature and the vice chairman from the

 other house. 

   3.  Any member of the Legislature may request the approval of the

 Joint Rules Committee for a request to draft a bill, resolution or

 amendment during the 17th Special Session.  Except as otherwise

 provided in Joint Rule No. 3 and subsection 2 of Joint Rule No. 14, a

 majority of the members of the Senate and a majority of the members of

 the Assembly appointed to the Joint Rules Committee must approve any

 request for the drafting of a bill, resolution or amendment during the

 17th Special Session before it is submitted to the Legislative Counsel.

 

CONFERENCE COMMITTEES

 

Rule No. 3.  Procedure Concerning.

   In every case of an amendment of a bill, or joint or concurrent

 resolution, agreed to in one House, dissented from in the other, and not

 receded from by the one making the amendment, each House shall

 appoint a committee to confer with a like committee to be appointed by

 the other; and the committee so appointed shall meet publicly at a

 convenient hour to be agreed upon by their respective chairmen and

 announced publicly, and shall confer upon the differences between the

 two Houses as indicated by the amendments made in one and rejected in

 the other and report as early as convenient the result of their conference


to their respective Houses. The report shall be made available to all

members of both Houses. The whole subject matter embraced in the bill

 or resolution shall be considered by the committee, and it may

 recommend recession by either House, new amendments, new bills or

 resolutions, or other changes as it sees fit. New bills or resolutions so

 reported shall be treated as amendments unless the bills or resolutions

 are composed entirely of original matter, in which case they shall receive

 the treatment required in the respective Houses for original bills, or

 resolutions, as the case may be.

   The report of a conference committee may be adopted by acclamation,

 and such action may be considered equivalent to the adoption of

 amendments embodied therein. The report is not subject to amendment.

 If either House refuses to adopt the report, or if the first conference

 committee has so recommended, a second conference committee may be

 appointed. No member who served on the first committee may be

 appointed to the second.

   There shall be but two conference committees on any bill or

 resolution. A majority of the members of a conference committee from

 each House must be members who voted for the passage of the bill or

 resolution.

 

MESSAGES

 

Rule No. 4.  Procedure Concerning.

   Proclamations by the Governor convening the Legislature in extra

 session shall, by direction of the presiding officer of each House, be read

 immediately after the convening thereof, filed and entered in full in the

 Journal of proceedings.

   Whenever a message from the Governor is received, the Sergeant at

 Arms will announce: “Mr. President, or Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of

 the Governor is at the bar.” The secretary will, upon being recognized by

 the presiding officer, announce: “Mr. President, or Mr. Speaker, a

 message from His Excellency, the Governor of Nevada, to the

 Honorable, the Senate or Assembly,” and hand same to the Sergeant at

 Arms for delivery to the Secretary of the Senate or Chief Clerk of the

 Assembly. The presiding officer will direct the biennial message of the

 Governor to be received and read, and all special messages to be

 received, read and entered in full in the Journal of proceedings.

   Messages from the Senate to the Assembly shall be delivered by the

 Secretary or Assistant Secretary, and messages from the Assembly to the

 Senate shall be delivered by the Chief Clerk or Assistant Chief Clerk.

 

NOTICE OF FINAL ACTION

 

Rule No. 5.  Communications.

   Each House shall communicate its final action on any bill or

 resolution, or matter in which the other may be interested, by written

 notice. Each such notice sent by the Senate must be signed by the

 Secretary of the Senate, or a person designated by the Secretary. Each


such notice sent by the Assembly must be signed by the Chief Clerk of the

Assembly, or a person designated by the Chief Clerk.

 

BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

 

Rule No. 6.  Signature.

   Each enrolled bill or joint resolution shall be presented to the

 presiding officers of both Houses for signature. They shall, after an

 announcement of their intention to do so is made in open session, sign

 the bill or joint resolution and their signatures shall be followed by those

 of the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly.

 

Rule No. 7.  Joint Sponsorship.

   1.  A bill or resolution introduced by one or more legislators elected

 to one House may, at the direction of the legislator who brings the bill or

 resolution forward for introduction, set forth the names of one or more

 legislators who are members elected to the other House and who wish to

 be primary joint sponsors or non-primary joint sponsors of the bill or

 resolution. The number of primary joint sponsors must not exceed five

 per bill or resolution. The names of each primary joint sponsor and non

-primary joint sponsor must be set forth on the face of the bill or

 resolution in the following order immediately below the date on which

 the bill or resolution is introduced:

   (a) The name of each primary joint sponsor, in the order indicated on

 the colored back of the introductory copy of the bill or resolution; and

   (b) The name of each non-primary joint sponsor, in alphabetical

 order.

   2.  The Legislative Counsel shall not cause to be printed the name of

 a legislator as a primary joint sponsor or non-primary joint sponsor on

 the face of a bill or resolution unless the legislator has signed the

 colored back of the introductory copy of the bill or resolution that was

 submitted to the front desk of the House of origin or the statement

 required by subsection 4.

   3.  Upon introduction, any bill or resolution that sets forth the names

 of primary joint sponsors or non-primary joint sponsors, or both, must

 be numbered in the same numerical sequence as other bills and

 resolutions of the same House of origin are numbered.

   4.  Once a bill or resolution has been introduced, a primary joint

 sponsor or non-primary joint sponsor may only be added or removed by

 amendment of the bill or resolution.  An amendment which proposes to

 add or remove a primary joint sponsor or non-primary joint sponsor

 must not be considered by the House of origin of the amendment unless

 a statement requesting the addition or removal is attached to the copy of

 the amendment submitted to the front desk of the House of origin of the

 amendment. If the amendment proposes to add or remove a legislator as

 a primary joint sponsor or non-primary joint sponsor, the statement

 must be signed by that legislator.  A copy of the statement must be

 transmitted to the Legislative Counsel if the amendment is adopted.

   5.  An amendment that proposes to add or remove a primary joint

 sponsor or non-primary joint sponsor may include additional proposals


to change the substantive provisions of the bill or resolution or may be

limited only to the proposal to add or remove a primary joint sponsor or

 non-primary joint sponsor.

 

PRINTING

 

Rule No. 8.  Ordering and Distribution.

   Each House may order the printing of bills introduced, reports of its

 own committees, and other matter pertaining to that House only; but no

 other printing may be ordered except by a concurrent resolution passed

 by both Houses. Each Senator is entitled to the free distribution of four

 copies of each bill introduced in each House, and each Assemblyman to

 such a distribution of two copies. Additional copies of such bills may be

 distributed at a charge to the person to whom they are addressed. The

 amount charged for distribution of the additional copies must be

 determined by the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to

 approximate the cost of handling and postage for the entire session.

 

RESOLUTIONS

 

Rule No. 9.  Types, Usage and Approval.

   1.  A joint resolution must be used to:

   (a) Propose an amendment to the Nevada constitution.

   (b) Ratify a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution.

   (c) Address the President of the United States, Congress, either House

 or any committee or member of Congress, any department or agency of

 the Federal Government, or any other state of the Union.

   2.  A concurrent resolution must be used to:

   (a) Amend these joint rules.

   (b) Request the return from the Governor of an enrolled bill for

 further consideration.

   (c) Resolve that the return of a bill from one House to the other House

 is necessary and appropriate.

   (d) Express facts, principles, opinion and purposes of the Senate and

 Assembly.

   (e) Establish a joint committee of the two Houses.

   (f) Direct the Legislative Commission to conduct an interim study.

   3.  A concurrent resolution or a resolution of one House may be used

 to:

   (a) Memorialize a former member of the Legislature or other notable

 or distinguished person upon his death.

   (b) Congratulate or commend any person or organization for a

 significant and meritorious accomplishment.

 

VETOES

 

Rule No. 10.  Special Order.

   Bills which have passed a previous Legislature, and which are

 transmitted to the Legislature next sitting, accompanied by a message or

 statement of the Governor’s disapproval, or veto of the same, shall


become the subject of a special order; and when the special order for

their consideration is reached and called, the said message or statement

 shall be read, together with the bill or bills so disposed or vetoed; and the

 message and bill shall be read in the Senate by the Secretary of the

 Senate and in the Assembly by the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, without

 interruption, consecutively, one following the other, and not upon

 separate occasions; and no such bill or message shall be referred to any

 committee, or otherwise acted upon, save as provided by law and

 custom; that is to say, that immediately following such reading the only

 question (except as hereinafter stated) which shall be put by the Chair is,

 “Shall the bill pass, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor?” It

 shall not be in order, at any time, to vote upon such vetoed bill without

 the same shall have first been read, from the first word of its title to and

 including the last word of its final section; and no motion shall be

 entertained after the Chair has stated the question save a motion for

 “The previous question,” but the merits of the bill itself may be debated.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

Rule No. 11.  Limitations and Calculation of Duration.

   1.  In calculating the permissible duration of an adjournment for 3

 days or less, the day of adjournment must not be counted but the day of

 the next meeting must be counted, and Sunday must not be counted.

   2.  The Legislature may adjourn for more than 3 days by motion

 based on mutual consent of the houses or by concurrent resolution. One

 or more such adjournments, may be taken to permit the Joint Rules

 Committee or the Legislative Counsel Bureau to prepare the matters

 respectively entrusted to them for the consideration of the Legislature as

 a whole.

 

EXPENDITURES FROM THE LEGISLATIVE FUND

 

Rule No. 12.  Manner of authorization.

   Except for routine salary, travel, equipment and operating expenses,

 no expenditures shall be made from the Legislative Fund without the

 authority of a Concurrent Resolution regularly adopted by the Senate

 and Assembly.

 

RECORDS OF COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS

 

Rule No. 13.  Duties of Secretary of Committee and Director.

   1.  The Joint Rules Committee and the Committee of the Whole of the

 Legislature shall cause a record to be made of the proceedings of its

 meetings.

   2.  The secretary of the Joint Rules Committee and secretary of the

 Committee of the Whole shall:

   (a) Label each record with the date, time and place of the meeting and

 also indicate on the label the numerical sequence in which the record

 was made;

   (b) Keep the records in chronological order; and


   (c) Deposit the records immediately following the final adjournment

of the special session of the Legislature with the Director of the

 Legislative Counsel Bureau.

   3.  The Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau shall:

   (a) Index the records;

   (b) Make the records available for accessing by any person during

 office hours under such reasonable conditions as he may deem

 necessary;

   (c) Maintain a log as a public record containing the date, time, name

 and address of any person accessing any of the records and identifying

 the records accessed; and

   (d) Retain the records for two bienniums and at the end of that period

 keep some form or copy of the record in any manner he deems

 reasonable to ensure access to the record in the foreseeable future.

 

REDISTRICTING

 

Rule No. 14.  Responsibility for Measures.

   1.  Measures setting forth specific boundaries of the state legislative

 districts, congressional districts, districts for the Board of Regents or

 districts for the State Board of Education must be requested and

 introduced by the Joint Rules Committee.

   2.  Notwithstanding this Rule and Joint Rule No. 2, if the Majority

 Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly jointly inform the

 Legislative Counsel that the Joint Rules Committee is unable to agree

 upon a request for the drafting of measures setting forth specific

 boundaries of the state legislative districts, congressional districts,

 districts for the Board of Regents or districts for the State Board of

 Education, the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the

 Assembly may each request one bill draft setting forth the specific

 boundaries of the state legislative districts and the congressional districts

 and one bill draft setting forth the specific boundaries of the districts for

 the Board of Regents and the districts of the State Board of Education.

 

Rule No. 14.1.  Equality of Representation.

   1.  In order to meet constitutional guidelines for deviations in

 population among state legislative districts, no plan, or proposed

 amendment thereto, will be considered that results in an overall range of

 deviation of 10 percent or more, or a relative deviation in excess of plus

 or minus 5 percent from the ideal district population.

   2.  The population of each of the Nevada congressional districts must

 be as nearly equal as is practicable. Any population deviation among the

 congressional districts from the ideal district population must be

 necessary to achieve some legitimate state objective. Legitimate state

 objectives, as judicially determined, include making districts compact,

 respecting municipal boundaries, preserving the cores of prior districts

 and avoiding contests between incumbent representatives. In order to

 meet constitutional guidelines for congressional districts, no plan, or

 proposed amendment thereto, will be considered that results in an

 overall


range of deviation in excess of 1 percent, or a relative deviation in excess

of plus or minus one-half percent from the ideal district population.

   3.  Equality of population in accordance with the standard for state

 legislative districts is the goal of redistricting for the State Board of

 Education and the Board of Regents.

 

Rule No. 14.2.  Population Database.

   1.  The total state population, and the population of defined subunits

 thereof, as determined by the 2000 federal decennial census must be the

 exclusive database for redistricting by the Nevada Legislature.

   2.  Such 2000 census data as validated by the staff of the Legislative

 Counsel Bureau must be the exclusive database used for the evaluation

 of proposed redistricting plans for population equality.

 

Rule No. 14.3.  Districts.

   All district boundaries created by a redistricting plan must follow the

 census geography.

 

Rule No. 14.4.  Compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

   1.  The legislature will not consider a plan that discernibly violates

 section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 1973(a),

 which prohibits any state from imposing any voting qualification,

 standard, practice or procedure that results in the denial or abridgment

 of any United States citizen’s right to vote on account of race, color or

 status as a member of a language minority group.

   2.  The legislature will not consider a plan that is discernibly racially

 gerrymandered. Racial gerrymandering exists when:

   (a) Race is the dominant and controlling rationale in drawing district

 lines; and

   (b) The Legislature subordinates traditional districting principles to

 racial considerations.

For the purposes of this subsection, “traditional districting principles”

 are those traditional redistricting principles that have been judicially

 recognized and include compactness of districts, contiguity of districts,

 preservation of political subdivisions, preservation of communities of

 interest, preservation of cores of prior districts, protection of incumbents

 and compliance with section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §

 1973 (2).

   3.  For the purpose of analyzing the 2000 census data, the legislature

 shall adopt the method set forth in the Office of Management and

 Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 00-02 for aggregating and allocating the 63

 categories of race data that will be reported to Nevada by the United

 States Census Bureau as part of the federal decennial census.

 

Rule No. 14.5.  Public Participation.

   1.  The Legislative Counsel Bureau shall make available to the public

 copies of the validated 2000 census database for the cost of reproducing

 the database.

 


   2.  The legislature shall make available for review by the public,

copies of all maps prepared at the direction of the legislature.

 

LIMITATIONS ON REQUESTS FOR

DRAFTING OF LEGISLATIVE MEASURES

 

Rule No. 15.  Limitations on Drafting and Requirements for

 Introduction; Duplicative Measures; Indication of Requester on

 Committee Introductions.

   The Legislative Counsel shall honor only requests for the drafting of a

 bill, resolution or amendment that has been approved by a majority of

 the members of the Senate and a majority of the members of the

 Assembly appointed to the Joint Rules Committee.

 

Rule No. 15.1.  Amendments.

   1.  The Legislative Counsel shall not honor a request for the drafting

 of an amendment to a bill or resolution if the subject matter of the

 amendment is independent of, and not specifically related and properly

 connected to, the subject that is expressed in the title of the bill or

 resolution.

   2.  For the purposes of this Rule, an amendment is independent of,

 and not specifically related and properly connected to, the subject that is

 expressed in the title of a bill or resolution if the amendment relates only

 to the general, single subject that is expressed in that Title and not to the

 specific whole subject matter embraced in the bill or resolution.

 

CONTINUATION OF LEADERSHIP OF THE SENATE

AND ASSEMBLY DURING THE INTERIM

BETWEEN SESSIONS

 

Rule No. 16.  Tenure and Performance of Statutory Duties.

   1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the tenure of

 the President pro Tem, Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the

 Senate and the Speaker, Speaker pro Tem, Majority Floor Leader and

 Minority Floor Leader of the Assembly extends during the interim

 between regular sessions of the Legislature.

   2.  The Senators designated to be the President pro Tem, Majority

 Leader and Minority Leader for the next succeeding regular session

 shall perform any statutory duty required in the period between the time

 of their designation after the general election and the organization of

 the next succeeding regular session of the Legislature if the Senator

 formerly holding the respective position is no longer a Legislator.

   3.  The Assemblymen designated to be the Speaker, Speaker pro Tem,

 Majority Floor Leader and Minority Floor Leader for the next

 succeeding regular session shall perform any statutory duty required in

 the period between the time of their designation after the general

 election and the organization of the next succeeding regular session.

 

 


POLICY AND PROCEDURES REGARDING

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

 

Rule No. 17.  Maintenance of Working Environment; Procedure for

 Filing, Investigating and Taking Remedial Action on Complaints.

   1.  The Legislature hereby declares its intention to maintain a

 working environment which is free from sexual harassment. This policy

 applies to all legislators and lobbyists. Each member and lobbyist is

 responsible to conduct himself or herself in a manner which will ensure

 that others are able to work in such an environment.

   2.  In accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, for the

 purposes of this rule, “sexual harassment” means unwelcome sexual

 advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical

 conduct of a sexual nature when:

   (a) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a

 term or condition of a person’s employment;

   (b) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by a person is used as

 the basis for employment decisions affecting the person; or

   (c) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably

 interfering with a person’s work performance or creating an

 intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

   3.  Each person subject to these rules must exercise his own good

 judgment to avoid engaging in conduct that may be perceived by others

 as sexual harassment. The following noninclusive list provides

 illustrations of conduct that the Legislature deems to be inappropriate:

   (a) Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory comments, slurs or

 unwanted sexual advances, invitations or comments;

   (b) Visual conduct such as derogatory posters, photography, cartoons,

 drawings or gestures;

   (c) Physical conduct such as unwanted touching, blocking normal

 movement or interfering with the work directed at a person because of

 his sex;

   (d) Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests to keep a

 person’s job or avoid some other loss, and offers of employment benefits

 in return for sexual favors; and

   (e) Retaliation for opposing, reporting or threatening to report sexual

 harassment, or for participating in an investigation, proceeding or

 hearing conducted by the Legislature or the Nevada Equal Rights

 Commission or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,

when submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a

 term or condition of a person’s employment or submission to or

 rejection of such conduct by a person is used as the basis for

 employment decisions affecting the person or such conduct has the

 purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person’s work

 performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working

 environment.

   4.  A person may have a claim of sexual harassment even if he has

 not lost a job or some other economic benefit. Conduct that impairs a

 person’s ability to work or his emotional well-being at work constitutes

 sexual harassment.


   5.  If a legislator believes he is being sexually harassed on the job, he

may file a written complaint with:

   (a) The Speaker of the Assembly;

   (b) The Majority Leader of the Senate; or

   (c) The Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, if the complaint

 involves the conduct of the Speaker of the Assembly or the Majority

 Leader of the Senate.

The complaint must include the details of the incident or incidents, the

 names of the persons involved and the names of any witnesses.

   6.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, the Speaker of the

 Assembly or the Majority Leader of the Senate, as appropriate, shall

 refer a complaint received pursuant to subsection 5 to a committee

 consisting of legislators of the same House. A complaint against a

 lobbyist may be referred to a committee in either House.

   7.  If the complaint involves the conduct of the Speaker of the

 Assembly or the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Director of the

 Legislative Counsel Bureau shall refer the complaint to the Joint Rules

 Committee.  If the Speaker of the Assembly or the Majority Leader of the

 Senate is a member of this committee, the Speaker or the Majority

 Leader, as the case may be, shall not participate in the investigation and

 resolution of the complaint.

   8.  The committee to which the complaint is referred shall

 immediately conduct a confidential and discreet investigation of the

 complaint. As a part of the investigation, the Committee shall notify the

 accused of the allegations. The committee shall facilitate a meeting

 between the complainant and the accused to allow a discussion of the

 matter, if both agree. If the parties do not agree to such a meeting, the

 committee shall request statements regarding the complaint from each

 of the parties. Either party may request a hearing before the committee.

 The committee shall make its determination and inform the complainant

 and the accused of its determination as soon as practicable after it has

 completed its investigation.

   9.  If the investigation reveals that sexual harassment has occurred,

 the Legislature will take appropriate disciplinary or remedial action, or

 both. The committee shall inform the complainant of any action taken.

 The Legislature will also take any action necessary to deter any future

 harassment.

   10.  The Legislature will not retaliate against a person who files a

 complaint and will not knowingly permit any retaliation by the person’s

 supervisors or coworkers.

   11.  The Legislature encourages a person to report any incident of

 sexual harassment immediately so that the complaint can be quickly and

 fairly resolved.

   12.  Action taken by a complainant pursuant to this rule does not

 prohibit the complainant from also filing a complaint of sexual

 harassment with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission or the federal

 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

   13.  All legislators and lobbyists are responsible for adhering to the

 provisions of this policy. The prohibitions against engaging in sexual

 harassment and the protections against becoming a victim of sexual


harassment set forth in this policy apply to employees, legislators,

lobbyists, vendors, contractors, customers and visitors to the Legislature.

   14.  This policy does not create any enforceable legal rights in any

 person.

 

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