Assembly Concurrent
Resolution No. 1–Assemblymen
Perkins, Buckley and Hettrick
Joint Sponsors: Senators Raggio and Titus
Assembly Concurrent RESOLUTION—Adopting the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly for the 20th Special Session of the Legislature.
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the Senate Concurring, That the following Joint Rules of the Senate
and Assembly for the 20th Special Session of the Legislature are
hereby adopted:
APPLICABILITY OF JOINT RULES
Rule No. 1. Generally.
The Joint Rules for the 20th Special Session of the Legislature
are applicable only during the 20th Special Session of the
Legislature.
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
Rule No. 2. Procedure Concerning.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 3. Procedure Concerning.
1. 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.
2. 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 any message from the Governor to be
received, read and entered in full in the Journal of proceedings.
3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. Joint Sponsorship.
1. A bill or resolution introduced by a committee of the
Senate or Assembly may, at the direction of the chairman of the
committee, set forth the name of a committee of the other House
as a joint sponsor, if a majority of all members appointed to the
committee of the other House votes in favor of becoming a joint
sponsor of the bill or resolution. The name of the committee joint
sponsor must be set forth on the face of the bill or resolution
immediately below the date on which the bill or resolution is
introduced.
2. The Legislative Counsel shall not cause to be printed the
name of a committee as a joint sponsor on the face of a bill or
resolution unless the chairman of the committee has signed his
name next to the name of the committee on 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 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 nonprimary 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 sponsormust 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 committee as a primary joint sponsor, the statement
must be signed by the chairman of the committee. 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 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.
PRINTING
Rule No. 7. 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. 8. 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. 9. 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. 10. 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 a 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. 11. 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. 12. Duties of Secretary of Committees and Director.
1. Each committee shall cause a record to be made of the
proceedings of its meetings.
2. The secretary of a committee 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.
LIMITATIONS ON REQUESTS FOR
DRAFTING OF LEGISLATIVE MEASURES
Rule No. 13. Germaneness Required for 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. 14. 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. 15. 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
Committee on Elections, Procedures and Ethics of the Assembly
or the Committee of the Whole of the Senate, as appropriate. If
the Speaker of the Assembly or the Majority Leader of the Senate
is a member of one of these committees, 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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