# **House of Representatives: Standing Rules**

## **RULE I - THE SPEAKER**

### ***Approval of the Journal***

The Speaker shall take the Chair on every legislative day precisely at the hour to which the House is scheduled to convene and immediately call the House to order. Having examined and approved the Journal of the day’s proceedings, the Speaker shall announce to the House approval thereof. The Speaker’s approval of the Journal shall be deemed agreed to unless a Member demands a vote thereon. If such a vote is decided in the affirmative, it shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider. If such a vote is decided in the negative, then one motion that the Journal be read shall be privileged, shall be decided without debate, and shall not be subject to a motion to reconsider.

### ***Preservation of Order***

The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum and, in case of disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, may cause the same to be cleared.

### ***Control of Capitol Facilities***

Except as otherwise provided by rule or law, the Speaker shall have general control of the Hall of the House, the corridors and passages in the part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, and the disposal of unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol.

### ***Signature of Documents***

The Speaker shall sign all writs, warrants, and subpoenas of, or issued by order of, the House. The Speaker may sign enrolled bills and joint resolutions whether or not the House is in session.

### ***Questions of Order***

The Speaker shall decide on all questions of order, subject to appeal by a member of this Chamber. On such appeal, the member may not speak more than once without consent from the House. The Speaker shall put a question in the form of, “Those in favor of the question, say ‘Aye’.” Once the affirmative voice has been expressed, “Those opposed, say ‘Nay’.”

### ***Speaker pro tempore***

a) The Speaker shall appoint a Speaker pro tempore in the form of writing. The Speaker pro tempore does not have to be approved by the Chamber and serves at the pleasure of the Speaker.

b) In the event that the Speaker is absent and either no Speaker pro tempore has been appointed or the Speaker pro tempore is also absent, the most senior member will take the Chair upon the return of either the Speaker of Speaker pro tempore.

c) In the scenario that the Speaker is present in attendance in a session but the Speaker pro tempore or another member holds the Chair, if the Speaker requests the Chair, the member acting as Chair must yield it. Likewise, if the Speaker pro tempore is in attendance in a session and a member, other than the Speaker, is holding the Chair, once the Speaker pro tempore requests the chair, the member must yield it.

### ***Election and term of the Speaker***

a) The Speaker shall be elected at the start of each House term by a simple majority of the entire House, and shall serve for the remainder of the Congress.

b) The Speaker shall not be removed unless two-thirds of the House agree thereof.

### ***Recess and Convening Authorities***

a) To suspend the business of the House for a short time when no question is pending before the House, the Speaker may declare a recess subject to the call of the Chair.

b) To suspend the business of the House when notified of an imminent threat to its safety, the Speaker may declare an emergency recess subject to the call of the Chair.

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## **RULE II - OTHER OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS**

### ***Elections***

It is the discretion of the Speaker to appoint a Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms. Each of these officers shall take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and for the true and faithful exercise of the duties of the office to the best of the knowledge and ability of the officer, and to keep the secrets of the House. Each of these officers shall appoint all of the employees of the department concerned provided for by law. The Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms may be removed by a simple majority of the House or by the Speaker.

### ***Clerk***

a) At the commencement of the first session of each term, the Clerk shall call the roll of the members of the Chamber. If no Speaker is elected, the Clerk shall preserve the order and maintain the decorum of the House until such time that a Speaker is elected.

b) The Clerk shall enter on the Agenda when each session commences, record the attendance and voting record of each member, ensure each member of the Chamber has access to the agenda, ensure that citizens can publicly access the agenda, except during closed sessions, examine all bills, resolutions, and joint resolutions passed by the House and, in cooperation with the Senate, examine all bills and joint resolutions that have passed both Houses to ensure that they are being properly passed, deliver a copy of any document that is requested by any member of either Chamber of Congress, and receive messages from the President of the Senate and the Senate at any time when the House is not voting or verifying a Quorum.

c) The Clerk shall preside over the first session of the term, and shall start by calling the House to order at the time scheduled for the House to convene, and next by leading the House in the Pledge of Allegiance and calling the roll and verifying the quorum. After that, the Clerk will begin nominations for Speaker of the House. Once the nominations are completed, the Clerk shall conduct the Speaker election as a roll call vote of all present Members and report the results once the election has concluded and all members have been called. Once the Speaker has been duly elected, they shall be sworn in and shall take over from the Clerk as the presiding officer.

### ***Sergeant-at-Arms***

a) The Sergeant-at-Arms shall attend the House sessions and maintain order under the direction of the Speaker or other presiding officers. The Sergeant-at-Arms will execute the commands of the House and all processes issued by the House. The Sergeant-at-Arms will control all security operations in the House Wing of the Capitol facility.

b) The Sergeant-at-arms will escort all visitors of the House who request the floor to said floor, and then escort them out of the Chamber when they are completed or when the House motions for the removal of such individual.

c) At the beginning of each session, the Speaker should be allowed to appoint any current law enforcement officer in the server to perform the duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms, should he be absent or unable to attend. This appointment shall last for only one session.

d) The Sergeant at Arms shall use discretion to uphold the code of conduct and prevent hooliganism from any party within the House Chamber or capitol complex.

### ***The Majority Leader***

a) The Majority Leader shall have control over the Majority Party, and which caucuses are formed under the Majority Party.

b) The Majority Leader shall submit to the Speaker their assignments for committee appointments, and the Speaker will officially place the members on their respective committees.

c)The Majority Leader shall present all procedural motions on behalf of the Majority Party on the floor of the House, or may delegate that responsibility to another member of the Party.

d) The Majority Leader shall be elected from the members of the Majority Party by a simple majority vote at the first Respective Caucus session of each term, and shall, upon election, initiate elections for Majority Whip who will be elected in the same manner.

### ***The Minority Leader***

a) The Minority Leader shall have control over the Minority Party, and which caucuses are formed under the Minority Party.

b) The Minority Leader shall submit to the Speaker their assignments for committee appointments, and the Speaker will officially place the members on their respective committees.

c) The Minority Leader shall present all procedural motions on behalf of the Minority Party on the floor of the House, or may delegate that responsibility to another member of the Party.

d) The Minority Leader shall be elected from the members of the Minority Party by a simple majority vote at the first Respective Caucus session of each term, and shall, upon election, initiate elections for Minority Whip who will be elected in the same manner.

### ***House Leadership***

The Speaker, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Majority Whip, and Minority Whip will make up the official House Leadership.

### ***Dean of the House***

a) The Dean of the House shall be the member who has served the longest in the House consecutively, regardless of party, and shall swear in the Speaker of the House at the beginning of each new term.

b) Should multiple people satisfy the qualifications of clause or if no one shall satisfy such qualifications, the member who has served the longest in the House non consecutively shall serve as Dean.

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## **RULE III - THE HALL OF THE HOUSE**

### ***Use and Admittance***

a) The Hall of the House shall be used only for the legislative business of the House and for caucus and conference meetings of its Members, except when the House agrees to take part in any ceremonies to be observed therein.

b) Only the following persons shall ever be permitted to the Hall or rooms leading to the Hall:

1. Members of Congress, Members-elect, and contestants in election cases during the pendency of their cases on the floor.
2. The President and Vice President of the United States and their private secretaries.
3. Justices of the Supreme Court.
4. Elected officers and employees nominated as elected officers of the House
5. Staff of the respective party leaderships when so assigned with the approval of the Speaker.
6. Not more than one person from the staff of a Member when that Member has a bill under consideration.
7. The Architect of the Capitol.
8. The Secretary and Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate.
9. Heads of Departments
10. Foreign ministers.
11. Former Members or elected officials of the House subject to the approval of the Speaker.
12. Such persons as have, by name, received the thanks of Congress.
13. Any other person that wishes admittance upon the approval of the Speaker and a nomination and second in the House.

c) Except as provided in paragraph (b), all persons not entitled to the privilege of the floor during the session shall be excluded at all times from the Hall of the House and the cloakrooms.

d) Until 15 minutes of the hour of the meeting of the House, persons employed in its service, accredited members of the press entitled to admission to the press gallery, and other persons on request of a Member by card or in writing, may be
admitted to the Hall of the House.

e) A former Member, Delegate, or; a former Parliamentarian of the House; or a former elected officer of the House or former minority employee nominated as an elected officer of the House shall not be entitled to the privilege of admission to the Hall of the House and rooms leading thereto if such individual—

1. has any direct personal or pecuniary interest in any legislative measure pending before the House or reported by a committee; or,
2. is in the employ of or represents any party or organization for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal.

f) The Speaker may promulgate regulations to carry out this rule including regulations that exempt ceremonial or educational functions from the restrictions of this clause.

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## **RULE IV - AVAILABILITY OF ARCHIVES**

### ***Closing the Gallery***

If a motion is made and seconded to close the gallery to spectators due to the discussion of any topic that, in a Congressman’s opinion, will require secrecy, the Speaker shall direct the gallery to be vacated and closed. If there are any individuals refusing to leave the gallery, the Sergeant-at-Arms should be ordered by the Speaker to remove them from the gallery. In the case of highly sensitive information, the session can be temporarily moved to a Discord text or voice channel and a record of the proceedings will be kept by the Clerk of the House.

### ***Regarding Closed Session***

During a closed session, confidentiality shall apply to all business discussed and it shall be treated as classified information and to be kept within the Chamber, unless otherwise ordered by the Speaker.

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## **RULE V - QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE**

Questions of Privilege shall be defined as questions affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, its dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings, or questions affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of members individually in their Representative capacity only.

### ***Precedence***

a) Resolutions that act as questions of privilege shall have precedence over all other questions except motions to adjourn.

b) The time allotted to each member to debate a question of privilege shall be determined by the Speaker.

c) A question of privilege should not interrupt another person who has begun to speak, unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

### ***Procedure***

Members who wish to raise a question of the privileges of the House must notify the Chair two legislative days before raising such question. The Chair must allow the Member to offer the Resolution, and the Speaker must make the determination on whether the question is considered privileged. If the Speaker determines that it is privileged, it shall be immediately considered.

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## **RULE VI - MOTIONS AND AMENDMENTS**

### ***Motions***

a) It is the right of every member to make a motion when the House is in session. No motion, so long as it is permitted in these rules, shall be blocked by the Speaker.

b) A late motion shall be up to the Speaker to decide whether or not it will be entertained.

### ***Withdrawl***

If a member should choose to retract his or her motion, they shall inform the presiding officer before a decision is made.

### ***Questions of Consideration***

When a motion is entertained, the question, “Will the House now consider it?” will not be asked unless demanded by a member of the House.

### ***Precedence of Motions***

When a question is under debate, only the following motions should be entertained, which shall have precedence in the following order:

| MOTION | TYPE OF MOTION | SECOND? | DEBATABLE? | VOTING PROCEDURE | CAN INTERRUPT PO? |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | -------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| *Adjourn with fix time* — To arrange a time for the next session | Privileged | Yes | Yes | Simple Majority | No |
| *Adjourn sine die* — To dismiss the session without an assigned time, subject to the call of the Chair. | Privileged | Yes | Yes | Simple Majority | No |
| *Recess* — To start a short intermission of the session; motion must contain the length of time. | Privileged | Yes | No | Simple Majority | No |
| *Rise to a question of privilege* — To make a personal request.​ | Privileged | No | No | Decision of the Chair | Yes |
| *Call for orders of the day* — To force the House to conform to its agenda or orders of business. | Privileged | No | No | One member, requires 2⁄3 to overrule | Yes |
| *Rise to a point of order* — To challenge for violation of the rules | Incidental | No | No, unless appealed | Decision of the Chair | Yes |
| *Object to the consideration of a question* — To suppress action | Incidential | Yes | Yes | 2⁄3 majority | Yes |
| *Divide a motion* — To consider parts of a motion separately | Incidental | Yes | No | Simple majority or decision of the member | No |
| *Leave to modify or withdraw a motion* — To modify or withdraw a motion | Incidental | No | No | Simple Majority | No |
| *Suspend the rules* — To take action contrary to the Standing Rules; must include the individual rule | Incidental | Yes | Yes | 2⁄3 majority | No |
| *Rescind* — To repeal previous action. | Bring a question again | Yes | Yes | 2⁄3 majority | No |
| *Reconsider* — To consider a defeated motion again | Bring a question again | Yes | Yes | Simple majority | No |
| *Take from the table* — To consider a tabled motion | Bring a question again | Yes | No | Simple majority | No |
| *Lay on the table* — To defer action | Subsidiary motion | Yes | No | Simple majority | No |
| *Previous question / Invoke Cloture* — To force an immediate vote on a Main Motion or Subsidiary Motion; ends debate. | Subsidiary motion | Yes | No | 2⁄3 majority | Yes |
| *Amend an amendment* — To modify an amendment | Subsidiary motion | 1⁄3 of members | Yes | Simple majority | No |
| *Amend* — To modify a Main Motion| Subsidiary motion | 1⁄3 of members | Yes | Simple majority | No |
|*Proceed* — To introduce business to the floor (Question for debate, Bill, Resolution, Impeachment, etc.)|Main motion|Yes|Yes|Simple majority|No|
|Other Motions|Incidental|Yes|Yes|Decision of the chair|No|

### ***Amendments***

When an amenable proposition is under consideration, a motion to amend that proposition shall be allowed.

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## **RULE VII - DECORUM AND DEBATE**

### ***Decorum***

a) Any member of the Chamber who desires to speak on a matter to the House shall respectfully rise and address the Speaker. Once they are recognized, they may address the House from anywhere on the House Floor. When invited by the Chair, they may address the House at the Clerk’s Desk.

b) Remarks in debate referring to the Senate or its members shall be confined to the question under debate, and will avoid personality.

c) No member shall, in debate, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another member any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming of a member.

d) If a member, in the view of the House, has tarnished the reputation of the House, it is the responsibility on the part of the House to censure the member.

### ***Recognition***

a) When two or more members of this Chamber rise at once to address the House, the Speaker shall recognize the member who is the first to rise. A member may not occupy more than three minutes of debate on a question in the House or the Committee of The Whole House on the State of the Union except as otherwise provided.

b) Members desiring to speak must wait until the Speaker specifically asks if any member seeks recognition for debate.

### ***Managing Debate***

No member shall have more than five minutes to spend on debate on any single topic.

### ***Call to Order***

a) If any member should act unprofessional, act in an insulting manner, or break the rules of the House while debating, the Speaker or another member will call the offending individual to order who shall immediately yield the floor and sit down unless permitted by motion and second of another member to explain his actions. When a member is called to order, the member making the call to order shall indicate the words accepted to.

b) The Speaker shall decide the validity of a call to order. The House, if appealed to, shall decide the question without debate. If the decision is in favor of the Member, the member shall be at liberty to proceed, but not otherwise. If the case requires it, the offending member shall be liable to censure or other such punishment that the House feels proper. A member may not be held to answer a call to order, and may not be subject to censure of the House, if further debate has intervened.

### ***Secret Session***

When confidential communications are received from the President, or when the Speaker or a member informs the House that such individual has communications that such individual believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House shall be cleared of all persons except the Members and officers of the House for the reading of such communications, and debates and proceedings thereon, unless otherwise ordered by the House. If the case is sensitive enough, the House will move to a House Discord text or voice channel and a record of the proceedings will be kept by the Clerk.

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## **RULE VIII - CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT**

There is hereby established by and for the House the following code of conduct, to be known as the "Code of Official Conduct:"

1. A Member, officer, or employee of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.
2. A Member, officer, or employee of the House shall adhere to the spirit and the letter of the Rules of the House and to the rules of duly constituted committees thereof.

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## **RULE IX - VOTING PROCEDURES**

### ***Platforms***

a) All legislation, motions, resolutions, subpoenas, or other items to be voted on by the whole House may be voted on in-game or Discord. This shall be the discretion of the Speaker when the House Session time is scheduled.

b) In the event of a vote being deemed urgent by the Speaker and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader, the Speaker can initiate a Discord vote. If a Discord vote should occur, the Speaker must announce one (1) hour prior to the opening of the vote that a vote will occur to the whole House to allow for debate and motions or amendments to the subject of the vote. A Discord vote for the whole House shall be no less than one (1) hour or until a majority has been reached. If a majority is not reached within the hour, the bill will fail.

### ***In-Game Voting Procedures***

a) When the Ayes and Nays are ordered, the name of the members will be called and the member shall, without debate or unnecessary commentary, declare his assent or dissent to the question, or may choose to vote present. No member shall be permitted to vote after the decision has been announced by the Speaker, but may, for sufficient reasons, change their vote before the decision is announced by the Speaker. No motion to suspend this rule shall be in order, nor shall the Speaker entertain any request to suspend it by unanimous consent.

b) Motions presented by any member must first be seconded by another member before being voted on. Once a motion receives a second, the Chair may either ask for the ayes and nays or if there is any objection to the motion in question. If it should gain a simple majority in the affirmative, or there are no objections to the motion, the Chair shall announce the decision and the motion shall be approved unless otherwise stated in these rules. A Member, notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, may decline to vote, in committee or on the floor, on any matter when he believes that his voting on such a matter would be a conflict of interest.

c) Motions for expulsion must be presented as a Discord vote, or in game if all Members of the House are present. Once a two-thirds concurrence of the chamber is reached, the Member will be expelled.

d) The Speaker must be notified of an intent to motion for the expulsion of a member twenty-four hours before a scheduled session, and the Speaker must announce the motion twenty-four hours before a scheduled session.

e) Proxy voting is allowed for individuals who were not able to attend all or a part of a session, however it must be done on the same day as the session and posted publicly. Members can send any citizen to be their proxy at the session to allow for a quorum, provided their proxies are not members of the Senate, the Supreme Court, the President, Vice President, or any Cabinet level member.

f) A vote may be motioned to close by any Representative followed by a second from any Representative currently present in the chamber or active in the vote.

g) The Chair has the final say in the passage or failure of a vote, provided the vote is not done as a roll call vote, voting by ballot, electronic vote, or a Discord vote.

h) All proxy votes must be designated in the “proxy-votes” channel in the United States House of Representatives Discord Server, and hmust be designated in the form that follows:

Dear Mr/Ms Clerk,

Pursuant to H.Res.1606, I write to notify you of the designation of a proxy to cast my vote. I am unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to ________ and I hereby grant authority to cast my vote by proxy to _______, who has agreed to serve as my proxy.

Had I been present, I would have voted ____ on _____.”

Respectfully,

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## **RULE X - HOUSE AND SENATE RELATIONS**

### ***Proposal***

a) All legislation proposed before the House should be provided to the House in a PDF format in the designated House Discord Server. The Clerk of the House must be provided with the ability to make a copy of the original editable file for the purpose of modifying the legislation in order to add the signatures of the Speaker, President, and other officers which may be required to sign the document before it becomes law.

b) Every item on the agenda shall be read once before every debate, discussion, or voting occurs by the Chair, Member who wrote the legislation, or Clerk.

c) The reading of any piece of legislation shall not occur unless requested by motion and seconded by any member of the Chamber.

d) Legislation must be presented and sent to the Chair or the Clerk more than two hours in advance of any session or else the Chair or the Clerk can choose to not put it on the agenda until the next session.

e) The Speaker reserves the right to pick which legislation goes to the floor or not when creating the agenda.

f) All pieces of legislation must follow a professional or realistic looking bill format. Examples can be found in past legislation or may be provided by the Speaker.

g) Members may introduce legislation on the House Floor during a period of which the House is in session, and request to amend the agenda to add the measure, the decision of such being left to the Speaker.

h) Members reserve the right to request a reading of any measure in full, once per measure.

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## **RULE XI - AMENDMENT TO THE RULES**

***In general***

a) No motion to modify, or amend any rule, or any part thereof, shall be in order, except on one day’s notice in writing to the Chair, specifying precisely the rule or part proposed to be modified, or amended, and the purpose thereof. Any rule may be suspended without notice by the unanimous consent of the House, except as otherwise provided by the rules.

b) Any changes made to the Standing Rules will not take effect until the next session of the House.

c) The Standing Rules of the House will continue from one term to the next unless they are changed as provided in these rules.

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## **RULE XII - CONTINUITY OF BUSINESS**

***Continuity***

At the second or any subsequent session of the House, the legislative business of the House which remained undetermined at the close of the next preceding session of that Congress shall be resumed and proceeded with in the same manner as if no adjournment of the House had taken place.

## **RULE XIII - POINT OF ORDER**

***In general***

If at any time a Member feels that the Standing Rules are being violated during a session, the Member is obligated to inform the Speaker of a Point of Order. The Speaker shall allow the Member to explain the Point of Order and then make a decision based on the testimony of the Member. Once this decision is made it is undebatable except by unanimous ruling of the House.

## **RULE XIV - SESSION SCHEDULING AND ANNOUNCEMENT**

### ***Scheduling***

a) Sessions must be scheduled within four days of the adoption of the House Rules or when a session is adjourned, whichever comes first.

b) On weekdays, sessions shall be held around 6:00-8:00pm. On weekends, sessions may occur around 3-8pm EST. Upon the time being set, there shall be notification sent out twenty-four hours prior to the session.

c) If a House Member notices that this rule has been violated, they may motion the session be rescheduled provided that the motion is seconded by any Member.

### ***Emergency Session***

The Speaker or Speaker pro tempore, with the consent of the Speaker, may call for an emergency session to be held with two thirds consent. When an emergency session is called, only one hour of notice is required.

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## **RULE XV - SEATING ARRANGEMENTS**

### ***Democrats***

The Democrats and those who caucus with them shall sit on the right of the Speaker.

### ***Republicans***

The Republicans and those who caucus with them shall sit on the left of the Speaker.

### ***Independants***

Independents may sit on whatever side that is caucusing, or if none they may sit anywhere.

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## **RULE XVI - LEGISLATION ORGANIZATION**

### ***House Bill***

All acts and regular legislation proposed in the House of Representatives shall begin with *H.R.*, and be assigned a number given by the Clerk or Speaker.

### ***House Resolution***

All resolutions that pertain to the House of Representatives and no other Chamber, branch of Government, or person outside the House of Representatives, including Articles of Impeachment, shall be given the permanent tag of *H. Res.*, and be assigned a number given by the Clerk or Speaker.

### ***House Joint Resolution***

All joint resolutions shall have the force of law, and require the passage of both chambers and the signature of the President of the United States, with the exception of amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be joint resolutions that only require two thirds consent of both chambers of Congress and require the approval from the American people at an appropriate venue, and the ayes and nays in response to the question of ratification, which shall last for forty-eight hours, reaching at minimum sixty percent approval. All measures providing for congressional disapproval under Title 5 of the United States Code shall also be Joint Resolutions. All Joint Resolutions originating from the House shall be given the permanent tag of *H.J. Res.* xxxx, and assigned a number by the Clerk or Speaker.

### ***House Amendments***

All amendments proposed in the House of Representatives shall be given the permanent tag of *H.Amdt.*, and assigned a number by the Clerk or Speaker.

### ***Numbering***

Numbering shall be the responsibility of the Clerk. If a vacancy arises, the Speaker shall be responsible for the numbering of House bills, amendments, and resolutions.

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## **RULE XVII - EXPULSION OF A MEMBER**

Any Member can face expulsion for misconduct, inactivity, or crimes against the United States and its jurisdictions, provided there is a 2⁄3 majority concurrence among the Members.

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## **RULE XVIII - PASSAGE AND ADOPTION**

***Enactment***

Upon the passage of these rules, all previous standing rules shall be null and void. These rules shall become effective immediately upon passage of these rules.

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