Subchapter A. AMENDMENTS TO BILLS
GENERAL Sec.
17.1. Constitutional requirements.
17.2. General Bureau functions.
17.3. Duty of draftsman.
17.4. Marking bill for transcribing.
17.5. Duty of typist prior to transcribing.
17.6. Preparation of folders.
17.7. Copies and stamping of amendments.
17.8. Classification and filing.
STRUCTURE AND STYLE
17.21. Structure of amendment.
17.22. Instructional language.
17.23. Striking language.
17.24. Inserting language.
17.25. Accuracy of inserted language.
17.26. Amendments to amendatory bills.
INSERTING ADOPTED AMENDMENTS
17.31. General procedure.
17.32. General requirements.
17.33. Amendments to amendatory bills.
17.34. Subsequent amendments.
17.35. Editorial insertions.
17.36. Corrective reprints.
GENERAL
§ 17.1. Constitutional requirements.
(a) Scope of amendment. The Constitution (art. III, sec. 1) provides that no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either house, as to change its original purpose.
(b) Printing amendments. The Constitution (art. III, sec. 4) provides that all amendments to bills shall be printed for the use of the members before the final vote is taken on the bill.
§ 17.2. General Bureau functions.
(a) Bill Draftiing Section. It is the responsibility of the Bill Drafting Section to draft amendments to bills and to check them for accuracy prior to their distribution to the member or other person requesting the amendment.
(b) Transcribing Section. The Transcribing Section prepares all amendments and folders in proper form from the draft supplied by the Bill Drafting Section and inserts adopted amendments into bills prior to printing.
(c) Proofreading Section. The Proofreading Section, upon request, assists the Transcribing Section in proofreading amendments for accuracy including adopted amendments inserted into bills prior to reprinting.
(d) General Services Section. The General Services Section duplicates amendments for distribution and files Bureau folders containing amendments.
§ 17.3. Duty of draftsman.
(a) Proper print of bill. The draftsman must be sure that he is working with the last or active print of the bill. In order to do this, the cardex file of daily action on bills is checked. There are times when it is necessary to wait until the new print comes from the printer. It is very dangerous to attempt to write amendments to a print which is not the one to which the amendments will be applied.
(b) Other matters. The draftsman must check the title and effective date of the bill, the proofreading correction file for previous errors and, in case of amendatory bills, intervening amendments to the statute being amended.
§ 17.4. Marking bill for transcribing.
(a) General. In preparing amendments to bills, the draftsman takes a copy of the last or active print of the bill and indicates in pencil what changes are to be made. The language used in setting up the amendments, which go to the member requesting them, is supplied by the typist.
(b) Strike-outs and insertions. The draftsman must indicate strike-outs and insertions clearly so that there can be no question as to what is to be done. Language to be stricken out from the bill is indicated by running a light pencil line through it. It should not be obliterated by ink or otherwise since the typists have to quote language that is stricken out.
(c) Amendatory bills. In changing language of existing law in an amendatory bill, brackets are placed around any language to be eliminated and any language added is underscored. A line is not run through language of existing law.
§ 17.5. Duty of typist prior to transcribing.
Before starting to transcribe any amendments, the typist must consult the cardex file of bills to determine whether the print of the bill before her is the last print of the bill or, if the bill has been restored to a former print, that it is the active print. This, in the first instance, is the function of the draftsman. Occasionally, however, his information is not up to the minute. If it is found that a bill to which amendments are made has been previously amended, the matter is brought to the attention of the draftsman. In transcribing amendments, a check is made with the proofreaders’ files for corrections that should be included in the amendments.
§ 17.6. Preparation of folders.
(a) Member. Copies of the amendments to be distributed to a member are placed in a folder on which is placed a tab containing the name of the person for whom the amendment was prepared and, if requested by someone else, ‘‘Requested by’’ followed by the name of the requester; and in the lower left hand corner, the words, ‘‘Amendments to Senate Bill No. 38,’’ or ‘‘Amendments to House Bill No. 44,’’ as the case may be.
(b) Bureau. In the upper left hand corner of the tab of the Bureau folder is typed in the case of Senate bills ‘‘S.B.692’’ and in the case of House bills ‘‘H.B.386.’’ Immediately following is typed the initials of the draftsman preparing the amendments followed by the initials of the typist copying them. In the upper right hand corner appear the name of the person for whom they are prepared, and the date on which they are transcribed. In place of the title of the bill, are written only the words ‘‘AMENDMENTS.’’
§ 17.7. Copies and stamping of amendments.
The original and one copy of each amendment is placed in the Bureau file folder. Ten copies are placed in Senate folders and eleven copies are placed in House folders. Three copies in the member’s folder contain the stamp of the Bureau.
§ 17.8. Classification and filing.
No classification numbers are used for amendments to bills. They are filed in the order of the bill number of the Senate or House bill which is amended.
STRUCTURE AND STYLE
§ 17.21. Structure of amendment.
(a) General. Amendments are usually prepared in conventional typewritten form on plain white paper which does not contain line numbers.
(b) Heading. All amendments begin with the words ‘‘AMENDMENTS TO SENATE (or HOUSE) BILL NO. 3’’ which is entirely in capital letters and centered at the top of the page. In all cases, the abbreviation ‘‘Mr.,’’ centered to the left so that a name may be inserted follows next and the printer’s number is noted on the next line below and brought out to the right hand margin. The initials of the draftsman and typist and date are placed at the top left hand corner.
(c) Paragraphing. Each separate amendment to the bill is set out in a separate unnumbered paragraph.
§ 17.22. Instructional language.
(a) General. All amendments are made by reference to the title or section of the bill to be amended, and the page or pages and line or lines where the change to be made appears.
(b) Reference to words. Amendments usually contain a reference to words. If a word to be quoted appears two or three times in the line, it is necessary to add after quoting the word ‘‘where it appears for the first (or second, or third) time.’’
(c) Form. All amendments begin with the word ‘‘Amend’’ and a reference to the place on the bill to be amended, as for example ‘‘Amend Title, page 1, line 1,’’ or ‘‘Amend Sec. 1, page 5, lines 1 to 28.’’
§ 17.23. Striking language.
(a) Quoting words or figures. Except in the language of existing law in an amendatory bill, if words and figures are to be omitted, the form is ‘‘by striking out’’ quoting the exact words and figures to be omitted.
(b) Striking entire lines and pages. If an entire line or lines are to be stricken out, all the line or lines to be stricken out are not quoted. The form is ‘‘by striking out all of said line’’ or ‘‘by striking out all of said lines.’’ If the strike-out starts in the middle of a line, the form will be ‘‘by striking out (quoting the words appearing in the part of the line to be stricken out) in line 9, and all of lines 10 through 15;’’ or if the strike-out includes part of one line, all of the next three lines, and a part of the fourth line, the form will be ‘‘by striking out (quoting the words in the first line to be stricken out) in line 9, all of lines 10, 11 and 12 and (quoting the words to be stricken out in the fourth line) in line 13.’’ If a section to be stricken out appears on two or more pages, the strike-out should be made all in one amendment in the form ‘‘Amend Sec. 4, page 3, lines 8 through 20, page 4, lines 1 through 20, page 5, lines 1 and 2, by striking out all of said lines.’’
§ 17.24. Inserting language.
(a) General. If words or figures are to be inserted, the language will be ‘‘by inserting after’’ (writing the word or figure after which the insert is made within quotation marks), followed by the language to be inserted not quoted but set out in the next line and written in single space and indented. The purpose of this is so that the language to be inserted may be cut out of the typewritten amendments and pasted on the printed bill for insertion after adoption of the amendment. Indentation of language to be inserted should not be exaggerated. If it consists of more than a line or two, the indentation will be ten spaces only on each side.
(b) Adding new units. If an entirely new section is to be inserted in a bill, it is done in the following form: ‘‘Amend bill, page 4, by inserting between lines 6 and 7,’’ (setting forth the language of the section to be inserted). If a new subsection or other minor subdivision is to be inserted in a section, the language will be ‘‘Amend Sec. 2, page 3, by inserting between lines 8 and 9,’’ (setting forth the subsection or minor subdivision to be inserted).
(c) Simultaneous strike-out and insert. If some language is to be omitted and other language substituted at the same place, the general rules apply, except that the language will be ‘‘by striking out (quoting the language to be stricken out), and inserting.’’
§ 17.25. Accuracy of inserted language.
(a) General. Inserts as typed are cut out and pasted on the bill for insertion prior to reprinting. For this reason they must not contain a word or mark other than those intended to become a part of the statute if the bill is adopted and approved.
(b) Punctuation and capitalization. No quotation marks or underscoring are included unless the quotation marks or underscoring are properly a part of the new statute. While inserts on the printed bill appear in capital letters, they are typed as they would be in a bill with punctuation and are capitalized only where necessary.
§ 17.26. Amendments to amendatory bills.
(a) General. A number of special rules are observed in amending amendatory bills, since the system of amending existing statutes must continue to be carried out.
(b) Reference to section of existing statute. In amending bills that seek to amend an existing statute, it is necessary in addition to referring to the section of the bill, to refer to the section of the statute that is being amended. This saves a great deal of confusion as to what section is being referred to. The section of the existing statute immediately follows the section number of the bill and is placed within parentheses in the form ‘‘Amend Sec. 1 (Sec. 402).’’
INSERTING ADOPTED AMENDMENTS
§ 17.31. General procedure.
If amendments are adopted, they are pasted at their proper location on the bill amended. The bill, together with the inserts, is transmitted to the Transcribing Section of the Bureau which makes the changes in the computer to the current print of the bill which is then reprinted with a new printer’s number.
§ 17.32. General requirements.
(a) Inserting language. In inserting amendments to bills, all language inserted is in CAPITAL LETTERS.
(b) Striking language. In inserting amendments to bills, all language deleted appears in strike-out-type.
§ 17.33. Amendments to amendatory bills.
(a) Inserting language. In inserting amendments to amendatory bills, all language inserted is in CAPITAL LETTERS and as much of the language inserted that is an addition to existing law is underscored.
(b) Striking language. In inserting amendments to amendatory bills, all language inserted is in CAPITAL LETTERS and as much of the language inserted that is a deletion from existing law is placed within brackets ‘‘[...]’’. In case of deletion of language from existing law that already appears in the bill, brackets are merely inserted around the language to be deleted.
§ 17.34. Subsequent amendments.
(a) General. If the bill is again amended in the house of origin, everything appearing in strike-out-type in the former print is omitted from the new print, and the capital letters are reset in lower case. The same rule prevails in the case of the first amendment made by the house of reference.
(b) House of reference. If the house of reference amends the bill more than once, its former amendments are not eliminated from the print, because the house of origin must have before it all amendments made by the house of reference in order to decide whether or not it will concur in the changes.
§ 17.35. Editorial insertions.
(a) Amendments in house of reference. In case of an amendment to a bill by the house of reference, the phrase ‘‘HOUSE AMENDED’’ or ‘‘SENATE AMENDED’’ is placed in capital letters at the top of the first page of the bill.
(b) Printer’s numbers. The prior printer’s number is added at the left side of the top of the first page of the bill and the new printer’s number is added at the right side.
(c) Sponsors. In case of a change of a sponsor contained on a prior print of the bill, the name of the sponsor is either added or deleted, as the case may be.
(d) Time of amendment. Preceding the title of the bill, the fact and date of amendment is indicated in capital letters in the following form:
‘‘AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 20, 1974.’’
(e) Identification of amendments.The location of the amendments are identified by an arrow (
) inserted on each page of the bill beginning with the first line where the amendment begins.
§ 17.36. Corrective reprints.
Occasionally, bills reprinted for the purpose of incorporating amendments adopted by either house or a committee contain errors which merit correction before consideration by the house having possession of the bill. In such case, the bill is reprinted without formal amendment with the caption at the top of the first page of the bill ‘‘HOUSE AMENDED’’ or ‘‘SENATE AMENDED’’ immediately followed on a separate line by ‘‘CORRECTIVE REPRINT.’’
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