Joint Rules Of The Alabama Legislature

Rules of Order and Procedure

Rule 1. Messages from one house to the other shall take precedence over all other questions.

Rule 2. When House and Senate bills are signed by the presiding officer of the House or Senate, the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be, shall notify the other house and request the signature of the presiding officer to the same, and as soon as the message is read, the presiding officer shall immediately sign the bills in the presence of the House or Senate, as prescribed by the Constitution.

Rule 3. No local or special bill shall be introduced into either house unless the member who introduces it discloses at the time the fact that the notice required by the Constitution and laws has been given, and submits one copy of the notice and proof thereof attached to the bill.

Rule 4. No bill amending a section or part of the code by reference to the section or other subdivision of the code shall be introduced into either house unless the title thereof contains a brief statement of the general subject, independent of references to the code section, to which such section or subsection relates.

Rule 5. The Secretary or the Clerk, as the case may be, shall, when a bill is duly enrolled and signed by the presiding officers of both houses, deliver the bill to the Governor noting thereon the day and hour and minute of delivery, and shall make a written report to the house where the bill originated showing the number of the bill and time of delivery, which shall be spread upon the Journal.

Rule 6. All official printed legislative documents placed in the custody of the Clerk and the Secretary shall be assigned a number by the Secretary or the Clerk and the number, year and the session shall clearly appear on the title page of the document.

Rule 7. No bill may be introduced unless the bill has been entered into the Legislative Data Bank by the Legislative Reference Service, the Legislative Fiscal Office, or the Executive Budget Office. The draft of any bill which is for introduction at any session of the Legislature, and which is not prepared by the Legislative Reference Service, the Legislative Fiscal Office, or the Executive Budget Office, shall be presented to the Legislative Reference Service for review, preparation of a synopsis, and entry into the Legislative Data Bank.

Rule 8. The privileges of the floor of both houses are accorded the Directors and employees of the Legislative Reference Service and the Legislative Fiscal Office. In aid of the reference work required by law to be done for members of the Legislature, the privileges of the floor of both houses are accorded the Director of the Alabama Law Institute and the Chief Examiner of the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

Rule 9. The presiding officer of the Senate shall preside when the two houses meet in joint sessions.

Rule 10. During the period between the end of a regular session and the convening of the next regular session, except for the period between the end of the last regular session in the quadrennium and the general election, members may deliver bills to the Clerk or Secretary. This shall be known as "pre-filing." Such bills shall be numbered by the Clerk or Secretary in the order of receipt and otherwise processed for introduction when the regular session has been convened. Pre-filed bills shall be assigned as provided in the rules of each respective house to a standing committee or subcommittee for study. A pre-filed bill shall not be voted on by a committee until each house has convened in regular or special session and the bill is in position for a committee to vote.

Rule 11. Resolutions of sympathy, commendation, or congratulations shall be by House resolution or by Senate resolution and shall be filed with the Secretary or the Clerk who shall cause the respective journals to reflect that such resolution was filed by inserting the title thereof in their respective journals; the Secretary or the Clerk, respectively, shall prepare appropriate copies for distribution; provided, however, by suspension of the rules such resolutions shall be made a part of the journals.

Rule 12.

(a) No bill amending an existing statute shall be accepted for introduction in the Legislature unless the language to be deleted is stricken through (example: stricken through); and the language to be inserted is underscored (example: underscored).

(b) All amendments to bills shall refer to the line or lines to be amended by number and shall specify the language to be deleted and added.

Rule 13. No bill shall be accepted by the Secretary or Clerk for introduction in either house unless it is a legible copy, typed on 8 1/2" by 11" paper with numbered lines which are double spaced.

Rule 14. All bills or resolutions that have been amended in the house of origin shall be engrossed by that house prior to being delivered to the other house.

Rule 15. No resolution, as provided for in Section C of Amendment 448 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, shall be introduced until the bill described in the resolution appears on the regular calendar of the house in which the resolution is offered. Such resolution shall not be introduced unless it has been prepared by the Legislative Reference Service or the office of the Clerk or the Secretary.

Rule 16. All House bills and Senate bills, except local bills, shall have printed at the top of the bill a brief synopsis of the contents.

Rule 17. Every bill making an appropriation, except the General Fund Appropriation Bill and the Education Trust Fund Appropriation Bill, shall clearly stipulate in the bill's title the amount and the source from which the appropriation is to be made.

Rule 18. Any bill that proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 shall include in the text of the bill specific language that shall appear on the ballot if the bill is passed by the Legislature.

Rule 19. No person, except duly authorized uniformed state police officers and legislative security officers, shall carry a firearm or other lethal weapon in the Alabama State House.