AMENDMENT(S) PROPOSED BY THE HOUSE

DEL. GILBERT [Passed by]

1. At the beginning of line 25, introduced

strike

all of lines 25 through 58

insert

Rule 2. The House of Delegates shall choose its own Speaker from among the members of the House. The Speaker shall be elected in even numbered years for a term of two years. The nominations for Speaker shall be viva voce without debate and no second shall be required to place a name in nomination. Once nominations are closed, the election of the Speaker shall be a matter of privilege and shall be conducted immediately and shall not be debated. The voting for Speaker shall be by use of the electronic voting system or, if it is inoperable, viva voce by response to the call of names, and the vote shall be recorded in the Journal. Each member shall vote for only one nominee for Speaker in each round of voting. If, on the first voting, no one receives a majority, the person having the smallest number of votes shall not be voted for on the next voting and so on until someone shall receive a majority of the whole vote. Once elected, the Speaker shall not be removed from his office during his term except with the concurrence of two thirds of the elected membership of the House.

The Speaker may appoint to the Chair any member who shall exercise its functions for the time. However, no member, by virtue of such appointment, shall preside for a longer time than three consecutive days. During such appointment the Speaker may participate in the debates.

If the Speaker is absent and has named no one to act in his stead, the duties shall be performed by the chairman of one of the standing committees taking precedence in the order in which the committees are named in Rule 16.

In the event of a vacancy that occurs during a Regular or Special Session, the House shall elect a successor within seven days of notice of the vacancy. The person receiving a majority of the votes of the members present and voting shall be deemed to be elected Speaker.

In the event of a vacancy that occurs during the Interim, the Privileges and Elections Committee shall convene at a meeting to be called by the chairman or, in his absence, the vice chairman or a majority of the membership of the committee to elect a Speaker to serve during the vacancy and until a successor is elected by the House at its next session. At least three working days' notice of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting shall be given to all members of the committee. The person receiving a majority of the votes of the members of the committee present and voting shall be deemed to be elected Speaker.  Pursuant to the provisions of this Rule, the Speaker shall serve and perform all the duties of the position until a successor is elected by the House at its next session.

DEL. GILBERT [Passed by]

3. Line 302, introduced, after Delegates.

insert

Any such policy established by the House Committee on Rules pursuant to Rule 23(a) will become effective only upon the approval of a majority of the members elected to the House.

DEL. GILBERT [Passed by]

1. At the beginning of line 719, introduced

strike

all of lines 719 through 728