Rules of the Assembly

Rule II -- Order of Business and Motions


Section 1. Stenographer. It shall be the duty of the Stenographer of the Assembly to be present at every session of the House. A daily stenographic record of the proceedings of the House shall be made and copies thereof shall be available to the public, at a place designated by the Speaker, within ten days following the date upon which the proceedings took place.

§ 2. Hours in session. The House shall convene at 2:00 P.M. on Monday and 11:00 A.M. on other days unless otherwise ordered. No session shall extend beyond eight hours nor shall it occur between 10:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. provided, however, the House may remain in session to complete action on a measure or measures being debated or to take action on a measure or measures if a message of necessity has been received from the governor in connection with such measure or measures or upon a majority vote of all of the members elected to the Assembly. For the purposes of this section, the passage of time shall be observed in accordance with section fifty-two of the general construction law and shall not include time that the House is in recess or standing at ease.

§ 3. Order of business.
  1. The first business of each day's session shall be the reading of the Journal of the preceding day, and the correction of any errors that may be found to exist therein, provided, however, that such reading of the Journal may be waived, without debate, upon a majority vote of the members present and provided further that on any day on which bills on any order of third reading are before the House for final disposition, and a vote is to be taken thereon, a roll call of the members shall be taken for attendance purposes prior to the reading of such Journal. Such roll call may be taken by electronic device. Immediately thereafter, except on days and at times set apart for the consideration of special orders, the order of business, which shall not be departed from except by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, to be determined by a call of the roll, shall be as follows:
    1. messages from the Governor and from the Senate, communications from State officers and reports from State institutions;
    2. introduction of bills and reference to committee;
    3. reports of committees;
    4. bills on second reading;
    5. bills on third reading;
    6. Assembly bills amended by the Senate; and
    7. introduction of original resolutions.
  2. At the commencement of each day's session the Majority Leader, or his or her designee, shall announce a schedule of legislation intended for consent and debate. All bills appearing on the order of third reading or the order of special second and third reading for the first time shall be included within such schedule.
  3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, messages from the Governor and Senate, communications and reports from State officers, reports from the Judiciary Committee which involve the right of a member to his or her seat and reports from the Committee on Rules shall be received at any time.
  4. When consideration of the orders of the day is not finished, those not acted upon shall be the orders for the next and each succeeding day until disposed of, and shall be entered first in the Calendar without change in their order.
  5. ny matter may be made a special order for any particular day by the assent of two-thirds of the members present. When so made, a simi- lar vote shall be required to rescind or postpone such matter.
  6. Petitions, memorials and remonstrances may be presented to the Clerk of the Assembly at the close of each day's session.

§ 4. Assembly Calendar. All Assembly calendars shall be delineated in a form prescribed by the Speaker. Each such calendar shall as applicable, list bills on special order of second and third reading, bills on special order of third reading, bills on order of third reading, starred bills, and resolutions, and shall further delineate any bills newly reported to the calendar, bills amended on third reading, bills for which there is a home rule message, and bills that require a fiscal note pursuant to section 50 or 51 of the Legislative Law and Joint Rule I. There shall be an index of such delineated material.

§5. Motions; previous questions.
  1. When a question is before the Assembly, only the following motions shall be received, and such motions shall have precedence in the order stated:
    1. for an adjournment of the House;
    2. a call of the House;
    3. for the previous question;
    4. to lay on the table;
    5. to postpone to a certain day;
    6. to commit;
    7. to amend;
    8. to postpone indefinitely; and
    9. to strike from the Calendar.
  2. A motion to reconsider any vote must be made on the same day on which the vote proposed to be reconsidered was taken, or within the three legislative days next succeeding such day, and except in the case of a vote on the final passage of a bill, by a member who voted in the majority, providing, however, that the vote upon the final passage of a bill recalled from the Senate may be reconsidered at any time after it is returned to the House. A motion to reconsider may be made under any order of business but shall be considered only under the order of business in which the vote proposed to be reconsidered occurred. The motion to reconsider the vote on the final passage of any bill shall be privileged to any member, but no motion for the reconsideration of any vote shall be in order, after a bill, resolution, message, report, amendment or motion upon which the vote was taken shall have gone out of the possession of the House, unless subsequently recalled by a vote of the House and in possession of the Clerk of the Assembly.
  3. When a motion for reconsideration is decided, that decision shall not be reconsidered, and no question shall be twice reconsidered; nor shall any vote be reconsidered upon the following motions:
    1. to adjourn;
    2. to lay on the table;
    3. to take from the table; and
    4. for the previous question.
  4. The "previous question" shall be put as follows: "Shall the main question now be put?" and until it is decided, shall preclude all amendments or debate. When, on taking the previous question, the House shall decide that the main question shall not now be put, the main question shall be considered as still remaining under debate. The "main question" shall be the advancement or passage of the bill, resolution or other matter under consideration; but when amendments are pending, the question shall first be taken upon such amendments in their order.