(1)There is hereby created a legislative council, which consists of an executive
committee, six senators with majority party members appointed by the president of
the senate and minority party members appointed by the minority leader of the
senate, with the approval of a majority vote of the members elected to the senate,
and six representatives with majority party members appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives and minority party members appointed by the minority
leader of the house of representatives, with the approval of a majority vote of the
members elected to the house of representatives. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (1.5) of this section, the executive committee consists of the president of
the senate, the majority leader of the senate, the
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
(1)
There is hereby created a legislative council, which consists of an executive
committee, six senators with majority party members appointed by the president of
the senate and minority party members appointed by the minority leader of the
senate, with the approval of a majority vote of the members elected to the senate,
and six representatives with majority party members appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives and minority party members appointed by the minority
leader of the house of representatives, with the approval of a majority vote of the
members elected to the house of representatives. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (1.5) of this section, the executive committee consists of the president of
the senate, the majority leader of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the
speaker of the house of representatives, the majority leader of the house of
representatives, and the minority leader of the house of representatives, all of
whom are ex officio members of the council. The speaker of the house of
representatives and the president of the senate shall alternately serve as the chair
and vice-chair of the executive committee and serve for one-year terms. All ex
officio members of the council have and may exercise all the powers, privileges,
and duties of other members.
(1.5) (a) In order to expedite the work of the executive committee, for each
period commencing after a general election and ending following the convening of
the next general assembly when a new executive committee is formed pursuant to
subsection (1) of this section, a temporary executive committee comprised of the
legislators selected by their respective party caucuses as the speaker of the house
of representatives, the president of the senate, and the majority and minority
leaders of the senate and the house of representatives for the next general
assembly shall be formed.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection (1.5), the
temporary executive committee shall assume all of the duties and powers of the
executive committee previously formed in accordance with subsection (1) of this
section.
(c) The executive committee previously formed pursuant to subsection (1) of
this section shall retain all powers and duties related to any special session of the
general assembly called prior to the convening of the next general assembly and
all legislative management functions pertaining to matters arising prior to the
convening of the next general assembly.
(d) Each member of the temporary executive committee shall have the same
powers and duties with respect to the business of the temporary executive
committee as all other members of the temporary executive committee, whether
the member is a member of the then current general assembly, a member-elect of
the next general assembly, or both.
(2) Appointments or reappointments of all members of the council shall be
made no later than ten days after the convening of the first regular session of each
general assembly. An appointing authority may make an appointment to
temporarily replace a current member of the committee appointed by that
appointing authority; except that a temporary appointment does not require
approval of a majority of the members elected to the applicable body. Membership
on the council terminates with the appointment of a member's successor or upon
the termination of a member's term of office in the general assembly, whichever
first occurs. A member may be appointed to succeed himself or herself.
(2.5) An ex officio member of the council may make an appointment to
temporarily replace himself or herself at a meeting of the council. A member
temporarily appointed under this subsection (2.5) shall not replace the ex officio
member at a meeting of the executive committee.
(3) The party representation on the council shall be in proportion generally
to the relative number of members of the two major political parties in each house
of the general assembly, but in no event shall a minority party be represented by
less than one council member from the senate and two council members from the
house of representatives.
(4) Vacancies in the membership of the council shall be filled in the same
manner as original appointments are made.
(5) The legislative council may be a committee of reference for bills and joint
resolutions that allocate any additional legislative staff resources.