§ 4. Hearings.
a.Committee hearings. Chairs of standing committees\nmay call public hearings to permit interested persons, groups or\norganizations the opportunity to testify orally or in writing on\nlegislation or issues pending before such standing committee. Chairs are\nencouraged to hold public hearings on legislation of important public\ninterest, where, outside of the budget, significant public money is\nallocated, broad conduct is regulated or where the proposal has a broad\npublic impact. Chairs may request that the Official Stenographer make a\nstenographic record of a public hearing. Official hearings may be\nconducted in accordance with procedure established by law. No committee\nmay take testimony at a hearing unless at least two of its me
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§ 4. Hearings. a. Committee hearings. Chairs of standing committees\nmay call public hearings to permit interested persons, groups or\norganizations the opportunity to testify orally or in writing on\nlegislation or issues pending before such standing committee. Chairs are\nencouraged to hold public hearings on legislation of important public\ninterest, where, outside of the budget, significant public money is\nallocated, broad conduct is regulated or where the proposal has a broad\npublic impact. Chairs may request that the Official Stenographer make a\nstenographic record of a public hearing. Official hearings may be\nconducted in accordance with procedure established by law. No committee\nmay take testimony at a hearing unless at least two of its members are\npresent at such hearing. Prior notice of all public hearings shall be\nfiled by the chair or his or her designee with The Legislative Bill\nDrafting Commission and the Secretary of the Senate and such notice\nshall contain information as to subject matter, date and place.\n b. Public forums. Notwithstanding the public hearings conducted by\nstanding committees, any Senator may convene a public forum on proposed\nor pending legislation within the jurisdiction of a committee upon which\nhe or she is a member, provided that any charge incurred attendant to\nsuch forum be borne by said Senator or his or her party conference.\nPrior notice of such forum shall be filed with the chair of the\ncommittee.\n c. Committee oversight function. Each standing committee is required\nto conduct oversight of the administration of laws and programs by\nagencies within its jurisdiction.\n d. Each standing committee is required to file with the secretary of\nthe senate an annual report, detailing its legislative and oversight\nactivities. Such report shall be posted to the Senate web site.\n e. Petition for a public hearing on a bill. By a petition of one-third\nof the members assigned to a committee rounded up to the nearest whole\nnumber, a public hearing shall be scheduled on a specific bill or number\nof bills within the jurisdiction of a committee, unless the majority of\nmembers of the committee reject such petition. Such petitions shall be\nsubmitted on the proper form to the Senate Desk for Operations, who will\nforward it to the appropriate committee, for presentation at the next\ncommittee meeting. Such public hearings shall be held if they meet the\nguidelines as promulgated by the Majority Coalition Leaders. Public\nhearings scheduled by petition will be held at least 14 days following\nthe committee meeting at which the petition was considered.\n f. Hearings of standing committees shall be video recorded and to the\nextent practicable webcast live. Video of such hearing shall be posted\nto the Senate web site within 24 hours.\n