Procedure in Committee of the Whole Assembly on Bills

“62. (1) The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole Assembly shall call the number of each clause in succession. If no amendment is proposed hereto or when all proposed amendments have been disposed of, he shall propose the question “That the clause (or the clause as amended) stands part of the Bill” and when all members who wish to speak thereon have spoken, he shall put that question to the Committee for its decision.

(2) Any proposed amendments of which notice has not been given shall be handed to the Chairman in writing.

(3) The following provisions shall apply to amendments relating to Bills:- (a) An amendment must be relevant to the subject matter of the Bill, and to the subject matter of the clause to which it relates. (b) An amendment must not be inconsistent with any clause already agreed to or with any previous decision of the Committee. (c) An amendment must not be such as to make the clause which it proposes to amend, unintelligible or ungrammatical. (d) If an amendment refers to or is not intelligible without a subsequent amendment or Schedule, notice of the subsequent amendment or Schedule must be given before or when the first amendment is moved so as to make series of amendments intelligible as a whole. (e) In order to save time and repetition of arguments, the Chairman may allow a single discussion to cover a series of interdependent amendments. (f) The Chairman may refuse to allow an amendment, which, in his opinion, is frivolous or meaningless, to be moved. (g) Except upon the recommendation of the Executive Council, to be signified by a Secretary and recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings, the Committee shall not proceed upon any motion or amendment which, in the opinion of the Chairman, would have effect in any of the ways described in Standing Order No. 56 (5) (Introductions and Reading of Bills). (h) The Chairman may at any time during the discussion of a proposed amendment withdraw it from the consideration of the Committee if, in his opinion the discussion has shown that the amendment violates the provisions of these Standing Orders.

(4) The provisions of paragraph (4) and (5) of Standing Orders No.41 (Amendments to motions how moved and put) shall apply to the discussion of amendments to Bills, with the substitution, where appropriate, of the word “clause” for the word “motion” or the word “question” and the word “Chairman for the word “Presiding Officer” and the word “Committee for the word “Assembly throughout.

(5) A clause may be postponed, unless a decision has already been taken upon an amendment thereto. Postponed clauses shall be considered after the remaining clauses of the Bill have been considered and before new clauses are brought up.

(6) Any proposed new clause shall be considered after the clauses of the Bill have been disposed of and before consideration of any Schedule to the Bill, save that a new clause proposed in substitution for a clause which has been disagreed with may be considered immediately after such disagreement.

(7) On the title of any new clause being read by the Clerk, the clause shall be deemed to have been read a first time. The question shall then be proposed “That the clause be read a second time”, if this is agreed to, amendments may then be proposed to the new clause. The final question to be proposed shall be “That the clause (or the clause as amended) be added to the Bill.

(8) Schedules shall be disposed of in the same way as clauses, and any proposed new Schedule shall be considered after the Schedules to the Bill have been disposed of, and shall be treated in the same manner as a new clause.

(9) When every clause and Schedule and proposed new clause has been dealt with, the preamble, if there is one, shall be considered and the question put “That the preamble to the Bill be approved”. No amendment to the preamble shall be considered which is not made necessary by the previous amendment to the Bill.

(10) If any amendment to the title of the Bill is made necessary by an amendment to the Bill, it shall be made at the conclusion of the proceedings detailed above, but no question shall be put that the title (as amended) stand part of the Bill; nor shall any question be put upon the enacting formula.

(11) At the conclusion of the proceedings in Committee on a Bill, the Chairman shall put the question “That the Bill (or the Bill as amended) be reported to the Assembly” which question shall be decided without amendment or debate.

(12) If any member, before the conclusion of the proceedings on a Bill, moves to report progress and such motion is carried, or if the proceedings in a Committee of the Whole Assembly have not been finished at the moment of interruption, the Chairman shall leave the Chair of the Committee and the member in charge of the Bill shall report progress to the Assembly and ask leave to sit again, and name a day for the resumption of the proceedings.

(13) A Committee having met to consider a Bill shall proceed with its consideration, except that during the proceedings on a Bill the member in charge of the Bill may, subject to the discretion of the Chairman, move a motion “That the Committee do not proceed further with the Bill”. If the motion is carried, the Committee shall report the Bill to the Assembly as so far amended or without amendment, as the case may be, and make a Special Report explaining its proceedings on the Bill, and the Special Report and the Bill shall be ordered to be laid upon the table without question put.”