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House Rule 43

Standing Committees and Subcommittees

The Committee on Committees shall consist of the Speaker and 15 members of the House, ten of whom shall be members of the majority party and five of whom shall be members of the minority party, whose duty shall be to recommend to the House the names of members who are to serve on the standing committees of the House. Except for the Speaker, the Majority and Minority Leaders, Whips, Caucus Chairs, Caucus Secretaries, Caucus Administrators, Policy Chairs and the chairs and minority chairs of standing committees, each member shall be entitled to serve on not less than two standing committees.

The Speaker shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of each standing committee when such standing committee has no standing subcommittees as prescribed herein, except the Committee on Appropriations which shall also have a vice-chair appointed by the Speaker; when the standing committee has standing subcommittees, the Speaker shall appoint a subcommittee chair for each standing subcommittee. The Speaker shall appoint a secretary for each standing committee. The Minority Leader shall appoint the minority chair, minority vice-chair and minority secretary of each standing committee and the minority subcommittee chair for each standing subcommittee.

Except for members who decline chair status or minority chair status in writing or who are barred from serving as a chair or minority chair under this rule, the chair and minority chair of each standing committee except the Appropriations Committee shall be limited only to the members of the applicable caucus with the most seniority as members of their respective caucus. Whenever there are more caucus members with equal seniority than available chairs or minority chairs for that caucus, the selection of a chair or minority chair from among such caucus members shall be in the discretion of the appointing authority. The appointing authority may designate the standing committee to which the appointing authority shall appoint a member as chair or minority chair without regard to seniority. The Speaker and the Floor Leader, Whip, Caucus Chair, Caucus Secretary, Caucus Administrator and Policy Chair of the majority party and minority party shall not be eligible to serve as chair or minority chair of any standing committee and no member may serve as chair or minority chair of more than one standing committee.

Any chair or minority chair held by a member who fails to meet the requirements of this rule shall become vacant by automatic operation of this rule. If the appointing authority fails to make an appointment of a chair or minority chair prior to the organizational meeting of a standing committee or fails to fill a vacancy within seven calendar days after it occurs, such position shall be deemed to remain vacant in violation of this rule. Whenever a chair or minority chair becomes vacant or remains vacant in violation of this rule, the member of the applicable caucus who meets the requirements of this rule shall automatically fill the vacancy and, if there are two or more such eligible caucus members for any such vacancy or vacancies, they shall be filled from among such eligible members through a lottery to be conducted under the supervision of the Chief Clerk after giving notice of the time and place thereof to all eligible members, to the Speaker, to the Majority Leader and to the Minority Leader.

Nothing in this rule shall prohibit the appointing authority from transferring a member from the chair or minority chair of a standing committee to the chair or minority chair of another standing committee.

Whenever the appointment of a chair or minority chair will cause the applicable caucus to exceed its permissible allocation of members on a standing committee, the appointing authority shall make a temporary transfer of an eligible committee member to the standing committee vacated by the member appointed as chair or minority chair until a regular committee appointment can be made in accordance with the rules of the House. If the Speaker or Minority Leader fails to make a temporary transfer within seven calendar days after such appointment, the committee member with the least seniority, who is eligible for transfer, shall be automatically transferred to the committee vacated by the newly appointed chair or minority chair and, if more than one committee member is eligible for such transfer, the transfer shall be implemented through a lottery conducted under the supervision of the Chief Clerk.

The Speaker of the House, Floor Leader of the majority party and the Floor Leader of the minority party shall be ex-officio members of all standing committees, without the right to vote and they shall be excluded from any limitation as to the number of members on the committees or in counting a quorum.

Twenty-four standing committees of the House, each to consist of 29 members except the Committee on Appropriations, which shall consist of 35 members, are hereby created. In addition, there are hereby created 43 standing subcommittees.

All standing committees shall consist of 16 members of the majority party and 13 members of the minority party, except the Committee on Appropriations which shall consist of 21 members of the majority party and 14 members of the minority party. The quorum for each of the standing committees and subcommittees shall be no less than the majority of said committees. The following are the standing committees and subcommittees thereof:

1. Aging and Older Adult Services

2. Agriculture and Rural Affairs

3. Appropriations

4. Children and Youth

5. Commerce

6. Consumer Affairs

7. Education

8. Environmental Resources and Energy

9. Finance

10. Game and Fisheries

11. Gaming Oversight

12. Health and Human Services

13. Insurance

14. Judiciary

15. Intergovernmental Affairs

16. Labor Relations

17. Liquor Control

18. Local Government

19. Professional Licensure

20. State Government

21. Tourism and Recreational Development

22. Transportation

23. Urban Affairs

24. Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness