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The floor of a legislature or chamber is the place where members sit and make speeches. When a person is speaking there formally, they are said to have the floor . The House of Commons and the House of Lords of the United Kingdom; the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate all have "floors" with established procedures and protocols.
As the House Rules limit the amount of floor debate on any given bill the committees play an important function in determining the final content and format of the bill. After the committee conducts any necessary research, and has debated and voted on any amendments that were offered in committee they may take one of three actions.
The house may debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House of Representatives and the Senate differ. A final vote on the bill follows. Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other, which may pass, reject, or amend it. For the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill. [6]
When a motion has been made and is before the assembly, the process of debate could help the assembly determine whether to take action on the proposal. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) says, "Debate, rightly understood, is an essential element in the making of rational decisions of consequence by intelligent people."
In United States parliamentary procedure, recognition, or assignment of the floor, is the exclusive right to be heard at that time by a member of a deliberative assembly. With a few exceptions, a member must be recognized by the chairperson before engaging in debate or making a motion .
The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1).The clause states that "The Senators and Representatives" of Congress "shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same; and for any Speech or ...
In United States parliamentary procedure, a discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee by "discharging" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution. [1] The signatures of an absolute majority of House members are required.
The Presiding Officer is, however, required to recognize the first senator who rises to speak. Thus, the Presiding Officer has little control over the course of debate. Customarily, the majority leader and minority leader are accorded priority during debates, even if another senator rises first. All speeches must be addressed to the Presiding ...