Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 632
Point of order:
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 3 to Assembly Bill 1126 [relating to abolishing the property tax levy for school operations and establishing a school funding study committee] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
315 [Note:] On 2/15/94, the assembly spent about 7 hours wrangling over AB 1126, but finally passed the bill 81 to 18. In the process all 3 substitute amendments, and the following assembly amendments to the bill, were ruled "not germane": 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 25.
At issue was the "nature" of the proposal. The bill had been drafted with great care to give the broadest possible latitude to a 6-member committee including the governor, state superintendent, president of the senate, speaker of the assembly and the minority leader from each house, in developing a proposal for replacing the local school property taxes for school district operating expenses with state revenue from unspecified sources.
Although, ordinarily, the "narrowing" of a proposal is a germane amendment, in this case it was ruled that, because the bill placed absolutely no restrictions on the committee in trying to find revenue sources other than the property tax for the funding of school operations, any amendment giving instructions to the committee was an expansion of the scope of the bill's section establishing the mission of the school funding study committee, and thus changed the nature of the proposal.
A.Amdts 7 (advancing the property tax sunset date from 1997 to 1995) and 14 (committee report to describe several funding options) were germane and were adopted.
A.Sub-3 expanded the scope of the proposal by linking the abolition of the school operations property tax with additional school aids and school district cost controls.
A.Sub.Amdts-2 and 1 (below) proposed immediate increases in individual and corporate income taxes and sales and use taxes, and repealed the county tax levy rate limit.
A.Amdt-1 expanded the scope by including a separate legislative audit bureau study of public school per-student education costs.
A.Amdt-2 proposed to require referendum submission of any law enacted to replace the school operations property tax.
A.Amdt-5 prohibited legislative amendment of any report submitted to the legislature by the school funding committee.
A.Amdt-8 directed the school funding study committee to submit to the legislature recommendations and legislation to assure that educational opportunities in all school districts are as nearly equal as possible.
A.Amdt-9 required the school funding committee to recommend a plan that obtains at least 20% of its funding from reductions in existing general purpose revenue appropriations.
A.Amdt-10 directed the school funding study committee to make specific recommendations for school district cost controls.
A.Amdt-12 prohibited the school funding study committee from including a property tax for education in its recommendation.
A.Amdt-13 proposed to make abolition of the school operations property tax contingent on approval of that question in a statewide referendum.
A.Amdt-16 prohibited the school funding study committee from recommending increases in the personal income tax.
A.Amdt-17 prohibited the school funding study committee from recommending increases in the sales and use tax rates.
A.Amdt-18 required approval of any law providing funding for school operations in a statewide referendum at a spring election.
A.Amdt-19 proposed that the school funding study committee would consist of all member of the assembly.
A.Amdt-25 proposed a voucher-based funding system for primary and secondary education, not restricted to the public schools, as directed by the parent or guardian of each child.
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 633
Point of order:
316 Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 5 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 634
Point of order:
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 8 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 9 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 635
Point of order:
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 10 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 12 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 13 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 636
Point of order:
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 16 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 17 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 18 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 15, 1994 .......... Page: 637
Point of order:
317 Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 19 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Kunicki rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 25 to Assembly Bill 1126 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The chair (Speaker pro tempore Carpenter) ruled the point of order well taken.
1 9 9 3 S E N A T E
Senate Journal of March 23, 1994 .......... Page: 902
[Point of order:]
Senator Schultz raised the point of order that Senate amendment 5 to Senate Bill 771 [relating to representations in connection with the sale of dairy products, bovine somatotropin and granting rule-making authority] was not germane.
[Note:] The bill was limited to requiring statements concerning the use or nonuse of bovine somatotropin (also known as "rBGH", recombinant bovine growth hormone) to be truthful, prohibiting unsubstantiated claims that milk was produced by cows that had not been administered synthetic bovine somatotropin and prohibiting claims that milk from cows treated with the synthetic hormone is somehow less wholesome.
Sen.Amdt-5 attempted to change the nature of the proposal by placing restrictions on the sale and distribution of dairy products not certified as rBGH-free.
Sen.Amdt-11 (below), which proposed to allow only licensed veterinarians to sell rBGH to milk producers, was not germane as an amendment relating to a specific subject attached to a bill dealing with a different specific subject.
[Section 513 (1) of Mason's Manual expressly states that a tie vote on an appeal from a decision of the chair sustains the decision of the chair.]
The Chair ruled the point well taken.
[Point of order:]
Senator Schultz raised the point of order that Senate amendment 11 was not germane to Senate Bill 771.
The Chair ruled the point well taken. Senator Wineke appealed the ruling of the Chair. The question was: Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the Senate?
The ayes and noes were required and the vote was: [Display of roll call vote omitted; ayes-16, noes-16.] The decision of the Chair stands as the judgment of the Senate.
Senate Journal of February 16, 1994 .......... Page: 731
[Point of order:]
318 Senator Rosenzweig raised the point of order that Senate amendment 1 to Senate substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 722 [relating to expanding the small employer insurance board and renaming it the comprehensive health care board; modified
community rating, fair market standards, portability, preexisting condition exclusions and guarantee issue for individual and certain group health benefit plans; establishing a standard plan; allowing the group insurance board to contract with purchasing coalitions; and granting rule-making authority] is not germane.
[Note:] The original bill and Sen.Sub-1 attempted to provide for comprehensive health care within the existing health insurance framework.
Sen.Amdt-1 to Sen.Sub-1 changed the nature of the proposal by providing, for the present, that certain health care providers cannot refer patients to a health care entity in which the provider has a financial interest and, for the future, by requiring the group insurance board to submit proposed legislation establishing a universal health care plan.
Sen.Sub-2 (below), which provided for an immediate single-payer, publicly financed health care system without containing any of the provisions of the original bill, was not germane because it related to a different subject and was intended to achieve a different purpose than the original proposal.
The Chair ruled the point well taken.
Senate Journal of February 16, 1994 .......... Page: 733
[Point of order:]
Senator Leean raised the point of order that Senate substitute amendment 2 to Senate Bill 722 is not germane.
The Chair ruled the point of order well taken.
Senate Journal of October 7, 1993 .......... Page: 450
[Point of order:]
Senator Huelsman raised the point of order that Senate substitute amendment 1 [to Senate Bill 314, relating to the limits on liability for improvements to real property] was not germane.
[Note:] The existing statute prohibited actions for injury arising from the defective or unsafe condition of improvements to real estate more than 6 years after substantial completion of the improvements. That provision had been held unconstitutional in a 1989 case.
Senate Bill 314 extended the period to 10 years after substantial completion of the improvement. Generally, a person did not have a right to sue for an injury or wrongful death resulting from a deficiency or defect in an
improvement to real property that occurs more than 10 years after the substantial completion of the improvement.
Senate substitute amendment 1, by substituting a 6-year statute of limitations that begins to run when the injury occurs rather then when the improvement is completed, amounted to a significant expansion of the scope of the proposal and changed the character of the proposal.
The Chair [President Rude] ruled the point well taken.
319 1 9 9 1 A S S E M B L Y
Assembly Journal of June 30, 1992 .......... Page: 1266
Point of order:
Representative Prosser rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 3 to Assembly Joint Resolution 1, June 1992 Spec.Sess., [relating to distinguishing the state lottery from prohibited gambling, limiting "lottery", prohibiting lottery expansion to other games, and removing from the gambling section of the constitution the prohibition of individual divorce grants by the legislature (first consideration)] was not germane under Assembly Rules 54 (3) (c) and (f). The chair took the point of order under advisement.
[Note:] A.Amdt-3 was substantially similar to A.Amdt-2, which the assembly had just tabled on a vote of 71 to 26.
Both amendments proposed to change the nature of the proposal by moving video games from the enumeration of prohibited gambling and allowing the state to conduct video gaming as a lottery.
Assembly Journal of June 30, 1992 .......... Page: 1268
Ruling of the chair:
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled well taken the point of order raised by Representative Prosser that assembly amendment 3 to Assembly Joint Resolution 1, June 1992 Spec.Sess., was not germane under Assembly Rules 54 (3) (c) and (f).
Assembly Journal of May 20, 1992 .......... Page: 1224
Point of order:
Representative Bock rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 1 to assembly substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 1, April 1992 Spec.Sess., [relating to restricting gambling conducted by the state to the forms of gambling that the state is currently conducting, the forms of gambling that may be conducted by Indians on tribal lands, background investigations of Indian gaming employes and vendors, simulcasts of horse and dog races from out-of-state racetracks, providing grants for research on or the treatment of compulsive gambling and making an appropriation] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (e) and (f).
[Note:] Limiting legalized gambling to the games currently conducted by the state, Apr.'92 Spec.Sess. SB 1 specifically listed video games of chance and video gambling machines as games not authorized.
A.Amdt-1 to A.Sub.Amdt-1 proposed to declare "video gaming" one of the authorized forms of gambling in this state.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of March 4, 1992 .......... Page: 908
Point of order:
320 Representative Krug rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 639 [relating to payment of fees by persons who discharge air contaminants and wastewater] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
[Note:] The purpose of the bill was to exempt municipalities from payment of DNR-imposed fees for discharge of air contaminants and wastewater, and to require persons who discharge wastewater into municipally-owned wastewater treatment plants to pay the wastewater discharge fee.
A.Sub.Amdt-2 changed the purpose of the proposal. There would be no municipal exception, but municipally-owned wastewater treatment plants could attempt to recover a proportionate share of the fee from persons using the treatment plant for their wastewater.
The speaker [Speaker Kunicki] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 4, 1992 .......... Page: 777
Point of order:
