[Note:] 1981 SB 206 was limited to repealing a statute (s.143.075) which prohibited advertising the availability of venereal disease treatment services. The statute contained a reference to abortions and miscarriages.
S.Sub.1 attempted to continue the advertising prohibition, removing the reference to "veneral disease treatment" but retaining a revised reference to "abortion or miscarriage".
The chair [Pres. Risser] stated that pursuant to Senate Rule 50 (5) an attempt by the substitute amendment to amend or repeal the bill is not germane. The chair ruled the point of order well taken.
Senate Journal of May 21, 1981 .......... Page: 453
Point of order:
Senator Bablitch raised the point of order that senate substitute amendment 1 [to Assembly Bill 320, relating to eliminating the expiration date for
collective bargaining impasse resolution procedures for local government employes other than law enforcement and fire fighting personnel] was not germane.
Ruling of the chair [Pres. Risser]:
It is the chair's opinion that Senate Rule 50 (5) is the prevailing rule as pointed out by both Senator Bablitch and Senator Hanaway.
599 The rule in part states that an amendment amending a section repealed by the original proposal is not germane.
[Note:] An identical substitute to 1981 AB 320 had already been ruled "not germane" in the assembly (A.Jour. 5/7/81, p. 466).
1981 AB 320 repealed the 10/31/81 sunset of "mediation arbitration" and, thereby, made the procedure permanent. A.Sub.1 proposed to postpone the sunset to 10/31/85 - rather than delaying the effective date for making the procedure permanent, the substitute merely extended by 4 years the life expectancy of the temporary procedure.
Senate substitute amendment 1 attempts to amend a section repealed by Assembly Bill 320. The substitute amendment is attempting to change the intent of the bill and is therefore not germane.
Therefore, the point of order is well taken.
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Assembly Journal of March 26, 1980 .......... Page: 3121
Point of order:
Representative Shabaz rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 166 [relating to issuing special identification cards for disabled persons, granting rule-making authority and providing a penalty] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54. The speaker took the point of order under advisement.
[Note:] The bill required special identification cards for disabled (handicapped) persons using handicapped vehicle registration plates to park the vehicle notwithstanding any time restrictions applicable to the parking space.
A.Sub.1 also required providing parking spaces reserved for handicapped parking in all parking lots.
Assembly Journal of April 2, 1980 .......... Page: 3333
The speaker [Jackamonis] ruled well taken the point of order raised by Representative Shabaz on Wednesday, March 26 that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 166 was not germane.
Assembly Journal of March 13, 1980 .......... Page: 2699
Point of order:
Representative Shabaz rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 1178 [relating to permitting reserve judges to officiate at marriage ceremonies] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (c) [issue already decided].
[Note:] A.Sub.1 was identical to A.Sub.2, which had already been rejected. A.Sub.2 was considered first [in compliance with A.Rule 55 (1) (a)] because it was the last substitute introduced preceding consideration of the bill.
600 The speaker [Jackamonis] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of February 27, 1979 .......... Page: 215
Point of order:
Representative Lallensack rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 46 [relating to increasing the ceiling on the public debt for veterans' mortgage loans and making an appropriation] was not germane under Assembly Rule 50 because the constitutional amendment providing for public debt for veterans' housing which was approved by the people in April 1975 (Wis. Constitution Article VIII, Sections 3 and 7) provided for general obligation bonding and not revenue bonding as contained in the substitute amendment.
The speaker [Jackamonis] ruled the point of order not well taken because amendments to bills are not required to be germane to the constitution. He also ruled: 1) the substitution of revenue bonding for general obligation bonding was a matter of particularized details and not one individual proposition amending another, 2) the substitute was intended to accomplish the same purpose in a different manner, and 3) the scope of the proposal was not expanded by changing the amount of the appropriation.
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Senate Journal of October 10, 1979 .......... Page: 801
[Point of order:]
Senator Strohl raised the point of order that senate substitute amendment 3 to Senate Bill 355 [relating to broadening the emergency fuel assistance law] was not germane.
Senator Lorge asked unanimous consent that senate substitute amendment 3 be treated as if it were germane. Senator Bablitch objected.
The chair [Pres. Risser] ruled the point of order well taken.
Senate Bill 355 as originally drafted relates to broadening an emergency fuel assistance program and to that only.
Senate substitute amendment 3 attempts to incorporate all of the provisions of Assembly Bill 777, which relates to alternative energy incentives. The amendment would totally alter the nature of the original purpose and therefore under Senate Rule 50 (1) the amendment is not germane.
Senator Opitz appealed the ruling of the chair. [Display of roll call vote omitted; ayes-22, noes-10.] So the decision of the Chair shall stand as the judgment of the Senate.
Sunset laws
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Assembly Journal of June 8, 1989 .......... Page: 214
Point of order:
Representative Coleman rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 10 to Senate Bill 7 [relating to making permanent the requirement that certain motor vehicle operators and passengers use safety belts] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (1).
601 Representative Hauke asked unanimous consent that the assembly stand informal for twenty-five minutes. Granted.
[Note (the information appears to contradict ruling made):] The bill was limited to delaying the sunset date for mandatory seat belt use from June 30, 1989, to June 30, 1991, and providing for a November 1990 advisory referendum on making the seat belt law permanent.
A.Amdt-10 expanded the scope of the proposal by requiring that, beginning July 1, 1990, no new or used automobile could be bought, sold, leased, traded or transferred in Wisconsin unless the automobile was equipped with both lap and shoulder restraints for each seating area in the back seat.
The amendment included the appropriate addition to the bill's title: "requiring the installation and use of certain safety belts in automobiles".
Ruling of the chair:
The speaker [Loftus] ruled the point of order not well taken.
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Senate Journal of July 1, 1975 .......... Page: 1032
[Point of order:]
[Assembly Bill 409, relating to the effective expiration date of chapter 157, laws of 1973 - temporary emergency energy regulations]
Senator Chilsen raised the point of order that ss. 157 [chapter 157, laws of 1973] could no longer be amended as the statute had expired.
The chair [Lt.Gov. Schreiber] ruled the point of order not well taken.
Suspension of constitution or state law not permitted
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Assembly Journal of October 27, 1983 .......... Page: 551
[Motion cannot suspend constitutional requirement:]
Representative Johnson rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 14 to Assembly Bill 7, October 1983 Special Session [relating to taxation of milk assessments and refunds of them, garnishment of the proceeds from the sale of agricultural products, use of nondairy products in state and municipal buildings prohibited, distribution of cheese at tourist information centers, foreclosure by advertisement, promotion of Wisconsin products, dissolution of a consent order regarding dairy advertising and granting rule-making authority], was not germane under Assembly Rule 93 (1) [in special session, amendment must fit within call].
[Note:] A.Amdt.14 proposed to replace the inheritance tax with an estate tax.
602 The speaker [Loftus] ruled the point of order well taken.
Representative Merkt moved that Assembly Rule 93 be suspended.
The speaker [Loftus] ruled the motion out of order under Article IV Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution.
Representative Merkt appealed the decision of the chair on the germaneness of assembly amendment 14 to Assembly Bill 7, October 1983 Special Session.
Representative Merkt asked unanimous consent to withdraw his appeal.
Granted.
Assembly Journal of October 4, 1983 .......... Page: 360
[Motion cannot suspend state law; effective date of redistricting:]
Representative T. Thompson moved that the assembly return to using the district numbers in effect at the beginning of the 1983 legislative session.
Speaker Loftus ruled the motion out of order because 1983 Wisconsin Act 29 [relating to redistricting the senate and assembly based on the 1980 federal census of population and making miscellaneous changes in the statutes pertaining to decennial legislative redistricting] had taken effect.
Representative T. Thompson moved that the rules be suspended to allow the motion.
Speaker Loftus ruled the motion out of order.
Suspension of law (express or implied) under Stitt case[Note:] In State ex rel. La Fotte v. Stitt, 114 Wis.2d 358 (1983), the court stated (p. 364): "If the legislature fails to follow self-adopted procedural rules in enacting legislation, and such rules are not mandated by the constitution, courts will not intervene to declare the legislation invalid." Courts will invalidate legislation only for failure to comply with constitutional - but not, statutory - procedural requirements.
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Assembly Journal of March 20, 1986 .......... Page: 939
Point of order:
Representative T. Thompson rose to the point of order that Assembly Bill 54 [relating to prohibiting investment of public retirement trust funds in certain investments relating to the Republic of South Africa] was not properly before
the assembly under section 13.50 (6) (b) of the Wisconsin Statutes because the bill required a report from the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems.
603 [Note:] Speaker Loftus agreed with a narrow interpretation of s. 13.50 (6)(a), stats., that the bill did not create, modify or make any provision for the retirement of "public employes". The speaker also pointed out that whether or not the bill was referred to the JSCRS would have no effect on the bill's ultimate legality "if passed and signed into law. The Wisconsin supreme court recently stated that the failure of the legislature to follow procedural statutes governing legislative consideration of proposals has no effect on the validity of the resulting law"; State ex rel. La Follette v. Stitt, 114 Wis. 2d 358 (1983).
After the bill was passed by the assembly, a similar point of order was raised in the senate. President Risser agreed with the broad view that a bill affecting the investment of trust fund moneys had an impact on the retirement "system" and referred the bill to JSCRS (Sen.Jour. 3/26/86, p. 807).
The speaker [Loftus] ruled the point of order not well taken.
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Senate Journal of February 27, 1986 .......... Page: 634
[Point of order:]
Senator George raised the point of order that pursuant to Joint Rule 41, Senate Bill 31 [relating to obscenity and defining obscene material and obscene performance] must be referred to joint committee on Finance. The chair took the point of order under advisement.
Senate Journal of March 6, 1986 .......... Page: 663
[Point of order:]
Senator Chilsen raised the point of order that the president of the senate was required by the Senate Rules to deliver his ruling on Senate Bill 31.
Ruling of the chair:
Senator from the 6th, Senator George, raised the point of order that referral to the joint committee on finance of Senate Bill 31 was required. The Chair took the point of order under advisement.
The Senator from the 6th made reference to the fiscal estimates attached to Senate Bill 31 that were prepared in accordance with Joint Rule 41, and the fact that they indicate a negative impact on state funds and therefore require Senate Bill 31 to be referred to the joint committee on finance.
The Senator from the 6th, the Senator from the 20th, Senator Stitt, and others who were heard on the point of order spoke at length about the case law in reference to this question, in particular, the State ex rel. La Follette v. Stitt (Stitt case) and State ex rel. General Motors Corp v. Oak Creek (Oak Creek case).
