HCR 19: Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature relating to abstention from voting; and providing for an effective date for the amendment.
00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 19 01 Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature relating 02 to abstention from voting; and providing for an effective date for the amendment. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. Rule 34(b), Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, is amended to read: 05 (b) Abstention. Except as provided in this subsection, every [EVERY] 06 member present in the house shall vote [UNLESS THE HOUSE FOR SPECIAL 07 REASONS PERMITS A MEMBER TO ABSTAIN]. All motions to excuse 08 [EXCUSING] a member from voting shall be made before the house divides or before 09 the call for the yeas and nays is commenced. A member requesting to be excused from 10 voting may make a brief oral statement of the reasons for the request, and the question 11 of refusing [GRANTING] permission to abstain shall be taken without further debate. 12 The member who requests to be excused from voting may not vote on the 13 question of refusing permission. A member may not explain a vote, may not discuss 14 the question while the yeas and nays are being called, and may not change a vote after 15 the roll call result has been announced. Upon division and count of the house of any 16 question a member who is not within the chamber may not be counted. A member is
01 [MAY NOT BE] permitted to abstain unless permission to abstain is refused by 02 [EXCEPT UPON THE] unanimous consent of the members present who must vote 03 on the question [OF THE MEMBERSHIP]. 04 * Sec. 2. The amendment proposed by this resolution takes effect immediately.