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.