[HOUSE PRACTICE, 104th Congress, 2d Session]
[A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID:hp_txt-9]
[Page 207-210]
[[Page 207]]
CALENDARS
Sec. 1. In General; Kinds of Calendars
Sec. 2. Referrals to Calendars
Sec. 3. -- Erroneous Referrals
Sec. 4. Discharge From Calendars
Sec. 5. The Corrections Calendar
Research References
4 Hinds Secs. 3115-3118
7 Cannon Secs. 881-1023
7 Deschler Ch 22 Secs. 1, 2
Manual Secs. 742-747
Sec. 1 . In General; Kinds of Calendars
The House under its rules maintains various calendars to
facilitate the scheduling and consideration of its legislative
business. See Rule XIII. These include:
<box> The House Calendar. This calendar receives referrals of public
bills that do not raise revenue or directly or indirectly make
or require an appropriation of money or property. Manual
Sec. 742.
<box> The Union Calendar. Measures belonging on the Union Calendar
are those on subjects which fall within the jurisdiction of the
Committee of the Whole. Deschler Ch 22 Sec. 2. Subjects which
must be considered in the Committee of the Whole are specified
in Rule XXIII clause 3. Bills appropriating money or property
are referred to the Union Calendar (Manual Sec. 742). The same
is true of bills authorizing an undertaking by a governmental
agency which will incur an expense to the government, however
small. 8 Cannon Sec. 2401.
<box> The Private Calendar (to which are referred bills of a private
character). See Private Calendar.
<box> The Corrections Calendar (Sec. 5, infra).
<box> The Discharge Calendar (to which are referred motions to
discharge committees). Manual Sec. 747. See Discharging
Measures From Committees.
These calendars--the Discharge Calendar excepted--consist
primarily of lists of measures on which committee action has been
completed and which are ready for floor action. They are printed daily
and appear in Calendars of the United States House of Representatives.
[[Page 208]]
Calendar Wednesday is not strictly speaking a legislative
calendar. The term refers to the procedure for the call of committees
on Wednesday for the consideration of unprivileged bills on the House
and Union Calendars. See Calendar Wednesday.
Sec. 2 . Referrals to Calendars
Measures Reported Favorably
Bills that are favorably reported from a committee are referred to
the appropriate calendar under the direction of the Speaker unless
referred to other committees under clause 5 of Rule X. Manual
Sec. 743. Public bills favorably reported are first referred either to
the Union Calendar or to the House Calendar and those that are not
required to be referred to the former are referred to the latter.
Deschler Ch 22 Sec. 2.
The reference of a bill to a particular calendar is governed by
the text of the bill as referred to committee, and amendments reported
by a committee are not considered in making this determination. 8
Cannon Sec. 2392. Amendments to private bills, see Bills.
Measures Reported Unfavorably
Bills that are adversely reported from committee are not referred
to a calendar unless a request to that effect is made by the committee
or a Member. Deschler Ch 22 Sec. 1.1. Under the applicable House rule,
Members have three days in which to request such a referral. Manual
Sec. 744. Precedents indicate that adversely reported resolutions also
may be referred to a calendar by the Speaker when a timely request is
made by a Member pursuant to this rule. 93-2, May 30, 1974, p 16865.
Absent such a request, an adversely reported measure is laid on the
table. Manual Sec. 744. Thereafter, it may be taken from the table and
placed on the calendar only by unanimous consent. 6 Cannon Sec. 750.
Privileged measures are excepted from the general rule that only
favorably reported bills are referred to a calendar. Adverse reports
on privileged resolutions (including resolutions of inquiry) are
automatically referred to the proper calendar by the Speaker. 94-2,
Sept. 8, 1976, p 29274.
Measures Reported Improperly
A bill that has been improperly reported from a committee is not
entitled to a place on the calendar, and should be recommitted. 4
Hinds Sec. 3117.
[[Page 209]]
Sec. 3 . -- Erroneous Referrals
A bill that is on the wrong calendar is subject to a point of
order when it is called up for consideration. 6 Cannon Secs. 746, 747.
Such a point of order is untimely if made after consideration of the
measure has begun. 7 Cannon Sec. 856.
An error in the referral of a bill to a calendar may be corrected
pursuant to motion. Such a motion presents a question of the privilege
of the House. 3 Hinds Secs. 2614, 2615. But a mere clerical error in
the calendar, such as an incorrect date, does not give rise to such a
question. 3 Hinds Sec. 2616.
The Speaker has general authority to correct an erroneous
reference by him of a reported bill to a calendar, and to transfer the
bill to the proper calendar. 7 Cannon Sec. 859; 95-1, Sept. 8, 1977, p
28273; 101-2, Sept. 10, 1990, p ____. Thus, a private bill erroneously
referred to the Union Calendar may be transferred to the Private
Calendar by direction of the Speaker. 98-2, Apr. 26, 1984, p 10242.
The transfer of the bill to the proper calendar may be made effective
as of the date of the original reference. Deschler Ch 22 Sec. 1.2; 98-
2, Apr. 26, 1984, p 10242. The Speaker may correct such a reference at
any time before consideration of the bill begins and while the
question of consideration is pending. 6 Cannon Sec. 748.
The authority of the Speaker to correct a calendar reference does
not apply where the reference was made by the House itself. 6 Cannon
Sec. 749.
Sec. 4 . Discharge From Calendars
Although the Speaker has no specific authority under the House
rules to remove a reported bill from the Union Calendar, he may
discharge such a bill for reference to another committee pursuant to
his general responsibility under Rule X clause 5 to fashion sequential
referrals where appropriate. 95-2, Apr. 27, 1978, p 11742; 99-2, June
19, 1986, p 14741. Authority is also given in the Budget Act
[Sec. 401(b)] for the Speaker to discharge a reported bill from the
Union Calendar and make a 15-day referral to the Committee on
Appropriations of reported bills providing certain new entitlement
authority. 95-1, Sept. 8, 1977, p 28153. This authority has sometimes
been rendered inoperative under other Budget Act enforcement
provisions. See Manual Sec. 1007.
Sec. 5 . The Corrections Calendar
In 1995, the House abolished the Consent Calendar and replaced it
with the Corrections Calendar. Under new clause 4 of Rule XIII, bills
favorably reported from committee and on the House or Union Calendar
are also eligi-
[[Page 210]]
ble for placement on the Corrections Calendar. Placement on the
calendar is by direction of the Speaker in his discretion (after
consultation with the Minority Leader). H. Res. 161, June 14, 1995.
Bills that have been on the calendar for three legislative days
may be called up for consideration in the House on the second and
fourth Tuesdays of each month. Such bills are debatable for one hour
but are not subject to amendment unless offered by the committee of
primary jurisdiction or its chairman or his designee. Bills called up
under this procedure require a three-fifths vote for passage. Manual
Sec. 746.