On the first day of the 112 th Congress, the House agreed to H.Res. 5 , which made several changes to House Rules affecting floor proceedings. 5 added a new paragraph to House Rule XII that prohibits a Member from introducing a bill or joint resolution unless it is accompanied by a statement citing "as specifically as practicable" powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to take the action proposed in the legislation. The new Rule further requires that the statements appear in the Congressional Record and be made available in electronic form. H.Res. The Clerk simply determines whether or not a statement is attached. It is a long-standing principle of House procedure that the question of constitutionality is disposed of when the House votes to consider the bill or when it votes to approve the bill. Three-day Availability Requirement for Unreported Measures

H.Res. 5 added a new clause 11 to House Rule XXI that prohibits unreported bills and joint resolutions from being considered on the House floor unless the measure has been available for at least three calendar days. Public Availability of Measures and Matters in Electronic Form

H.Res. It is not a requirement under the Rule that the measures be available in the designated location; instead, the new House Rule is meant to provide an additional means through which Members, congressional staff, and the general public can access these documents. What H.Res. 5 established was that, where existing House Rules require that a matter be "available to Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner," that requirement can be met by placing the document online on a publicly available website designated by the House Administration Committee. 5 also amended clause 6 of House Rule XVIII to allow the chair of the Committee of the Whole to reduce to two minutes the minimum time allowed for a vote that is cast in a series of postponed votes on amendments. Prior to this rules change, the minimum time required for a vote in such a series of amendment votes was five minutes. Use of Electronic Devices on the House Floor

H.Res. 5 modified clause 5 of Rule XVII to prohibit the use of a mobile electronic device on the floor "that impairs decorum." Prior to this change, the Rule explicitly prohibited the use of a "wireless telephone" or a "personal computer" on the floor. The change is not intended to lead to a more permissive policy regarding the use of electronic devices. 5 eliminated from the Rules the authority granted to the Delegates (representing American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands) and the Resident Commissioner (from Puerto Rico) to vote in and preside over the Committee of the Whole. Under the former Rule, if the votes cast by the Delegates and Resident Commissioner made a difference to the outcome of the vote on an amendment, then the Committee of the Whole would automatically rise, and another vote on the amendment would take place in the full House (where the Delegates and Resident Commissioner could not vote).
On the first day of the 112th Congress, the House agreed to H.Res. 5, which made six changes to House Rules affecting floor proceedings.
H.Res. 5 added a new paragraph to House Rule XII that prohibits a Member from introducing a bill or joint resolution unless it is accompanied by a statement citing "as specifically as practicable" powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to take the action proposed in the legislation. The new Rule further requires that the statements appear in the Congressional Record and be made available in electronic form. The content of the statement is not evaluated by the House or any House officer at the time of introduction; the House Clerk determines whether a statement is attached and, if it is not, then the bill cannot be introduced. It is a long-standing principle of House procedure that questions of constitutionality are disposed of when the House votes to consider the bill or when it votes to approve the bill.
H.Res. 5 added a new clause 11 to House Rule XXI that prohibits unreported bills and joint resolutions from being considered on the House floor unless the measure has been available for at least three calendar days; this is similar to an existing three-day availability requirement for reported bills. H.Res. 5 also added a clause to House Rule XXIX establishing that, where existing House Rules require that a matter be "available to Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner," that requirement can be met by placing the document online on a publicly available website designated by the House Administration Committee. The new House Rule is meant to provide an additional means through which Members, congressional staff, and the general public can access these documents. In addition to these formal rules changes, House practices have changed in the 112th Congress regarding the public availability of legislative text in electronic form prior to floor consideration.
H.Res. 5 amended clause 6 of House Rule XVIII to allow the chair of the Committee of the Whole to reduce to "not less than two minutes" the minimum time allowed for a vote that is cast in a series of postponed votes on amendments. Prior to this rules change, the minimum time required for a vote in such a series of amendment votes was five minutes.
H.Res. 5 modified clause 5 of Rule XVII to prohibit the use of a mobile electronic device on the floor "that impairs decorum." Prior to this change, the Rule explicitly prohibited the use of a "wireless telephone" or a "personal computer" on the floor. The change in language is not intended to lead to a more permissive policy regarding the use of electronic devices, but instead preserves existing policy while reflecting the evolving nature of technology and the possibility that some computing devices can be used unobtrusively.
H.Res. 5 eliminated from the Rules the authority granted to the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to vote in and preside over the Committee of the Whole. Under the former Rule, they could vote in the Committee of the Whole, but if their votes made a difference to the outcome of the vote, then the Committee would automatically rise, and the determinative vote on the amendment would take place in the full House (where the Delegates and Resident Commissioner cannot vote).