Revision of the Rules of Order - the new rules of the game in the House of Representatives.

For an effective public affairs strategy, it is of course essential to know the procedures and norms in the House. In this piece, we look at what new ground rules apply to the brand-new House of Representatives after the election recess and where these rules come from.

Background

In the year 1815, the first Rules of Order were adopted in the House of Representatives. Since then, the Rules of Procedure have been revised and expanded several times. The last general revision took place in 1994, in which, among other things, it was decided to organize committee meetings. With a new committee structure of standing, temporary and general committees also introduced the well-known debate forms of General Consultation, Memorandum Consultation and Legislative Consultation.

On several occasions over the past 27 years, minor changes have been made to the Rules of Procedure. For example, in 1997 the profile for the Speaker of the House was laid down in the Rules, in 1998 the VAO (two-minute debate with the possibility of tabling a motion) came into being, and in 2003 thematic committees were introduced as a new committee form. In 2004, the urgent debate was introduced, which since 2011 has gone by the name of thirty-paragraph debate. In 2006, citizens were given the opportunity to place topics on the agenda of the House of Representatives through a citizens' initiative.

Van der Staaij Committee

A Working Group on Revision of the Rules of Procedure was established in 2018, led by Kees van der Staaij (SGP). This committee initially explored whether overall revision is needed and, if so, what revisions are needed. The report of this committee was sent to the House on October 30, 2019, in conjunction with a proposal for revision.

The common thread throughout the overall review is to improve the balance of the Chamber's work. Van de Staaij's working group noted in the study that the balance between debates in the plenary chamber and committee room left much to be desired. According to the working group, the focus of the Chamber is too much on the plenary hall with its familiar blue seats.

For example, requests for debate requests and letters are submitted only during the plenary rules of business. According to the working group, this could sometimes be done more efficiently in the committee room.

Because of the Chamber's focus on the plenary agenda, there is a long waiting list of unscheduled debates. The full agenda often leads to evening debates and suddenly inserted votes. Committee meetings have to give way to this and the House agenda becomes very unpredictable as a result. The working group's proposals should restore regularity and structure to the plenary agenda.

To this end, the working group proposed a number of concrete changes to the Rules of Procedure. On Feb. 25, the House of Representatives agreed to the overall revision and related proposals. Below is a selection of those new rules of the game that will go into effect after the election recess.

RvW

The number of plenary arrangements of proceedings will be reduced to one moment per week. Only plenary debates can be requested in that arrangement from now on. The Presidium is responsible for scheduling this time, but it is expected to be on Tuesday afternoons. There will still be room to schedule an additional arrangement of business when urgent, topical issues arise.

COE in committee

Requests for letters from the government will now be handled in committees. This "committee order" is held at the beginning of each procedural meeting. The idea behind this is that a committee must first be sufficiently informed before a plenary debate on an issue can be held. The exception is letters for the benefit of a plenary debate that will take place within a week.

Fixed time votes

The starting point the Rules of Procedure is to have votes take place as much as possible at fixed times during the week. This incorporates the principle of fixed voting times into the Rules of Procedure, but does allow for intermediate votes when necessary. An amendment to include a fixed time for voting (at 4 p.m.) on Thursdays in addition to Tuesday afternoons was rejected.

Due date debates

The number of unplanned debates is an increasing problem. Because debates can often be held only after a long wait, it is difficult for minorities to put an issue on the agenda. To keep the long list of debates manageable, all debate requests expire if they are not scheduled within 12 weeks. This deadline can be extended twice. Thus, a debate can never be scheduled for more than 36 weeks.

Strengthened role of committees

In addition to the new committee arrangement, in which letters and debates can be requested, the important role of House committees will be underscored by replacing the somewhat obscure term "general consultation" with a more appropriate name: "committee debate. The VAO or VSO will henceforth be called "two-minute debate.

Procedure meeting look back

To further improve the transparency of decision-making in committees, procedural meetings can always be watched back via Debat Gemist website.

Motions

Another problem in the Chamber is the explosion in the number of motions filed. At this point, the working group calls for a more focused and selective use of motions by Chamber members. In addition, the working group endorses other developments to explore and encourage alternatives to the filing of motions, such as registering commitments in the names of Chamber members. In view of the effective use of the Chamber's time, the support requirement for motions will be removed. The winged phrase "'Is the filing of this motion adequately supported? It is. Then it is part of the debate.'" is hereby deleted.

Digital Affairs

A standing committee on Digital Affairs will be created.

Article-by-article consideration of bills

An amendment has been adopted which establishes that the House may decide to continue article-by-article consideration of a bill after general consideration. In doing so, the House may decide that the article-by-article consideration will take place in committee in a legislative deliberation

End times of chamber debates

A motion was passed asking the Presidium to come up with a structural solution to the problem of the end times of Chamber meetings. Because of the current corona measures, the Chamber ends no later than 7 p.m., but under normal circumstances, debates can continue well into the night.