Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Seventy-Sixth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1 Page: 80
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76th LEGISLATURE- REGULAR SESSION
members rise at once, the speaker shall name the one who is to speak first.
This decision shall be final and not open to debate or appeal.
Sec. 24. RECOGNITION. There shall be no appeal from the speaker's
recognition, but the speaker shall be governed by rules and usage in priority
of entertaining motions from the floor. When a member seeks recognition,
the speaker may ask, "For what purpose does the member rise?" or "For what
purpose does the member seek recognition?" and may then decide if
recognition is to be granted.
Sec. 25. INTERRUPTION OF A MEMBER WHO HAS THE FLOOR. A
member who has the floor shall not be interrupted by another member for any
purpose, unless he or she consents to yield to the other member. A member
desiring to interrupt another in debate should first address the speaker for the
permission of the member speaking. The speaker shall then ask the member
who has the floor if he or she wishes to yield, and then announce the
decision of that member. The member who has the floor may exercise
personal discretion as to whether or not to yield, and it is entirely within the
member's discretion to determine who shall interrupt and when.
Sec. 26. YIELDING THE FLOOR. A member who obtains the floor on
recognition of the speaker may not be taken off the floor by a motion, even
the highly privileged motion to adjourn, but if the member yields to another
to make a motion or to offer an amendment, he or she thereby loses the floor.
Sec. 27. RIGHT TO OPEN AND CLOSE DEBATE. The mover of any
proposition, or the member reporting any measure from a committee, or, in
the absence of either of them, any other member designated by such absentee,
shall have the right to open and close the debate, and for this purpose may
speak each time not more than 20 minutes.
Sec. 28. TIME LIMITS ON SPEECHES. All speeches shall be limited to
10 minutes in duration, except as provided in Section 27 of this rule, and
the speaker shall call the members to order at the expiration of their time.
If the house by a majority vote extends the time of any member, the
extension shall be for 10 minutes only. A second extension of time shall be
granted only by unanimous consent. During the last 10 calendar days of the
regular session, and the last 5 calendar days of a special session, Sundays
excepted, all speeches shall be limited to 10 minutes and shall not be
extended. The time limits established by this rule shall include time
consumed in yielding to questions from the floor.
Sec. 29. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF TIMES TO SPEAK. No member shall
speak more than twice on the same question without leave of the house, nor
more than once until every member choosing to speak has spoken, nor shall
any member be permitted to consume the time of another member without
leave of the house being given by a majority vote.
Sec. 30. EFFECT OF ADJOURNMENT ON SPEAKING LIMIT. If a
pending question is not disposed of because of an adjournment of the house,
a member who has spoken twice on the subject shall not be allowed to speak
again without leave of the house.
Sec. 31. OBJECTION TO READING A PAPER. When the reading of a
paper is called for, and objection is made, the matter shall be determined by
a majority vote of the house, without debate.80
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Seventy-Sixth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1, legislative document, 1999; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97442/m1/84/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.