UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT

SEC. 750. This is a very useful part of parliamentary machinery and its proper use greatly facilitates business. It has found, in recent years, great favor in our National Congress because it does away with the formality of a vote. One objection defeats unanimous. consent and for this reason it would seem useless, even senseless, to submit a question upon which the entire membership is agreed. Take, for instance, the very frequent motion to suspend the rules. Surely nothing is to be gained by taking the question. This motion requires but a two-thirds vote and if unanimous consent is given to suspend the rules there is greater unanimity than there would be if two-thirds were for and one-third against.

(A) Unanimous or general consent is asked most frequently when a member desires to do anything that is out of order. However, any motion prevails when unanimous consent is obtained. The following is the usual manner employed in ascertaining if unanimous consent is given.

Senator. Mr. President: I ask unanimous consent for the bill just reported from the committee with amendments to be printed as amended.

Chair: Is there objection? (After a pause.) The chair hears none. Without objection, it is ordered that the bill be printed as amended or if objection is made; Chair: There is objection, does the senator desire to put his request in the form of a motion?

Member. I move the suspension of rules and that the bill be printed as amended.

Chair puts the question. The motion prevails and it is so ordered.

FORM FOR OFFERING AMENDMENTS

SEC. 751. A commendable practice in Congress in offering amendments is to show the intent of the mover and the result if the amendment is agreed to thus:

In line 24 after the word "obligation" insert "now existing" to make the line read, "so far as the same is not inconsistent with treaty obligations now existing." The foregoing is a reliable guard against errors in the final engrossment.

CHAPTER XXVII

MISCELLANEOUS (PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE)

CAN MEMBERS BE COMPELLED TO VOTE?

SEC. 752. The rules of the House and Senate which are modeled after the rules of the National House of Representatives, declare that every member present shall vote.

(A) The rules of both the House and Senate in Ohio. require every member present to vote.

(B) In the National Congress it has been found impracticable to try to enforce the rules requiring every member to vote and it seems the weight of authority also favors the idea that there is no authority in the House to deprive a member of his right to vote. (Hinds, Vol. 5.) America's great parliamentary writer, Cushing, agrees with this practice of Congress that there is no authority to compel or prevent a member from voting.

MEMBERS-RESIGNATION OF

SEC. 753. If a member of the House or Senate shall desire to resign while the Assembly is in session, he should file his resignation with the House of which he is a member. The following form of resignation is used in the National Congress.

Form of Resignation

Columbus, Ohio.

(A) Mr. Speaker or President (as the case may be). Sir: I hereby resign my office as representative in the General Assembly of Ohio from

county.

With great respect,

WHEN RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE

(B) A member's resignation is not effective until it has been accepted by a majority vote of the members elected to the House in which it is presented, exclusive of the vote of the person tendering his resignation. If members resign when the Assembly is not in session, resignations must be presented to the Governor and they become effective when accepted by the Governor. (Sec. 47 G. C.) When resignations tendered to either House are accepted, the House should then order the Speaker or President to notify the Governor of such resignation.

EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS

SEC. 754. Many of the appointments that the Governor is authorized to make must, under the laws, be confirmed by the Senate. The following will show procedure in the Senate when such nominations are received. It has been the custom upon motion to refer them to the committee on rules for consideration and to report recommendations before final action is taken.

In my examination of this procedure in other states, I have found that in many of them it is the invariable custom, before taking final action upon executive nominations, for the Senate to refer such nominations to the senator or senators representing the district in which the person nominated resides, for approval or disapproval.

(A) It would seem that this is a courtesy due the senator. The rule of the National Senate on the subject of executive nominations is as follows: Rule 38.

(B) Section 1. When nominations shall be made by the President of the United States to the Senate, they shall, unless otherwise ordered, be referred to appropriate committees; and the final question on every nomination shall be, "Will the Senate advise and consent to this nomination?" which question shall not be put on the same day on which the nomination is received, nor

on the day which it may be reported by committee, unless by unanimous consent.

(C) Section 2. All information communicated or remarks made by a senator when acting upon nominations concerning the character or qualifications of the person nominated, also all votes upon any nomination shall be kept secret. If, however, charges shall be made against the person nominated, the committee may, in its discretion, notify such nominee thereof, but the name of the person making such charges shall not be disclosed. The fact that a nomination has been made, or that it has been confirmed or rejected, shall not be regarded as a secret.

(D) Section 3. When a nomination is confirmed. or rejected, any senator voting in the majority may move for a reconsideration on the same day on which the vote was taken, or on either of the next two days of actual executive session of the Senate; but if a notification of the confirmation or rejection of the nomination shall have been sent to the President before the expiration of the time within which a motion to reconsider may be made, the motion to reconsider shall be accompanied by a motion to request the President to return such notification to the Senate. Any motion to reconsider the vote on the nomination may be laid on the table without prejudice to the nomination, and shall be a final disposition of such motion.

(E) Section 4. Nominations confirmed or rejected by the Senate shall not be returned by the secretary to the President until the expiration of the time limited for making a motion to reconsider the same, or while a motion to reconsider is pending, unless otherwise ordered by the Senate.

(F) Section 5. When the Senate shall adjourn or take a recess for more than thirty days, all motions to reconsider a vote upon the nomination which has been confirmed or rejected by the Senate, which shall be pending at the time of taking an adjournment or recess,