Rule 6.4. Committee on Appropriations; subcommittees

            A. Appropriations. The Committee on Appropriations shall be composed of twenty-five members, of whom seventeen shall be appointed by the Speaker and eight shall be elected, both as provided herein. Of the seventeen appointed members, one member shall be a resident of each of the Public Service Commission districts respectively, one member shall be a resident of each of the congressional districts respectively, and the remainder shall be appointed from the state at large. Of the eight elected members, one member shall be a resident of each of the districts for the election of members to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education respectively; such districts are hereinafter referred to as BESE districts.

            B. The elected members shall be elected in the following manner:

            (1) The election shall be held after the general election for members of the House of Representatives from among the members-elect.

            (2) Each member-elect shall be eligible to be a candidate from the BESE district within which the member-elect resides at the time the election is held.

            (3) Within five days after the promulgation of the official returns of each general election for members of the House of Representatives, the Clerk shall transmit to each member-elect a notice of candidacy form and an outline of the procedure for the election of members of the committee.

            (4) Each member-elect who wishes to be a candidate for membership on the committee shall return the notice of candidacy to the Clerk within ten days after the notice of candidacy was transmitted by the Clerk.

            (5) Within three days after the final day for the receipt of the notice of candidacy, the Clerk shall transmit to each member-elect the ballot listing the candidates from the BESE district within which the member-elect resides.

            (6) The ballots shall be prepared separately by BESE district and shall list the name and address of each member-elect who has declared himself to be a candidate from the respective districts. The ballot shall contain the name of the member-elect to whom it is to be transmitted.

            (7) Each member-elect shall mark the ballot with his choice for one of the candidates and shall return the ballot to the Clerk within fifteen days after the ballot was transmitted by the Clerk.

            (8) No ballot received by the Clerk after five o'clock p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the ballots were transmitted shall be counted, but the day and time received shall be recorded for each ballot received after such time, and the ballot shall be invalid. However, prior to five o'clock p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the ballots were transmitted, a member-elect may withdraw his ballot or change his vote upon his request.

            (9) Each candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast by the members-elect voting in his or her BESE district shall be elected to the committee.

            (10) If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in a BESE district, the Clerk shall conduct a run-off election between the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes. The run-off election shall be conducted in the same manner as the original election.

            (11) The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in the run-off election shall be elected to the committee.

            (12) If the run-off election results in a tie vote, the two candidates shall cast lots under the supervision of the Clerk to determine which candidate shall be elected to the committee.

            (13) On or before the twentieth day after the date on which the ballots were transmitted, the Clerk shall tabulate the votes by BESE district. Prior to the tabulation, the Clerk shall not disclose the contents of any ballot to any person until the day when the votes are tabulated.

            (14) The tabulation of the results of the election in each BESE district shall indicate by name the candidate for whom each member-elect voted and the name of each member-elect who did not vote. The Clerk shall sign each of the tabulation sheets.

            (15) The Clerk shall promulgate the returns of the elections within three days after the date on which the votes were tabulated. Promulgation shall be accomplished by transmitting a copy of the tabulation sheets to each member-elect. The vote in each election as tabulated by the Clerk shall be recorded in the Journal.

            (16) The notices of candidacy returned by the members-elect and the ballots cast by the members-elect shall be public record.

            (17) The Clerk shall initiate and oversee the design and implementation of a system to allow each member-elect to electronically vote and return his ballot. The system shall be accurate and secure, and the Clerk shall certify that the system meets these requirements.

            C. Vacancies in the membership of the Appropriations Committee shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment or election as the case may be.

            D. Any elected member of the committee may be removed by a majority of those members who reside in the BESE district from which the member was originally elected.

            (1) Removal shall be accomplished by delivery to the Speaker of an affidavit signed by a majority of those members who reside in a BESE district expressing their intent to remove an elected member.

            (2) Upon receipt of the affidavit, the Speaker shall declare a vacancy in the membership of the committee and direct the Clerk to conduct an election to fill the vacant position.

            E. For the transmittal of the notice of candidacy forms and the ballots required by this Rule, the Clerk shall utilize a method of transmittal which provides for notice of receipt and shall preserve the records of the transmittals and the notices of receipt for a minimum of six months following the promulgation of the returns of the election.

            F.(1) The review of the executive budget shall be conducted by the following standing subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations for the following schedule numbers and departments.

            (a) Elementary and Secondary Education: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for that portion of Schedule 19 which includes the budgets and appropriations for the Department of Education, unless otherwise allocated herein, and Special Schools and Commissions.

            (b) General Government: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for Schedule 01, the Executive Department; Schedule 03, the Department of Veterans Affairs; Schedule 17, the Department of Civil Service; Schedule 12, the Department of Revenue; Schedule 06, the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism; Schedule 18, the Retirement Systems; Schedule 04, statewide elected officials and their agencies, unless otherwise allocated herein; and Schedule 20, miscellaneous appropriations for Other Requirements.

            (c) Health and Human Services: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for Schedule 09, the Louisiana Department of Health; Schedule 10, the Department of Children and Family Services; and that portion of Schedule 19 which includes the budgets and appropriations for the Health Care Services Division within the LSU Health Sciences Centers, and the budgets and appropriations associated with the delivery of health care services in Louisiana.

            (d) Business Development: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for Schedule 05, the Department of Economic Development; Schedule 13, the Department of Environmental Quality; Schedule 04-165, the Department of Insurance; Schedule 14, the Louisiana Workforce Commission; and Schedule 04-158, the Public Service Commission.

            (e) Infrastructure and Resources: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for Schedule 07, the Department of Transportation and Development; Schedule 11, the Department of Natural Resources; and Schedule 16, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

            (f) Public Safety and Corrections: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for Schedule 08, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and expenditures associated with local housing of state adult and juvenile offenders.

            (g) Postsecondary Education: which shall review the budgets and appropriations for that portion of Schedule 19 which includes the budgets and appropriations for postsecondary education, unless otherwise allocated herein.

            (2) The subcommittees may review other budgets and appropriations as referred by the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.

            (3) The chairman of the Committee on Appropriations shall establish the work schedule and the meeting times for the subcommittees.

            HR 3, 1973; HR 21, 1973; HR 9, 1975; HR 4, 1978; HR 20, 1978; HR 4, 1st Ex. Sess., 1980; HR 4, 1984; HR 10, 1985; HR 5, 1989; HR 1, 1992 Org. Sess.; HR 3, 1992; HR 1, 1996 Org. Sess.; HR 76, 2007, eff. June 27, 2007; HR 1, 2008 Org. Sess., eff. Jan. 15, 2008; HR 110, 2015, special eff. date; HR 22, 2016, eff. March 21, 2016.

            NOTE: See HR 110, 2015 R.S., re: eff. date.