From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[Extracted from the May 21, 1998, Congressional Record]
RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE
YEAR 2000 TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM
i. convening of meetings and hearings
1. Meetings. The Committee shall meet to conduct Committee
business at the call of the Chairman.
2. Special Meetings. The Members of the Committee may call
additional meetings as provided in Senate Rule XXVI(3).
3. Notice and Agenda:
(a) Hearings. The Committee shall make public announcement
of the date, place, and subject matter of any hearing at
least one week before its commencement.
(b) Meetings. The Chairman shall give the Members written
notice of any Committee meeting, accompanied by an agenda
enumerating the items of business to be considered, at least
5 days in advance of such meeting.
(c) Shortened Notice. A hearing or meeting may be called on
not less than 24 hours notice if the Chairman, with the
concurrence of the Vice Chairman, determines that there is
good cause to begin the hearing or meeting on an expedited
basis. An agenda will be furnished prior to such a meeting.
4. Presiding Officer. The Chairman shall preside when
present. If the Chairman is not present at any meeting or
hearing, the Ranking Majority Member present shall preside.
Any Member of the Committee may preside over the conduct of a
hearing.
ii. closed sessions and confidential materials
1. Procedure. All meetings and hearings shall be open to
the public unless closed pursuant to paragraph 3 of this
section. To close a meeting or hearing or portion thereof, a
motion shall be made and seconded to go into closed
discussion of whether the meeting or hearing will concern the
matters enumerated in Rule II.3. Immediately after such
discussion, the meeting or hearing may be closed by a vote in
open session of a majority of the Members of the Committee
present.
2. Witness Request. Any witness called for a hearing may
submit a written request to the Chairman no later than
twenty-four hours in advance for his examination to be in
closed or open session. The Chairman shall inform the
Committee of any such request.
3. Closed Session Subjects. A meeting or hearing or portion
thereof may be closed if the matters are consistent with
Senate Rule XXVI(5)(b).
4. Confidential Matter. No record made of a closed session,
or material declared confidential by the Chairman and Vice
Chairman, or report of the proceedings of a closed session,
shall be made public, in whole or in part or by way of
summary, unless specifically authorized by the Chairman and
Vice Chairman.
5. Radio, Television, and Photography. The Committee may
permit the proceedings of hearings which are open to the
public to be photographed and broadcast by radio, television,
or both, subject to such conditions as the Committee may
impose.
iii. quorum and voting
1. Reporting. A majority of voting members shall constitute
a quorum for reporting a resolution, recommendation, or
report to the Senate.
2. Committee Business. Three voting members shall
constitute a quorum for the conduct of Committee business,
other than a final vote on reporting, providing a minority
Member is present. One Member shall constitute a quorum for
the receipt of evidence, the swearing of witnesses, and the
taking of testimony at hearings.
3. Polling.
(a) Subjects. The Committee may poll (1) internal Committee
matters including those concerning the Committee's staff,
records, and budget; (2) authorizing subpoenas; and (3) other
Committee business which has been designated for polling at a
meeting.
(b) Procedure. The Chairman shall circulate polling sheets
to each Member specifying the matter being polled and the
time limit for completion of the poll. If any Member so
requests in advance of the meeting, the matter shall be held
for meeting rather than being polled. The clerk shall keep a
record of polls. If the Chairman determines that the polled
matter is one of the areas enumerated in Rule II.3, the
record of the poll shall be confidential. Any Member may move
at the Committee meeting following a poll for a vote on the
polled decision.
iv. subpoenas
1. Subpoenas. Subpoenas may be authorized by the Committee
at a meeting of the Committee or pursuant to Rule III.3.a
(above). Subpoenas authorized by the Committee may be issued
over the signature of the Chairman after consultation with
the Vice Chairman, or any member of the special committee
designated by the Chairman after consultation with the Vice
Chairman, and may be served by any person designated by the
Chairman or the member signing the subpoena.
v. hearings
1. Notice. Witnesses called before the Committee shall be
given, absent extraordinary circumstances, at least forty-
eight hours notice, and all witnesses called shall be
furnished with a copy of these rules upon request.
2. Oath. All witnesses who testify to matters of fact shall
be sworn. The Chairman or any Member may administer the oath.
3. Statement. Any witness desiring to make an introductory
statement shall file 50 copies of such statement with the
clerk of the Committee 24 hours in advance of his appearance,
unless the Chairman and Vice Chairman determine that there is
good cause for a witness's failure to do so.
4. Counsel:
(a) A witness's counsel shall be permitted to be present
during his testimony at any public or closed hearing, or
staff interview to advise the witness of his rights,
provided, however, that in the case of any witness who is an
officer or employee of the government, or of a corporation or
association, the Chairman may rule that representation by
counsel from the government, corporation, or association
creates a conflict of interest, and that the witness shall be
represented by personal counsel not associated with the
government, corporation, or association.
(b) A witness who is unable for economic reasons to obtain
counsel may inform the Committee of this circumstance at
least 48 hours prior to his appearance, and the Committee
will endeavor to obtain volunteer counsel for the witness.
Such counsel shall be subject solely to the control of the
witness and not the Committee. Failure to obtain counsel
shall not excuse the witness from appearing and testifying.
5. Transcript. An accurate electronic or stenographic
record shall be kept of the testimony of all witnesses in
closed and public hearings. Any witness shall be afforded,
upon request, the right to review that portion of such
record, and for this purpose, a copy of a witness's testimony
in public or closed session shall be provided to the witness.
Upon inspecting his transcript, within a time limit set by
the committee clerk, a witness may request changes in
testimony to correct errors of transcription, grammatical
errors, and obvious errors in fact. The Chairman or a
designated staff officer shall rule on such requests.
6. Minority Witnesses. Whenever any hearing is conducted by
the Committee, the minority on the Committee shall be
entitled, upon request made by a majority of the minority
Members to the Chairman, to call witnesses selected by the
minority to testify or produce documents with respect to the
measure or matter under consideration during at least one day
of the hearing. Such request must be made before the
completion of the hearing.
7. Conduct of Witnesses, Counsel and Members of the
Audience. If, during public or executive sessions, a witness,
his counsel, or any spectator conducts himself in such a
manner as to prevent, impede, disrupt, obstruct, or interfere
with the orderly administration of such hearing, the Chairman
or presiding Member of the Committee present during such
hearing may request the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, his
representative, or any law enforcement official to eject said
person from the hearing room.
vi. amendment of rules
The rules of the Committee may be amended or revised at any
time, by a majority vote of the Committee, provided that no
less than 3 days notice of the amendments or revisions
proposed was provided to all members of the
committee.