Bill Text: IL HR0020 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends Rules 18, 73, and 75. Provides that all conference committee reports are, upon filing with the Clerk, automatically referred to the standing or special committee that last reported the bill to the House. Changes the composition of conference committees. Provides that the Speaker shall appoint 2 members to a conference committee, the Minority Leader shall appoint 1 member, and the Chairperson and Spokesperson of the committee that last reported the bill to the House shall be ex officio members of the conference committee. (Now, the Speaker appoints 3 members to a conference committee and the Minority Leader appoints 2 members to a conference committee.) Deletes a cross-reference to Rule 18 in a provision requiring joint action motions for final action or conference committee reports to be referred to the House by the Rules Committee or a standing committee or special committee.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR0020 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HR0020-Introduced.html

---

HR0020 LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
the Rules of the House of Representatives of the 104th General
Assembly are amended by changing Rules 18, 73, and 75 as
follows:
(House Rule 18)
18. Referrals to Committees.
(a) All House bills and Senate bills, after being
initially read by the Clerk, are automatically referred to the
Rules Committee.
(b) The Rules Committee may refer any such bill before it
to a standing committee or a special committee. During
even-numbered years, the Rules Committee shall refer to a
standing committee or a special committee only appropriation
bills implementing the budget and bills deemed by the Rules
Committee, by the affirmative vote of a majority of those
appointed, to be of an emergency nature or to be of substantial
importance to the operation of government. This subsection (b)
applies equally to House Bills and Senate Bills introduced
into or received by the House.
(b-5) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the Rules Committee
may refer any legislative measure to a joint committee of the

HR0020 - 2 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
House and Senate created by joint resolution. That joint
committee shall report back to the Rules Committee any
recommendation for action made by that joint committee. The
Rules Committee may, at any time, however, refer the
legislative measure to a standing or special committee of the
House.
(c) The Chairperson of a standing committee or a special
committee may refer a subject matter or a legislative measure
pending in that committee to a subcommittee of that committee,
regardless of whether the subject matter or legislative
measure has been posted for hearing.
(d) All legislative measures favorably reported by a
standing committee or a special committee, or discharged from
a standing committee or a special committee under Rule 58,
shall be referred to the House and placed on the appropriate
order of business, which shall appear on the Daily Calendar.
(e) All committee amendments, floor amendments, joint
action motions for final action, conference committee reports,
and motions to table committee amendments, upon filing with
the Clerk, are automatically referred to the Rules Committee.
The Rules Committee may refer any committee amendment to the
standing committee or the special committee to which the bill
or resolution it amends has been referred for its review and
consideration. The Rules Committee may refer any floor
amendment, joint action motion for final action on the orders
of Concurrence or Non-Concurrence , conference committee

HR0020 - 3 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
report, or motion to table a committee amendment to the House
or to a standing committee or a special committee for its
review and consideration. Any floor amendment, joint action
motion for final action on the orders of Concurrence or
Non-Concurrence , conference committee report, or motion to
table a committee amendment that is not referred to the House
by, or discharged from, the Rules Committee is out of order,
except that any such measure floor amendment, joint action
motion for final action, conference committee report, or
motion to table a committee amendment favorably reported by,
or discharged from, a standing committee or a special
committee is deemed referred to the House by the Rules
Committee for purposes of this Rule.
(e-5) All conference committee reports are, upon filing
with the Clerk, automatically referred to the standing or
special committee that last reported the bill to the House.
(f) The Rules Committee may at any time refer or re-refer a
legislative measure from a committee to a Committee of the
Whole or to any other committee. If a bill or resolution is
re-referred from a standing or special committee to a
Committee of the Whole or to any other committee pursuant to
this Rule, any committee amendments pending in the standing or
special committee shall be automatically re-referred with the
bill or resolution.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of these Rules,
any bill pending before the Rules Committee shall be

HR0020 - 4 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
immediately discharged and referred to a standing committee,
special committee, or order of the Daily Calendar, as provided
in this Rule, if the Principal Sponsor of the bill files a
motion that is signed by no less than three-fifths of the
members of both the majority and minority caucuses, provided
each member signing the motion is a sponsor of the underlying
bill subject to the motion and the motion specifies the
appropriate standing committee, special committee, or order on
the Daily Calendar to which the bill shall be referred. Such a
motion shall be filed, in writing, with the Clerk. All other
legislative measures may be discharged from the Rules
Committee only by unanimous consent of the House. A bill or
resolution discharged from the Rules Committee shall be
referred as follows: (i) a bill or resolution that was not
previously referred shall be referred to the standing
committee or special committee designated on the motion,
subject to the notice requirement of Rule 21; (ii) a bill or
resolution re-referred to the Rules Committee from a standing
committee or special committee shall be re-referred to that
committee, subject to the notice requirement of Rule 21; and
(iii) a bill or resolution re-referred to the Rules Committee
from an order of business on the Daily Calendar shall be
re-referred to the same order of business, provided the bill
or resolution shall be carried on the Daily Calendar for at
least one legislative day prior to consideration by the House.
Legislative measures, other than bills or resolutions, that

HR0020 - 5 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
are discharged from the Rules Committee shall be referred as
follows: (i) an amendment, joint action motion for final
action, or conference committee report shall be referred to
the committee that considered the underlying bill or
resolution and (ii) any other legislative measure shall be
referred to the proper order of business on the Daily
Calendar, provided the legislative measure shall be carried on
the Daily Calendar for at least one legislative day prior to
consideration by the House. Rulings of the Presiding Officer
related to this subsection (g) may not be appealed. This
subsection may not be suspended.
(h) Except for those provisions that may not be suspended,
this Rule may be suspended only by the affirmative vote of 71
members elected.
(Source: H.R. 36, 103rd G.A.)
(House Rule 73)
73. Conference Committees.
(a) A disagreement between the House and Senate exists
with respect to any bill or resolution in the following
situations:
(1) when the Senate refuses to recede from the
adoption of any amendment, after the House has previously
refused to concur in the amendment; or
(2) when the House refuses to recede from the adoption
of any amendment, after the Senate has previously refused

HR0020 - 6 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
to concur in the amendment.
In those cases of disagreement between the House and
Senate, the House may request a conference. When such a
request is made, both chambers of the General Assembly shall
appoint members to a committee to confer on the subject of the
bill or resolution giving rise to the disagreement. The
combined membership of the 2 chambers appointed for that
purpose is the conference committee.
(b) The conference committee shall consist of 5 members
from each chamber of the General Assembly. The number of
majority caucus members from each chamber shall be one more
than the number of minority caucus members from each chamber.
(c) Each conference committee shall be comprised of 5
members of the House. The Speaker shall appoint 2 members, the
Minority Leader shall appoint 1 member, and the Chairperson
and Spokesperson of the committee that last reported the bill
to the House shall be ex officio members of the conference
committee , 3 appointed by the Speaker and 2 appointed by the
Minority Leader. No conference committee report may be filed
with the Clerk until a majority of the House conferees has been
appointed.
(Source: H.R. 36, 103rd G.A.)
(House Rule 75)
75. House Consideration of Joint Action.
(a) No joint action motion for final action or conference

HR0020 - 7 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
committee report may be considered by the House unless it has
first been referred to the House by the Rules Committee or a
standing committee or special committee in accordance with
Rule 18, or unless the joint action motion or conference
committee report has been discharged from the Rules Committee
under Rule 18. Joint action motions for final action and
conference committee reports referred to a standing committee
or special committee by the Rules Committee may not be
discharged from the standing committee or special committee.
This subsection (a) may be suspended by unanimous consent.
(b) No conference committee report may be considered by
the House unless it has been reproduced and distributed as
provided in Rule 39, for one full day during the period
beginning with the convening of the House on the 2nd Wednesday
of January each year and ending on the 30th day prior to the
scheduled adjournment of the regular session established each
year by the Speaker pursuant to Rule 9(a), and for one full
hour on any other day.
(c) Before any conference committee report on an
appropriation bill is considered by the House, the conference
committee report shall first be the subject of a public
hearing by a standing Appropriations Committee or another
committee (the conference committee report need not be
referred to a committee, but instead may remain before the
Rules Committee or the House, as the case may be). The hearing
shall be held pursuant to not less than one-hour advance

HR0020 - 8 - LRB104 07296 JDS 17335 r
notice by announcement on the House floor, or one-day advance
notice by posting on the House bulletin board or the General
Assembly website. An Appropriations Committee or special
committee shall not issue any report with respect to the
conference committee report following the hearing.
(d) (Blank).
(e) No House Bill that is returned to the House with Senate
amendments may be called except by the Principal Sponsor, or
by a chief co-sponsor with the consent of the Principal
Sponsor. This subsection may not be suspended.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in Rule 74, the report of
a conference committee on a non-appropriation bill or
resolution shall be confined to the subject of the bill or
resolution referred to the conference committee. The report of
a conference committee on an appropriation bill shall be
confined to the subject of appropriations.
(Source: H.R. 36, 103rd G.A.)