SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1583
WHEREAS, the budget of the State of Missouri is required by the Missouri Constitution to be balanced; and
WHEREAS, the Senate Appropriations Committee has scrutinized the budget as recommended by the governor and amended and passed by the House; and
WHEREAS, the Senate Appropriations Committee has reported the operating budget (House Bills Nos. 1101 through 1112) to the Senate which represent the best effort to balance revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2003:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Missouri Senate, Ninety-first General Assembly, Second Regular Session, in the passage of appropriations bills for fiscal year 2003, will observe the following procedure, which shall for purposes of parliamentary rulings be regarded as a definitive statement of the practice of the Senate:
"1. No amendment to any appropriations bill shall be in order that increases the total amount of general revenue appropriated in the bill as it was reported from the Appropriations Committee unless there is a decrease in general revenue appropriations which results from adoption of an amendment to another operating budget bill in a manner that does not increase the total of general revenue appropriated by all of the operating budget bills considered in the aggregate as they were reported from the Appropriations Committee.
2. Any member offering an increasing amendment to be balanced by a decreasing amendment to another operating budget bill shall submit the amendments together. If the decreasing amendment applies to the pending bill and the amendment is adopted, the increasing amendment shall be taken up when the bill it applies to is taken up. If the decreasing amendment applies to a bill that has not been passed, the decreasing amendment shall be taken up and disposed of first by going to the bill to be amended by the decreasing amendment. If the decreasing amendment is adopted, the increasing amendment shall be taken up next. If the decreasing amendment is not adopted, the increasing amendment shall not be in order. Decreasing amendments shall clearly state where the increased amount of moneys would be appropriated in the event that the corresponding increasing amendment is adopted.".