Legislative Council

LC Paper No. CB(2) 1840/98-99

Ref: CB2/P/3

Purpose

This paper seeks Members' approval of the proposed amendments to the House Rules as set out in the Annex.

House Rules

2. The House Rules are guidelines made by the House Committee to complement the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council. The House Rules also provide for those practices which are agreements among Members as to how certain business of the Council and its committees should be conducted.

3. The current set of House Rules were approved by Members at the House Committee meeting on 6 July 1998. The amendments now proposed are mainly consequential amendments to changes made to the Rules of Procedure approved by the Council on 9 September 1998 and 28 April 1999. The amendments also include agreed procedures or practices which have not yet been incorporated in the current set of House Rules. In addition, some minor textual amendments are made to enhance clarity and improve presentation. The more significant amendments are discussed in detail in paragraphs 4 - 18 below.

Proposed Amendments

Order of Members to make or subscribe oath or affirmation -- rule 1

4. Under Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure, the precedence of a Member shall be determined according to the length of continuous service in the Council. If two or more Members have held office for an equal continuous period of time, the one who first made or subscribed the oath or affirmation shall be deemed to have held office for a longer continuous period of time. The Committee on Rules of Procedures has earlier recommended that the method for determining the order for Members to make or subscribe an oath or affirmation should be set out in the House Rules for avoidance of doubt.

5. It is proposed that a new rule 1 be added to the House Rules to provide that the order in which a Member makes or subscribes an oath or affirmation shall be determined according to the continuous period for which the Member has held office in the Council. A Member who has held office in the Council for a longer continuous period of time shall make or subscribe the oath or affirmation first. As between two or more Members who have held office for an equal continuous period of time, their order shall be determined according to the number of strokes in the traditional characters of the Members' names in Chinese. A Member whose name has the least number of strokes shall make or subscribe the oath or affirmation first.

Election of the President of the Legislative Council -- rule 1A

6. Rule 1A of the House Rules caters for the situation where an election of the President is held in the course of a term. As the Schedule to the Rules of Procedure which sets out the procedure for the election of the President has been amended to provide for the Member who has the longest continuous service in the Council, and not the Clerk to the Council, to preside at the election of the President, rule 1A should be amended in a similar manner.

7. Rule 1A of the House Rules currently stipulates that where both the President and the President's Deputy are unable to preside at the election, the Clerk to the Council shall preside. It is proposed that the rule be amended to provide for the Member who has the longest continuous service, and not the Clerk, to preside at the election. A minor textual amendment to rule 1A(c) is also proposed to enhance clarity in meaning.

Procedure for electing a Member to preside at a Council meeting -- rule 1B

8. Members will recall that a procedure for electing a Member to preside at a Council meeting in the event that the President and the President's Deputy are absent from the Council meeting, or in their opinion they are unable to act, was approved by the House Committee on 24 July 1998.

9. Following amendments to the Schedule to the Rules of Procedure as discussed in paragraph 6 above, it is proposed that the procedure be amended similarly i.e. in the case where the President or the President's Deputy cannot preside over the election of the presiding Member, the election shall be conducted by the Member who has the longest continuous service, and not by the Clerk to the Council.

10. It is also proposed that the procedure be incorporated in the House Rules as rule 1B.

Disallowance of vote on the ground of direct pecuniary interest -- rule 3 and Appendix II

11. Rule 3 and Appendix II of the House Rules set out the procedure for the moving of motions for the disallowance of votes during a division under Rule 84(4) of the Rules of Procedure. Following amendments made to Rule 84(4), consequential amendments to rule 3 and Appendix II are necessary.

12. Members will recall that the Committee on Rules of Procedure has earlier been invited to review the procedure in response to concerns raised by Members. There may be further amendments to rule 3 and Appendix II, subject to the deliberation and recommendation of the Committee.

Calling of the first meeting of a committee and election of a committee chairman

13. Following Members' agreement that the order of precedence of a Member shall be determined according to the continuous period of time for which he has held office in the Council, it is proposed that the practice in the former Legislative Council of the Member with the longest continuous service calling the first meeting of a committee and presiding over the election of a committee chairman be adopted.

14. As far as the House Committee is concerned, the provision for the Clerk to the House Committee to call the first meeting of House Committee has already been deleted from Rule 75 of the Rules of Procedure. Correspondingly, rule 20(b) of the House Rules should be amended to provide for the Member who has the highest precedence in the Council, and not the Clerk to the House Committee, to be responsible for calling the first meeting of the House Committee in a new term of the Legislative Council. Rule 20(d) and Appendix IV which set out the procedures for the election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee should be amended to provide that where the election takes place at the first meeting in a new term, the Member who has the highest precedence shall preside at the election.

15. Similar amendments to rule 22(e) and (f) in respect of Panels are also proposed i.e. the Member who has the highest precedence in the Council shall be responsible for calling the first meeting of a Panel during the first session of a term and also preside at the election of the Chairman of the Panel.

16. As for Bills Committees, rule 21(c) is amended to provide for the Member with the highest precedence in the Council who has joined a Bills Committee, and not the Clerk to the Bills Committee, to be responsible for calling the first meeting and also preside at the election of the Chairman of the Bills Committee.

Membership of Bills Committees -- rule 21(d)

17. Members agreed at the House Committee meeting on 6 November 1998 that a Member who joined the Council after the start of the legislative session could signify membership for the Bills Committees of his choice within one month of the date on which he was declared elected as Member of the Council. A new rule 21(d) is proposed to reflect this agreement in the House Rules. Such an arrangement already exists for Panels, as provided in rule 22(d).

Late membership of committees -- rule 23

18. Members decided at the House Committee meeting on 19 March 1999 that a request for late membership on grounds other than those of indisposition or absence from Hong Kong should be put to the relevant committee for consideration. The committee concerned should accept such applications only when sufficient grounds had been provided. Moreover, any member joining the committee after the election of the chairman and deputy chairman had taken place could not seek a re-election of the chairman and deputy chairman on the ground that he was not on the committee at the time of the election. Related amendments to the wording of rule 23 were also agreed to at the same meeting. Members are invited to note that some further textual changes to the rule are proposed to enhance clarity in meaning.

Advice Sought

19. Members are invited to approve the proposed amendments to the House Rules as detailed in the Annex.


Legislative Council Secretariat
4 May 1999

s/hrules1

Annex

Proposed Amendments

COUNCIL MEETINGS

1. Order of Members to Make or Subscribe Oath or Affirmation

1. The order for a Member to make or subscribe an oath or affirmation shall be determined according to the continuous period of time for which he has held office in the Council; a Member who has held office in the Council for a longer continuous period of time shall make or subscribe an oath or affirmation first.
   
   
2. As between two or more Members who have held office for an equal continuous period of time, their order shall be determined according to the number of strokes in the traditional characters of the Members' names in Chinese; a Member whose name has the least number of strokes shall make or subscribe an oath or affirmation first.

1A. Election of the President of the Legislative Council

1. The President of the Legislative Council is to be elected by and from among the Members.
   
   
2. If, in the course of the term of the Legislative Council, the President resigns from office but remains a Member of the Council, a re-election of the President shall be conducted not later than at the third meeting of the Council following the receipt of the resignation. The incumbent President shall determine the day of the election and shall preside at the election unless his resignation from the office of President has already come into effect, in which case the President's Deputy shall determine the day of the election and shall preside at the election. If the President's Deputy is being nominated for the office of President, then the Member present who has the longest continuous service in the Councilshall preside at the election of the President.
   
   
3. If, in the course of the term of the Legislative Council, the President ceases to be a Member of the Council, a re-election of the President shall be conducted at a meeting of the Council by order of the President's Deputy. The re-election shall be held as soon as practicable but in any case not later than at the third meeting of the Council following the assumption of office by the Member filling the vacancy arising from the President's ceasing to be a Member of the Council. The President's Deputy present shall preside at the election. If the President's Deputy is being nominated for the office of President, then the Member present who has the longest continuous service in the Council shall preside at the election of the President.
   
   
4. The procedure for the election of the President is set out in the Schedule to the Rules of Procedure.

1B. Procedure for Electing a Member to Preside at a Council meeting

In the absence of the President and the President's Deputy from a Council meeting, or when in their opinion they are unable to act, the Members present shall, in accordance with the procedure set out in Appendix I, elect among themselves a Member to preside at that meeting.

3. Disallowance of Vote on the Ground of Direct Pecuniary Interest

A motion to disallow a Member's vote on the ground of his direct pecuniary interest may be moved without notice by any Member immediately upon the statement by the President or Chairmanof his judgment on whether there is a required majority or, if a division has been ordered, upon his statement of the numbers of Members recorded in the division. The procedure on the moving of motions for the disallowance of votes during a division is in Appendix II.

13. Number of Debates Initiated by Members

Not more than two debates, which may be two debates on motions moved by individual Members (motion debates), two subjects for debate on a motion for the adjournment of the Council (adjournment debates), or one motion debate and one adjournment debate, should be held at each regular meeting. Such debates do not include debates on the following types of motions -

1. particular motions (Part JA of the Rules of Procedure);
   
   
2. motions relating to bills (Part K of the Rules of Procedure);
   
   
3. motions to appoint a select committee and refer matters to it (Rules 78 and 79 of the Rules of Procedure);
   
   
4. motions to amend or suspend the Rules of Procedure;
   
   
5. motions moved under an ordinance (e.g. Section 34 or 35 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (relating to the Council's power on subsidiary legislation)); and
   
   
6. any other motions which, if carried, empower the Council, a committee, the President or other person(s) to do certain act, or invoke certain provisions under the laws or the Rules of Procedure.

COMMITTEES

20. House Committee

1. The chairman and the deputy chairman of the House Committee shall be elected from among its members at an open meeting and shall hold office until the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the committee in the session next following that for which they were elected.
   
   
2. The election for the first session in a new legislative term shall take place at the first meeting of the Committee in the session. The Member who has the highest precedence in the Council is responsible for calling the first meeting of a term of the House Committee.(c) For the second or subsequent sessions in a term, the election may take place at a meeting held before the session commences. The meeting shall be called by the chairman in office. If both the chairman and deputy chairman in office before the election are being nominated for the office of the chairman, the Member present who has the highest precedence shall preside at the election.
   
   
3. The procedures for the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the House Committee are in Appendix IV. A Member who nominates a Member who is absent from the meeting when the nomination is made shall state that the absent Member's acceptance of the nomination for office has been secured.
   
   
4. When the Council is in session, the House Committee normally meets every Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm. When a Finance Committee meeting is scheduled to be held earlier in the same afternoon, the House Committee meeting will start at 4:30 pm. Any other committees which need to meet on a Friday afternoon should schedule their meetings after the House Committee meeting. The Secretariat shall issue written notice to members stating the date, time and place at which the meeting is to be held.
   
   
5. The deadline for proposing agenda items for a meeting is normally 5:00 pm on the Tuesday before the meeting. A member wishing to raise an urgent item after the deadline may make a request to the chairman of the House Committee for it to be discussed at the meeting, under Any Other Business. The chairman shall decide whether to accede to the request.
   
   
6. The House Committee decides on the setting up of a Bills Committee and the order of priority for a Bills Committee to be activated, having regard to information provided by the Administration, advice by the Legal Adviser, the number of Bills Committees, and the urgency of the bill, etc. When a bill is ready for resumption of Second Reading debate in the Council, the chairman of the House Committee shall arrange for the Member or public officer in charge of the bill to be notified.
   
   
7. Not all bills require the formation of Bills Committees. The House Committee may -
   
   
   1. having considered the Legal Adviser's report (and further reports where necessary) on the legal aspects of a bill, agree to support the bill's resumption of Second Reading debate; or
      
      
   2. in response to the request of individual member(s) for information or clarification on certain aspects of a bill, direct the Legal Adviser or other relevant staff of the Secretariat, to take these up with the Administration and submit further report(s) on the bill to the member(s) concerned and the House Committee.
   
   
8. The House Committee recommends the number, names and terms of reference of Panels to be established. It may also refer to relevant Panels for consideration any policy matters related to the business of the Council, and may request and receive reports from the Panels on matters relevant to their terms of reference.
   
   
9. The House Committee may appoint subcommittees to assist in the consideration of specific subsidiary legislation and issues of public concern which fall outside the purview of Panels.

21. Bills Committees

a.	The maximum number of Bills Committees and subcommittees on subsidiary legislation should be limited to 16 at any one time. A slot under the quota is specifically designated for a subcommittee studying subsidiary legislation. While the maximum number of active Bills Committees is 15, there may be more than one subcommittee in action, if warranted. When more than 15 Bills Committees are formed, a queuing system will automatically be activated.
b.	A Bills Committee shall consist of not less than three members including the chairman.
c.	Members may join a Bills Committee by a show of hands at the House Committee meeting at which a bill is allocated to that Bills Committee, and the Member who has the highest precedence among these Members is responsible for calling the first meeting of the Bills Committee. Members may also join a Bills Committee by submission of returns to the Secretariat by the deadline set by the clerk to the Bills Committee. Except in special circumstances, such a deadline shall normally be one clear day before the day of the first meeting of the Bills Committee.
d.	A Member who joins the Council after the start of the legislative session should signify membership for the Bills Committees of his choice within one month of the date on which he is declared elected as Member of the Council.
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e.	The chairman of a Bills Committee shall be elected by the committee from among its members. The committee may also elect a deputy chairman. Tenure of chairmanship and deputy chairmanship should be for the life of the Bills Committee. The procedure for election of the chairman and deputy chairman as provided in rule 20(d) above shall also apply to Bills Committees. A member who nominates an absent member for an office shall state that the absent member's acceptance of the nomination has been secured.
f.	The order of Bills Committees on the waiting list is in the order of the introduction of the relevant bills into the Council. In acceding to a request of the Administration for priority activation of a Bills Committee on a Government bill, the order of the Bills Committees on Member's bills should not be affected as a result. Similarly, should a Member's bill be dealt with ahead of other bills, the order of Government bills should not be altered. The decision on whether a bill is urgent rests with the House Committee.
g.	Where a Bills Committee decides to hold in abeyance the consideration of a bill (such decision may be invited by circulation and signified in writing), it should notify the House Committee which will decide whether the next Bills Committee in the queue should be activated. A Bills Committee held in abeyance will not normally be reactivated until a vacant slot arises to accommodate its reactiviation.
h.	The scrutiny of a bill should be conducted quickly and, whenever possible, be completed within three months of its commencement. Should there be the need for a Bills Committee to work beyond this period, the chairman should report to the House Committee for an extension of the period.
i.	The following guidelines in the processing of bills should be followed -

1. whenever feasible, committees should meet frequently;
   
   
2. members of a committee should try to attend all meetings and stay through each meeting;
   
   
3. reopening of discussion on issues on which there has been full deliberation should not be allowed;
   
   
4. chairmen should monitor closely the progress of bills under their consideration. Should there be the need to hold a bill in abeyance, a report should be made to the House Committee;
   
   
5. when the scrutiny of a bill has reached the report stage, and upon the recommendation of the Legal Adviser and the committee concerned, the House Committee may decide to vacate the slot for examination of the next bill in the queue.

j.	A Bills Committee shall, as soon as it has completed consideration of the bill allocated to it, notify the House Committee and shall advise the committee in writing of the Bills Committee's deliberations and where appropriate, the majority and minority views, and whether or not the Bills Committee supports the bill. The Bills Committee shall then further report to the Council.
k.	The chairman or any member of a Bills Committee, when reporting to the Council on the work of the Bills Committee, shall address the Council at the resumption of the second reading debate on the bill. With the permission of the President, the chairman or the member reporting may be the first Member to speak at the debate, and his speech will not be subject to the 15-minute time restriction.
l.	Where a Bills Committee determines that a written report shall be laid on the table of the Council, the report shall be presented at the same meeting at which the resumption of the second reading debate on the bill takes place. The chairman or any member of the Bills Committee presenting the report shall address the Council thereon at the commencement of the debate.
m.	In the situation where there is no indication that the second reading debate on a bill will resume within a reasonable time after completion of the Bills Committee's work, the chairman or any member representing the Bills Committee shall, if the Bills Committee so determines, table a written report in the Council and seek the President's permission to address the Council thereon under Rule 21(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
n.	A Bills Committee will be dissolved as soon as the bill it has considered passes through the Council, or when the House Committee so decides.

22. Panels

1. The number, names and terms of reference of Panels shall be recommended by the House Committee for the approval of the Council.
   
   
2. A Panel shall consist of not less than six members including the chairman. Members may join a Panel by submission of returns to the Secretariat before the deadline set before the first meeting of the Panel in the session of the Council. Panel membership lasts until the Panels are dissolved upon the dissolution of the Council.
   
   
3. A Member who does not wish to remain as member of the Panel may resign from the Panel.
   
   
4. A Member who joins the Council after the start of the legislative session should signify membership for the Panels of his choice within one month of the date on which he is declared elected as Member of the Council.
   
   
5. The Member who has the highest precedence in the Council among those who have joined a Panel is responsible for calling the first meeting of the Panel during the first session of a term of the Council, for the purpose of electing the chairman of the Panel. All other subsequent meetings will be called by the chairman in office.
   
   
6. The chairman and the deputy chairman of a Panel shall be elected from among its members and shall hold office until the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Panel in the session next following that for which they were elected. The procedure for election of the chairman and deputy chairman as provided in rule 20(d) above shall also apply to Panels. A member who nominates an absent member for an office shall state that the absent member's acceptance of the nomination has been secured.
   
   
7. Election of chairman and deputy chairman of a Panel should normally take place at the first meeting of the Panel in the session.
   
   
8. A Member who is the chairman or deputy chairman of a Government advisory body in respect of matters which a Panel considers to be directly related to the terms of reference of the Panel shall not be the chairman or deputy chairman of the Panel.
   
   
9. A Member shall not be chairman or deputy chairman of more than one Panel at the same time.
   
   
10. In the event of the temporary absence of the chairman and deputy chairman, the Panel may elect a chairman to act during such absence.
    
    
11. When a Panel sits jointly with any other Panel for the purpose of considering any matter of common interest, the Panels shall decide which chairman should chair that meeting.
    
    
12. If the chairmen of two Panels cannot agree on how an issue straddling the work of the Panels should be handled, the chairman or, in his absence, the deputy chairman of the House Committee should be consulted on whether one of the Panels should take up the issue, or whether the Panels should hold a joint meeting.
    
    
13. If more than two Panels meet jointly on a subject of common interest, and if it is necessary, the chairman or, in his absence, the deputy chairman of the House Committee may be consulted as to whether the Panel having a prominent interest in the subject matter should convene a meeting with members of other interested Panels invited to attend, or whether informal briefings for all interested Members should be held. If the latter option is adopted, a convenor should be elected by and from among those Members present, and Members should be reminded at the beginning of the briefings that they are not covered by the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance at such briefings as if they are covered at meetings of the Panels.
    
    
14. For the calculation of quorum, a Member who is member of both Panels at a joint meeting should be counted as one member of the joint meeting. The quorum will be one-third of the membership of the joint meeting including the chairman (a fraction of the whole number being disregarded) i.e. each Member will be counted only once in terms of membership and quorum.
    
    
15. For joint Panel meetings, voting should be done by simple majority of the members present at the joint meeting. Dissenting views expressed by members of different Panels should be recorded.
    
    
16. All Panels will be dissolved upon dissolution of the Council.
    
    
17. The relevant Panel should be consulted first before a major and/or potentially controversial legislative or financial proposal is introduced into the Council or the Finance Committee. In the event that the relevant Panel has not been consulted, the House Committee or Finance Committee shall decide whether to refer the proposal to the relevant Panel for consideration.
    
    
18. Panels should not normally deal with individual cases handled under the Redress System of the Council except in respect of the policy issues arising therefrom.
    
    
19. A Panel may form subcommittees to study specific issues and report to the Panel. Members of the subcommittees shall consist of members of that Panel.
    
    
20. Should any Panel consider it necessary to undertake any activities outside Hong Kong under the name of the Panel of the Council, the prior permission of the House Committee shall be sought. The decision of the House Committee shall be referred to The Legislative Council Commission for reference.
    
    
21. A Panel shall make at least one report on its work to the Council in the session. If a particular matter is referred to a Panel for study, or a Panel is authorized to summon persons concerned to testify or give evidence, the Panel shall make a report to the Council after it has completed its consideration. The method of tabling a report in the Council is provided in rule 2. A Panel may as required seek the views of the House Committee on a particular matter, or inform the House Committee of the contents of its study report.

23. Late Membership of Committees

1. It is for the chairman of a Bills Committee, Panel, subcommittee under a Bills Committee or Panel, or subcommittee on subsidiary legislation to decide whether to accept late membership on grounds of indisposition or absence from Hong Kong.
   
   
2. A request for late membership on grounds other than those specified in (a) shall be put to the relevant committee. The committee shall accept such applications only when sufficient grounds have been provided. Any Member joining the committee after the election of the chairman and deputy chairman has taken place cannot seek a re-election of the chairman and deputy chairman.
   
   
3. Any Member whose application is turned down under (a) or (b) may put the case to the House Committee for a decision.

Appendix I
(rule 1B)

When both the President of the Legislative Council and the President's Deputy are unable to preside at a Council meeting, or part of a Council meeting, the procedure for the election of a Member to preside at the meeting shall be as follows.

2. When either the President or the President's Deputy knows in advance that both of them will not be able to preside at a certain meeting or at part of a meeting, the President or, in his/her absence, the President's Deputy will, at the meeting immediately proceeding the relevant meeting, call for nominations for the presiding Member. A valid nomination shall be made orally by a Member, seconded by at least one other Member who should not be the Member being nominated, and accepted by the Member being nominated.

3. If there is only one nomination for the presiding Member, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce this and declare the Member elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question.

4. If there are two or more nominations, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce a vote by secret ballot and the Clerk shall arrange to distribute to each of the Members present a ballot paper which shall be in accordance with the form in the Annex.

5. A Member present who wishes to vote shall put down in legible form the name of the nominee of his choice on the ballot paper, and place the ballot paper into the ballot box.

6. After all the Members present who wish to vote have done so, the Clerk shall cause the ballot papers to be counted and report the result to the President or the President's Deputy, as the case may be. Any Member may request to check the result for confirmation.

7. The President or the President's Deputy shall announce the result and declare elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question the nominee who receives the highest number of votes among all the nominees.

8. If two or more nominees receive the same highest number of valid votes, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce that lots will be drawn by him/her to decide which of the nominees should be the presiding Member.

9. The President or the President's Deputy shall then draw lots and, in accordance with the result of the drawing of the lots, forthwith declare that nominee elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question.

10. Where the President, the President's Deputy, and the presiding Member if one has been elected in accordance with the above procedure, are absent from a meeting of the Council, the election of the presiding Member shall be conducted by the Member present who has the longest continuous service in the Council. The Member shall follow the procedure mentioned above.

Annex

Appendix II
(rule 3)

1. At the end of a debate, the President or Chairman puts the question to the Council or the Committee.

2. Having asked Members who are in favour of the question and then those who are against the question to raise their hands, the President or Chairman, according to his judgement, states whether or not he thinks the majority of the Members present are in favour of the question.

3. A Member challenges the statement of the President or Chairman by claiming a division.

4. The President or Chairman orders the Council or the Committee to proceed to a division; and the division bell will ring for three minutes.

5. The Member who wishes to move a motion under Rule 84(4) of the Rules of Procedure for the disallowance of another Member's vote on the ground of the latter's direct pecuniary interest gives private notice in the form of a written note of his intention, which may be delivered at any time when the Council is proceeding with a division and before the President states the numbers of Members recorded in the division, giving the name of the Member whose vote is proposed to be disallowed, and a brief statement of the ground for moving the disallowance motion.

The Member wishing to move such a motion will also give a written note to the Member whose vote is proposed to be disallowed, giving a brief statement of the ground for moving the motion. This gives the opportunity to the latter, if he so wishes, to clarify matters. Should the Member intending to move the motion decide otherwise in the light of the clarifications given, he should give a further written note to the President or Chairman informing him of his decision.

6. After Members have cast their votes and having ascertained from Members that they do not have any problems with the electronic voting system, the President or Chairman instructs the Clerk to provide a print-out of the voting result showing the votes cast by individual Members, with a view to ascertaining whether the Member whose "vote" is challenged has actually participated in the voting.

7. If the Member whose "vote" is challenged has NOT cast his vote during the division, the President or Chairman shall declare the result of the division straightaway. If the Member whose "vote" is challenged has actually cast his vote during the division, steps 8 to 13 of this procedure will be followed.

8. The President or Chairman states the numbers of Members recorded in the division.

9. The President or Chairman announces the fact that he has received private notice from a Member of his intention to move a motion under Rule 84(4) of the Rules of Procedure for the disallowance of another Member's vote on the ground of direct pecuniary interest.

10. The President or Chairman calls upon the Member to move his motion on the disallowance of the other Member's vote.

11. The President or Chairman decides whether or not to propose the question upon the disallowance motion having regard to the provisions of Rule 84(5) of the Rules of Procedure.

12. If the question for the disallowance of a Member's vote is proposed, the Member concerned will, in accordance with Rule 84(6) of the Rules of Procedure, be heard in his place but he shall then withdraw from the Council or Committee for the duration of any vote on the question.

13. Council or Committee debates on the question on the disallowance of the vote cast by the Member, followed by voting on the question after the question is put.

Appendix IV
(rule 20(d))

Presiding Member

The election of the chairman of the House Committee shall be conducted at a meeting of the Committee.

2. Where the election takes place at the first meeting of the Committee in a new term of the Legislative Council, the Member who has the highest precedence shall preside at the election.

3. At any other election of chairman, the Member who was the chairman of the House Committee before the election shall preside at the election. If he or she is absent or is being nominated for the office, the Member who was deputy chairman of the Committee before the election shall preside. If both Members who were chairman and deputy chairman of the House Committee before the election are absent or are being nominated for the office, the Member present who has the highest precedence shall preside.

Election of Chairman

4. The Member presiding shall call for nominations for the chairmanship. A valid nomination shall be made orally by a Member, seconded by at least one other Member who should not be the Member being nominated, and accepted by the Member being nominated.

5. If there is only one nomination, the Member presiding shall declare the nominee elected as chairman.

6. If there are two or more nominations, the Member presiding shall announce a vote by secret ballot and shall order the clerk to distribute a ballot paper to each of the Members present, including the Member presiding.

7. A Member present who wishes to vote shall put down in legible form the name of the nominee of his choice on the ballot paper, and place the ballot paper into the ballot box.

8. After all the Members present who wish to vote have done so, the clerk shall count the ballot papers in front of all the Members present and report the result to the Member presiding who shall check the result for confirmation.

9. The Member presiding shall declare elected as chairman the nominee who receives the highest number of valid votes among all the nominees.

10. If two or more nominees receive the same highest number of valid votes, the Member presiding shall announce that lots will be drawn by him to decide how he shall give the casting vote in respect of these nominees.

11. The Member presiding shall then draw lots and give the casting vote to one of the nominees in accordance with the lot drawn, and shall forthwith declare that nominee elected as chairman.

12. The elected chairman shall then take the chair and proceed with the remaining business of the meeting or adjourn the meeting, as the case may be.

Election of Deputy Chairman

13. The chairman of the House Committee shall preside at the election. (If he is absent, the Member present who has the highest precedence shall preside at the election.)

14. The chairman shall call for nominations for the deputy chairmanship. A valid nomination shall be made orally by a Member, seconded by at least one other Member who should not be the Member being nominated, and accepted by the Member being nominated.

15. If there is only one nomination, the chairman shall declare the nominee elected as deputy chairman.

16. If there are two or more nominations, the chairman shall announce a vote by secret ballot and shall order the clerk to distribute a ballot paper to each of the Members present, including the chairman.

17. A Member present who wishes to vote shall put down in legible form the name of the nominee of his choice on the ballot paper, and place the ballot paper into the ballot box.

18. After all the Members present who wish to vote have done so, the clerk shall count the ballot papers in front of all the Members present and report the result to the chairman who shall check the result for confirmation.

19. The chairman shall declare elected as deputy chairman the nominee who receives the highest number of valid votes among all the nominees.

20. If two or more nominees receive the same highest number of valid votes, the chairman shall announce that lots will be drawn by him to decide how he shall give the casting vote in respect of these nominees.

21. The chairman shall then draw lots and give the casting vote to one of the nominees in accordance with the lot drawn, and shall forthwith declare that nominee elected as deputy chairman.