{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-3","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Senate Rules Rule 10, § 3","heading":"Debate","body":"§ 3. Debate. a. Debate shall only be in order when it  is  germane  to\nthe question under discussion.\n  b.  If  the  question in debate contains several points, a Senator may\nhave the same divided, provided  the  division  called  for  embodies  a\ndistinct principle or statement of fact.\n  c.  When  any bill, resolution or motion is under consideration and it\nappears that no Senator desires  to  be  heard  further,  the  Presiding\nOfficer  shall  put  the  question: \"Does any Senator desire to be heard\nfurther?\" If no Senator shall rise  to  debate,  the  Presiding  Officer\nshall  declare  the debate closed; except that thereafter the Conference\nLeaders may speak once, or may yield the floor to any  Senator  who  may\nspeak  once, and may be followed by the Temporary President who may also\nspeak once, or may yield the floor to any Senator who  may  speak  once.\nThe main question shall then be put immediately.\n  d.  Debate on motions or resolutions other than concurrent resolutions\nshall be limited to one and one-half hours with one-half hour  allocated\nto  each conference. Debate upon any bill or concurrent resolution shall\nbe limited to four hours, which shall include sufficient  time  for  all\nSenators to explain their votes. No single Senator shall debate any bill\nor  concurrent resolution for more than thirty minutes. When any bill or\nconcurrent resolution shall have been under consideration for two hours,\nincluding all amendments thereto, it shall be in order for  any  Senator\nto  move  to close debate, and the Presiding Officer shall recognize the\nSenator who wishes to make such motion.  Such  motion  to  close  debate\nshall not be amendable or debatable and shall be immediately put, and if\nit  shall  receive  the  affirmative  vote of a majority of the Senators\npresent, the pending  measure  shall  take  precedence  over  all  other\nbusiness.\n  e.  The  vote  shall  thereupon be taken upon such bill, resolution or\nmotion with such amendments as may  be  pending  at  the  time  of  such\nmotion,  according  to  the  Rules  of  the  Senate, but without further\ndebate, except that upon the roll call the sponsor of a bill before  the\nhouse  may  speak,  not to exceed five minutes, in explanation of his or\nher  vote, and any Senator, including co-sponsors of the bill before the\nhouse, may speak not to exceed two minutes in explanation of his or  her\nvote. After such motion to close debate has been made by any Senator, no\nother  motion shall be in order until such motion has been voted upon by\nthe Senate.\n  f. After the Senate shall have adopted the motion to close debate,  as\nhereinbefore  provided,  no  motion  shall be in order but one motion to\nadjourn or for a call of the Senate by the Temporary  President,  and  a\nmotion  to commit. Should said motion to adjourn be carried, the measure\nunder consideration shall be the pending question when the Senate  shall\nagain  convene,  and  shall be taken up at the point where it was at the\ntime of such adjournment. The motion to close debate may be ordered upon\na single motion, a series of motions allowable under the  rules,  or  an\namendment  or  amendments,  or  may  be  made  to embrace all authorized\nmotions or amendments, and include the bill, resolution or motion to its\npassage or rejection. All incidental  questions  of  order,  or  motions\npending  at  the  time  such motion is made to close debate, whether the\nsame be on appeal or otherwise, shall be decided without debate.","path":["Senate Rules","Rule 10. Senators"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/CMS/R10S3","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:44Z","sha256":"e87d3456f6bd286e85fdcf1731d70ded6d9a381e3d810a107436db1c2d6f9694","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-2","next":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-4"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}