{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-4","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Senate Rules Rule 10, § 4","heading":"Order and decorum","body":"§ 4. Order and decorum.  a.  Prior  to  the  order  of  business,  the\npresiding  officer  shall  ask  those  in the chamber to rise and pledge\nallegiance to the flag. Those in attendance shall remain standing during\nthe daily invocation  and  until  asked  to  take  their  seats  by  the\npresiding  officer.  Senators  shall  not  interrupt the business of the\nSenate, or read any newspaper while the journals or  public  papers  are\nbeing  read;  or  walk  out  of or across the Chamber when the Presiding\nOfficer is putting a question; or  when  a  Senator  is  speaking,  pass\nbetween him or her and the Chair. Cellular telephones and audible pagers\nshall  not  be  used in the Chamber or in the Senate Galleries. No sign,\nplacard or prop shall be displayed, posted or carried  in  the  Chamber.\nCellular  telephones  shall  not  be used in the lobby by members of the\ngeneral public. No person shall be introduced by a  Senator  during  the\nregular  business  of the Senate, except that it shall be permissible to\nintroduce a person who has served as a member  of  the  New  York  State\nLegislature or a person who is present in the Chamber for the purpose of\nnomination to an office to be confirmed by the Senate. On the nomination\nof  any  person to an office which is subject to the confirmation of the\nSenate, nominating and seconding speeches shall be  limited  to  fifteen\nminutes per conference.\n  b. Members are expected to uphold the highest standards of civility in\ndealing  with  other  members. Debate should be dignified and lacking in\npersonal invective. A Senator rising to debate or present  a  paper,  to\ngive  a  notice, to make a motion or report, shall address the Presiding\nOfficer and shall not proceed further until recognized by the Chair;  he\nor  she  shall  speak on the same subject but twice the same day without\nleave of the Senate; and when two or more Senators  address  the  Chair,\nthe  Presiding  Officer  shall name the Senator who is first to speak. A\nSenator, while speaking  after  recognition  by  the  Chair,  may,  upon\nrequest  of  a  Senator, yield to him or her temporarily without thereby\nrelinquishing his or her prior right to the floor and,  thereafter,  may\nterminate  such  interruption and resume speaking at any time; provided,\nhowever, that it shall not be in order for a Senator to rise and request\nthat a Senator, other than the one with the right to the floor, yield to\na question. Furthermore, it shall not be in order for  a  Senator,  with\nthe  right  to the floor, to ask another Senator to yield to a question,\nunless such Senator has previously  spoken  during  the  debate  on  the\nmatter. All questions and responses shall be directed through the chair,\nand  the presiding officer shall not be interrupted when speaking. After\ncompletion of the order of business for the day, and with the  unanimous\nconsent  of  the  Senate,  a Senator may make a statement, not exceeding\nfifteen minutes in length, concerning a subject or  matter  not  pending\nbefore the Senate for consideration.\n  c.  When  a Senator shall be called to order, he or she shall take his\nor her seat until the Presiding Officer shall have determined whether he\nor she is in order or not; and if decided to be out of order, he or  she\nshall  not  proceed  without  the  permission  of  the Senate; and every\nquestion of order shall be decided by the Presiding Officer, subject  to\nan  appeal to the Senate by any Senator. It shall require an affirmative\nvote of a majority of all members elected to overrule a  ruling  of  the\nChair.  No  second  appeal shall be determined until the original appeal\nshall be decided; and if a Senator shall be called to  order  for  words\nspoken,  the  words  excepted  to  shall  be  immediately  taken down in\nwriting.","path":["Senate Rules","Rule 10. Senators"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/CMS/R10S4","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:44Z","sha256":"2d91e79178d40301402ccdead9aafea2762941078a63adee06bc33526651c717","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-3","next":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-10-5"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}