CONDITIONS AND THE GENERAL PURPOSE
OF THE MEASURERestrictions, conditions, qualifications, limitations, and contingencies to a proposition which are sought by amendment are germane if they are related to the general purpose of the proposition.
Principle: In general, these may include: an exception to or an exemption from a proposition; a limitation on a delegation of authority; restriction on the use of funds authorized or appropriated by a bill; making a provision contingent upon a related event; or a restriction on the classes covered by the bill.
Examples:
- To a bill prohibiting the issuance of injunctions by the courts in labor disputes, an amendment to except all labor disputes affecting public utilities is germane.
- To a bill authorizing federal assistance on the city, state, and national levels for projects to prevent juvenile delinquency, an amendment to limit the federal assistance to projects within the District of Columbia was held to be germane.
- An amendment conditioning availability of a bill’s funds upon implementation by the recipients of another program related to that general purpose is germane.
- An amendment conditioning the availability of funds to certain recipients based upon their compliance with Federal law not otherwise applicable to them (and within the jurisdiction of other House committees) is not germane.
- To a bill amending a statute, an amendment prohibiting assistance under that act or under any other act for a particular purpose was held to be too general in scope, affecting laws not being amended by the bill and was ruled out of order as not germane.
- An amendment delaying the operation of proposed legislation pending an unrelated contingency is not germane. Thus to a bill authorizing Federal financial contributions to international lending institutions, an amendment making those contributions contingent upon enactment of a change in federal monetary policy having domestic implications and involving agencies beyond the scope of the bill is not germane.