“There shall be in the House the following standing committees, each of which shall have the jurisdiction and related functions assigned by this clause and clauses 2, 3, and 4. All bills, resolutions, and other matters relating to subjects within the jurisdiction of the standing committees listed in this clause shall be referred to those committees in accordance with clause 2 of rule XII:...” (clause 1, rule X).

House Rule X broadly outlines the jurisdiction of each of the standing committees of the House. Most of Rule X was drawn from 19th and 20th century precedents and codified in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Although the rule underwent modest revisions in 1974 and 1980, as well as more extensive changes in the 104th Congress, topic omissions and a lack of clarity, as well as overlaps among committees in areas of jurisdiction, still exist.

Committee jurisdiction over measures introduced in the House, and the subsequent referral of those measures is a complex process. The formal provisions of the rule are supplemented by an intricate series of precedents and informal agreements governing the referral of legislation. Precedent dictates that once a measure is referred to a committee it remains the responsibility of that committee. After the legislation is enacted into law any amendments to the law are most often considered to be within the jurisdiction of that same committee. In addition, formal agreements, usually in the form of memorandums of understanding, between committees determining the boundaries of their respective jurisdictions are usually respected by the Parliamentarian and the Speaker in the referral process. These memorandums are sometimes memorialized through printing in the Congressional Record.

In dealing with jurisdictional conflicts or overlaps, the difference between legislative and oversight jurisdiction is important. Legislative jurisdiction is the authority that a committee has over introducing measures in the House. Oversight jurisdiction is concerned with the ability to review and investigate different subjects. The broad topical areas of oversight jurisdiction are more prone to overlap with other jurisdictions. However, oversight jurisdictional disputes are usually less contentious than legislative jurisdictional disputes.

Several other important factors to consider with respect to committee consideration of measures include:

• the committee assignment and issue expertise of the Member sponsoring the legislation;
• the timing of the measure’s introduction (ie. after a hearing or press conference by a Member on the subject);
• a committee’s representation at a conference on the subject of the legislation; and
• to which Appropriations subcommittee the matter has been referred.

Types of Referral

In the 104th Congress, joint committee referrals were abolished. Under the current rules of the House measures are referred primarily to one committee with additional referrals to other committees that also maintain jurisdiction over the matter. The primary committee to which a measure is referred is called the lead committee.

A committee may also receive a sequential or split referral. A sequential referral occurs when a measure is referred to an additional committee (or committees) subject to time limits by the Speaker imposed after the primary committee has reported the measure. A less common practice is a split referral which refers designated portions of the same measure to another committee. If a mistake is made in the referral of a measure, it can be re-referred by unanimous consent.

Once a measure has been referred to a full committee, it is eligible to be referred to one of that committee’s subcommittees. Subcommittee referrals are not made by the Speaker on advice of the Parliamentarian, but by the full committee to which the measure was referred, according to its committee rules and its subcommittees’ jurisdictions.

Key Parliamentary Terms

Bills Introduced - In both the House and Senate, any number of Members may join in introducing a single bill or resolution. The first Member listed is the sponsor of the bill, and all Members’ names following the sponsor’s are the bill’s cosponsors. When introduced, a bill is referred to the committee or committees that have jurisdiction over the subject with which the bill is concerned. Under the standing rules of the House and Senate, bills are referred by the Speaker in the House and by the presiding officer in the Senate. In practice, the House and Senate parliamentarians act for these officials and refer the vast majority of bills.