Committee on Rules Legislative Process Program
110th Congress
CATEGORIES OF SPECIAL RULES
General Note - Most rules allow some form of debate and all appropriation rules do.
Open – Allows any Member to offer an amendment, including en-bloc amendments, under the five minute rule, provided that the amendment is in compliance with House rules and the Budget Act. Most appropriation bills are considered under open rules. Even under an open rule, it is often difficult to offer an amendment to an appropriations bill. For example, an amendment cannot exceed the budget authority or outlays allocated to the committee under the Budget Act or it is subject to a point of order.
Modified Open – Allows any Member to offer a germane amendment under the five minute rule subject only to an overall time limit on the amendment process, and/or a requirement that amendments be pre-printed in the Congressional Record.
Modified Closed/Structured -- Permits only those amendments designated by the Rules Committee. It precludes amendments to a particular portion of the bill, although the remainder of the bill may be completely open to amendment. With respect to appropriation bills, this is often the case with a legislative amendment that has been added to the bill on the floor. In the case of a structured rule the Committee will often notify Members by a Dear Colleague letter and an announcement on the House Floor. In such instances, Members are encouraged to file their amendments with the Rules Committee.
Closed – Permits no amendments to be offered.
