THE FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE TEST

Principle: The fundamental purpose of the amendment must relate to the fundamental purpose of the bill. The purpose of the bill is judged from its text, not from debate statements.

Example:

• To a title of a bill designed to enable federal agencies to formulate energy conservation policies, an amendment prohibiting certain uses of fuel (for school busing) by any person was held not germane.

Principle: An amendment must not only have a related purpose, but must accomplish that purpose by a method that is closely allied to the method used in the bill.

Example:

• To a bill conserving energy by imposing civil penalties on manufacturers of automobiles with low gas mileage, an amendment conserving energy by offering tax rebates to a purchaser of high-mileage automobiles was held not to be germane.

• To an amendment to achieve a national production goal for synthetic fuels for national defense needs by loans and grants and development of demonstration synthetic fuel plants, a substitute to require by regulation that any fuel sold in commerce require a certain percentage of synthetic fuels was held not to be germane.