Draft 17: The FINAL Draft of the Rules

Alright, quick and dirty because Briefing ended six minutes ago. But here’s what changed on the council rules, if it’s bolded it passed, if it’s struck through it failed.

The Wilkerson Amendment

• States the effective date of rule changes as January 1, not February 1
• Would keep the meetings on Mondays, rather than switching to Tuesdays
• Clarifies that if a Monday meeting is cancelled due to a holiday, that week’s meeting will be held on the next day that is not a holiday, unless cancelled by the council president. 
• Fixes a clerical error in the original draft, ensuring that the rule forbidding presentations or visual aids from members of the public continues into 2025
• Committees will meet at noon on Mondays instead of 1:15 pm (we’re gonna have to get CIVICS out faster)

The Dillon Amendment turned into the Dillon Substitution of the Dillon Amendment

Apparently there was a substitution to this that came after the deadline. Dillon thinks his earlier amendment “went a little too far when it came to debate and decorum.” The substitution walks back the stipulation that wouldn’t let them question intent or bring up past council action, and changes the language to “not impugning another council member’s integrity.”

Here’s the full text:

2.21 Council Member Participation in Meetings; Debate.
A. Debate shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (12th Ed.)
except as set forth under this rule. During committee meetings, legislative sessions,
and agenda review, council members may only speak to any pending question after
being recognized by the chair or presiding officer. Absent permission from the chair
or presiding officer, no council member may speak to any pending question more
than twice, and on each occasion shall be limited to 10 minutes. Council members
shall not engage in debate or commentary regarding first reading ordinances or
comments made during open forum except as expressly allowed under these rules.
B. During commentary, discussion and debate, council members shall confine all
remarks to the question under debate.
C. Committee meetings are an opportunity for council to question staff and other
permitted speakers regarding any proposed legislative item. Discussion shall be
regulated by the chair, who shall ensure all council members have an equal
opportunity to participate and ask questions. At committee meetings, council
members are permitted to engage in debate regarding any legislative item subject to
the general rules of debate above.
D. Agenda review sessions are an additional opportunity for council to question staff
and other permitted speakers regarding any proposed legislative item. Any council
member wishing to have an item on a draft agenda briefed by staff at agenda review
shall submit the request in writing to the City Administrator and Council Office
Director by 5:00 p.m. the day immediately preceding the agenda review session.
Other than questions directed to staff, discussion at agenda review sessions shall be
confined to debate on motions to adjust the agenda or to amend or substitute

The Bingle Amendments

• Amendment 1: would restore the prior rule language that says any two council members can place legislation on the evening agendas (rather than needing three)
• Amendment 2: keeps meetings on Mondays (but maybe at 3:30 instead of 5 pm? Hard to tell with how it’s worded), moves committee meetings to 11 am instead of 1:15 pm, states that meetings cancelled due to holidays will be rescheduled for the next available Monday.
• Amendment 3: would exempt the council from following the Robert’s Rule that requires there to be a “pending question” open for discussion to happen, instead allowing them to debate any item on the agenda, including first reading ordinances (which they currently are not allowed to debate)

The Cathcart Amendments 

• Amendment 1: states that no council members will be “interrupted or silenced,” by other council members during meetings, unless they violate the rule requiring mutual respect. If the Council President rules they have violated a rule, the president must explain their reasoning as to why an action was out of order. 
• Amendment 2: would forbid the council from adopting resolutions in support of or against state or local ballot propositions, “to avoid even the appearance of electioneering.”
• Amendment 3: would allow the Council President to address citizens’ concerns during Open Forum, if their question is “of concern by the broader community,” and can be quickly clarified. For example, if someone is upset that the city hadn’t passed a contract, but the city *did* pass that contract, Wilkerson could let them know the action taken by the city.  
• Amendment 4: states that the council president would have to consult with all council member’s offices and staff before scheduling a Study Session.
• Amendment 5: would require three sponsors to place items on the legislative agenda, but those three sponsors would all have to live in different council districts, and would count the Council President as a representative of the district she lives in (rather than as a representative of the whole city, since she was elected citywide.)
• Amendment 6: forces any initiative or referendum-related items to appear in committee before being on the city agenda, and shortens the definition of “legislation” to just mean any action item, basically. 
• Amendment 7: adds public interviews with mayoral hires and board and commission applicants to the evening legislative meeting schedule.
• Amendment 8: states that the public can use their Open Forum time to testify on items that appear on any agenda except that night’s agenda and the most up-to-date advance agenda.
• Amendment 9: would preserve three minutes of public testimony time on final action items, and reduce testimony time from three to two minutes on the consent agenda and first readings.