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HomeMy WebLinkAbout27- City Attorney CITY OF SAN BERK ADINO - REQUEST I A COUNCIL ACTION From: James F. Penman Subject: An Ordinance of the City of San Bernardino adding Section 2 . 58 . 105 Dept: City Attorney to the San Bernardino Municipal Code relating to Willful Inter- Date: August 8 , 1994 ruptions of meetings of the Mayor and Common Council Synopsis of Previous Council action: None Recommended motion: Waiver further reading and lay over for final adoption Signature Contact person: Dennis A. Barlow Phone: 5255 Supporting data attached: Ward: All FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: Source: (Acct. No.) JAcct. Description) Finance: Council Notes: 17 CITY OF SAN BERN! ;DINO - REQUEST P Z COUNCIL 'ACTION STAFF REPORT From time to time certain individuals disrupt or interrupt the meetings of the Mayor and Common Council by interrupting the speakers, speaking to items other than those before the Council, repetitiously covering the same issues, or shouting down a speaker. Various State laws including the Brown Act authorize removal of the offending individual but the law also requires that prior notice be given. This ordinance identifies under what circumstances individuals may be removed and specifies that prior notice is required. It also clearly points out that, as allowed by the Brown Act, criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the City or the acts or omissions of the Mayor and Council is not restricted. ?5-0264 1 ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING SECTION 2.58.105 TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO 3 WILLFUL INTERRUPTIONS OF MEETINGS OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL 4 THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO 5 DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: 6 SECTION 1. Section 2.58. 105 is hereby added to the San 7 Bernardio Municipal Code to read as follows: 8 2.58.105. Understanding that the purpose of the 9 meetings of the Mayor and Common Council is to conduct the 10 people' s business for the benefit of all the people, in the 11 event that any meeting of the Mayor and Common Council is 12 willfully interrupted by a person or by a group of persons so as 13 to render the orderly conduct of the meeting impossible, the 14 Mayor may proceed pursuant to Government Code S 54957.9 or any 15 applicable pp penal statute or ordinance. For the purposes of 16 these rules "willfully interrupt" includes, but is not limited 17 to, continuing to do any of the following after being warned by 18 the Mayor that continuing to do so will be a violation of law: 19 a. Addressing the Mayor and Common Council without first 20 being recognized. 21 b. Persisting in addressing a subject or subjects, other 22 than that before the Mayor and Common Council. 23 c. Repetitiously addressing the same subject. 24 d. Failing to relinquish the podium when directed to do 25 so. 26 e. From the audience, interrupting or attempting to 27 interrupt, a speaker, the Mayor, a Councilmember, or a staff 28 DAB:ca [Interrup.Ord] 1 August 5, 1994 1 member or shouting or attempting to shout over a speaker, the 2 Mayor, a Councilmember or a staff member. 3 f. As a speaker, interrupting or attempting to interrupt 4 the Mayor, a Councilmember, or a staff member, or shouting over 5 or attempting to shout over the Mayor, a Councilmember, or a 6 staff member. 7 Nothing in this section or any rules of the Council shall 8 be construed to prohibit public criticism of the policies, 9 procedures, programs, or services of the City or of the acts or 10 omissions of the Mayor and Common Council. 11 It shall be unlawful to violate the provisions of this 12 Section. 13 If any subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this 14 Section 2. 58. 105 is for any reason held to be invalid or 15 unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of 16 the remaining portions of this Section. The Mayor and Common 17 Council hereby declare that it would have passed this section, 18 and each subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, 19 irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, 20 sentences, clauses or phrases had been declared invalid or 21 unconstitutional. " 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DAB:ca [Interrup.Ord] 2 August 24. 1994 1 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING SECTION 2.58.105 TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO WILLFUL 2 INTERRUPTIONS OF MEETINGS OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL 3 4 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was duly 5 adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San 6 Bernardino at a meeting thereof, held on the 7 day of 1994, by the following vote, to wit: 8 9 Council Members: AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT 10 NEGRETE 11 CURLIN 12 HERNANDEZ 13 OBERHELMAN 14 DEVLIN 15 POPE-LUDLAM 16 MILLER 17 18 City Clerk 19 20 The foregoing Ordinance is hereby approved this day 21 of , 1994. 22 Tom Minor, Mayor 23 City of San Bernardino 24 Approved as to form and legal content: 25 JAMES F. PENMAN, 26 City Attorney 27 By:4��u4r JAYZ'�"_" 28 DAB:ca [Interrup.Ord] 3 August 5, 1994 -• ' r. : -f � $ULES OF PROCFnT�uF /J k 1• Auth ity 1. 1 Charter: Section 34 of the Charter of the City of San Bernardino provides that the Council shall determine its own rules of procedure for meetings. The following set of rules shall be in effect upon their adoption by the Common Council and until such time as they are amended or new rules adopted in the manner provided for by these rules. 2 . General Rules 2. 1 Meetings to be Public: All official meetings of the Council and all sessions of a Committee of the Council shall be public. (Charter Section 35) 2.2 uo Four members of the Council shall consti- tute a quorum. (Charter Section 30) 2.3 C DP_g1 D_q Attendance: The Council may compel the attendance of absent members (Charter Section 30) 2.4 Misconduct: The Council may punish its own members for misconduct. (Charter Section 34) 2 . 5 Minutes of Meetings: An account of all proceedings of the Council shall be kept by the City Clerk and shall be entered in a book constituting the official record of the Council. (Section 60) 2. 6 Questions to Contain One Subject: All questions submitted for a vote shall contain only one subject. If two or more points are involved, any member may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division. 2 . 7 ht of Floor: Any member desiring to speak shall be recognized by the Mayor and shall confine his/her remarks to the subject under consideration or to be considered. No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every member wishing to speak has spoken. 2.8 S�ity Administrator: The City Administrator or Acting City Administrator shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused. He may make recom- mendations to the Council and shall have the right to take part in all discussions of the Council, but shall have no vote. 2. 9 City Attornev: The City Attorney, or Acting City Attorney shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall upon request give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law. (Sec. 2. 5) 2 . 10 City Clerk: The City Clerk or Acting City Clerk shall attend all meetings of the Council unless : excus and shall keep the of vial minutes as Secretary and perform such other duties as may be requested of him/her by the Council. 2. 11 Officers and Emplg4yees: Any officer or employee of the City when requested by the City Administrator shall attend any meeting of the Council . if requested to do so by the City Administrator, they may present information relating to matters before the City Council . 2 . 12 Rules of o der: Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall govern the proceedings of the Council in all cases, unless they are in conflict with these rules. 2. 13 Suspension of Rules: Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended by five votes of all members of the Council. The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas and noes and entered upon the record. 2 . 14 Amendment of Ru ps: These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by a majority vote of all members of the Council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced into the record at a prior Council meeting.. 3 . Types of Meetings 3 . 1 Regular Meetings: The Council shall meet in the Council Chambers at the City Nall on the first and third Mondays of the month at 9: 00 a.m. , unless otherwise officially established by the City Council. 3 . 2 special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by any four members of the Council. The call for a special meting shall be filed with the City Clerk in written form, except that an- nouncement of a special meeting, during any regular meeting at which all members are present, shall be sufficient notice of such special meeting. The call for a special meting shall specify the day and the hour of the special meeting, and shall list the subject or subjects to be considered. No special meeting shall be held until at least seventy-two (72) hours after the call is issued. Only such business may be transacted at a special meeting as may be listed in the call for said meeting or as incident thereto. 3 . 3 Recessed Meetings:g Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later time, provided that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meeting. Only those listed in the recessed Agenda shall be considered or as incident thereto. i 4 . Chairman an puties 4 . 1 Chairman: The Mayor, if present, shall preside as Chairman at all meetings of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem, the Council shall elect a Chairman. (Charter Section 36) 4 . 2 Call to Order The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Mayor, or in his/her absence, by the Mayor Pro Tem. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Clerk. 4 . 3 Preservation of Order: The Chairman shall preserve order and decorum, prevent personalities or the impugning of members' motives, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion. 4 . 4 Parliamentarian: A Parliamentarian shall be chosen by the Common Council. The parliamentarian shall have the responsibility of monitoring the meetings of the Common Council for compliance with and enforcement of these rules by rendering decisions on requests for points of order from other members or by interrupting the proceedings to call atten- tion to any violation of these rules. A decision by the Parliamentarian shall be final, except when such decision is voided by a motion to waive the rule in question and adopted by the Common Council. 4 . 5 Questions to be Stated: The Chairman shall state all questions submitted for a vote and announce the result. A roll call vote shall be taken upon the request of any member. 5. Order of Business 5. 1 end : The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the Agenda prepared by the City Administrator. The Agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council, and shall be delivered to members of the Council each Friday preceding the Monday to which it pertains. 5. 2 Agenda Deadline: Any person desiring to present a subject for the Council's consideration at their next regularly scheduled Council Meeting shall advise the City Administrator's office of that fact not later than 4:00 p.m. on the Thursday succeeding the previous Monday's Council Meeting. 5. 3 Emergengy: No action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except upon the majority vote of the legislative body determining that an "emergency" situation exists, which means a work stoppage or activity which severely impairs public health or safety or a crippling disaster whicr everely impairs public he .:h or safety. 5. 4 Non-Agenda Items: No action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the osted agenda, upon a five-sevenths vote of the legislative body or, if less than five -sevenths of the members are present, a unanimous vote of four members that the need to take action arose subsequent to the agenda being posted. 5. 5 Continued Items: No action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except the item was continued from a prior meeting of the legislative body which occurred not more than five calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item and the item was posted at least 72 hours before such prior meeting. 5. 6 Public Hearings: Public Hearings shall normally be advertised at least fifteen days in advance of the Hearing by the City Clerk. Any person who wishes to address the Council shall be able to address the Council on the subject. If any member of the Council desires to rehear an item on which the Public Hearing has been closed, he/she must have a 5/7 vote and must have been in the majority on the previous vote to close the public hearing. 5.7 PMblic u Co men : Any member of the public may address the meeting of the Mayor and Common Council on any item appearing on the agenda, by approaching the microphone in the Council Chambers when the item about which the member desires to speak is called, and by asking to be recognized. Any member of the public desiring to speak to the Mayor ad Common Council concerning any matter not on the agenda but which is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Mayor and Common Council, any address the body at the beginning of the meeting, during the period reserved for public comment. However, no action shall be taken on any item which does not appear on the agenda unless the action is otherwise authorized in accordance with the provi- sions of subdivision (b) of Section 54954.2 of the Government Code. 6. Consideration of Ordinances Resolutions, and Motions 6. 1 Printed or Tvnewritten Form: € � All ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the Council only in printed or typewritten form. 6.2 Ctv Attorney to A ove. All ordinances and pp resolutions shall be approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney. 6. 3 9rdinances Defer ed, Emergencies/Urgenc es: Ordinances introduced at a Council meeting shall not be finally acted upon until at least the next official meeting, except that immediate action may i be t in upon a vote of fi\ members of the Counc._ . 6. 4 Recording of Votes: The ayes and noes shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions and entered upon the official record of the Council . (Charter Section 34) 6. 5 �aiority Vote Required: Approval of every ordinance, resolution, or motion shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of he Council . ( Charter Section 31) (4 votes) 6. 6 Tie Votq: In the event of a tie in votes on any motion, the motion shall be considered lost. 6.7� Ming Required: No member shall be excused from 1�(�oting except on matters involving the L consideration of his own official conduct, or where his financial interests are involved, or unless excused by the Council for other valid reasons by majority vote. 6.8 Order of Precedence of Motions: The following motions shall have priority in the order indicated. 1. Adjourn (when privileg€c�) ?/ 2. Take a recess when 1 3/ ( pr 3 . Raise a question of privilege 4 . Lay on the table 5. Previous question (2/3 vote required) 6. Limit or extend limits of deba" (2/3 vote required) 3/ 7. os pone to a certain time 8. Commit or re'rer 3� I 9. Amend & 4/ i t 10. Postpone indefinitely 1. Main- mot - ---------- on i 1/ The first two motions are not always privileged. To adjourn shall lose its privileged character and be a main motion if in any way qualified. To take a recess shall be privileged only when other business is pending. 2/ A motion to adjourn is not in order: 1. When repeated without intervening business or cussion 2) When made as an interruption of a member while speaking 3) While a vote is being taken 3/ Can be amended - others cannot be amended. 4/ A motion to amend shall be undebatable when the question to be amended is undebatable. 6. 10 Reconsideration:- A motion to reconsider any action of the Council can be made no later than the next succeeding official meeting of the Council. Such a motion can only be made by a member who voted with the majority. It can be seconded by any member. No question shall be twice reconsidered except by unanimous consent of the Council, except that action relating to any contract may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof. Normally, an item will not be reconsidered until six months have elapsed. 6. 11 The Previous uestion: When the previous question is moved and seconded, it shall be put as follows: "Shall the main question be now Put?* There shall then be no further amendment or debate; but pending amendments shall be put in their order before the main question. If the motion for the previous question is lost, the main question remains before the Council. An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Council shall be required to move the previous question. 6. 12 Withdrawal of Motions: A motion may be withdrawn or modified by its mover without asking permission until the motion has been stated by the Chairman. If the mover modifies his motion, the seconder may withdraw his second. After the question has been stated, the mover shall neither withdraw it nor modify it without the consent of the Council. 6. 13 Amendments to Motions: No motion or proposition of a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be in order. 7. Creation of Committees Boards and Commissions 7. 1 Council Committees: The Council may, as the need arises, authorize the appointment of "ad hoc" Council Committees. Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council. 7.2 Citiz Boards Co minns and mi • The Council may create other Committees, Boards and Commissions to assist in the conduct of the opera- tion of the City government with such duties as the Council may specify not inconsistent with the City Charter or Code. Memberships and selection of members shall be provided by the Council if not specified by the City Charter or Code. Any Commit- tees, Boards or Commissions so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council. No committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Administrator, except as otherwise specified by the Charter or Code. 8 - Votes Required Approval of every ordinance, resolution or motion shall require on final passage the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Council, except that the Charter and certain State statutes impose other voting requirements on the various questions. In addition, these rules set for the certain instances in which the number of votes required is greater than a majority of all members. As a matter of convenience, questions on which the voting requirement is varied by the Charter, State statutes and these rules are listed below. 8 . 1 Council Rules Requirements: 8. 1. Suspending Rules 5 Votes - Council rules may be suspended by an affirmative vote of five members of the Council (Rule 2. 13) 8. 1. 2 Special Meetings - 4 Votes - Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or any four (4) members. (Council Rules, 3.2) 8. 1. 3 Matters Not on the Agenda 7 Votes -Matters presented by Councilmembers that are not specifically listed on the Agenda may be finally acted upon at the meeting in which they are introduced if they fall within the legal definition. (ie. 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5) . 8. 1. 6 immediate Action on Ordinances 5 Votes Ordinances may be finally acted upon in the meeting at which they were introduced if approved by five votes of all members of the Council. (Council Rules, 6.3) 8. 1.7 Limit or Extend Limits of Debate 5 Votes_ An affirmative vote of two thirds of all members of the Council is required to limit or extend the limits of debate in Council meetings. (Rule 6.9) 8 . 1.8 )e Previous Ouestian Votes - An Zfirmative vote of two-thirds of all members of the Council is required to move the previous question. (Council Rules, 6. 11) F z f i