CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION revising certain General Rules and Procedures of the Seattle City Council; amending Rules III and V in Attachment 1 of Resolution 32029.
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WHEREAS, by Resolution 32029, the Seattle City Council adopted "General Rules and Procedures of the Seattle City Council" to govern both its internal management and the procedures available to the public, in conformance with the City Charter and the customary practice of legislative bodies; and
WHEREAS, the Council procedures and rules guide and facilitate Councilmember duties and meeting deliberations as well as provide the public with an understanding of Council functions; and
WHEREAS, periodic alterations to the Council's procedures are appropriate to improve the Council's operations and its interactions with the general public; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THAT:
Section 1. Rule III in Attachment 1 of Resolution 32029 is amended as follows:
III. CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS
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B. Order of Business.
1. The President shall announce the business of the City Council at its regular meetings, which shall ordinarily be disposed of in the following order:
a. Call to Order
b. Roll Call
c. Presentations
d. ((Approval of the Journal)) Public Comment
e. Approval of the Introduction and Referral Calendar
f. Approval of Consent Calendar
g. Approval of the Agenda
((g. Public Comment
h. Payment of Bills, Claims, and Salaries
i.)) h. Committee Reports (discussion and vote on Bills, Resolutions, Clerk Files, and Appointments)
i. Items removed from Consent Calendar
j. Adoption of Other Resolutions
k. Other Business
l. Adjournment
2. Upon the passage of each Bill, the President shall announce that the President is signing the Bill, and if so requested by any CM, that Bill shall be read at length so as to ensure its correctness before it shall become enrolled.
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E. Consent Calendar
At the discretion of the President, the agenda for a particular Council meeting may include a consent calendar to allow the Council to act on administrative items or items for which no debate or inquiries are expected. Included on this consent calendar can be matters such as approval of minutes, payment of bills, and Committee Reports (vote on Resolutions, Clerk Files, and Appointments) with a unanimous vote and no abstentions. Upon request by any CM, an item shall be removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda for a separate vote, according to Rule III.B. Multiple removed items shall be considered in the same order as they had been presented on the consent calendar.
Section 2. Rule V in Attachment 1 of Resolution 32029 is amended as follows:
V. CITY COUNCIL VOTING
A. Voting Required; Disqualification Process.
1. Every CM in attendance shall vote on all actions before the City Council, except when CMs must disqualify themselves from voting as required by either the City’s Code of Ethics or the Washington State Appearance of Fairness Doctrine. CMs may also disqualify themselves from voting to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, unless a majority of those present vote that there is no conflict. (See Rule V.D.2 Announcing and Recording Votes.)
2. Abstentions are not allowed on actions, other than Resolutions. ((that, in the sole discretion of the Council President, are not materially related to City government.)) CMs not having abstained or disqualified themselves pursuant to Rule V.A.1 shall vote “Aye” or “No.”
3. All votes shall be recorded by the City Clerk in the Journal of the Proceedings.
B. Roll Call Voting.
A roll call vote shall be taken when voting on final passage of Bills, the consent calendar, and on other business when requested by a CM. A roll call vote is called in alphabetical order of last name, except for the President, whose name is always called last. At each regular Council meeting, the first name on the roll, in a systematic rotation, is moved to the name immediately preceding the President’s name.
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Section 3. The amendments as stated in Sections 1 and 2 of this resolution are incorporated, including updating the table of contents and formatting, into the “General Rules and Procedures of the Seattle City Council,” attached to this resolution as Attachment 1.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2022, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2022.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2022.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - General Rules and Procedures of the City Council (as amended May 2022)