Drafter
Clerk 03/25/2020
Title
AN ORDINANCE amending the King County council rules meetings in response to an emergency declaration issued by the King County executive; amending K.C.C. 1.24.035; and declaring an emergency.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. On February 29, 2020, public health - Seattle & King County confirmed the first cases of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), including one death, in the county.
B. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death and can easily spread from person to person.
C. On March 1, 2020, King County executive Dow Constantine signed a proclamation of emergency in response to COVID-19, enabling "extraordinary measures" to fight the outbreak.
D. On March 16, 2020, Governor Jay Inslee ordered the statewide closure of food establishments to sit in serve and the prohibition of gatherings of more than fifty people.
E. Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for public health - Seattle & King County issued a parallel local Health Officer Order in King County stating "These orders are essential to protect our whole community from an unprecedented outbreak, especially the most vulnerable people and our health care system."
F. Foremost among the directives in the local Health Officer Order are the imposition of social distancing and the discouragement of the congregation of persons.
G. To that end, and in the interests of focusing all immediate efforts on COVID-19 response and recovery, King County council has temporarily suspended both standing and regional committee and judiciously scheduling full council meetings to address time sensitive matters and issues related to the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
H. As the duration and impact of the emergency cannot be foreseen, the council desires to make formally provisions for how to effectively proceed with doing the people's business, especially focusing on the need to address COVD-19 response and recovery issues in King County.
SECTION 2. Ordinance 11683, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 1.24.035 are hereby amended to read as follows:
A.1.a. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, ((T))the time of regular meetings of the council is 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday of each week. However, the regular meetings of the council shall not take place((: from March 30, 2020, through April 11, 2020;)) from August 1, 2020, through August 14, 2020; and from December 16, 2020, through January 3, 2021. Until either the executive terminates the March 1, 2020, proclamation of emergency in response to COVID-19 or this subsection is amended, the regular meeting time of the council is 1:00 p.m. on every-other Tuesday, starting with the regular council meeting on April 14, 2020. All regular or special meetings of council committees shall be regular or special council meetings, in accordance with subsection F. of this rule.
b. Each fifth Wednesday of each month from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. shall be reserved for special regional committee meetings as needed. Each first and third Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. is reserved for meetings of the flood control district executive committee. Each Monday at 9:30 a.m. is reserved for special meetings of standing committees. Each fifth Monday of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. is reserved for special regional and standing committee meetings. If a special meeting for more than one committee is called for the same time and location, the meeting for which the council clerk first receives written notice shall take precedence for use of the meeting location. In order to allow each member sufficient time to review legislation and to meet with constituents, staff and officials of other jurisdictions, no special committee meeting may be called for any other time than the days and times specified in this subsection for the respective committees without the prior written consent of the council chair or the consent of a majority of the members of the committee. This subsection A.1.b. does not apply to special meetings of the budget and fiscal management committee for purposes of considering the county executive's biennial budget proposal, which shall be called by the chair of the budget and fiscal management committee.
2.a. All regular meetings of the King County council and the council's committees, except for the committee of the whole work sessions, shall be held in the council chambers on the tenth floor of the King County Courthouse in Seattle, Washington. All regular meetings of the committee of the whole work sessions shall be held in the southwest conference room on the twelfth floor of the King County Courthouse in Seattle, Washington.
b. Whenever, due to an emergency, as defined in K.C.C. 12.52.010, it is imprudent, inexpedient or impossible to conduct the affairs of the council at the regular or usual place or places, the council may meet at any place within or without the territorial limits of the county on the call of the chair or any two members of the council. After an emergency relocation, the affairs of the council shall be lawfully conducted at the emergency location for the duration of the emergency.
B.1. Except as provided in subsection B.2. and 3. of this rule, the times for regular and special committee meetings are as follows:
a. Budget and fiscal management committee: the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m.;
b. Committee of the whole, except for work sessions, which are the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 12:30 p.m.: the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 1:30 p.m.;
c. Community, health and housing services committee: the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m.;
d. Employment and administration committee: the third Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m.;
e. Government accountability and oversight committee: the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m.;
f. Law and justice committee: the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m.;
g. Local services committee: the first and third Mondays of each month at 1:30 p.m.;
h. Mobility and environment committee: the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 1:00 p.m.;
i. Regional policy committee: the second Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m.;
j. Regional transit committee: the third Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m.; and
k. Regional water quality committee: the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m.;
2. The regular meetings of the committees shall not take place during the times when the council meeting does not take place, as prescribed in subsection A. of this rule.
3. Until either the executive terminates the March 1, 2020, proclamation of emergency in response to COVID-19 or this subsection is amended, the regular meeting time of the committee of the whole is 1:00 p.m. on every-other Tuesday, starting with the regular committee meeting on April 7, 2020. In addition, a regular meeting of the committee of the whole shall occur on March 31, 2020.
C. Council and committee meetings must be held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act of 1971, chapter 42.30 RCW.
D. A meeting may be continued, in accordance with chapter 42.30 RCW, to another date and does not conclude until adjourned in accordance with these rules.
E.1. An executive session may be held during a council or committee meeting if one of the specific grounds under chapter 42.30 RCW for an executive session exists.
2. Before convening in executive session, the chair of the council or committee shall publicly announce the purpose for excluding the public from the meeting place and the time when the executive session will be concluded. The executive session may be extended to a stated later time by announcement of the chair.
3. Only members of the council or committee, special invitees and those employees or staff members the council or committee determines to be necessary are allowed to remain in the room. Persons attending an executive session shall maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings.
F.1. A legal analysis of the Open Public Meetings Act by the office of the Attorney General, 2010 AGO No. 9, has advised that when a committee meeting is attended by a quorum of the governing body it must be noticed not only as a committee meeting but also as a meeting of the governing body. For this reason, all meetings, including work sessions, of council committees shall be noticed both as committee meetings and as council meetings whose agenda is limited to the committee business.
2. In all committee meetings, which are council meetings in accordance with subsection F.1. of this rule, only the rules and procedures applicable to committees apply, and not those rules and procedures applicable to full council meetings. This includes, but is not limited to:
a. only those members who serve on the committee have the right to exercise parliamentary rights in the meeting, including, but not limited to, raising points of order, making motions and voting;
b. attendance shall be recorded only for members serving on the committee, and the quorum for the meeting shall be the committee quorum; and
c. committee meetings shall be chaired by the committee chair.
SECTION 3. The council finds as a fact and declares that an emergency exists and that the enactment of this ordinance as an emergency ordinance is necessary for the
immediate preservation of public peace, health or safety or for the support of county government and its existing public institutions.