Drafter
Clerk 07/17/2013
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the council rules; and amending Ordinance 11683, Section 9, as amended, and K.C.C. 1.24.085.
Body
PREAMBLE:
The King County council seeks every opportunity to proactively enact new government reform measures in order to most effectively and efficiently deliver government services. As the legislative authority of King County government, the King County council strives to establish standards and expectations for immediate improvements to the process of enacting local legislation. The King County council has therefore developed a set of standards that will be used to evaluate any legislative proposal delivered to the council. These standards will help ensure that legislative proponents have properly examined and articulated the fiscal, legal and practical impacts of any legislative proposals that are delivered to the council. These minimum standards will also serve to ensure that legislative proposals are fully developed and will allow the legislative review process to move as efficiently and responsibly as possible.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Ordinance 11683, Section 9, as amended, and K.C.C. 1.24.085 are each hereby amended to read as follows:
A. All legislative proposals submitted to the King County council by the executive shall be accompanied by a completed Legislative Review Form in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, dated July 25, 2013, or as amended from time to time.
B. Upon receipt of proposed legislation from the executive, the sheriff, the assessor, the presiding judge, the prosecuting attorney, the director of elections or a councilmember, the clerk of the council shall assign a proposed number to the legislation. The clerk may make formatting and nonsubstantive revisions in form and style to proposed legislation before first reading and shall indicate on the revised legislation that the legislation is revised by the clerk and the date of the revision.
((B.)) C. Upon filing with the clerk of the council of either a signature of at least one member of the council or electronic sponsorship of legislation in a form prescribed by the clerk of the council, or upon receipt by the council of a proposed ordinance submitted as an institutional initiative under Section 230.50.10 of the King County Charter, the proposed legislation is introduced and must be placed on the agenda for first reading and referral. Legislation may be introduced with the title only, but the text of the legislation must be filed with the clerk by first reading. The chair of the council shall refer both the title and the subsequently filed text of the legislation to committee if the legislation was introduced with the title only. If the text of the legislation is not timely filed, the legislation is to be removed from the agenda and is not to be referred to committee.
((C.)) D. A member may add his or her name to sponsorship of legislation at any time before passage of the legislation by informing the clerk of the council in writing. The first member listed on the first introduction slip filed for legislation may not remove his or her name from sponsorship of the legislation. However, any other sponsor of legislation may remove his or her own name from sponsorship of the legislation by informing the clerk of the council in writing.
((D.)) E. First reading of legislation shall consist of either:
1. Printing the number and title of the proposed legislation on the published agenda; or
2. Adding the proposed legislation to the agenda under Rule 5, K.C.C. 1.24.045.B.2. or 3. and including this information in the council's minutes.
((E.)) F. After the first reading, proposed legislation must be referred to an appropriate committee or committees by the chair of the council, except for motions confirming executive reappointments to boards or commissions, which may be referred directly to a council consent agenda. Proposed legislation referred to more than one committee must be considered consecutively by the committees in the order set forth on the marked published agenda or as specified by the chair during the meeting and reflected in the council's minutes.
((F.)) G. Upon being reported out of committee with a recommendation signed by a majority of the committee, proposed legislation must be placed upon an agenda for appropriate action, after consideration of public hearing notice requirements, one week after the Monday after the committee meeting, unless the committee chair decides and states on the record at the committee meeting that the item be placed on the next council agenda. The clerk of the council may make formatting and nonsubstantive revisions in form to proposed legislation after the legislation is reported out of the committee and before the legislation is placed on the agenda for second reading and shall indicate on the revised legislation that the legislation is revised by the clerk and the date of the revision.