Item 12 - Ordinance Concerning City Council Voting, Recusal for Conflicts, and Prohibiting Abstentions

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City Manager Office www.santa-ana.org/cm Item # 12 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report March 15, 2022 TOPIC: Ordinance Concerning City Council Voting, Recusal for Conflicts, and Prohibiting Abstentions AGENDA TITLE: Adopt Ordinance No. NS-XXXX - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING SECTION 2-105 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT ABSTENTIONS UNLESS LEGALLY REQUIRED, TO REQUIRE UNAUTHORIZED ABSTENTIONS TO BE COUNTED AND RECORDED AS A VOTE WITH THE MAJORITY, AND TO DESCRIBE THE CONFLICT DISQUALIFICATION PROCESS RECOMMENDED ACTION Place ordinance on second reading and adopt. DISCUSSION At the March 1, 2022 meeting, the City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance concerning City Council voting, recusal for conflicts, and abstentions. Specifically, the ordinance accomplishes the following: • Requires declaration of the result of votes taken. • References, per the City Charter, that any agenda item requiring a vote shall be passed, adopted, or become effective unless it receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the City Council. • Provides that no member of the City Council shall be permitted to recuse themselves from voting on an item on the City Council meeting agenda unless: – (1) the councilmember is legally disqualified from voting due to a conflict of interest or other legal reason (such as common law conflict of interest or bias) – (2) the councilmember is awaiting advice from the Fair Political Practices Commission or the results of a pending investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission – (3) from the dais the possibility of a conflict arising from a source identified at the meeting, and, based on advice from the City Attorney, recuses themself out of an abundance of caution.