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City Manager Office <br />www.santa-ana.org/cm <br />Item # 26 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Staff Report <br />March 1, 2022 <br />TOPIC: City Council Voting, Recusal for Conflicts, and Prohibiting Abstentions <br />AGENDA TITLE: <br />Ordinance Concerning City Council Voting, Recusal for Conflicts, and Prohibiting <br />Abstentions <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Consider one of the following options: <br />1. Approve the first reading of an ordinance concerning City Council voting, recusal <br />for conflicts, and prohibiting abstentions. <br />2. Provide direction to staff. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Introduction <br />At the meeting on May 5, 2020, the City Council addressed an item to discuss and <br />consider directing the City Manager to direct staff to draft a policy for the City Council’s <br />consideration regarding abstentions on votes on items on the City Council meeting <br />agendas. The item was reported in the minutes of the May 5, 2020 meeting as the City <br />Council directing staff to research state law, current existing policy on City Council <br />participation, and bring back to a future meeting for the City Council's consideration. The <br />councilmember sponsors of this item later discussed the matter with the City Manager <br />and City Attorney, and indicated that the matter could be added to a future City Council <br />goal-setting meeting for consideration. <br />At a more recent City Council meeting, Councilmember Lopez inquired about bringing <br />forth a policy or ordinance to address voting and abstentions with the goal of addressing <br />a way to enforce the current prohibition against abstentions on votes as set forth in <br />Section 2-105 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. <br />Background <br />Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) Section 2-105, which as adopted in 1952 and <br />amended in 1965, currently provides as follows: