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City Council Voting, Recusal for Conflicts and Prohibiting Abstentions <br />March 1, 2022 <br />Page 2 <br />2 <br />4 <br />7 <br />6 <br />Sec. 2-105. - Voting by members. <br />No member of the council shall abstain from any vote unless disqualified, and no <br />disqualified member shall vote. Any disqualified member shall openly state to the <br />presiding officer the fact and nature of such disqualification and shall not be subject to <br />further inquiry. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the matter of <br />disqualification may, at the request of the member affected, be decided by the other <br />members of the council. A member disqualified by conflict of interest shall request and be <br />granted permission by the presiding officer to absent himself from the room where the <br />council is meeting during debate and vote on the matter. Any member having a remote <br />interest in any matter shall divulge the same to the council before voting. <br />While violation of Section 2-105 is a misdemeanor, it is not practical to consider enforcing <br />this provision through a criminal action against a councilmember. Further, by past <br />practice, the City Council has not indicated a desire to strictly enforce this provision. <br />On May 5, 2020, the City Council discussed Section 2-105 and there was a desire for <br />staff to conduct further research and return to the City Council with recommended policy <br />changes or considerations. During this discussion, there were some very pointed <br />remarks about the need for all councilmembers to participate and vote, unless legally <br />conflicted or explaining one’s reason for abstaining on a vote. <br />Research based on voting policies in other general law and charter cities demonstrates <br />that cities have adopted rules prohibiting abstentions and imposing rules to ensure that <br />all who can legally vote take a vote or have an abstention serve as a concurrence or “yes” <br />vote. Based on that research, the previous direction by the City Council, and the recent <br />request, staff has prepared a proposed ordinance for consideration. <br />The proposed ordinance addresses all of the following: <br />Requires declaration of the result of votes taken. <br />References per Section 410 of the Santa Ana City Charter that no ordinance, <br />resolution, motion, or any item requiring a vote shall be passed, adopted, or <br />become effective unless it receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the full <br />membership of the City Council. <br />Provides that no member of the City Council shall be permitted to recuse <br />themselves from voting on an item on the City Council meeting agenda unless <br />(1) the councilmember is legally disqualified from voting due to a conflict of <br />interest (including a disqualification under the Political Reform Act or Government <br />Code Section 1090 et sec].) or other legal reason (such as common law conflict <br />of interest or bias) or (2) the councilmember is awaiting advice from the Fair <br />Political Practices Commission (FPPC) or (3) the councilmember states that they <br />are awaiting further information or clarification and will recuse themselves out of <br />an abundance of caution. <br />Prohibits participation in a vote if one has a conflict and provides that those with <br />a conflict shall leave the dais during the consideration of the matter, provided,