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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending and supplementing the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 303, entitled "Organization of Council," through the creation of a new §5-303.04, entitled "Council Caucuses," and providing for the creation and function of caucuses.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County Council has historically had a practice of creating caucuses for the two party affiliations represented on Council; and
WHEREAS, these caucuses have generally functioned as informal entities with no definition or delineation of their existence or function within the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances or the Rules of Council; and
WHEREAS, with increasing frequency, however, Council's caucuses have been referenced in pending legislation, See, e.g., Bill No. 6430-11, and in at least one instance, caucus chairs are granted significant authority in the Administrative Code section (§5-301.08) relating to appointment of individuals to fill vacated Council seats; and
WHEREAS, due to the formalized reference to and empowerment of the caucuses and their respective chairs within the Administrative Code, it is the judgment of Council that the caucuses should be formally recognized, defined, and delineated within the Administrative Code;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of the Preamble.
The provisions set forth in the preamble to this Ordinance are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
Section 2. Amendment of the Administrative Code.
The Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 303, entitled "Organization of Council," is hereby amended through the creation of a new §5-303.04, entitled "Council Caucuses," and comprised as follows:
§5-303.04. Council caucuses.
A. The Members of Allegheny County Council shall be empowered to form a maximum of two caucuses, one for each party having the largest numbers of affiliated Members of Council seated.
1. Caucuses may be formed only by a majority of the seated Members of Council having a particular party affiliation, and written notice of the formation of any caucus shall be provided to the President of Council, Clerk, and the chair of any existing caucus within 24 hours of such formation. In the event that a caucus already exists for a given party affiliation, no other caucus may be formed for that party affiliation.
2. Party affiliation shall be the sole determinant of eligibility for caucus membership for Members, and caucus membership for all eligible Members of Council shall be automatic upon the formation of any caucus body.
3. Members of any party for which a caucus is not formed may join any existing caucus with the consent of a majority of its members.
4. Any Member of Council may, at any time, elect to withdraw from any established caucus of which he or she is a member, provided that written notice of the withdrawal is provided to the President of Council and all seated caucus chairs.
5. Caucuses may dissolve themselves at any time with the approval of at least two thirds of the seated caucus members. In the event that a caucus dissolves itself, written notice shall be provided by the former chair of that caucus to the President of Council, Clerk, and the chair of any other existing caucus within 24 hours of the dissolution.
6. No entities comprised of Members of Council and with membership determined in part or solely by party affiliation shall be accorded any official status, privilege, or authority by the Council, except as expressly provided within the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances.
7. No caucus shall exercise any power or be accorded any acknowledgment in excess of those specifically delineated within the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances.
B. All existing caucuses shall have chairs, who shall be elected by a majority of the caucus members, with elections for caucus chairs occurring no less frequently than once every two years. A written description of all Caucus Chair votes shall be forwarded to the Clerk no later than ten (10) days after the vote is taken.
C. In accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Allegheny County Council, the President of Council shall retain the power to establish and dissolve committees of Council, as well as to establish and appoint all committee members and chairs, subject to the limitation contained within this Subsection. The President of Council shall not, under any circumstance, be elected or temporarily serve as a caucus chair, nor shall any caucus chair ever perform the duties of the President of Council. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Rules of Council, neither Caucus chairs nor the President may chair any committee of Council on a full time or interim basis without the approval of a majority of the seated Members of Council expressed via lawfully enacted motion.
D. Any established caucus(es) shall meet and set long term agendas addressing topics of concern to the caucus no later than January 30 of each calendar year. All caucus agendas shall be forwarded to the Clerk no later than February 10 of each calendar year, and shall be made available to the public.
1. For any item to be placed as a caucus agenda item, a majority of the caucus members must approve.
2. Specific bills may not be placed on any caucus agenda.
E. Both caucus chairs and the President of Council may meet before each Regular Meeting of Council to review the agenda. Under no circumstances shall any other Member of Council attend this meeting.
F. For the purposes of debate, caucus chairs will be given the opportunity to speak immediately after the sponsor(s) of any bill under discussion, or to speak immediately after any debatable motion is seconded. The chair of the caucus having the most members shall be given the opportunity to speak before the other caucus chair, if multiple caucuses are established.
G. Caucus chairs are obligated to uphold the rules of decorum at all times during regular meetings of Council, exercising personal privilege to remind the Council of the rules when necessary and practicable, and may request that the President not recognize any member of their caucus for the duration of debate on any issue in the event that the member violates the rules of decorum. Such requests are initially granted or denied solely at the discretion of the President, although the Presidents ruling is subject to appeal by motion.
H. Caucuses may meet at the pleasure of the caucus chair at any time or place, consistent with the provisions of the Sunshine Act and any other applicable statute.
1. Caucus meetings shall never be staffed nor transcribed or recorded.
2. Caucus meetings shall not, under any circumstances, be attended by any individual who is not either:
a. A seated Member of Council; or
b. Employed by Council.
I. The President may sanction caucus chairs for their own violations of the rules of decorum. Presidential sanctions of caucus chairs is permissible for violations of the rules of decorum occurring outside the confines of a regular or committee meeting, with the approval of a majority of the seated Members of Council.
J. Prior to a vote on any motion to limit debate to a particular amount of time, all seated caucus chairs must be given the opportunity to make statements on the record regarding their preferred time limit.
K. Caucuses (rather than individual members thereof) may be listed as bill sponsors, provided that:
1. The caucus votes unanimously to approve such sponsorship; and
2. The Clerk and Director of Legislative Services receive written notice (e-mail shall be deemed sufficient for the purposes of this Rule) of the vote from the caucus chair before 5:00 p.m. on the day prior to the meeting at which the bill is introduced. Sponsorship shall not, under any circumstances, be changed from individual members to caucus(es) after a bill is introduced.
Section 5. Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
Section 6. Repealer.
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.
PRIMARY SPONSOR: COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON
CO-SPONSORS: