Title
Motion of the Council of Allegheny County amending the Rules of Council for Allegheny County Council to establish Rules pertaining to the establishment and activities of caucus entities comprised of Members of Allegheny County Council.
Body
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY,
That this Council hereby amends Article I of the Rules of Council as follows:
ARTICLE I. ORGANIZATION OF COUNCIL.
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G. Caucus Bodies
1. The Members of Allegheny County Council shall be empowered to form a maximum of two caucuses, one for each party having the largest number of affiliated Members of Council seated.
a. 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, Chief 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.
b. Party affiliation shall be the sole determinant of caucus membership for Members, and caucus membership for all eligible Members of Council shall be automatic upon the formation of any caucus body.
c. 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.
d. 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.
e. 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, Chief Clerk, and the chair of any other existing caucus within 24 hours of the dissolution.
f. 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.
g. No caucus shall exercise any power or be accorded any acknowledgment in excess of those specifically delineated within these Rules of Council.
2. 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 Chief Clerk no later than ten (10) days after the vote is taken.
3. In accordance with the provisions of Section C.2. of this Article, 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. Caucus chairs and the President may only chair standing or special committees on a full time or interim basis with the approval of a majority of the full Council.
4. 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 Chief Clerk no later than February 10 of each calendar year, and shall be made available to the public.
a. For any item to be placed as a caucus agenda item, a majority of the caucus members must approve.
b. Specific bills may not be placed on any caucus agenda.
6. Caucus chairs shall bear responsibility for the decorum of all members of that caucus. In the event that a caucus member is found to be out of order or otherwise in violation of the rules of decorum, the appropriate caucus chair may also be sanctioned by the President with the approval of a simple majority of the Council Members present.
7. Both caucus chairs and the President of Council shall meet before each Regular Meeting of Council to review the agenda. Under no circumstances shall any other Member of Council attend this meeting.
8. 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 the maker of any debatable motion. 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.
9. Caucus chairs are empowered to enforce the rules of decorum regarding any member of their caucus by exercising personal privilege and calling the member to order, and may request that the President not recognize any member of their caucus for the duration of debate on any issue. Such requests are granted or denied solely at the discretion of the President, and are neither debatable nor subject to vote.
10. 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.
a. Caucus meetings shall never be staffed nor transcribed or recorded.
b. Caucus meetings shall not, under any circumstances, be attended by any individual who is not either:
1. A seated Member of Council; or
2. Employed by Council.
11. 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.
12. Prior to a vote on any motion to limit debate to a particular amount of time, all seated caucus chairs must make statements on the record regarding their preferred time limit.
13. Caucuses (rather than individual members thereof) may be listed as bill sponsors, provided that:
a. The caucus votes unanimously to approve such sponsorship; and
b. The Chief 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 on the 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.