An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 311, entitled “Official Actions of County Council,” §5-311.04, entitled “Consideration,” in order to clarify the applicability of the law of Allegheny County as it relates to the consideration of ordinances and resolutions by County Council.
WHEREAS, Allegheny County Council is designated as the legislative branch of the County’s government pursuant to the terms of Article IV of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its power and duty to enact an Administrative Code to govern the operations of the County, established within Article IV, §6 of the Home Rule Charter, Council enacted Article 311 of the Administrative Code in 2000; and
WHEREAS, amongst the provisions of Article 311 is §5-311.04.B., which requires that “County Council shall act on all Ordinances and Resolutions in either the affirmative or negative within 90 days of submittal unless otherwise provided in the Charter or this Administrative Code, or unless tabled by a 2/3 majority of the seated Members of Council;” and
WHEREAS, various of the Members of Council have highlighted instances in which ordinances and resolutions subject to the requirements of §5-311.04.B. remained in committee without final votes for longer than 90- days; and
WHEREAS, §5-311.04.B. as currently written does not contain any mechanism to ensure that all bills are processed in accordance with its provisions, precisely because strict adherence may not be desirable in instances in which particularly controversial or factually complex issues require a lengthy due diligence process; and
WHEREAS, furthermore, the existing provisions of §5-311.04.B. do not account for instances in which bills become moot after introduction or in which the primary sponsor(s) of a particular bill do not wish for it to be considered within the confines of the 90 day rule; and
WHEREAS, ...
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