05/30/2001 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minn. Stat. § 471.705, subd. 1. Minn. Stat. § 412.191, subd. 4. HANDBOOK FOR MINNESOTA CmEs III. Motions, resolutions, and ordinances Passing ordinances and resolutions City councils enact policies through ordinances and resolutions. Any member of the council, including the mayor, may introduce an ordinance or resolution. When ordinances or resolutions are before the council, the council may act upon them at once, refer them to a committee for study and recommendation, postpone consideration to some future time, or take any of the other subsidiary or privileged motion actions. After the council has completed all consideration and discussion of the matter, the presiding officer should read the ordinance or resolution and call for a vote. If the council decides to refer the matter to a committee, the committee may conduct an investigation and recommend passage of the ordinance or resolution in its original form or in an amended form, or reject the ordinance or resolution. Debate on the ordinance or resolution may take place at the time of introduction, while a committee is considering it, and after the committee has reported its findings and recommendations. For an action to be legal it needs a proper motion, an actual vote, and a record of the councilmembers voting for and against the proposal. Many clerks report the names of the members who take action at each of these various steps, although the law only requires a record of the third step. Most resolutions and other procedural motions of the council must have a majority of the votes cast for adoption. (For exceptions, see Chart V.) To illustrate: if two members of the council vote in favor of a resolution --one votes against it, and two abstain from voting—the resolution passes. Ordinances, on the other hand, must be enacted by "a majority vote of all the members of the council," except where a larger number is required by law. Therefore, on a five - person council, an ordinance would need at least three favorable votes to pass. Differences between ordinances, resolutions, and motions A motion is a matter of parliamentary procedure. Motions may introduce ordinances and resolutions, amend them, and take any other actions concerning them. 164