(a) The Council may enact no law except by written Bill.
(b) A Bill shall embrace one subject. The subject shall be described in its title. No law may be enacted, revised, or amended by reference to its title alone. The duty of the Council shall be to enact the same format and arrangement of words as the legislation would read when it becomes law.
(c) A Bill may be introduced by one or more council members at a legislative session. A Bill and each copy of the Bill shall bear the name of each council member introducing the Bill and the date of introduction.
(d) On the date a Bill is introduced, the Council shall either reject the Bill by an affirmative vote of at least five council members or the President of the Council shall schedule a public hearing on the Bill. Within seventy-two hours of its introduction, a copy of the Bill, with notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing, shall be publicized. Before a public hearing on a Bill, the title and a fair summary of the Bill and the date, time, and place of the public hearing shall be published at least once each week for two successive weeks on the County website and in a newspaper of general circulation in the County. If the Council determines that no such newspaper exists in the County, the Council shall use whatever media it deems most suited to satisfy the public notice requirements of this subsection. The President of the Council may schedule more than one public hearing on a Bill, provided the publication and notice requirements of this subsection are met for each hearing.
(e) After a public hearing, the Council may enact a Bill into law, with or without amendment, by an affirmative vote of at least four council members. In the event a Bill is amended before enactment, and the amendment or amendments constitute a change of substance, the Bill, as amended, may not be enacted into law until a public hearing is held on the amendment and a fair summary of the amendment and the date, time and place of a public hearing are posted on the County website at least four days in advance of this public hearing.
(f) A Bill not enacted within ninety days of introduction is void. A Bill not enacted prior to the month of November in any year in which council members are elected to office is void.
(Res. 16-16, 7-19-2016)