Sec. 2-68. Order and decorum.

   The president shall preserve order and decorum during the meetings and sessions of the council. He shall have general supervision of the county council offices, hearing and conference rooms, and other building spaces immediately adjacent thereto. In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct therein, he shall have the power to order any such place to be cleared. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1.)

Sec. 2-69. Absence of the president.

   In the absence of the president of the county council, the vice-president shall preside. In the absence of both president and vice-president, the council members present shall elect a president pro tempore. The vice-president or president pro tempore, while acting as president, shall have all the authority and voting rights thereof. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1.)

Sec. 2-70. Duties of Clerk of the Council.

   (a)   The Clerk of the Council must keep minutes of Council meetings, maintain its journal, and provide other administrative services required to assist the legislative process, including those specified in the Council rules of procedure.

   (b)   The Clerk may designate an employee to act in the place of the Clerk as official custodian of Council records for purposes of authenticating records and responding to subpoenas and other orders or requests for records. The designated person has the same authority and position as the Clerk for the purpose designated, and response by that person satisfies any writ or order directed to the Clerk except for any writ or order which requires a response with personal knowledge of facts by the Clerk. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 3; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)

Sec. 2-71. Reserved.

   Editor's note-Section 2-71, relating to supervision of the Council staff director, secretary of the Council and other employees, derived from 1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; and 1983 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1, was repealed by 1986 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 4.

Sec. 2-72. Journal and minutes.

   The Clerk of the Council must keep a written journal of all legislative sessions of the Council and written minutes of all non-legislative Council meetings. The journal and minutes must include motions and all votes by roll call or otherwise. In addition to the title of a bill or the subject matter of a resolution, only amendments to a bill or resolution which are adopted must have the full text entered in the journal or minutes. However, amendments offered but not adopted must be entered if a vote was taken on the amendment. After any correction, the Council must approve the journal or minutes by motion. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)

Sec. 2-73. Publication of bills and council proceedings.

   (a)   The Council is responsible for publication as required by Section 3, Article XI-A of the Maryland Constitution. The title or a summary of all laws and ordinances proposed must be published once a week for 2 successive weeks before enactment in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the County, so that the taxpayers and citizens may have notice of all proposed laws and ordinances. The requirement of publication of proposed legislation may be satisfied by including the title or summary in the notice of hearing. The validity of expedited legislation is not affected if the law is enacted before the law is advertised. If the publication requirements of the Maryland Constitution are changed, the Council must comply with any amended requirements of the Constitution and state and County law.

   (b)   The council shall provide for publication of the proceedings of the council by making available promptly after approval by the council copies of the written minutes of all public sessions and copies of the written journal of all legislative sessions of the council. The copies of the minutes and journal shall be in printed or typewritten form, and sufficient number of copies shall be reproduced to meet all reasonable public requests for copies in addition to a true copy being made available to any members of the public for reading at the office of the county council. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; 1973 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 1987 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 2; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 33, § 1.)

   Editor's note—The Maryland appellate courts have held that § 2-73 amended the notice requirements of chapter 808(c), Laws of 1963, codified in § 52-47 through 52-59 of the Montgomery County Code, in Montgomery County v. Waters Landing Limited Partnership, 99 Md. App. 1, 635 A.2d 48, aff'd, 337 Md. 15, 650 A.2d 712 (1994).

   Charter reference-Publication of legislation, § 113.

Sec. 2-74. Permanent records.

   The Clerk of the Council must maintain in a secure fire-proof storage area:

   (a)   the legislative journal;

   (b)   each law and resolution approved by the Council or Board of County Commissioners;

   (c)   minutes of all Council and Board of County Commissioners meetings; and

   (d)   any Executive Regulation reviewed by the Council under method (1) or method (2).

   The Clerk must maintain these records in a manner consistent with state law regulating retention and disposal of public records. (1970 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; FY 1991 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)