Title
Providing for the use of a consent agenda in the consideration of bills on Council’s final passage calendar.
Body
WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Resolution to provide for Council’s use from time to time of a consent agenda to permit the consideration of a large volume of routine business in a more efficient manner, consistent with all requirements of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter and applicable law; now, therefore,
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,
THAT The following procedure may be used in the consideration of bills on Council’s final passage calendar:
1. At any session of Council, any member may make a motion that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit the use of a consent agenda to consider bills on Council’s final passage calendar. The motion shall specify which bills would be considered on the consent agenda. It is the intent of this Resolution that only routine and non-controversial matters should be included on a consent agenda.
2. If any member of Council expresses an objection to the use of the consent agenda, the motion shall be withdrawn without debate. If the motion to use a consent agenda passes, the consent agenda shall be considered immediately before Council’s consideration of bills on the regular second reading and final passage calendar.
3. Before the bills on second reading and final passage are read, the Council President shall announce: “We will now consider today’s consent agenda. I will ask the Clerk to read the titles of all the bills on the consent agenda. After each title is read, any member may object to the inclusion of the bill on the consent agenda. Upon such an objection, and without debate, the bill will be immediately removed from the consent agenda and placed on our regular final passage calendar. The Clerk will now read the titles of the bills on the consent agenda.”
4. The Clerk will then read the title of all bills on the consent agenda, with any member having the right to remove any bill from the consent agenda, as announced by the Council President. After all bills on the consent agenda have been read, the Council President shall announce: “These bills having been read on two different days, the question for each bill now is, shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk shall call the roll, and upon being called, each Councilmember shall vote aye on each of the bills, nay on each of the bills, or indicate those bills for which the member is voting aye and those bills for which the member is voting nay.”
5. Following the Council President’s announcement, the Clerk shall call the roll. Each member shall announce his or her vote as “aye on each of the bills” or “nay on each of the bills,” or shall announce those bills for which the member votes aye and those bills for which the member is voting nay.
6. Upon completion of the roll call, the Council President shall announce the results. If a majority of all the members vote in favor of all bills on the consent agenda, the Council President may simply announce that a majority of all the members of the Council having voted in the affirmative, the bills on the consent agenda are passed, provided that the Clerk shall record in the Journal the names of each member voting for and against each individual bill on the consent agenda.
End