IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION amending Rule 9 of the Legislature relating to standing and special committees.
Intro
RESOLUTION NO. 21292, May 22, 2023
INTRODUCED BY DaRon McGee and Megan L. Marshall, County Legislators
Body
WHEREAS, in the view of current events impacting the residents of Jackson County, the Legislature desires to establish certain special committees to address these needs within the community; and,
WHEREAS, pursuant to Rule of the Legislature 9.C., the Chairman of the Legislature either has appointed or will appoint the members of these committees; and,
WHEREAS, the establishment if these special committees is in the best interests of the health and safety, and welfare of the citizens of the County; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the County Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that Rule 9 of the Rules of Legislature be and hereby is amended, to read as follows:
RULE NINE. Standing and Special Committees.
A. Establishment. Subject to the provisions of paragraph B. of this Rule, the Standing Committees of the Legislature are:
(1) Finance and Audit
(2) Health and Environment
(3) Land Use
(4) Public Works
(5) Anti-Crime
(6) Budget
(7) Justice and Law Enforcement
The Special Committees of the Legislature are:
(1) Intergovernmental Affairs
(2) Rules
(3) Veterans
(4) 911 Oversight
(5) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(6) Housing and Homelessness
B. Committee Responsibilities.
The responsibilities of the Standing and Special Committees of the Legislature are as follows:
Standing Committees
(1) Finance and Audit. Matters relating to the assessment and collection of taxes, county finances and management and geographic information systems, county purchasing policy, oversight of the county auditor’s office and legal advisor to the Legislature, as set out in Chapter 2 of the County Code, and acquisitions affecting multi-departmental or countywide operations.
(2) Health and Environment. Matters relating to the Medical Examiner’s Office and County health-related and environmental programs.
(3) Land Use. Matters relating to the Parks and Recreation Department, Harry S Truman Sports Complex, and consideration of development permits and applications under the County’s Unified Development Code.
(4) Public Works. Matters relating to the Public Works and Economic Development Departments.
(5) Anti-Crime. Matters relating to proposed policies concerning and expenditures out of the County’s Anti-Crime Sales Tax Fund. (Resolution #20219)
(6) Budget. Matters relating to the County’s budget and the Legislature’s budget priorities.
(7) Justice and Law Enforcement. Matters relating to the Courts, Corrections Department, and Sheriff’s and Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices.
Special Committees
(1) Intergovernmental Affairs. Matters relating to the relationships between the County and the federal, state, and other local governments, including lobbying activity and oversight of the lobbyist to the Legislature as set out in Chapter 2 of the County Code.
(2) Rules. Matters relating to the Rules of the Legislature.
(3) Veterans. Matters relating to the physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being of veterans in the County, including healthcare, housing, and employment, and oversight of the relationships between the County and federal, state, and other local governments that impact the well-being of veterans and their families.
(4) 911 Oversight. Matters related to the public safety communications infrastructure within the County, focusing on the efficient, strategic utilization of revenues received through the 911 cell phone tax in a manner that maximizes public safety and the safety of first responders through coordinated efforts with agencies that serve County residents.
(5) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Matters relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, both internally for County associates and externally for County residents by creating policy in which a person’s unique background experiences and perspectives are at the forefront in fostering and creating a truly equitable County.
(6) Housing and Homelessness. Matters relating to efforts to research and identify root causes of homelessness and houselessness and the development of informed and strategic methods to provide affordable, sustainable, and safe housing, to include preventive programming for residents of the County addressing long-term housing solutions.
C. Appointment and Membership.
The standing and special committees shall be filled by appointment by the fourth regular meeting of the Legislature each year. The Chair of the Legislature shall appoint a maximum of four Legislators to each standing committee. All committee appointments are effective until the first legislative meeting of the following year. The Chairman of the Legislature shall be a voting member of all committees.
D. Chair. When the Chair of the Legislature makes appointments to a standing or special committee, the Chair may designate one member as its chair. Such a designation does not preclude committee selection of its chair by a majority vote of committee members. If the Chair of the Legislature should not designate a standing or special committee chair, the committee shall elect its own chair. Such election precludes later designation by the Chair of the Legislature.
E. Vice Chair. Each Committee shall elect from its membership a vice-chair who shall preside in the absence of the chair.
F. Operations. The chair of the committee shall call and preside at all meetings of the committee. The chair of a committee shall be responsible for preparing reports of the committee’s proceedings.
G. Attendance. The chair of each standing or special committee shall maintain membership attendance records. Whenever a Legislator shall be absent without excuse from more than four consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of any committee to which the Legislator has been appointed, and said absences are duly noted in the minutes of that committee, the Legislator shall automatically be dropped from membership on the committee. The chair of the committee shall report such drops to the Chair of the Legislature and another member shall be appointed by the Chair of the Legislature within ten days. An absence is “excused” when the chair or a majority of the members then attending a meeting shall note their excusal of the absence in the minutes of that meeting or the next meeting immediately following that meeting.
H. Quorum. The quorum of a committee shall be a simple majority of those appointed to it.
I. Absence of Quorum, Procedure. When no quorum appears at the announced time of a meeting for a committee, the chair of the committee may request other members of the Legislature to participate as “quorum members” of the committee for that one meeting until a sufficient number of appointed members shall appear. A quorum member may act as a voting member of that committee for all purposes.
Enacted and Approved
Effective Date: This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Legislature.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________ ______________________________
Chief Deputy County Counselor County Counselor
Certificate of Passage
I hereby certify that the attached resolution, Resolution No. 21292 of May 22, 2023, was duly passed on June 5, 2023 by the Jackson County Legislature. The votes thereon were as follows:
Yeas ______9_________ Nays ______0________
Abstaining ____0_______ Absent _____0_______
________________________ ______________________________
Date Mary Jo Spino, Clerk of Legislature