2018-2020 Report of the Charter Commission to the County Council

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CA -12: Relating to Discipline of Council Members This proposal would add an option for the Council to police its members through temporary suspension without pay for disorderly or contemptuous behavior or failure to attend three or more regularly scheduled Council meetings without being excused by the Council chair. The Commission finds that the Council needs a limited mechanism that assists with the established methods of legislating. CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I: Section 1. Article III, Section 3-7, of the Hawai`i County Charter (2018 Edition), is amended to read as follows: "Section 3-7. Meetings; Rules and Journal; Voting and Quorum. The county council shall meet regularly at least twice in every month at such times and places as shall be established by rule of the council, and meet at least quarterly in the judicial district of North Kona or South Kona. Q The council shall determine its rules and order of business and shall provide for keeping a journal of its proceedings, which shall be a public record, in which the ayes and noes shall be entered as required by this charter or at any other time upon the demand of any member. LI The affirmative vote of a majority of the entire membership shall be necessary for council action. A majority of the entire membership of the council shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members. Whenever the term "entire membership" appears in this charter pertaining to council voting, it means the entire membership of nine members, even if there are vacancies. fid)) Upon an affirmative vote of two thirds of its entire membership, the council may suspend without pay for not more than one month any member who: a) Behaves in a disorderly or contemptuous manner in its presence; or (2) Fails to attend three or more regularly scheduled council meetings without being excused from attendance by the council chair for each unattended meeting." Section 2. New charter material is underscored. When revising, compiling, or printing these charter provisions for inclusion in the Charter of the County of Hawai`i (2020), the revisor need not include the underscoring. Section 3. The revisor of the charter shall renumber charter article, chapter, and section numbers and any cross references thereto pursuant to amendments approved by the electorate. 22