Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Rules topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Greenville County Council adopts council-rules amendment requiring county attorney review of agenda items
Summary
Committee approved an amendment adding a requirement that items appearing for council consideration must be reviewed by the county attorney; members debated whether the change imposes an extra rule on council and discussed waivers for exigent circumstances.
Greenville County Council Committee of the Whole approved amendments to the council rules that add a requirement that items scheduled for consideration be reviewed by the county attorney prior to appearance on the agenda.
Supporters described the change as a “common sense” step to give the county attorney’s office sufficient time to review proposals and prepare legally vetted documents for the council. A council member who identified themselves as the drafter of most of the rules, Councilor McGay, said the change would give attorneys adequate time to prepare material and avoid last-minute, substantial products being dropped on council members.
Other council members objected to what they called an additional procedural burden. One unnamed council member said, “this is basically putting another rule on us,” noting that earlier attempts to adopt a county-attorney policy were resisted by council and that the new language imposes constraints on how and when council can send materials to the attorney’s office. Supporters said the rule includes a mechanism to waive the requirement for exigent circumstances; a council member noted the waiver would be handled by motion.
The transcript records discussion about prior short notice of a proposed county-attorney contract being provided to council members with only a day or two to review, which several speakers used to justify extra lead time for legal review. After discussion, the chairman called the question and the motion to adopt the suggested amendments carried; the recorded vote was announced as “the ayes have it,” and the amendment passed. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally for this item nor identify a motion mover or seconder in the public record.
The rule language discussed included an insertion to section 3(b) in section 1 requiring that “items to appear for consideration must have been reviewed by the county attorney.” The transcript indicates the council intends a waiver process when exigent circumstances make immediate action necessary.
