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Rules Committee proposes earlier disclosure of conflicts; sends draft language back to staff for legal review
Summary
The committee reviewed draft language allowing council members to provide a conflict‑of‑interest disclosure to corporation counsel before meetings, approved a timing amendment, but tabled additional changes pending counsel review.
The Rules Committee reviewed new draft language to permit council members to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the corporation counsel by a set deadline before a public meeting and to allow counsel to issue a determination.
Under the draft, council members may notify corporation counsel by 1 hour before the council’s published meeting start time; in such cases staff proposed that corporation counsel would issue a determination on whether a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists. The committee voted unanimously to amend the draft to specify "no later than 1 hour before the published meeting time" for the written notification. Council Member Suffredin’s amendment to use the published meeting time passed by roll call 10‑0.
Council Member Kelly proposed adding the words "or an appearance of conflict of interest" to the sentence describing corp‑counsel determinations. Legal staff said they would need to advise whether corporation counsel is willing and able to issue formal determinations on the appearance standard in advance; several members asked that the law department weigh in. After hearing that request, the committee voted to table the remainder of the conflict‑of‑interest language to the next Rules Committee meeting to allow corporation counsel to provide guidance.
Ending: Staff and corporation counsel will return with recommended drafting that clarifies whether and how advance determinations on conflicts and appearances of conflicts will be handled and what timing and form are required.
