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City Council approves measure to send 3-term limit ordinance to ballot after amendments
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council approved amendments and votes that send a measure proposing three-term limits for city elective offices to the ballot, after a series of procedural votes and a reconsideration of earlier amendments.
The Los Angeles City Council on a motion amended and approved ordinance language sending a proposed three-term limit measure for elected city offices to the ballot.
Councilmember Nate Holden moved the primary amendment (3A) to the ordinance and the council approved that amendment 12-1. After a failed motion to refer the entire matter back to committee (7-6), the council voted 10-3 to place the ordinance as amended on the ballot. Members later moved to reconsider and re-amend the ordinance to its original form; that re-amendment passed 10-3, and the measure cleared second reading with a 9-4 vote.
The votes followed lengthy debate on timing and scope. Councilmember Janice Hahn urged delaying the measure and returning it to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations committee for study, saying March’s ballot and other competing measures made the timing “very poor.” Councilmember Nate Holden argued the measure gives voters a choice and urged moving forward: “You’re making a mistake,” he said of calls to delay.
City Attorney Deaton and council staff advised the body on the mechanics for adopting amendments, attaching resolutions and meeting county deadlines, noting that a unanimous vote would be required in one scenario to meet the county ballot schedule. Councilmembers discussed options including adopting the amendment and then, if necessary, reconsidering prior actions so the clerk could meet filing deadlines with the county.
Councilmembers who supported immediate placement said the March ballot offered an opportunity to present the question to voters along with other measures; opponents said more committee review and public outreach were needed. After the final votes the council sent the ordinance over for second reading procedures and the clerk to move the calendar as required.
The council did not enact the amendment outright as a final local law on the floor; the action places the ordinance on the legislative calendar for the usual second-reading and certification steps required to appear on a ballot.
Members voting in favor and against were recorded in roll calls during the meeting; the council’s recorded tallies included 12-1 (amendment 3A), 7-6 (referral motion — failed), 10-3 (placing amended ordinance on ballot), 8-5 (reconsideration), 10-3 (re-amend to original), and 9-4 (second reading approval).
