ORDINANCE NO. __________, SERIES 2023
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE LOUISVILLE METRO CODE OF ORDINANCES (“LMCO”) RELATING TO THE LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO ETHICS COMMISSION’S IMPLEMENTATION OF LOBBYING ORDINANCES.
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SPONSORED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER FOWLER
WHEREAS, Sections 21.40 through 21.45 of the Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances (“LMCO”) were enacted on November 16, 2022 to create a registration and financial reporting system for those who lobby Metro Officers; and
WHEREAS, LMCO § 21.45 allowed 90 days for the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Ethics Commission to draft and make public its rules and regulations for the administration of LMCO §§ 21.40 to 21.45; and
WHEREAS, a few weeks prior to the passage of LMCO §§ 21.40 to 21.45, the Chairman of the Commission resigned his position; and
WHEREAS, the Commission was without legal counsel at that time, and has only recently become effectively apprised of the new ordinances and requirements now that legal counsel is present.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO GOVERNMENT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I: LMCO § 21.45 is hereby amended as follows:
(A) If a member of the Ethics Commission or any other person believes a required registration or statement under §§ 21.41, 21.42, or 21.43 was intentionally not filed by a lobbyist or employer, intentionally contains false information, or intentionally omits required information, any investigation by the Ethics Commission shall require a written complaint and follow the procedures of § 21.06.
(B) Beginning 90 150 days after the effective date of this section, the Ethics Commission shall draft and make public its rules and regulations for the administration of §§ 21.40 to 21.45. The Ethics Commission shall include changes to its rules, operations, or procedures regarding §§ 21.40 to 21.45 in the annual report submitted to the Louisville Metro Council as required by § 21.05(D).
(C) (1) The Ethics Commission shall be the official custodian of the registrations and statements required by §§ 21.41, 21.42, and 21.43. The registrations and statements shall be maintained by the Commission, or the administrative official designated by the Commission as the "custodian" of public documents, and shall be available for public inspection immediately upon filing via open records requests under KRS 61.870 et. seq.
(2) The Ethics Commission shall endeavor to make all registrations and statements available online in order to make those documents available to the public without an open records request, and shall report to Metro Council on progress toward that goal 90 150 days after the effective date of this section.
(D) The Ethics Commission shall publish a handbook that explains §§ 21.41 to 21.45 in clear and concise language, and make it available free of charge to Metro Officers, candidates for elected Metro Offices, lobbyists, employers, and any other interested persons.
(E) On or before the fifteenth day of February of each year, the commission shall, in a manner and form it determines, publish a report containing statistical information on the registration statements filed with it under § 21.41 during the preceding year.
SECTION II: This Ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and approval or otherwise becoming law.
_______________________________ _____________________________
Sonya Harward Markus Winkler
Metro Council Clerk President of the Council
_______________________________ _____________________________
Craig Greenberg Approval Date
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
Michael J. O’Connell
Jefferson County Attorney
BY: ____________________________
O-041-23 Ethics admin lobbying 2-20 al.docx