title
Amendment to Rules of Procedure, Rule 21 - Legislation concerning appropriation of funds
body
21. Legislation concerning appropriation of funds
21.1 The Council’s consideration of a capital spending plan (“Capital Spending Plan”) authorizing the allocation and appropriation of funding sources, including debt proceeds, to specific capital projects, an initial resolution, as that term is defined in state law, also referred to as a Capital Spending Plan, authorizing a debt issuance shall be subject to the following requirements:
1. No such legislation shall be considered during the pendency of any ordinance adopting the Annual Operating Budget of the Metropolitan Government;
2. Following introduction and referral to committee, the legislation shall be deferred for at least one Council meeting to allow for thorough consideration;
3. The legislation shall include Include the following information:
a. the total amount to allocated financed;
b. identification of each public works project to be funded financed, including the Capital Improvements Budget project number related to the proposed public works project, subpart, or category (if available);
c. for each public works project, the portion of the total amount of funding to be financed being allocated for that public works project;
d. for each public works project, a description with reasonable specificity of any subparts or categories, and the portion of the total amount to be financed being allocated for each subpart or category; and
e. identification of where the proposed public works project appears (if at all) on the Metro Council’s CIB Project Prioritization List.
21.2 No such legislation shall be considered if the department, agency, or office benefiting from the appropriation or expenditure has failed for 30 or more days to respond to a request for information submitted by the Council or any committee of the Council.
21.3 Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Capital Spending Plan shall govern the appropriation of funding sources, including debt proceeds, to capital projects and shall not constitute an initial resolution, as such term is defined in state law, that authorizes the issuance of bonds. Any initial resolution considered by the Council shall be separate legislation from the Capital Spending Plan and not subject to this rule.
21.4 This rule shall not apply to capital projects that are: (1) limited solely to preliminary project planning and/or feasibility costs; or (2) funded exclusively by an enterprise fund, electric rates, water or sewer rates, or other fees or surcharges paid to the metropolitan government.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This proposed rule amendment would amend Rule 21 of the Council Rules of Procedure to clarify and distinguish the procedural requirements for capital spending plans and initial resolutions.
The current Rule 21 subjects an initial resolution to a number of requirements, including a mandatory deferral, a ban on introduction while the Council consideration of an annual operating budget, and the inclusion of several pieces of information for each project included in the initial resolution.
The proposed rule amendment distinguishes a capital spending plan, which authorizes the allocation and appropriation of funding sources, including debt proceeds, to specific capital projects, from an initial resolution, which authorizes the issuance of bonds. The proposal provides that capital spending plans to continue to adhere to the existing requirements, while initial resolutions would be separate legislation not subject to this rule. Further, this proposed rule would not apply to capital projects that are limited solely to preliminary project planning and/or feasibility costs or funded exclusively by an enterprise fund, electric rates, water or sewer rates, or other fees or surcharges paid to the Metropolitan Government.
This proposed rule change is coordinated with Ordinance No. BL2026-1565, which also clarifies a distinction between a capital spending plan and an initial resolution.
Consideration of this proposal will be deferred to the October 6, 2026, meeting by Rule 53.2 of the Council Rules of Procedure.