§ 16-404 — City council; ordinances, resolutions, or orders; procedure for passage; vote of mayor, when; amendments; revision ordinances

Nebraska § 16-404

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 16: Cities of the First Class

Text

(1) All ordinances and resolutions or orders for the appropriation or payment of money in a city of the first class shall require for their passage or adoption the concurrence of a majority of all elected members of the city council. The mayor may vote on any such matter if (a) the mayor's vote is required due to the city council members being equally divided or (b) a majority vote of all the elected members cannot be reached due to absence, vacancy, or abstention of one or more city council members. For purposes of such vote, the mayor is deemed to be a member of the city council.
(2)(a) Ordinances of a general or permanent nature in a city of the first class shall be read by title on three different days unless three-fourths of the city council members vote to suspend this requirement, except that in a city having a commission plan of government such requirement may be suspended by a three-fifths majority vote.
(b) Regardless of the form of government, such requirement shall not be suspended (i) for any ordinance for the annexation of territory or the redrawing of boundaries for city council election districts or wards or (ii) as otherwise provided by law.
(c) In case such requirement is suspended, the ordinances shall be read by title or number and then moved for final passage.
(d) Three-fourths of the city council members may require a reading of any such ordinance in full before enactment under either procedure set out in this section, except that in a city having a commission plan of government, such reading may be required by a three-fifths majority vote.
(3) Ordinances in a city of the first class shall contain no subject which is not clearly expressed in the title, and, except as provided in section 19-915 , no ordinance or section thereof shall be revised or amended unless the new ordinance contains the entire ordinance or section as revised or amended and the ordinance or section so amended is repealed, except that:
(a) For an ordinance revising all the ordinances of a city of the first class, the only title necessary shall be An ordinance of the city of .........., revising all the ordinances of the city. Under such title all the ordinances may be revised in sections and chapters or otherwise, may be corrected, added to, and any part suppressed, and may be repealed with or without a saving clause as to the whole or any part without other title; and
(b) For an ordinance used solely to revise ordinances or code sections or to enact new ordinances or code sections in order to adopt statutory changes made by the Legislature which are specific and mandatory and bring the ordinances or code sections into conformance with state law, the title need only state that the ordinance revises those ordinances or code sections affected by or enacts ordinances or code sections generated by legislative changes. Under such title, all such ordinances or code sections may be revised, repealed, or enacted in sections and chapters or otherwise by a single ordinance without other title.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1901, c. 18, § 37, p. 240; Laws 1903, c. 19, § 5, p. 235; R.S.1913, § 4897; C.S.1922, § 4065; C.S.1929, § 16-404; R.S.1943, § 16-404; Laws 1961, c. 43, § 1, p. 174; Laws 1969, c. 108, § 2, p. 510; Laws 1972, LB 1235, § 1; Laws 1975, LB 172, § 1; Laws 1980, LB 662, § 2; Laws 1989, LB 790, § 2; Laws 1990, LB 966, § 1; Laws 1994, LB 630, § 2; Laws 2003, LB 365, § 1; Laws 2016, LB704, § 73; Laws 2018, LB865, § 3; Laws 2019, LB193, § 5; Laws 2019, LB194, § 25; Laws 2021, LB131, § 11; Laws 2021, LB285, § 3; Laws 2023, LB531, § 6. Cross References: For other provisions for revision of ordinances, see section 16-247. Annotations: To be valid, a resolution recommending issuance or refusal of liquor license must be adopted by a majority of all elected members of city council. Hadlock v. Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, 193 Neb. 721, 228 N.W.2d 887 (1975). Title of condemnation ordinance was sufficient. Webber v. City of Scottsbluff, 155 Neb. 48, 50 N.W.2d 533 (1951). Provision of this section does not require a resolution or ordinance for a special election to authorize the construction of waterworks to be read three different days. Hevelone v. City of Beatrice, 120 Neb. 648, 234 N.W. 791 (1931). To extent that ordinances are plainly repugnant, first is repealed by implication. Ex parte Wolf, 14 Neb. 24, 14 N.W. 660 (1883).