COUNCIL COMMITTEES

Austin City Code tit. 2, ch. 2-5, art. 5

in effect

Austin City Code § 2-5-101 APPLICABILITY.

§ 2-5-101 - APPLICABILITY. (A) This article applies to standing committees of the council that are created by this article. (B) The council by resolution, or the mayor, may create temporary task forces of council members, or of council members and other persons, that are not subject to this article. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15.

Austin City Code § 2-5-102 MEMBERSHIP OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES.

§ 2-5-102 - MEMBERSHIP OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES. (A) Council committee membership will be determined at the first council work session of each calendar year. Council members will select the council committees on which they will serve. If more than five council members desire to serve on any council committee, that committee shall be a council committee of the whole council, having 11 members. With the exception of council committees that are committees of the whole council, each committee of the council shall consist of three to five council members. For each council committee the mayor in consultation with the council shall designate a chair and a vice chair. Council may consider changes to council committee membership at any council work session. (B) The term of a committee member is one year beginning on the date the mayor files the council committee selections with the city clerk. (C) Immediately following the work session when council members select council committees on which to serve or when council members make changes to council committee membership, the mayor shall file a list of the membership of each council committee with the city clerk. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160303-024, Pt. 2, 3-14-16; Ord. No. 20180510-019, Pt. 1, 5-21-18.

Austin City Code § 2-5-103 COUNCIL COMMITTEES CREATED; SUBJECT MATTER OF EACH COMMITTEE.

§ 2-5-103 - COUNCIL COMMITTEES CREATED; SUBJECT MATTER OF EACH COMMITTEE. (A) It is the intent of the council that the listing of subjects assigned to council committees be construed broadly and be illustrative, so that every policy matter before the City has a council committee that may review the matter. By a favorable vote of a number of its members equal to a quorum, a council committee may create subcommittees. (B) Council creates the following standing committees: (1) The Audit and Finance Committee may review audit reports, matters related to the city auditor, the city clerk, internal services, bond oversight, purchasing and contract audits, taxation, financial policy, government performance, bonds and City debt, bond-funded programs, retirement systems, employee benefits, banking and investment policies, performance metrics and reporting, budget matters, affordability, and related matters. The Audit and Finance Committee shall also have oversight of the City's boards and commissions. (2) The Mobility Committee may review land use as it concerns mobility, all transportation modes including, roads, aviation, public transit, pedestrian programs, bicycle programs, ground transportation, taxicab regulation, regional connectivity, passenger rail, core transit corridors, and related matters. (3) The Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee may review issues related to the City's electric utility. The Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee is a committee of the whole council. Six members of the committee are a quorum, and the favorable votes of a majority of the quorum present at the meeting are required for the committee to take action. The committee may create subcommittees, including a subcommittee to address Austin Energy's business model. (4) The Public Health Committee may review social services, education, public health, health care services, animal welfare, sustainable food and food access, social equity, veterans' affairs, populations at risk, and related matters. (5) The Housing and Planning Committee may review housing and related land use and mobility issues, community development block grants, the City's comprehensive plan, the land development code, development processes, neighborhood planning, noise, annexations, and related matters. (6) The Public Safety Committee may review the municipal court, the Downtown Austin Community Court, policing issues, criminal justice, emergency medical services, fire services, emergency management, code compliance, and related matters. (7) The Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee may review environmental matters, climate resilience and adaptation, forestry, waterfront, heritage trees, open space, parks, rivers and lakes, aquifers, water quality, trash, recycling and compost, sustainability, cemeteries, and issues related to the City's water utility, including mission, scope and responsibilities of relevant advisory commissions and task forces, strategic plans, major capital purchases or transactions, and financial policies and the financial status of the utility. (8) The Economic Opportunity Committee may review growth of industry and emerging technology, job creation and retention, workforce development and education, childcare initiatives, small and minority business development, economic incentives, improvement districts, downtown matters, economic development corporations, trade and commerce, local and regional partnerships, minority and women owned business contracting policies, tourism, cultural arts, entertainment, and related matters. (C) Council committees may work jointly when the committees have overlapping subject matter. Council committees shall work cooperatively with each other, City departments, City boards, and bodies on which council members serve. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20170216-014, Pt. 1, 2-27-17; Ord. No. 20171012-014, Pt. 1, 10-12-17; Ord. No. 20190619-095, Pt. 1, 7-1-19; Ord. No. 20200611-093, Pt. 1, 6-11-20; Ord. No. 20210603-076, Pt. 1, 6-14-21; Ord. No. 20250130-078, Pt. 1, 2-10-25.

Austin City Code § 2-5-104 STAFF SUPPORT.

§ 2-5-104 - STAFF SUPPORT. (A) The city manager and city clerk shall provide appropriate staff support to each council committee. (B) The city manager and city clerk shall each appoint a staff liaison for each committee to assist the chair, with the consent of the committee: (1) organizing meeting times and places; (2) preparing and posting the agenda, including identifying items that are district-specific; (3) preparing the minutes and any other documents created by the committee; and (4) preparing data to be presented to the committee, including: (a) public involvement and comment received to date; (b) fiscal effects, including: (i) capital requirements; and (ii) ongoing operational expenses, such as, for example, staffing requirements, for the current and future budget years; (c) legal analysis; and (d) any other information requested by a committee member, provided that, if an information request by a committee member will take substantial time or resources, the request must be approved by a vote of the committee or council, as the manager determines appropriate. (C) The city auditor, along with the city manager and city clerk, shall provide staff support to the Council Audit and Finance Committee to perform the duties required by Subsection (B). The city auditor shall provide support to another council committee as requested by a vote of the committee. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160303-024, Pt. 3, 3-14-16; Ord. No. 20250130-078, Pt. 2, 2-10-25.

Austin City Code § 2-5-105 COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

§ 2-5-105 - COMMITTEE MEETINGS. (A) The agenda and the back-up materials for a council committee meeting must be posted and open to the public in the same manner as a meeting of the full council for the committee to take action, receive public comment, or meet as a committee with another person who is not a council member or the mayor. (B) A majority of the total number of members of a council committee is a quorum. The favorable votes of a majority of the council committee quorum present at the meeting are required for a council committee to take action. (C) A member of the council may attend a meeting of any committee and participate in the deliberation, however only a member of the committee may vote and contribute to the formation of a quorum for a committee meeting. (D) The chair of a committee shall preside over each meeting, and, in consultation with other committee members and with the assistance of staff, shall: (1) set the time and place of each meeting of the committee; (2) set the agenda for each meeting, provided that a chair must provide a reasonable setting for an item that qualifies under § 2-5-106 (Committee Agendas). (E) The chair of a committee may allow the chair of a City board to provide context and history regarding an item which was reviewed by that City board. (F) The vice chair of a committee shall perform the duties of the chair in the chair's absence. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160303-024, Pt. 4, 3-14-16; Ord. No. 20180510-019, Pt. 2, 5-21-18.

Austin City Code § 2-5-106 COMMITTEE AGENDAS.

§ 2-5-106 - COMMITTEE AGENDAS. (A) Except for the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, two members of a committee, or the mayor and one committee member, must sponsor an item on a committee agenda. Three members of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee must sponsor an item on a committee agenda. The staff liaison shall forward a request from the mayor to place an item on a committee's agenda to the committee members. The committee may place an item on the committee's agenda during a future items discussion on a committee agenda, or the staff liaison may coordinate among potential co-sponsors of an agenda item for placement on a committee agenda. (B) If the city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, a municipal judge, or a board created by Chapter 2-1 (City Boards) wishes to place an item on a council committee agenda, the city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, the municipal judge, or board chair should follow the procedure set by this subsection. (1) The board chair must be acting on a vote of the board. (2) The city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, the municipal judge, or board chair must submit the proposed item to the city clerk who shall provide a copy of the proposal to the mayor and city manager. (3) The mayor shall, no later than the fifth working day after the date the mayor receives the proposal, or as soon thereafter as practicable, assign the item to a council standing committee. The mayor may assign an item to more than one committee. If an item is assigned to more than one committee, the mayor may ask the committee chairs to coordinate the committees' review and to consider the item either jointly or sequentially. (4) When the mayor has selected the appropriate committee, the city manager shall promptly provide the written proposal to the committee's staff liaison. (5) The liaison shall promptly submit the proposed item to the city attorney, the chief financial officer, and the appropriate City department director for review. (6) The city attorney, the chief financial officer, and the department director shall respond with comments not later than the fifth business day after receiving the proposal from the staff liaison. The city attorney's response should include a proposed posting for the item. (7) The committee's staff liaison shall consult with the city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, the municipal judge, or board chair and make any revision to the proposed item that the city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, the municipal judge, or board chair requires. A substantive change must be reviewed by the city attorney and the chief financial officer. (8) After the city clerk, the city auditor, the clerk of the municipal court, the municipal judge, or board chair has approved the item the committee's staff liaison shall work with the committee to consider placing the item on the next available committee agenda, which shall be no later than the thirtieth working day after the date the item was assigned to the committee, or as soon thereafter as it is practicable to meet the posting requirement. (9) The item shall be considered by the committee and sent for consideration to the full council as provided by Section 2-5-108 (Committee Actions). Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160303-024, Pt. 5, 3-14-16.

Austin City Code § 2-5-107 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

§ 2-5-107 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. (A) A person who intends to testify at a committee meeting on an agenda item or at a public hearing shall register on the signup system provided for the meeting. (B) A person is not limited in the number of items on which the person may register to testify. (C) Unless the committee votes otherwise, the chair should grant the first 20 speakers on an agenda item 3 minutes each, and each subsequent speaker on the agenda item 1 minute, to address the committee. (D) A person may donate the person's speaking time on an agenda item or at a public hearing to another speaker if the person donating the time is present when the speaker begins to address the committee. (E) A speaker may not use the time of more than four other registered speakers on an agenda item or at a public hearing. (F) Except as required by state law, the committee may limit the number of speakers or the length of testimony at the committee's discretion. If the committee limits testimony under this subsection, the registration of each non-speaking person shall be made part of the public hearing record. (G) Except as provided in this section, the chair should not refuse permission to speak to a person who has registered to speak, and who is present and ready to speak, unless the hearing or consideration of the item for which the person has registered to speak has been continued to a later meeting. (H) If a hearing or item for which a person has registered is continued, a person who has registered but has not spoken must re-register as a speaker at the subsequent meeting during which the hearing or item is considered by the committee. (I) The city manager shall provide electronic mail notification of the electronic posting of the draft agenda to any citizen who requests notification by the established electronic notification system. (J) The total time for public comment on an agenda item may not exceed 90 minutes unless the committee votes to extend the time for comment on the item. This subsection does not apply to: (1) a public hearing subject to Article 3 of this chapter (Procedures for Public Hearings and Appeals); (2) a public hearing subject to Chapter 25-1, Article 6, Division 2 (Public Hearing Procedures); or (3) public hearing required by state or federal law. (K) A person may not register to speak on an item posted as a briefing. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160414-006, Pts. 4, 5, 4-25-16; Ord. No. 20220217-033, Pt. 3, 2-28-22.

Austin City Code § 2-5-108 COMMITTEE ACTIONS.

§ 2-5-108 - COMMITTEE ACTIONS. (A) A committee's vote is only advisory to the full council. (B) A council committee may place an item on a council agenda by an affirmative vote of the number of members necessary for a quorum of the committee. A committee may take one of the following actions on an agenda item that may be placed on a future council agenda: (1) recommend the item; (2) make no recommendation on the item; (3) recommend against the item; (4) hold the item for further committee review; (5) refer the item to a City board; or (6) refer the item to another council committee. (C) The city clerk shall post a final committee report publicly. When an item that has been heard by a committee goes to the council, a City board, or another council committee, the city clerk shall send a copy of the final committee report to the council, board, or committee. (D) A committee may not direct City staff beyond the council's right of inquiry. Source: Ord. No. 20150129-026, Pt. 1, 2-9-15; Ord. No. 20160303-024, Pt. 6, 3-14-16; Ord. No. 20170216-014, Pt. 2, 2-27-17.

Austin City Code § 2-5-109 PUBLIC HEARINGS.

§ 2-5-109 - PUBLIC HEARINGS. (A) If a public hearing before the council is required by the Code, but is not required by the Charter or by state or federal law, a public hearing before a council committee satisfies the requirement. (B) If council action is indicated by the hearing, the committee may not act in council's stead, but may make a report or recommendation to the full council. (C) Except as otherwise provided in this article, when a council committee holds a public hearing to satisfy a requirement of the Code, the hearing shall, as near as may be practicable, follow the procedure for a hearing held before the council. (D) This section prevails over any other provision of the Code to the extent of a conflict. Source: Ord. No. 20170518-014>, Pt. 6, 5-29-17.

Source: City of Austin, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2AD_CH2-5COACAPTECOEXCOBO_ART5COCOFetched: 10/27/2026