Signing or veto of ordinances in council cities, exceptions; passage over veto; signing ordinances in commission cities; procedure; attestation; seal.

K.S.A. 12-3003

in effect

12-3003. Signing or veto of ordinances in council cities, exceptions; passage over veto; signing ordinances in commission cities; procedure; attestation; seal. The mayor of a council city shall have the power to sign or veto any ordinance passed by the council: Provided, That ordinances on which the mayor casts the deciding vote and appropriation ordinances the mayor shall have no veto and he or she shall sign such ordinances if present at the meeting, and if the mayor refuses or neglects to sign or be not present at the meeting they shall take effect without his or her signature. Any ordinance vetoed by the mayor may be passed over the veto by a vote of three-fourths (¾) of the whole number of councilmen elected, notwithstanding the veto: Provided, That if the mayor does not sign his or her approval of the ordinance, or return the same with his or her veto, stating his or her objection in writing, on or before the next regular meeting of the council, the ordinance shall take effect without the mayor's signature, such fact to be endorsed by the city clerk on the ordinance and at the end of the ordinance as entered in the "ordinance book": Provided further, That the president of the council or acting president of the council shall have no power to sign or veto any ordinance. The mayor or chairman of a commission shall sign all ordinances but shall have no veto power: Provided, That if such mayor or chairman is not present at the meeting at which the ordinance is passed, the president of the board, acting president of the board, commissioner of finance and revenue, or a commissioner designated by the commission shall sign the ordinance as follows: "(Name) (Title)" and where directed by the commission, "by direction of the commission, the mayor (or chairman) being absent from the meeting." After the last section of each ordinance shall be a statement substantially as follows: "Passed by the (council) (commission) the __________ day of __________, 19__"; followed by "(Approved) (Signed) by the mayor" with signature of the mayor; or "Passed over the mayor's veto"; or, "The mayor not having approved the ordinance on or before the next regular meeting, took effect without the mayor's signature"; or in council cities in the case of appropriation ordinances where the mayor refuses or neglects to sign or is absent from the meeting, an appropriate statement. The city clerk shall attest the signature and affix the seal of the city thereto. L. 1959, ch. 64, § 3; June 30. Attorney General's Opinions: County commissioners; eligibility to hold other offices. 81-136. Council meetings of cities of second class. 82-217. City manager plan; governing board under commission-manager plan. 82-231. Signing or veto of ordinances in council cities; exceptions. 82-258. CASE ANNOTATIONS 1. Cited; requirement for majority vote in K.S.A. 12-3002 as modifying common-law rule on abstentions examined. City of Haven v. Gregg, 244 Kan. 117, 120, 766 P.2d 143 (1988).

Source: Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (ksrevisor.gov)URL: https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch12/012_030_0003.htmlFetched: 10/20/2026