Adopting an Ordinance Through The Legislative Process

• 1). Meet with a member of the city council to discuss the need for an ordinance. Laws are enacted to address current problems, or prevent a problem from occurring. A council member must agree to submit the idea as a "measure": a form or draft of a proposed statute presented to the city council, but not yet enacted or passed and made law.
  
  
• 2). Have the idea for the ordinance drafted into the appropriate legal language and format. An attorney who is knowledgeable of the city's legal code should perform this to avoid any issues of legality, or ambiguity. The city's legal counsel or city attorney's office usually performs this function for the city council, so discuss it with the council member who will draft the measure's language.
  
  
• 3). Contact any potential supporters or opposition of the proposed ordinance. Because this is a political process, be sure to identify potential supporters and any opposition. Work with supporters to influence the city council and mayor to support the measure. Work with any opposition to address concerns and possibly reach a compromise.
  
  
• 4). Track the movement of the measure through the city's legislative process and attend all public hearings/meetings about the measure. If the city council is large, the various council members may be assigned to committees that deal exclusively with particular subjects. A measure that would criminalize a form of behavior may be referred to the council's committee that reviews all measures related to public safety. In this case, the committee hearing should be attended and testimony in support of the bill should be given.
  
  
• 5). Contact the mayor's office if the measure is approved by the city council. If the city council approves the measure, the mayor must sign it into law or veto it. This contact should include interfacing with the relevant mayoral staff, and sending an official letter requesting the mayor's signature. If the measure is signed it will become an ordinance.
  
  

Enacting an Ordinance Through a Petition Campaign

• 1). Draft the idea for the ordinance into the appropriate legal language and format. An attorney who is knowledgeable of the city's legal code should perform this to avoid any issues of legality, or ambiguity.
  
  
• 2). Determine how many signatures must be collected to qualify a measure for the ballot. The names and signatures of a certain number of registered voters within the city must be collected to qualify the measure to be placed on the ballot. The citizens of the city, if they are registered to vote, will be given the opportunity to vote on whether the city should adopt the measure as law. Contact the local government agency responsible for registering voters and distributing election information to obtain this information.
  
  
• 3). Submit the legal language for the proposed ordinance and any additional information required by the jurisdiction's elections agency. The elections agency will provide procedural information on how to qualify the measure on the ballot, any deadlines that must be met, and other requirements.
  
  
• 4). Collect signatures. In some locales, organizing a petition drive and obtaining signatures may be the only way to get the commission, mayor or council's attention to pass an ordinance. Target audiences, businesses and stakeholders who would have an interest in supporting the passage of your ordinance. During the signature collection process, voters should be educated on the issue and why the passage of the ordinance is important.
  
  
• 5). Submit the required number of signatures and any additional required information to the elections agency. This information must be submitted by the appropriate deadlines to qualify the measure to appear on next election's ballot. After this point, the ordinance must be approved by the voters.