SR-850-004 (3)
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CA:RMM:rmd227/hpca
City Council Meeting 5-13-86
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
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MAY 1 3 1i86
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
City Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Adding section 1202 to the Santa
Monica Municipal Code Relating to Rules and
Regulations of the Library
On February 19, 1986, the City Attorney rendered an opinion
to the Santa Monica Library Board on the promulgation of rules
and regulations and the enforcement thereof. On April 15, 1986,
the City Attorney met with the Library Board Subcommittee on
Library Rules. At this meeting, the City Librarian and Library
Board Subcommittee expressed interest in proceeding wi th the
preparation of an ordinance providing for enforcement of Library
rules. Accordingly, the accompanying ordinance has been prepared
and is presented for City Council consideration.
city Charter section 1010 provides that the Library Board
shall have the power to "[m] ake and enforce such by-laws, rules
and regulations as may be necessary for the administration,
government and protection of the city Library .
II
Although
it is clear that the Library Board may promulgate necessary rules
and regulations, the mechanism for enforcing the rules and
regulations is not articulated in the city Charter or Municipal
Code.
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The most expeditious way to enforce rules and regulations
against a non-complying individual would be through a request to
leave the Library. However, authority does not exist to enforce
such a request by powers other than verbal persuasion or civil
process, since no violation of criminal law is involved.
City Charter Section 1701 provides that any violation of
the City Charter is a misdemeanor. The Charter does not provide
that a violation of a rule or regulation promulgated under
authori ty of the Charter is a misdemeanor.
The Charter does,
however, authorize the City Council to adopt ordinances, and the
Charter specifically provides that the violation of any ordinance
of the city shall constitute a misdemeanor. City Charter Section
620. The City Attorney has been unable to identify any existing
ordinance that would make a violation of a Library rule a
criminal offense.
The Library Board has requested preparation of an ordinance
that would provide for enforcement of Library rules. A simple
approach would be to add a section to the Municipal Code to read
as follows:
Any person who fails or refuses to
comply with any rule or regulation duly
adopted by the Library Board shall be
requested by an employee of the Library to
leave the Library. Any person who fails
or refuses to leave the Library after such
a
request
shall
be
guilty
of
a
misdemeanor.
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Any person who has violated any rule
or regulation duly adopted by the Library
Board shall be subject to the suspension
of his or her borrowing privileges from
the Library for a period not to exceed one
year.
This provision would be similar to a provision of state law
applicable to municipal libraries. Education Code section 18960
provides:
Every library established pursuant
to this chapter shall be forever free to
the inhabitants and nonresident taxpayers
of the municipality, subject always to
such rules, regulations, and bylaws as may
be made by boards of library trustees.
Any
person
who
violates
any rule,
regulations, or bylaw may be fined or
excluded from the privileges of the
library.
The city's library system is established by the City Charter and
not the Education Code; accordingly, this section does not apply
to the Santa Monica PUblic Library.
RECOMM:ENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, city Attorney
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CA:RMM:rmd228/hpca
city Council Meeting 5-13-86
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Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(city council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION 1202 TO THE SANTA
MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
LIBRARY RULES AND REGULATIONS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Section 1202 is added to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to read as follows:
SECTION 1202. Library Board Rules.
(a) Any person who fails or refuses
to comply with any rule or regulation duly
adopted by the Library Board shall be
requested by an employee of the Library to
leave the Library. Any person who fails
or refuses to leave the Library after such
a
request
shall
be
guilty
of
a
misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who has violated any
rule or regulation duly adopted by the
Library Board shall be subject to the
suspension of his
or her borrowing
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privileges from the Library for a period
not to exceed one year.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of
this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no
further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to affect the provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 3.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid
or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the ordinance.
The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether
any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared
invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this ordinance.
The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption.
effective 30 days from its adoption.
The ordinance shall be
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
f'l..t1n..dr l.-- , \,......
ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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