ORDINANCE NO. 12,302
CITY OF MONROE, LOUISIANA
The following Ordinance was introduced by Woods , who moved for its introduction, and was seconded by McFarland :
AN ORDINANCE PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HOME RULE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MONROE, LOUISIANA, TO AMEND SECTION 2-13(C) (SUBMISSION OF ORDINANCES TO THE MAYOR) SO AS TO REDUCE THE VOTE REQUIRED FOR THE COUNCIL TO OVERRIDE A MAYORAL VETO FROM TWO-THIRDS OF ITS AUTHORIZED MEMBERSHIP TO A MAJORITY OF ITS AUTHORIZED MEMBERSHIP; PROVIDING THAT THE AMENDMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ONLY UPON RATIFICATION BY A MAJORITY OF THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS VOTING THEREON; DIRECTING SUBMISSION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE ELECTORATE PURSUANT TO SECTION 7-04 OF THE CHARTER AND ARTICLE VI, SECTION 5 OF THE LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION; AND OTHERWISE PROVIDING WITH RESPECT THERETO.
WHEREAS, the legislative power of the City of Monroe is vested in the City Council, and the mayoral veto under Section 2-13 of the Home Rule Charter presently may be overridden only by the favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the Council’s authorized membership; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that an override threshold of a majority of its authorized membership is more consistent with representative governance and with the Council’s role as the City’s legislative authority; and
WHEREAS, Section 7-04 of the Charter authorizes the Council to propose amendments to the Charter for submission to the qualified electors of the City, and Article VI, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 provides that a home rule charter may be amended when approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at an election held for that purpose;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Monroe, Louisiana, in legal session convened, that:
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Ordinance is to propose an amendment to the Home Rule Charter of the City of Monroe to reduce the vote required for the Council to override a mayoral veto of an ordinance from two-thirds of its authorized membership to a majority of its authorized membership. This Ordinance proposes the amendment only; it does not itself amend the Charter, which may be amended solely upon ratification by the qualified electors as provided in Section 5 below.
SECTION 2. PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
Section 2-13(C) of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Monroe, captioned “Submission of Ordinances to the Mayor,” which presently reads:
“Ordinances vetoed by the mayor shall be submitted by the clerk to the council no later than the next regular meeting held after receipt of the vetoed ordinance from the mayor. Should the council vote, no later than the second regular meeting held after receipt of the vetoed ordinance, to readopt the ordinance by the favorable vote of at least two thirds of its authorized membership, said ordinance shall be considered finally enacted and become law irrespective of the veto by the mayor.”
is hereby proposed to be amended to read as follows:
“Ordinances vetoed by the mayor shall be submitted by the clerk to the council no later than the next regular meeting held after receipt of the vetoed ordinance from the mayor. Should the council vote, no later than the second regular meeting held after receipt of the vetoed ordinance, to readopt the ordinance by the favorable vote of a majority of its authorized membership, said ordinance shall be considered finally enacted and become law irrespective of the veto by the mayor.”
All other provisions of Section 2-13, including the corresponding two-thirds threshold for readoption of emergency ordinances under Section 2-14, shall remain unchanged except as expressly amended herein.
SECTION 3. SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS
In accordance with Section 7-04 of the Home Rule Charter, Article VI, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and the Louisiana Election Code, the proposed amendment set forth in Section 2 shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Monroe for ratification at the next citywide regular or special election available under state law, or, if none is available, at a special election called by the Council for that purpose.
SECTION 4. BALLOT PROPOSITION
The proposition shall be submitted to the electors substantially in the following form:
CITY OF MONROE — HOME RULE CHARTER AMENDMENT
“Shall Section 2-13(C) of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Monroe be amended to authorize the City Council to override a mayoral veto of an ordinance by the favorable vote of a majority of its authorized membership, in place of the present requirement of at least two-thirds of its authorized membership?”
YES ☐ NO ☐
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE AMENDMENT
The Charter amendment proposed in Section 2 shall become effective only if approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon, and shall take effect upon promulgation of the election results as provided by law. Should the proposition fail, Section 2-13(C) of the Charter shall remain in full force and effect as presently written.
SECTION 6. NOTICE AND CERTIFICATION
The Clerk of the Council is authorized and directed to take all actions necessary to place the proposition before the electors, including transmitting the proposed amendment and ballot language to the Louisiana Attorney General for review, notifying the Ouachita Parish Registrar of Voters and Clerk of Court, securing approval of the election by the State Bond Commission to the extent required, and publishing all notices required by the Louisiana Election Code and Section 7-04 of the Charter.
SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Ordinance or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision.
SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE
This Ordinance, which proposes the amendment and calls for its submission to the electors, shall take effect as provided in Section 2-12 of the Charter. For the avoidance of doubt, the Charter amendment itself takes effect only as provided in Section 5 of this Ordinance.
This Ordinance was introduced on June 23rd , 2026.
Notice was published on June 26th , 2026.
This Ordinance having been submitted in writing, introduced, published, laid over as required by the Charter, and considered after public hearing, was then submitted to a vote as a whole, the vote thereon being as follows:
AYES: Woods, McFarland & Muhammad
NAYS: Ezernack
ABSENT: Harvey
ABSTAINING: None.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 14th day of July , 20 26 .
Verbon Muhammad, Sr.
Chairman, Monroe City Council
ATTEST:
Carolus S. Riley
Clerk of the Council