15-4944 R35 Forwarded with a proposed amendment Amends Council Rule VIII, Voting by requiring a councilperson to submit to council a request in writing for abstaining on a vote prior to the meeting, stating the reason for the abstention pursuant to the local, state and federal statutes and in absent of council approval of such request, the vote shall be recorded in the affirmative. Amendment: See File, adding this sentence and deleting the provision that turns an abstention into an affirmative vote: If the abstention is approved by Council, the vote of the abstaining Councilperson shall be recorded as an abstention approved by Council. If the abstention is not approved by Council and the Councilperson does not vote yea or nay, the vote shall be recorded as an abstention not approved by Council