Creating and passing new ordinances in Gainesville, Virginia is a straightforward process. All ordinances or resolutions adopted by the governing body must be approved by a majority vote of those present and voting at any legal meeting. This vote can be done by means of recorded voice voting, unless otherwise provided by law or if any member requests a roll-call vote. In counties, unless otherwise authorized by law, a descriptive notification must be published once a week for two consecutive weeks of the intention to propose the approval of the ordinance.
This publication must include a statement that the publication contains the full text of the ordinance or that there is a copy of the full text of the ordinance on file in the office of the clerk of the county circuit court or in the office of the county administrator. In counties, emergency ordinances may be adopted without notice; however, no such ordinance will be enforced for more than sixty days unless readopted in accordance with the provisions of this Code. In cities, no tax will be charged except with the vote of two-thirds of the council members. The final vote on any ordinance or resolution must be recorded, including the name of each member of the governing body that voted and the manner in which they voted. Unless the Constitution or other general or special law specifically provides otherwise, an ordinance may be adopted by a majority vote. Once an ordinance has been adopted, it can be modified or repealed in the same way or through the same procedure in which it was adopted.
The amendment or repeal of an ordinance shall take the form of an ordinance that shall enter into force after its adoption or on a date set by the governing body. Data from the Virginia Law website is available through a web service and chapters from meeting minutes referred to in historical citations may not constitute a complete list and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired. The Code of Virginia, Constitution of Virginia, statutes, authorities, covenants and uncodified laws are now available in ePub e-book format.
