Our Rule-Making Process
Finance and Administrative Services' programs are governed by ordinances passed by the City Council and codified in the Seattle Municipal Code. Under the authority of the Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) director, we may draft rules to help implement new laws, provide more detail on the laws passed and provide additional guidance for customers and taxpayers. These rules are then recorded and made publicly available through the City Clerk's office. The rules are also accessible on Seattle.gov.
The following is a general summary of the rule-making process. For rules coverning new ordinances, this process begins as soon as the proposed ordinance becomes law.
- We prepare a draft rule. This process occurs prior to any public rule hearing.
- We post the draft rule on our director's rules webpage along with an announcement on how you can comment on the proposed rule. We also post the announcement in the Daily Journal of Commerce (the City's official newspaper of record). If a public hearing is scheduled, the date and time will be included on the director's rules webpage and in the DJC notice.
- If a hearing is scheduled, we will accept comments from stakeholders on the draft rule during the hearing. Comments may also be submitted in writing to the mailing, physical or email address identified in the announcement. We will specify a deadline for written comments in the announcement. NOTE: All comments we receive are public record.
- Once the rule is finalized and signed by the FAS director, the City Clerk's office records the rule. The rule becomes effective on the filing date.
- We post a link to the new/updated rule on the director's rules webpage.