Pittsburgh City Council tweaks rules on public meetings

Pittsburgh City Council voted Wednesday to clarify rules for people making public comments at its meetings.

The measure, first introduced in November and amended last week, explicitly requires commenters to state their name and their neighborhood before commenting — something council had asked of commenters already.

The legislation said residents “are responsible to deliver their comments in such a manner as to not breach the order and decorum of City Council.” Such breaches include shouting, using profanity or vulgarity or speaking longer than the allowed three minutes, the legislation said.

Also prohibited are “belligerent or abusive behavior including true threats, fighting words or incitements to imminent lawless action.”

The legislation also spells out that the public comment period is a “limited public forum” and residents are limited to commenting about “matters of concern, official action or deliberation which are or may be before council.”

The measure also renamed several council committees.