History Notes

This article will explain what a history note is and discuss how history notes can be used to draft your municipality's ordinances.

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What is a History Note?
- Example History Note
Using History Notes to Draft Ordinances
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What is a History Note?

Think of history notes as "breadcrumbs" that show how a specific section has historically been changed. A history note points to the legislation that was adopted by the governing body to enact the specific provision (or amendment) in the Code.

Example History Note

The example code section below includes a history note after the body of the section text.

Sec. 3-44. Fees for Impounding.

The fees for impounding an animal, to be paid upon redemption shall be as follows:

(1) For any horse, mule, donkey, pony, cow or similar large animal:

For impounding $20.00;

For keeping each day: $6.00

(2) For any dog, hog, sheep, goat, or other similar animal:

For impounding $20.00;

For keeping each day: $4.00

(Code 1972, § 3-66; Ord. No. 041725, § 4, 12-16-11; Ord. No. 161321, § 1, 11-12-22)

Let’s break down each part of the section's history note:

Code 1972, § 3-66: This is the version of the Code adopted in (or from) 1972. This was originally included as Section 3-66. When the municipality recodified their code, Section 3-66 in their old codebook got renumbered as 3-44.
Ord. No. 041725, § 4, 12-16-11: On December 16, 2011, the municipality adopted Ordinance Number 041725, which contained an amendment to Section 3-44 under Section 4 of the ordinance.
Ord. No. 161321, § 1, 11-12-22: On November 12, 2022, the municipality adopted further amendments to Section 3-44, by Ordinance Number 161321, Section 1.

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Using History Notes to Draft Ordinances

It is important to remember when drafting ordinances to use the sections (provisions) of the ordinance properly. Remember, the sections of the ordinance are doing the heavy lifting of the ordinance. The sections are the portions of the ordinance that "take the action."

In the example displayed in the Example History Note section:

Code 1972 created Section 3-66 (amended to and currently labeled as Section 3-44)
Section 4, of Ordinance Number 041725, amended Section 3-66 by adding, deleting, repealing, or enacting some kind of amendment to that specific section in Chapter 3 (since the section number changed between the years of 1972 to 2022, it’s clear the Code was at some point restructured and, therefor, renumbered)
Section 1, of Ordinance Number 161321, made further amendments to Section 3-44, perhaps by changing a word here and there

You can find out what was done exactly by reviewing the adopted legislation, and this history note tells you what legislation to look at to find the historical changes.

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