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The Santa Cruz Municipal Council (Sangguniang Bayan ng Santa Cruz) is Santa Cruz's Sangguniang Bayan or legislative body. The council has 11 members which is composed of 8 councilors, one ex officio member elected from the ranks of barangay (neighborhood) chairmen, one ex officio member elected from the ranks of Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) chairmen and one presiding officer. The Vice-mayor of the municipality is the presiding officer of the council, who is elected municipal-wide.

The council is responsible for creating laws and ordinances under the municipality's jurisdiction. The mayor can veto proposed bills, but the council can override it with a two-thirds supermajority.

Powers, duties and functions
The Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), which establishes the Sangguniang Bayan as the municipal's legislative body, contains the following requirements:


 * Pass legislation;
 * Consent to resolutions;
 * Adequate funding for the municipal's and its residents' general wellbeing; and
 * Make sure the municipality is exercising its corporate rights in accordance with Section 22 of the Local Government Code.

Additionally, the Sangguniang Bayan is given responsibility for the following tasks and activities:


 * approve the resolutions and ordinances required for an effective and efficient municipal government;
 * Generate and maximize the utilization of funds and resources for the municipal's development plans, program goals, and top priorities as specified in Section 18 of the Local Government Code of 1991, paying special attention to expansion and improvement in the entire metropolis and agro-industrial development;
 * Pass laws awarding franchises and permitting the issuance of permits or licenses, subject to the guidelines in Book II of the Local Government Code of 1991, but with conditions and goals intended to advance the welfare of the municipal's residents;
 * Control activities pertaining to the use of land, buildings, and structures inside the municipality to advance the welfare of its populace as a whole;
 * Approve ordinances that would guarantee the effective and efficient provision of the fundamental facilities and services as specified in Section 17 of the Local Government Code; and
 * Use any additional powers and carry out any additional tasks or obligations outlined in a law or ordinance.

Membership
The municipality elects eight members of the council at-large. In plurality-at-large voting, a voter may vote for up to eight candidates and the candidates with the eight highest numbers of votes are elected. Barangay and SK chairs throughout the municipality each elect a representative to the council, for a total of 10 councilors. Municipal-council elections are synchronized with other elections in the country, which have been held on the second Monday of May every third year since 1992.