Bill Text: NY A05661 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to the city charter referendum process; repeals certain provisions regarding the adoption of a new or revised city charter proposed by a charter commission which limit the submission of questions to a city's qualified electors; eliminates the rule that provides that whenever a city charter commission puts a proposal on the local ballot, all other local referendum proposals are barred from the ballot.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-10-16 - print number 5661a [A05661 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05661-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5661--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 20, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE, GLICK, DINOWITZ, COLTON, WEPRIN, CARROLL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Cities -- recommitted to the Committee on Cities in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the municipal home rule law, in relation to the city charter referendum process; and to repeal paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subdivision 5 of section 36 of the municipal home rule law, relat- ing to limitations on the submitting of a question to the qualified electors of a city when there is a question submitted by a charter commission The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subdivision 5 of section 36 2 of the municipal home rule law are REPEALED. 3 § 2. Paragraphs (b) and (d) of subdivision 5 of section 36 of the 4 municipal home rule law, as amended by chapter 592 of the laws of 1964, 5 are amended and a new paragraph (e) is added to read as follows: 6 (b) Such new charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the 7 office of the city clerk (i) no less than one hundred eighty days after 8 the charter commission was created and organized, and no less than thir- 9 ty days after a charter commission report has been made public pursuant 10 to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and (ii) in time for submission to 11 the electors not later than the second general election after the char- 12 ter commission is created and organized. The local law or certificate 13 establishing the commission or, in the absence of such provision there- 14 in, the charter commission shall provide for such publication or other 15 publicity in respect to the provisions of the proposed charter or amend- 16 ments as it may deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors 17 of the city at a general or special election held not earlier than sixty EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07932-02-4A. 5661--A 2 1 days after the filing thereof in the office of the city clerk and not 2 later than the next general election which does not occur within the 3 said sixty days, provided, however, that if such general election occurs 4 within ninety days after the said filing, the proposed charter or amend- 5 ments shall be submitted at such general election. At such election, if 6 a proposed new charter is submitted as a single proposal, there shall be 7 submitted to the qualified electors of the city the question: "Shall the 8 new city charter proposed by the city charter commission be adopted ?" 9 The charter commission may, however, require that its proposed charter 10 be submitted in two or more parts so arranged that corresponding parts 11 of the existing charter shall remain in effect if one or more of such 12 parts are not adopted, or may in lieu of a new charter submit a revision 13 of the existing charter in one or more amendments and may also submit 14 alternative charters or amendments or alternative provisions to super- 15 sede designated portions of a proposed charter or amendment if adopted. 16 In such case the charter commission shall prescribe the form of the 17 questions to be submitted, which shall be such as clearly to indicate 18 the effect of their approval. 19 (d) If any question submitted by the charter commission receives the 20 affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the city 21 voting thereon, the proposal submitted thereby shall take effect as 22 specified therein and the new charter or the amendment or amendments to 23 the existing charter as so proposed shall become operative as prescribed 24 therein[; except that if there be a conflict between the provisions of25two or more proposals approved by the electors at the same election, the26proposal receiving the largest number of affirmative votes shall prevail27to the extent of such conflict]. 28 (e) Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this subdivision, if there is a 29 conflict between the provisions of two or more proposals approved by the 30 electors at the same election, the proposal receiving the largest number 31 of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict. 32 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. REPEAL NOTE.--Paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subdivision 5 of section 36 of the municipal home rule law proposed to be repealed by this act provides limitations including prohibition on submission by local law, ordinance, resolution or petition of a question to the qualified elec- tors of a city when any question is submitted by a charter commission.
