The creation of the 15-member New York City Charter Commission of 2019 was approved by the New York City Council on April 11, 2018, and signed by the mayor on April 30, 2018. The commission was tasked with reviewing the New York City Charter and putting proposals for amending the charter before voters at the November 2019 ballot. The commission gave final approval to 19 proposed charter amendments to be put on the November 2019 ballot. The proposal were grouped into five ballot questions for voters to decide. These 19 proposals approved by the commission included a measure to establish ranked-choice voting as the election method for all primary and special city elections.[1][2]
Timeline and process
- November 5, 2019: Election day
- July 24, 2019: The commission removes one proposal and gives final approval of 19 proposals grouped into five ballot questions for the November ballot.
- June 18, 2019: The commission approved three additional proposals to send to staff to draft language.
- June 12, 2019: The commission approved 17 proposals to send to staff to draft language.
- April 30-May 14, 2019: Public hearings were held in each of the five city boroughs.
- April 22, 2019: The charter commission released a preliminary staff report on charter amendment proposals.
- April 30, 2018: The mayor signed the law creating the commission.
- April 11, 2018: The New York City Council approved the creation of the commission.
2019 ballot proposals
The charter revisions commission voted to send 19 charter amendment proposals to the voters in November 2019. The proposals were grouped into five questions.[2][3][4][5]
• Ballot Question 1, New York City Elections Charter Amendment: Ranked-Choice Voting, Vacancies, and City Council Redistricting Timeline 
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
- establish ranked-choice voting to be used for primary and special elections beginning in 2021;
- increase the time between a city office vacancy and the special election to fill it from 45 days (60 for mayor) to 80 days; and
- change the timeline for city council redistricting to complete it prior to city council nominating petition signature collection.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter regarding elections policy, thereby
- leaving in place a plurality (or first-past-the-post) system for most city elections;
- leaving the time between a city office vacancy and the special election to fill it at 45 days (60 days for mayor); and
- leaving the timeline for city council redistricting unchanged.
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• Ballot Question 4, New York City City Budget Charter Amendment: Revenue Stabilization Fund, Public Advocate and Borough President Budgets, and Reporting by Mayor a
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
- authorize a rainy day fund to go into effect with required state law changes;
- set minimum Public Advocate and Borough President budgets based on the 2020 fiscal year adjusted based on inflation or the total change in the city's total budget;
- move the deadline for the mayor's revenue report (excluding property taxes) to the city council from June 5 to April 26; and
- set a deadline of 30 days for the mayor to submit changes to the city's financial plan requiring budget changes to the city council.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter regarding certain elements of the city budget, thereby
- leaving charter provisions precluding a rainy-day fund in place;
- leaving the Public Advocate and Borough President budgets set through the standard budget process;
- leave the deadline for the mayor's revenue report to the city council at June 5; and
- leaving no specification about when the mayor must submit certain budget changes to the city council.
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• Ballot Question 2, New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board Charter Amendment a
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
- add two members to the 13-member Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB)—one appointed by the Public Advocate and one jointly by the mayor and speaker of the council;
- allow the city council to appoint members directly without the mayor having final appointing authority;
- require the CCRB annual budget to be enough to hire employees for at least one CCRB for every 154 police officers (0.65% of the city's police force) unless the mayor determines that fiscal necessity prevents it;
- add to the city charter the requirement that the city police commissioner to provide an explanation to the CCRB whenever the board's disciplinary recommendations aren't followed;
- authorize the CCRB to investigate the truthfulness of statements made during its investigation of complaints; and
- allow the CCRB to delegate its authority to issue and enforce subpoenas.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter regarding the CCRB, thereby
- leaving 13 board members, with five designated by the city council and three designated by the police commissioner and all final appointments made by the mayor;
- leaving no minimum budget requirements based on a ratio to police officers;
- leaving a 2012 agreement in place that the city police commissioner provide a report to the CCRB when disciplinary recommendations aren't followed but without a provision requiring it in the city charter;
- leaving existing practices of the CCRB in place to forward evidence of false statements during investigations to the NYPD for investigation; and
- leaving the CCRB, but not certain CCRB staff such as the CCRB executive director, with authority to issue and enforce subpoenas.
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• Ballot Question 5, New York City Land Use Charter Amendment: Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Requirements a
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
- require the Department of City Planning (DCP) to provide a summary of Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) projects to the Borough President, Board and Community Board affected by the project 30 days prior to when the project application is certified for review by the public and
- increase the amount of time allowed for review of the ULURP projects by the affected Community Boards from 60 days to either 75 days or 90 days, depending on timing.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter concerning certain elements of reporting and review timing with regard to ULURP projects.
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• Ballot Question 3, New York City Ethics and Government Charter Amendment a
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
- increase the amount of time after leaving service before elected city officials and senior appointed officials can appear before the city agencies in which they served from one year to two years;
- replace two of five members of the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) appointed by the mayor with a member appointed by the comptroller and a member appointed by the public advocate;
- prohibit members of the COIB from involvement with city office campaigns and restrict contributions from COIB members to campaigns to between $250 and $400 depending on the office;
- add to the city charter a requirement that the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) to report directly to the mayor and to require a mayoral office for the M/WBE; and
- require city council confirmation of the city's corporation counsel appointed by the mayor.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter concerning the Conflicts of Interest Board and the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE), thereby
- leaving the block of time required before certain city officials can appear before their former agencies at one year;
- leaving all five existing mayoral appointments to the COIB;
- leaving COIB members without additional restrictions on campaign involvement and contribution limits;
- leaving no requirements concerning reporting by the director of the M/WBE to the mayor or concerning supporting roles for the M/WBE in the charter; and
- continuing to authorize the mayor to appoint the corporation counsel without city council confirmation.
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Commission members
The commission has 15 members appointed as follows:[1]
- four members appointed by the mayor;
- four members appointed by the speaker of the city council;
- one member appointed by each of the five borough presidents;
- one member appointed by the public advocate; and
- one member appointed by the comptroller.
The 2019 commission consisted of the following members:[6]
- Gail Benjamin (Chair)
- Sal Albanese
- Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
- Lisette Camilo
- James Caras
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- Eduardo Cordero, Sr.
- Stephen J. Fiala
- Paula Gavin
- Lindsay Greene
- Alison Hirsh
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- Rev. Clinton Miller
- Sateesh Nori
- Dr. Merryl H. Tisch
- James Vacca
- Carl Weisbrod
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Background
The last charter revision commission tasked with a full revision of the city charter put proposals on the 1989 city ballot. The revisions proposed by the 1989 commissioner were approved by voters. There have been other charter revision commissions approved for more specific purposes since 1989, including a commission launched by the mayor to put charter amendments on the November 2018 ballot.[7]
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New York City Council, "Local Law 91 of 2018," accessed June 21, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York City Charter Commission, "Ballot Proposals," accessed June 25, 2019
- ↑ New York City Charter Revision Commission, "Minutes for the June 12, 2019 Meeting," accessed June 25, 2019
- ↑ New York City Charter Revision Commission, "Minutes for the June 18, 2019 Meeting," accessed June 25, 2019
- ↑ New York City Charter Revision Commission, "Final Report of the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission," July 24, 2019
- ↑ New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission, "Meet the commissioners," accessed June 25, 2019
- ↑ New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission, "Background," accessed June 22, 2019
