Section 21.
§ 21. The Council. There shall be a council which shall be the
legislative body of the city. In addition to the other powers vested in
it by this charter and other law, the council shall be vested with the
legislative power of the city. Any enumeration of powers in this charter
shall not be held to limit the legislative power of the council, except
as specifically provided in this charter.
Section 22.
§ 22. Composition of Council. a. The council shall consist of the
public advocate and of fifty-one other members termed council members.
Consistent with state law, the size of the council and the number of
districts from which council members are elected may be increased by
local law without approval pursuant to section thirty-eight.
b. One council member shall be elected from each council district as
now or hereafter constituted.
Section 23.
§ 23. Council members not to be employees of agencies. No council
member shall be an employee of any agency in any capacity whatever.
Section 24.
§ 24. Election; term; vacancies. a. The public advocate shall be
elected by the electors of the city at the same time and for the same
term as in this charter prescribed for the mayor. A public advocate who
resigns or is removed from office prior to the completion of a full term
shall be deemed to have held that office for a full term for purposes of
Section 1138 of the charter.
b. The public advocate may be removed or suspended in the same manner
as provided in this charter with respect to the mayor.
c. Any vacancy in the office of public advocate shall be filled by
popular election in the following manner:
1. Within three days of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of
the public advocate, the mayor shall proclaim the date for the election
or elections required by this subdivision, provide notice of such
proclamation to the city clerk and the board of elections and publish
notice thereof in the City Record. After the proclamation of the date
for an election to be held pursuant to paragraphs four or five of this
subdivision, the city clerk shall publish notice thereof not less than
twice in each week preceding the date of such election in newspapers
distributed within the city, and the board of elections shall mail
notice of such election to all registered voters within the city.
2. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of the term, a
general election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired
term shall be held in the year in which the vacancy occurs, unless the
vacancy occurs after the last day on which an occurring vacancy may be
filled at the general election in that same year with party nominations
of candidates for such election being made at a primary election, as
provided in section 6-116 of the election law. If such a vacancy occurs
in any year after such last day, it shall be filled for the remainder of
the unexpired term at the general election in the following year
provided, however, that no general election to fill a vacancy shall be
held in the last year of the term, except as provided in paragraph nine
of this subdivision. Party nominations of candidates for a general
election to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term shall
be made at a primary election, except as provided in paragraph five of
this subdivision.
3. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy on an interim
basis has not been previously held pursuant to paragraphs four, six,
seven and eight of this subdivision, the person elected to fill the
vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election
shall take office immediately upon qualification and shall serve until
the term expires. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy
on an interim basis has been previously held, the person elected to fill
the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general
election shall take office on January first of the year following such
general election and shall serve until the term expires.
4. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of the term and on
or before the last day in the third year of the term on which an
occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term
at a general election with party nominations of candidates for such
election being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116
of the election law, a special or general election to fill the vacancy
on an interim basis shall be held, unless the vacancy occurs less than
ninety days before the next primary election at which party nominations
for a general election to fill the vacancy may be made and on or before
the last day on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term at the general election in the same year
in which the vacancy occurs with party nominations of candidates for
such election being made at a primary election, as provided in section
6-116 of the election law.
5. If a vacancy occurs after the last day in the third year of the
term on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of
the unexpired term at a general election in such year with party
nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary
election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law, but not less
than ninety days before the date of the primary election in the fourth
year of such term, a special or general election to fill such vacancy
for the remainder of the unexpired term shall be held.
6. Elections held pursuant to paragraph four or five of this
subdivision shall be scheduled in the following manner: A special
election to fill the vacancy shall be held on the first Tuesday at least
forty-five days after the occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the
mayor, in the proclamation required by paragraph one of this
subdivision, may schedule such election for another day no more than ten
days after such Tuesday and not less than forty days after such
proclamation if the mayor determines that such rescheduling is necessary
to facilitate maximum voter participation; except that
(a) if the vacancy occurs before September twentieth in any year and
the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of the
vacancy is less than ninety days before a regularly scheduled general
election or between a primary and a general election, the vacancy shall
be filled at such general election;
(b) if the vacancy occurs before September twentieth in any year and
the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of the
vacancy is after a regularly scheduled general election, the vacancy
shall be filled at such general election; and
(c) if the vacancy occurs on or after September twentieth in any year
and the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of
the vacancy is after, but less than thirty days after, a regularly
scheduled general election, the vacancy shall be filled at a special
election to be held on the first Tuesday in December in such year.
7. All nominations for elections to fill vacancies held pursuant to
paragraphs four and five of this subdivision shall be by independent
nominating petition. A signature on an independent nominating petition
made earlier than the date of the proclamation required by paragraph one
of this subdivision shall not be counted.
8. A person elected to fill a vacancy in the office of public advocate
at an election held pursuant to paragraph four of this subdivision shall
take office immediately upon qualification and serve until December
thirty-first of the year in which the vacancy is filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term pursuant to paragraph two of this
subdivision. A person elected to fill a vacancy in the office of public
advocate at an election held pursuant to paragraph five of this
subdivision shall take office immediately upon qualification and serve
until the term expires.
9. If a vacancy occurs less than ninety days before the date of the
primary election in the last year of the term, the person elected at the
general election in such year for the next succeeding term shall take
office immediately upon qualification and fill the vacancy for the
remainder of the unexpired term.
d. The public advocate may, by written authority filed with the
appropriate board, body or committee and with the city clerk, designate
any two officers or employees appointed by the public advocate to
exercise the powers specified in this subdivision. Either such officer
or employee, so designated, may act in the place of the public advocate
on any board, body or committee, other than the council, of which the
public advocate is a member whenever the public advocate shall be absent
from a meeting of said board, body or committee for any reason whatever.
e. The public advocate shall have the right to participate in the
discussion of the council but shall not have a vote.
f. In addition to other duties and responsibilities, the public
advocate shall serve as the public advocate and shall (1) monitor the
operation of the public information and service complaint programs of
city agencies and make proposals to improve such programs; (2) review
complaints of a recurring and multiborough or city-wide nature relating
to services and programs, and make proposals to improve the city's
response to such complaints; (3) receive individual complaints
concerning city services and other administrative actions of city
agencies; and (4) investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve such
individual complaints except for those which (i) another city agency is
required by law to adjudicate, (ii) may be resolved through a grievance
mechanism established by collective bargaining agreement or contract, or
(iii) involve allegations of conduct which may constitute a violation of
criminal law or a conflict of interest. If the public advocate receives
a complaint which is subject to a procedure described in items (i) or
(ii) of this paragraph, the public advocate shall advise the complainant
of the appropriate procedure for the resolution of such complaint. If
the public advocate receives a complaint of the type described in item
(iii) of this paragraph, the public advocate shall promptly refer the
matter in accordance with subdivision k of this section.
g. The public advocate shall establish procedures for receiving and
processing complaints, responding to complainants, conducting
investigations, and reporting findings, and shall inform the public
about such procedures. Upon an initial determination that a complaint
may be valid, the public advocate shall refer it to the appropriate
agency. If such agency does not resolve the complaint within a
reasonable time, the public advocate may conduct an investigation and
make specific recommendations to the agency for resolution of the
complaint. If, within a reasonable time after the public advocate has
completed an investigation and submitted recommendations to an agency,
such agency has failed to respond in a satisfactory manner to the
recommendations, the public advocate may issue a report to the council
and the mayor. Such report shall describe the conclusions of the
investigation and make such recommendations for administrative,
legislative, or budgetary action, together with their fiscal
implications, as the public advocate deems necessary to resolve the
individual complaint or complaints or to address the underlying problems
discovered in the investigation.
h. In addition to other duties and responsibilities, the public
advocate may review the programs of city agencies. Such reviews shall
include, but not be limited to, annual evaluations of: (1) the
implementation of the requirements for coterminality of local services
contained in all subdivisions of section twenty seven hundred four; (2)
the effectiveness of the public information and service complaint
programs of city agencies; and (3) the responsiveness of city agencies
to individual and group requests for data or information regarding the
agencies' structure, activities and operations. The public advocate
shall submit any reports documenting or summarizing such reviews to the
council, mayor and appropriate agency and shall include in such reports
his or her recommendations for addressing the problems identified and
the fiscal implications of such recommendations.
i. Except for those matters which involve conduct which may constitute
a violation of criminal law or a conflict of interest, the public
advocate may, on the request of a resident, taxpayer, community board,
council member or borough president, or on his or her own motion,
inquire into any alleged failure of a city officer or agency to comply
with any provision of the charter. If as a result of such inquiry, the
public advocate concludes that there is any substantial failure to
comply with any provision of the charter, he or she shall submit a
preliminary report documenting the conclusions of the inquiry to the
officer or officers and the head of each agency involved. Within a
reasonable time after submitting such preliminary report, the public
advocate shall issue a final report to the council, mayor, and agency
documenting the conclusions of the inquiry.
j. The public advocate shall have timely access to those records and
documents of city agencies which the public advocate deems necessary to
complete the investigations, inquiries and reviews required by this
section. If a city agency does not comply with the public advocate's
request for such records and documents, the public advocate may request
an appropriate committee of the council to require the production of
such records and documents pursuant to section twenty-nine of the
charter. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to those
records and documents of city agencies for which a claim of privilege
may properly be raised or which are prepared or maintained by the
department of investigation for use in any investigation authorized by
chapter thirty-four of the charter.
k. If the public advocate receives a complaint alleging conduct which
may constitute a violation of criminal law or a conflict of interest, he
or she shall promptly refer the complaint regarding criminal conduct to
the department of investigation or, as applicable, to the appropriate
prosecuting attorney or other law enforcement agency and shall refer the
complaint regarding conflict of interest to the conflicts of interest
board. If during the conduct of any investigation, inquiry, or review
authorized by this section, the public advocate discovers that the
matter involves conduct which may constitute a violation of criminal law
or a conflict of interest, he or she shall take no further action but
shall promptly refer the matter regarding criminal conduct to the
department of investigation or, as applicable, to the appropriate
prosecuting attorney or other law enforcement agency and shall promptly
refer the matter regarding conflict of interest to the conflicts of
interest board. Unless otherwise provided by law, all complaints
received and any investigative file prepared or maintained by the public
advocate regarding matters covered by this subdivision, shall be
confidential.
l. Before making public any portion of any draft, preliminary or final
report relating to the operations or activities of a city officer or
agency, the public advocate shall send a copy of the draft report to any
such officer, and to the head of any agency, discussed in such report
and provide the officer and agency, in writing, with a reasonable
deadline for their review and response. The public advocate shall
include in any report, or portion thereof, which is made public a copy
of all such officer and agency responses.
m. The public advocate may hold public hearings in the course of
fulfilling the requirements of this section provided that a complete
transcript of any such hearings shall be made available for public
inspection free of charge within sixty days after the hearing. The
public advocate shall also provide a copy of any requested pages of such
transcript at a reasonable fee to cover copying and, if relevant,
mailing costs.
n. Not later than the thirty-first day of October of each year, the
public advocate shall present to the council a report on the activities
of the office during the preceding fiscal year. The report shall
include: (1) a statistical summary of the complaints received during
such fiscal year, categorized by agency, type of complaint, agency
response, mode of resolution, and such other factors as the public
advocate deems appropriate; (2) an analysis of recurring complaints and
the public advocate's recommendations for administrative, legislative or
budgetary actions to resolve the underlying problems causing the
complaints; (3) a summary of the findings and recommendations of the
agency program reviews conducted during the fiscal year and a summary of
the agency responses to such findings and recommendations; (4) a summary
of the charter requirements which, in the opinion of the public advocate
are not being implemented by the city agencies and officers subject to
them, including a description of the nature and extent of the failure to
comply and a summary of the responses of the agencies or officers to the
public advocate's conclusions; and (5) a summary of improvements in
charter compliance since the public advocate's last annual report. The
public advocate shall include an assessment of the fiscal implications
of any recommendations presented in this report.
Section 25.
§ 25. Election; term; vacancies. a. The council members shall be
elected at the general election in the year nineteen hundred
seventy-seven and every fourth year thereafter and the term of office of
each council member shall commence on the first day of January after the
elections and shall continue for four years thereafter; provided,
however, that the council member elected at the general election in the
year two thousand and one and at the general election in every twentieth
year thereafter shall serve for a term of two years commencing on the
first day of January after such election; and provided further that an
additional election of Council Members shall be held at the general
election in the year two thousand three and at the general election
every twentieth year thereafter and that the members elected at each
such additional election shall serve for a term of two years beginning
on the first day of January after such election.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this charter or other law, a
full term of two years, as established by this subsection, shall not
constitute a full term under section 1138 of this charter, except that
two consecutive full terms of two years shall constitute one full term
under section 1138. A member of the council who resigns or is removed
from office prior to the completion of a full term shall be deemed to
have held that office for a full term for purposes of section 1138 of
the charter.
b. Any vacancy which may occur among the council members shall be
filled by popular election in the following manner.
1. Within three days of the occurrence of a vacancy in the council,
the mayor shall proclaim the date for the election or elections required
by this subdivision, provide notice of such proclamation to the city
clerk and the board of elections and publish notice thereof in the City
Record. After the proclamation of the date for an election to be held
pursuant to paragraphs four or five of this subdivision, the city clerk
shall publish notice thereof not less than twice in each week preceding
the date of such election in newspapers distributed within the city, and
the board of elections shall mail notice of such election to all
registered voters within the district in which the election is to be
held.
2. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of a four-year
term or the first year of a two-year term, a general election to fill
the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term shall be held in the
year in which the vacancy occurs, unless the vacancy occurs after the
last day on which an occurring vacancy may be filled at the general
election in that same year with party nominations of candidates for such
election being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116
of the election law. If such a vacancy occurs in any year after such
last day, it shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at
the general election in the following year provided, however, that no
general election to fill a vacancy shall be held in the last year of the
term, except as provided in paragraph nine of this subdivision. Party
nominations of candidates for a general election to fill a vacancy for
the remainder of the unexpired term shall be made at a primary election,
except as provided in paragraph five of this subdivision.
3. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy on an interim
basis has not been previously held pursuant to paragraphs four, six,
seven and eight of this subdivision, the person elected to fill the
vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election
shall take office immediately upon qualification and shall serve until
the term expires. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy
on an interim basis has been previously held, the person elected to fill
the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general
election shall take office on January first of the year following such
general election and shall serve until the term expires.
4. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of a four-year
term or in the first year of a two-year term and on or before the last
day in the third year of such a four-year term or the first year of such
a two-year term on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term at a general election with party
nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary
election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law, a special or
general election to fill the vacancy on an interim basis shall be held,
unless the vacancy occurs less than ninety days before the next primary
election at which party nominations for a general election to fill the
vacancy may be made and on or before the last day on which an occurring
vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at the
general election in the same year in which the vacancy occurs with party
nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary
election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law.
5. If a vacancy occurs after the last day in the third year of a
four-year term or the first year of a two-year term on which an
occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term
at a general election in each year with party nominations of candidates
for such election being made at a primary election, as provided in
section 6-116 of the election law, but not less than ninety days before
the date of the primary election in the fourth year of such a four-year
term or the second year of such a two-year term, a special or general
election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term
shall be held.
6. Elections held pursuant to paragraph four or five of this
subdivision shall be scheduled in the following manner: A special
election to fill the vacancy shall be held on the first Tuesday at least
forty-five days after the occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the
mayor, in the proclamation required by paragraph one of this
subdivision, may schedule such election for another day no more than ten
days after such Tuesday and not less than forty days after such
proclamation if the mayor determines that such rescheduling is necessary
to facilitate maximum voter participation; except that
(a) if the vacancy occurs before September twentieth in any year and
the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of the
vacancy is less than ninety days before a regularly scheduled general
election or between a primary and a general election, the vacancy shall
be filled at such general election;
(b) if the vacancy occurs before September twentieth in any year and
the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of the
vacancy is after a regularly scheduled general election, the vacancy
shall be filled at such general election; and
(c) if the vacancy occurs on or after September twentieth in any year
and the first Tuesday at least forty-five days after the occurrence of
the vacancy is after, but less than thirty days after, a regularly
scheduled general election, the vacancy shall be filled at a special
election to be held on the first Tuesday in December in such year.
7. All nominations for elections to fill vacancies held pursuant to
paragraphs four and five of this subdivision shall be by independent
nominating petition. A signature on an independent nominating petition
made earlier than the date of the proclamation required by paragraph one
of this subdivision shall not be counted.
8. A person elected to fill a vacancy in the council at an election
held pursuant to paragraph four of this subdivision shall take office
immediately upon qualification and serve until December thirty-first of
the year in which the vacancy is filled for the remainder of the
unexpired term pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision. A person
elected to fill a vacancy in the council at an election held pursuant to
paragraph five of this subdivision shall take office immediately upon
qualification and serve until the term expires.
9. If a vacancy occurs less than ninety days before the date of the
primary election in the last year of the term, the person elected at the
general election in such year for the next succeeding term shall take
office immediately upon qualification and fill the vacancy for the
remainder of the unexpired term.
Section 26.
§ 26. Salaries and allowances. a. The salary of the public advocate
shall be one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars a year.
b. The salary of each council member shall be one hundred twelve
thousand five hundred dollars a year. In addition any council member,
while serving as a committee chairperson or other officer of the
council, may also be paid, in addition to such salary, an allowance
fixed by resolution, after a hearing, for the particular and additional
services pertaining to the additional duties of such position.
c. If prior to the enactment of a local law increasing the
compensation of council members, the council establishes a commission to
study and make recommendations for changes in the compensation levels of
council members, or if it otherwise causes an analysis of such
compensation levels to be made to assist it in its consideration of a
local law, such study or analysis may include an analysis of the
benefits, detriments, costs and impacts of placing restrictions on
earned income derived by council members from sources other than their
council salary.
Section 27.
§ 27. Local laws and resolutions increasing or decreasing salaries or
allowances. No local law or resolution increasing or decreasing the
salaries, or other allowances, in accordance with section twenty-six
shall be adopted during the period between the general election day and
the thirty-first day of December, both such days inclusive, in any year
in which all of the council members are elected.
Section 28.
§ 28. Powers of council. a. The council in addition to all enumerated
powers shall have power to adopt local laws which it deems appropriate,
which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter or with
the constitution or laws of the United States or this state, for the
good rule and government of the city; for the order, protection and
government of persons and property; for the preservation of the public
health, comfort, peace and prosperity of the city and its inhabitants;
and to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this charter or of the
other laws relating to the city. The power of the council to act with
respect to matters set forth in sections one hundred ninety-seven-c and
two hundred shall be limited by the provisions of section one hundred
ninety seven-d.
b. The council shall have power to provide for the enforcement of
local laws by legal or equitable proceedings, to prescribe that
violations thereof shall constitute misdemeanors, offenses or
infractions and to provide for the punishment of violations thereof by
civil penalty, fine, forfeiture or imprisonment, or by two or more of
such punishments.
c. In the event that there exists no other provision of law for the
filling of a vacancy in any elective office, resulting from removal or
suspension from such office, or the death, resignation or inability of
the incumbent to exercise the powers or to discharge the duties of the
office, the council by a majority vote of all the council members shall
elect a successor to fill the vacancy in such office.
d. All local laws shall be general, applying either throughout the
whole city or throughout specified portions thereof.
e. The council shall not pass any local law authorizing the placing or
continuing of any encroachment or obstruction upon any street or
sidewalk excepting temporary occupation thereof by commercial refuse
containers or during and for the purpose of the erection, repairing or
demolition of a building on a lot abutting thereon under revocable
licenses therefor, and excepting the erection of booths, stands or
displays or the maintenance of sidewalk cafes under licenses to be
granted only with the consent of the owner of the premises if the same
shall be located in whole or in part within stoop lines; any such
commercial refuse containers thus placed or continued upon any street or
sidewalk pursuant to such a revocable license shall be painted with a
phosphorescent substance so that the dimensions thereof shall be clearly
discernible at night.
f. All local laws in relation to licenses shall fix the license fees
to be paid, if any, and shall provide that all licenses shall be
according to an established form and shall be regularly numbered and
duly registered.
g. The council shall hold a public hearing prior to the consideration
of any resolution requesting the state legislature, in accordance with
the provisions of section two of article nine of the Constitution of the
state of New York, to pass any bill, the substance of which, if adopted
by the council as a local law, would require its approval by the
electorate voting thereon at a referendum. Notice of such public
hearing shall be published in the City Record for at least five days
immediately preceding the commencement of such a hearing.
Section 29.
§ 29. Power of investigation and oversight. a. The council, acting
as a committee of the whole, and each standing or special committee of
the council, through hearings or otherwise:
1. may investigate any matters within its jurisdiction relating to the
property, affairs, or government of the city or of any county within the
city, or to any other powers of the council, or to the effectuation of
the purposes or provisions of this charter or any laws relating to the
city or to any county within the city.
2. shall review on a regular and continuous basis the activities of
the agencies of the city, including their service goals and performance
and management efficiency. Each unit of appropriation in the adopted
budget of the city shall be assigned to a standing committee. Each
standing committee of the council shall hold at least one hearing each
year relating to the activities of each of the agencies under its
jurisdiction.
b. Any standing or special committee shall have power to require the
attendance and examine and take testimony under oath of such persons as
it may deem necessary and to require the production of books, accounts,
papers and other evidence relative to the inquiry. Copies of all
reports or studies received by the council pursuant to section eleven
hundred thirty-four and subdivision c of section ninety-three shall be
assigned to the appropriate standing committees for review and action,
as necessary.
Section 30.
§ 30. Council review of city procurement policies and procedures.
The council shall periodically review all city procurement policies and
procedures, including:
1. the rules and procedures adopted by the procurement policy board,
all rules relating to the participation of minority and women owned
business enterprises in the city's procurement process and the
implementation of those rules and procedures by city agencies;
2. patterns of contractual spending by city agencies, including
determinations of the need to contract made by agencies in accordance
with rules of the procurement policy board;
3. access to and fairness in city procurement opportunities, the fair
distribution of contract awards, and the fair employment practices of
city contractors;
4. procedures for evaluating contractor performance; and
5. procedures for declaring bidders not responsible and for debarring
contractors.
Section 31.
§ 31. Power of advice and consent. Appointment by the mayor of the
commissioner of investigation and of the members of the art commission,
board of health (other than the chair), board of standards and appeals,
city planning commission (other than the chair), civil service
commission, landmarks preservation commission, tax commission, taxi and
limousine commission, the public members of the environmental control
board, and the public members of the waterfront management advisory
board shall be made with the advice and consent of the council after a
public hearing. Within thirty days after the first stated meeting of the
council after receipt of a nomination, the council shall hold a hearing
and act upon such nomination and in the event it does not act within
such period, the nomination shall be deemed to be confirmed.
Section 32.
§ 32. Local laws. Except as otherwise provided by law, all
legislative action by the council shall be by local law. The style of
local law shall be "Be it enacted by the council as follows." Every
local law shall embrace only one subject. The title shall briefly refer
to the subject-matter.
Section 33.
§ 33. Local laws and budget modifications; fiscal impact statements.
a. No proposed local law or budget modification shall be voted on by a
council committee or the council unless it is accompanied by a fiscal
impact statement containing the information set forth in subdivision b
of this section.
b. A fiscal impact statement shall indicate the fiscal year in which
the proposed law or modification would first become effective and the
first fiscal year in which the full fiscal impact of the law or
modification is expected to occur; and contain an estimate of the fiscal
impact of the law or modification on the revenues and expenditures of
the city during the fiscal year in which the law or modification is to
first become effective, during the succeeding fiscal year, and during
the first fiscal year in which the full fiscal impact of the law or
modification is expected to occur.
c. All agency heads shall promptly provide to any council committee
any information that it requests to assist it in preparing a fiscal
impact statement.
d. Each fiscal impact statement shall identify the sources of
information used in its preparation.
e. If the estimate or estimates contained in the fiscal impact
statement are inaccurate, such inaccuracies shall not affect, impair, or
invalidate the local law or budget modification.
Section 34.
§ 34. Vote required for local law or resolution. Except as otherwise
provided by law, no local law or resolution shall be passed except by at
least the majority affirmative vote of all the council members.
Section 35.
§ 35. Ayes and noes. a. On the final passage of a local law or
resolution the question shall be taken by ayes and noes, which shall be
entered in the journal of proceedings. No such vote may be cast except
by a council member who is present and who casts his or her own vote in
the manner prescribed by the rules of the council.
b. All committee votes on proposed local laws or resolutions shall be
taken by ayes and noes, which shall be entered in a committee report a
copy of which shall be filed with the clerk or other official specified
by the council rules for this purpose and which shall be available for
public inspection. No such vote may be cast except by a member of the
committee who is present at the meeting at which the vote is taken.
Section 36.
§ 36. Local laws; passage. No local law shall be passed until it shall
have been in its final form and upon the desks of the council members at
least seven calendar days, exclusive of Sundays, prior to its final
passage, unless the mayor shall have certified as to the necessity for
its immediate passage and such local law be passed by the affirmative
vote of two-thirds of all the council members.
For purposes of this section, a local law shall be deemed to be upon
the desks of the council members if: it is set forth in a legible
electronic format by electronic means, and it is available for review in
such format at the desks of the members. For purposes of this section
"electronic means" means any method of transmission of information
between computers or other machines designed for the purpose of sending
and receiving such transmissions and which: allows the recipient to
reproduce the information transmitted in a tangible medium of
expression; and does not permit additions, deletions or other changes to
be made without leaving an adequate record thereof.
Section 37.
§ 37. Local laws; action by mayor. a. Every local law certified by
the clerk of the council, after its passage by the council, shall be
presented to the mayor for approval.
b. If the mayor approves the local law, the mayor shall sign it and
return it to the clerk; it shall then be deemed to have been adopted.
If the mayor disapproves it, he or she shall return it to the clerk with
his or her objections stated in writing and the clerk shall present the
same with such objections to the council at its next regular meeting and
such objections shall be entered in its journal. The council within
thirty days thereafter may reconsider the same. If after such
reconsideration the votes of two-thirds of all the council members be
cast in favor of repassing such local law, it shall be deemed adopted,
notwithstanding the objections of the mayor. Only one vote shall be had
upon such reconsideration. The vote shall be taken by ayes and noes,
which shall be entered in the journal. If within thirty days after the
local law shall have been presented to him or her, the mayor shall
neither approve nor return the local law to the clerk with his or her
objections, it shall be deemed to have been adopted in like manner as if
the mayor had signed it. At any time prior to the return of a local law
by the mayor, the council may recall the same and reconsider its action
thereon.
Section 38.
§ 38. Local laws; referendum. A local law shall be submitted for the
approval of the electors at the next general election held not less than
sixty days after the adoption thereof, and shall become operative as
prescribed therein only when approved at such election by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the city
voting upon the proposition, if it:
1. Abolishes or changes the form or composition of the council or
increases or decreases the number of votes any member is entitled to
cast or reduces the number of districts from which council members shall
be elected.
2. Changes the veto power of the mayor.
3. Changes the law of succession to the mayoralty.
4. Abolishes an elective office, or changes the method of nominating,
electing or removing an elective officer, or changes the term of an
elective officer, or reduces the salary of an elective officer during
his or her term of office.
5. Abolishes, transfers or curtails any power of an elective officer.
6. Creates a new elective office.
7. Changes a provision of law relating to public utility franchises.
8. Changes a provision of law relating to the membership or terms of
office of the city civil service commission.
9. Reduces the salary or compensation of a city officer or employee or
increases the hours of employment or changes the working conditions of
such officer or employee if such salary, compensation, hours or
conditions have been fixed by a state statute and approved by the vote
of the qualified electors of the city; and no provision effecting such
reductions, increases or changes contained in any local law or proposed
new charter shall become effective unless the definite question with
respect to such reductions, increases or changes shall be separately
submitted and approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the
qualified electors voting thereon.
10. Provides a new charter for the city.
11. Transfers powers vested by this charter in an agency the head of
which is appointed by the mayor to an agency the head of which is not so
appointed or vice versa, other than transfers of power authorized by
this charter from an agency the head of which is appointed by the mayor
to a community board, borough president or a borough board.
12. Dispenses with a provision of this charter requiring a public
notice and hearing as a condition precedent to official action.
13. Dispenses with a requirement of this charter for public bidding or
for public letting of contracts except as otherwise provided pursuant to
chapter thirteen of this charter.
14. Changes a provision of this charter governing the classes or
character of city bonds or other obligations, the purposes for which or
the amount in which any class of obligations may be issued.
15. Removes restrictions in this charter on the sale, lease or other
disposition of city property.
16. Curtails the powers of the city planning commission, or changes
the vote in the council required to take action without or contrary to
the recommendation of the city planning commission.
17. Repeals or amends this section or any of the following sections of
this charter; sections forty, one hundred ninety-one, one hundred
ninety-two, one hundred ninety-three, one hundred ninety-nine, two
hundred, two hundred seventeen, eleven hundred ten, eleven hundred
eleven, eleven hundred fifteen, eleven hundred sixteen, eleven hundred
seventeen, eleven hundred eighteen, and eleven hundred twenty-three.
18. Repeals or amends sections twenty-six hundred one, twenty-six
hundred four, twenty-six hundred five, and twenty-six hundred six
insofar as they relate to elected officials and section twenty-six
hundred two.
Section 39.
§ 39. Reconsideration. At any time prior to the election at which a
local law is to be submitted to the electors for approval pursuant to
this charter, the council, not later than fifteen days prior to the
election, may reconsider its action thereon and repeal such local law
without submission to the mayor, whereupon the proposition for its
approval shall not be submitted at such election, or if submitted the
vote of the electors thereon shall be without effect.
Section 40.
§ 40. Amendment of charter. Amendments to this charter may be
adopted by any of the following methods:
1. By local law adopted in accordance with the provisions of this
charter.
2. By vote of the electors of the city upon the petition of electors
of the city, an amendment may be adopted
(a) in relation to the manner of voting for the elective officers of
the city or any of them, or
(b) abolishing any elective office or offices or creating a new
office or offices, including if so provided a transfer of powers to the
newly created office or offices or a disposition of the powers of any
office abolished, but no such amendment shall repeal or change any
limitations contained in this charter on any power.
(c) such amendment may be adopted in the manner following:
(1) Not less than fifty thousand qualified electors of the city may
file in the office of the city clerk a petition for the submission to
the electors of the city at the next general election therein held not
less than sixty days after filing of such petition of such a proposed
amendment or amendments to the charter to be set forth in full in the
petition. The petition may be made upon separate sheets and the
signatures of each shall be authenticated in the manner provided by the
Election Law for the authentication of designating petitions. The
several sheets so signed and authenticated when fastened together and
offered for filing shall be deemed to constitute one petition. A
signature made earlier than one hundred twenty days before the filing of
the petition shall not be counted. If within ten days after the filing
of such petition a written objection thereto be filed with the office of
the city clerk, the Supreme Court or any justice thereof of the first,
second or eleventh judicial district shall determine any question
arising thereunder and make such order as justice may require. Such
proceedings shall be heard and determined in the manner prescribed by
the election law in relation to judicial proceedings thereunder.
(2) If such proposed amendment or amendments receive the affirmative
vote of the majority of the qualified electors of the city voting
thereon, it or they shall take effect as prescribed therein.
3. In such other manner as may be provided by law.
Section 41.
§ 41. Submission of local laws or amendments. A proposition for the
submission of a local law or an amendment to this charter for the
approval of the electors pursuant to this charter shall contain the
title of such local law or a brief statement of the subject of such
amendment. The city clerk with the advice of the corporation counsel
shall prepare an abstract of such local law or amendment concisely
stating the title or subject and the purpose and effect thereof in clear
language, and forthwith shall transmit such proposition and such
abstract to the election officers charged with the duty of publishing
the notice of and furnishing the supplies for such election. A
sufficient number of copies of such abstract shall be printed, in such
manner that the abstract shall appear with the question to appear on the
ballot in bold type and separately from the text of the proposition, and
shall be delivered with the other election supplies and distributed to
the electors at the time of the registration of voters and at the
election. If there be more than one such proposition to be voted upon
at such election, each such proposition shall be separately,
consecutively and consistently numbered on the ballot and on the
abstract. In case of a conflict between two local laws or two amendments
adopted at the same election, the one receiving the largest affirmative
vote shall control.
Section 42.
§ 42. Meetings. The first meeting of the council in each year shall be
held on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January at noon.
All meetings of the council shall be held as provided by its rules;
provided, however, that at least two stated meetings shall be held each
month, except in its discretion in July and August. A majority of the
council members shall constitute a quorum. At least thirty-six hours
prior to a stated meeting of the council, or as soon as practicable
prior to a special meeting, the council shall publish and make publicly
available a proposed agenda for such meeting, including a list of all
proposed local laws or resolutions to be considered at such meetings.
Section 43.
§ 43. Special meetings. The mayor may at any time call special
meetings of the council. He shall also call a special meeting when a
requisition for that purpose signed by five council members has been
presented to him. Not less than one day before a special meeting is
held, notice of the time thereof and of the business proposed to be
transacted, signed by the mayor, shall be published in the City Record,
and at the same time the city clerk shall cause a copy of such notice to
be left at or sent by post to the usual place of abode or of business of
each council member; but want of service of a notice upon any council
member shall not affect the validity of the meeting. No business shall
be transacted at such special meetings other than that specified in the
notice relating thereto.
Section 44.
§ 44. Speaker. The council shall elect from among its members a
speaker and such other officers as it deems appropriate. The speaker
shall preside over the meetings of the council. During any period when
the public advocate is acting as mayor, or when a vacancy exists in the
office of the public advocate, the speaker shall act as public advocate
pending the filling of the vacancy pursuant to subdivision c of section
twenty-four, and shall be a member of every board of which the public
advocate is a member by virtue of his or her office.
Section 45.
§ 45. Sergeant-at-arms; procedure; expulsion of members. The council
may elect a sergeant-at-arms and such research, drafting, clerical and
other assistants as are needful to its purposes, within the
appropriation provided therefor. It may appoint committees and shall
appoint a finance committee properly staffed to consider budgetary and
related matters and a land use committee consisting of at least one
council member from each borough; shall be the judge of the election
returns and qualifications of its own members, subject, however, to
review by any court of competent jurisdiction; shall keep a public
journal of its proceedings; shall make a complete transcript of each of
its meetings and committee hearings available for public inspection free
of charge within sixty days after such meeting or hearing and provide a
copy of any requested pages of such transcript at a reasonable fee to
cover copying and, if relevant, mailing costs; shall sit with open
doors; shall have authority to compel the attendance of absent members
and to punish its members for disorderly behavior, and to expel any
member, after charges and a hearing, with the concurrence of two-thirds
of all the council members.
Section 46.
§ 46. Rules of the council. The council shall determine the rules of
its own proceedings at the first stated meeting of the council in each
year and shall file a copy with the city clerk. Such rules shall
include, but not be limited to, rules that the chairs of all standing
committees be elected by the council as a whole; that the first-named
sponsor of a proposed local law or resolution be able to require a
committee vote on such proposed local law or resolution; that a majority
of the members of the council be able to discharge a proposed local law
or resolution from committee; that committees shall provide reasonable
advance notice of committee meetings to the public; that all committee
votes be recorded and made available to the public.
Section 47.
§ 47. Legislative professional staff. Within appropriations for such
purpose, the council shall establish a structure within the City Council
and retain professional staff to review and analyze proposed budgets and
departmental estimates, requests for new taxes or changes in taxes,
budget modifications, capital borrowings and mayoral management reports.
Such staff shall assist the committees of the council and Council
Members in their analysis of proposed legislation and in review of the
performance and management of city agencies.
Section 48.
§ 48. City clerk; duties. a. The council shall appoint a clerk, who
shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law. The clerk so
appointed shall be the city clerk and the clerk of the council, and
shall hold office for six years and until such clerk's successor shall
be appointed and has qualified. The city clerk shall have charge of all
the papers and documents of the city, except such as are by law
committed to the keeping of the several departments or of other
officers. The city clerk shall keep the record of the proceedings of the
council and shall also keep a separate record of all the local laws of
the city in a book to be provided for that purpose, with proper indices,
which book shall be deemed a public record of such local laws, and each
local law shall be attested by said clerk. Copies of all papers duly
filed in the office of the city clerk, and transcripts thereof and of
the records of proceedings of the council and copies of the laws,
ordinances and local laws of the city, certified by the city clerk under
the corporate seal of the city, shall be admissible in evidence in all
courts and places in the same manner and for the same purposes as papers
or documents similarly authenticated by the clerk of a county. The city
clerk may be removed on charges by a two-third vote of all the council
members, subject, however, to judicial review. The city clerk shall
collect such fees as shall be fixed by law.
b. It shall be the duty of the city clerk to keep open for inspection
at all reasonable times the records and minutes of the proceedings of
the council. The city clerk shall keep the seal of the city, and his or
her signature shall be necessary to all grants and other documents,
except as otherwise provided by law. In the absence of the clerk by
sickness or otherwise, the first deputy clerk shall be vested with and
possessed of all the rights and powers and be charged with all the
duties by law imposed upon the clerk. In the absence of the first deputy
clerk, the city clerk by an instrument in writing may designate one of
his or her clerks, who shall be vested with and possessed of all the
rights and powers and charged with all the duties by law imposed upon
said clerk. The signature of the person so designated shall be in place
of and of the same force and effect as the signature of the city clerk.
Such designation shall be made in triplicate and shall be duly filed and
remain of record in the city clerk's office and in the offices of the
mayor and of the comptroller, but the designation shall be for a period
not exceeding three months and shall not extend beyond the city clerk's
term of office and shall be at all times revocable by the city clerk.
Section 49.
§ 49. Members not to be questioned for speeches. For any speech or
debate in the council and any committee or subcommittee thereof, the
members shall not be questioned in any other place.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
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