Int. No. 1
By The Speaker (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members Pinkett, Spigner, Robles, Berman, Eisland, O'Donovan, Michels, Ognibene, Dear, Malave-Dilan, Linares, Marshall, Miller, DiBrienza, Fiala and Stabile; also Council Members Foster, Lasher, Leffler, Provenzano, Robinson, Warden, Carrion and Abel.
A Local Law in relation to the establishment of a charter revision commission.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. a. New York City charter revision commission. There shall be established a commission to draft a new or revised charter for the city of New York to be known as the New York City charter revision commission.
b. The commission shall consist of fifteen members, all of whom shall be residents of New York City and have extensive knowledge on matters of local government and municipal affairs. The members shall be appointed by the city council in the manner in which such appointments are made by the council. The mayor, other elected officials and civic and community groups may submit to the city council names of persons for consideration for such appointments. The speaker of the council shall appoint the chair, vice-chair and secretary from among the members of the commission.
c. The council shall file with the city clerk and the mayor certificates of appointments that specify the names of the members to constitute the commission by April 10, 1998.
d. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
e. Any vacancy in the commission shall be filled in the manner in which the council makes such appointments. A vacancy in the commission shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the commission and eight members thereof shall constitute a quorum.
f. No person shall be disqualified to serve as a member, employee or consultant of the commission by reason of holding any other public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office or employment by reason of his or her appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law, ordinance or charter.
g. The terms of office of the members of the commission shall expire on the day of the election at which the proposed new charter or charter amendments prepared by the commission are submitted to the qualified electors of the city, or on the day of the second general election following the organization of the commission if no such questions have been submitted by that time.
h. The commission may, within the appropriations therefor, appoint and at pleasure remove an executive director, counsel and such employees and consultants as it shall require and fix their compensation and may accept any services, facilities or funds and use or expend the same for its purposes.
§2. a. Powers. The commission shall review the entire charter of New York City and prepare a draft of a proposed new or revised charter of such city.
b. The commission shall conduct public hearings. It shall conduct such public hearings at such times and such places within the city as it shall deem necessary in relation to preparing a draft of a proposed new or revised city charter.
c. The commission shall also have power to conduct private hearings, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require the production of books, papers and records.
d. On request of the commission, the mayor may direct any board, body, officer or employee of the city to cooperate with, assist, advise, provide facilities, materials or data and render services to the commission.
e. The commission may request and receive from any city of New York department, board, bureau, commission, office, agency or other instrumentality such facilities, assistance, data and personnel as may be necessary or desirable for the proper execution of its powers and duties.
f. If the commission shall decide to leave a part of the existing charter unchanged, it may propose in one or more amendments a revision of the remaining parts. In such case it shall make a report to the public, accompanying its proposals, in which it shall refer specifically to such unchanged part and explain its decision to leave such part unchanged. The proposed charter or such amendments may contain such provisions or effect such results as may be made or effected by local law pursuant to municipal home rule law, may contain any provisions of the existing charter of such city deemed necessary to make a complete charter of such city or appropriate amendments to the existing charter, with such changes in the headings and in the numbering of the titles, articles, chapters, sections and subdivisions wherein such provisions are found in the existing charter as may be deemed appropriate to correlate and coordinate them with the other provisions in the proposed new or revised charter and with such changes in the text of such provisions as may be deemed desirable to clarify the meaning of such provisions, and to vest in any of the officers of the city provided for in the proposed new or revised charter any power or authority contained in such provisions.
§3. a. Such new charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the office of the city clerk in time for submission to the electors not later than the November, 1999 election.
b. The submission and public notice shall be in accordance with the provision of the municipal home rule law and election law.
§4. a. The city of New York shall make appropriations therefor for the support of a charter commission.
b. In addition to such action, the city shall have the power, on request of the commission, to appropriate to such commission such sum or sums as shall be necessary to defray its expenses.
§5. The commission shall expire on the day of the election at which the proposed new charter or charter amendments prepared by the commission are submitted to the qualified electors of the city, or on the day of the second general election following the organization of the commission if no such questions have been submitted by that time.
§6. Nothing contained in this local law shall be construed to be inconsistent with the applicable provisions of the municipal home rule law relating to a charter revision commission or the applicable provisions of election law.
§7. Severability. If any sentence, paragraph, section or part of this local law shall be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such judgment shall not impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined to that part.
§8. This local law shall take effect immediately.
Referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations.