N.Y. Municipal Home Rule § 36: Provisions for adoption of new or revised city charter proposed by a charter commission

§ 36. Provisions for adoption of new or revised city charter proposed

by a charter commission. 1. A local law providing a new or revised city

charter also may be adopted in any city pursuant to the provisions of

this section.

2. The legislative body may adopt a local law providing for (a) the

establishment of a commission to draft a new or revised city charter, or

(b) the submission to the electors of such city at a general or special

election of the question: "Shall there be a commission to draft a new or

revised city charter as proposed by local law number . . . . . . for

the year . . . . . ?" Such question may also specify the composition of

such commission as provided in such local law. Such election shall be

held not less than sixty days after the adoption of such local law. Such

local law shall fix or provide the method of determining the number of

members of such commission and determine whether the members shall be

elected or appointed, or partly elected and partly appointed. It shall

also prescribe the manner of appointment of appointive members, the

manner of election of elective members and whether elective members

shall be elected by the city at large or by districts described in such

local law. In a case where a question is so submitted, the elective

members of the commission, if any, shall be elected at the election at

which the question is submitted. If the question be answered in the

affirmative by a majority vote of the qualified electors of such city

voting thereon, the members of the charter commission, appointed or

elected thereto, shall be a charter commission of such city, except that

if at the same election more than one proposal for establishing a

charter commission receives such approval only the proposal receiving

the largest number of affirmative votes shall be deemed adopted.

3. A local law for the creation of a commission to draft a new or

revised city charter also may be adopted in the following manner:

Qualified electors of a city, registered to vote therein at the last

preceding general election, in number equal to at least fifteen per

centum of the total number of votes cast for governor at the last

gubernatorial election in such city, or forty-five thousand, whichever

is less, may file in the office of the city clerk a petition for the

submission to the electors of such city of a proposed local law for the

creation of a commission to draft a new or revised city charter for such

city and if such petition is found to meet all the requirements of law,

the legislative body of the city shall submit such local law to the

electors of such city at the next general election therein held not less

than sixty days after the filing of such petition. Such proposed local

law shall fix or provide the method of determining the number of members

of such commission and shall provide for its composition. It may name

all or any of such members and may provide for the election or

appointment of all or any of them. It shall prescribe the manner of

appointment of appointive members and the time and manner of election of

elective members. It shall also determine whether elective members shall

be elected from the city at large or by districts described in such

local law. Such petition shall conform to the provisions of section

twenty-four in relation to petitions. It shall be examined and reported

on by the city clerk as prescribed in such section, and objections

thereto shall be disposed of by the supreme court as prescribed by such

section. The city clerk shall transmit such proposed local law in the

form in which it is to be submitted, which shall include the proposed

composition of such commission, to the election officers charged with

the duty of publishing the notice of such election. If two or more such

petitions are filed providing for the submission of different proposed

local laws, the city clerk shall designate each such proposed local law

numerically in the order of the time of the filing of the petitions. If

such a proposed local law receives the affirmative vote of a majority of

the qualified electors of such city voting thereon, the members of the

charter commission named in such local law, or elected or appointed as

prescribed therein, shall be the charter commission of such city, except

that if at the same election more than one local law for establishing a

charter commission receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the

qualified electors of such city voting thereon, only the one receiving

the largest number of affirmative votes shall be deemed adopted and the

members of the charter commission named in such local law or elected or

appointed as prescribed therein, shall be the charter commission of such

city.

4. (a) A charter commission to draft a new or revised city charter may

also be created by the mayor of any city. Such commission shall consist

of not less than nine nor more than fifteen members, all of whom shall

be residents of the city. Original appointments to such a commission

shall be made by the mayor by a certificate of appointment which shall

specify the number of, and names of, the members to constitute the

commission, which certificate shall be filed forthwith with the city

clerk. The chair, vice-chair, and secretary shall be appointed by the

mayor from among the members of the commission. Any vacancy in the

membership of such a commission or of its officers shall be filled by

the mayor.

(b) When a certificate of appointment is filed within sixty days

before or after the date of a general election at which a mayor is

elected, but before January first in the year following such election,

the continued existence of the charter commission and appointments to

the commission shall be dependent on confirmation by the mayor in office

on the first day of January of the following year within one hundred

eighty days of the start of the calendar year. Failure to obtain such

confirmation within the one hundred and eighty day period shall cause

the charter commission to expire and nullify all appointments to such

commission as well as any proposed revisions to the city charter or any

new proposed charter.

5. (a) The charter commission of a city created pursuant to this

section shall review the entire charter of such city and prepare a draft

of a proposed new or revised charter of such city. 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 under the provisions of

this chapter, and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of

subdivision four of section ten of this chapter, 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.

(b) 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 second general election after the charter commission is

created and organized. The local law or certificate establishing the

commission or, in the absence of such provision therein, the charter

commission shall provide for such publication or other publicity in

respect to the provisions of the proposed charter or amendments as it

may deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors of the city

at a general or special election held not earlier than sixty days after

the filing thereof in the office of the city clerk and not later than

the next general election which does not occur within the said sixty

days, provided, however, that if such general election occurs within

ninety days after the said filing, the proposed charter or amendments

shall be submitted at such general election. At such election, if a

proposed new charter is submitted as a single proposal, there shall be

submitted to the qualified electors of the city the question: "Shall the

new city charter proposed by the city charter commission be adopted?"

The charter commission may, however, require that its proposed charter

be submitted in two or more parts so arranged that corresponding parts

of the existing charter shall remain in effect if one or more of such

parts are not adopted, or may in lieu of a new charter submit a revision

of the existing charter in one or more amendments and may also submit

alternative charters or amendments or alternative provisions to

supersede designated portions of a proposed charter or amendment if

adopted. In such case the charter commission shall prescribe the form of

the questions to be submitted, which shall be such as clearly to

indicate the effect of their approval.

(c) No provision for the election of any elective officers by any

system of proportional representation shall become effective under the

provisions of this section unless a definite question with respect to

the adoption of such system for the election of such officers shall have

been submitted as a separate question and separately approved at the

same election by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified

electors voting thereon.

(d) If any question submitted by the charter commission receives the

affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the city

voting thereon, the proposal submitted thereby shall take effect as

specified therein and the new charter or the amendment or amendments to

the existing charter as so proposed shall become operative as prescribed

therein; except that if there be a conflict between the provisions of

two or more proposals approved by the electors at the same election, the

proposal receiving the largest number of affirmative votes shall prevail

to the extent of such conflict.

(e) At any election at which any question or questions shall be

submitted to the qualified electors of the city by a charter commission

pursuant to this section or within sixty days thereafter, no other

question or questions shall be submitted to or voted upon by such

electors pursuant to any local law, ordinance, resolution or petition if

such commission was created pursuant to subdivision four of this

section, and no such other question or questions shall be submitted

except by another charter commission if such commission was created

otherwise, if such other question or questions involve or relate

directly or indirectly to the adoption of a new city charter, the

amendment of a city charter, charter revision, the establishment of a

commission to draft a new or revised city charter, or the functions,

powers or duties of any elective officer of the city, except as provided

in paragraph (g) of this subdivision.

(f) While a charter commission is in existence under the provisions of

this section, the local legislative body shall not submit to the

electors any of the questions specified in subdivision (e) except at a

general election.

(g) If a proposed local law submitted pursuant to section thirty-seven

of this chapter would under the provisions of such section be submitted

at a general election at which a question or questions submitted by a

charter commission are to be voted on, such local law shall not be

submitted at such election but shall be submitted at the general

election in the year following regardless of other questions which may

be voted on at the latter election and notwithstanding any inconsistent

provision of this title.

6. Any charter commission created under this section shall also be

subject to the following provisions:

(a) 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.

(b) The commission shall appoint and may at pleasure remove 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. On request of the commission, the mayor or, in a

city having a city manager, the city manager 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.

(c) In addition to action under any other power to make appropriations

for the support of a charter commission, the appropriate officials of

the city shall have power, on request of the commission, to appropriate

to such commission such sum or sums as shall be necessary to defray its

expenses and, in the event the appropriating body or bodies do not take

affirmative action to provide such sum or sums within forty-five days of

the commission's request, the mayor of the city shall have power to

authorize, by certificate filed with the fiscal officer or officers of

the city, the commission to incur liabilities and expenses as specified

by him, but within the sum or sums so requested, which shall be a charge

against the city and which shall be audited and paid by the appropriate

officials of the city.

(d) 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 forfeit any such office or employment

by reason of his appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions

of any general, special or local law, ordinance or city charter.

(e) 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.

(f) The commission shall conduct public hearings. It shall conduct

such public hearings at such times and at such places within the city as

it shall deem necessary. The commission shall also have power to conduct

private hearings, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require the

production of books, papers and records.

(g) The provisions of the election law or any other law relating to

the submission of questions at general elections, so far as the same are

applicable and not inconsistent herewith, shall apply to a question

submitted pursuant to the provisions of this section.