N.Y. MHR Law § 36 — New York Code / Act MHR / Article 4 / Part 2 / Section 36
Provisions for adoption of new or revised city charter proposed by a charter commission
Status: in_force

§ 36. Provisions for adoption of new or revised city charter proposed\nby a charter commission. 1. A local law providing a new or revised city\ncharter also may be adopted in any city pursuant to the provisions of\nthis section.\n  2. The legislative body may adopt a local law providing for (a) the\nestablishment of a commission to draft a new or revised city charter, or\n(b) the submission to the electors of such city at a general or special\nelection of the question: "Shall there be a commission to draft a new or\nrevised city charter as proposed by local law number . . . . . .  for\nthe year . . . . . ?" Such question may also specify the composition of\nsuch commission as provided in such local law. Such election shall be\nheld not less than sixty days after the adoption of such local law. Such\nlocal law shall fix or provide the method of determining the number of\nmembers of such commission and determine whether the members shall be\nelected or appointed, or partly elected and partly appointed. It shall\nalso prescribe the manner of appointment of appointive members, the\nmanner of election of elective members and whether elective members\nshall be elected by the city at large or by districts described in such\nlocal law. In a case where a question is so submitted, the elective\nmembers of the commission, if any, shall be elected at the election at\nwhich the question is submitted. If the question be answered in the\naffirmative by a majority vote of the qualified electors of such city\nvoting thereon, the members of the charter commission, appointed or\nelected thereto, shall be a charter commission of such city, except that\nif at the same election more than one proposal for establishing a\ncharter commission receives such approval only the proposal receiving\nthe largest number of affirmative votes shall be deemed adopted.\n  3. A local law for the creation of a commission to draft a new or\nrevised city charter also may be adopted in the following manner:\nQualified electors of a city, registered to vote therein at the last\npreceding general election, in number equal to at least fifteen per\ncentum of the total number of votes cast for governor at the last\ngubernatorial election in such city, or forty-five thousand, whichever\nis less, may file in the office of the city clerk a petition for the\nsubmission to the electors of such city of a proposed local law for the\ncreation of a commission to draft a new or revised city charter for such\ncity and if such petition is found to meet all the requirements of law,\nthe legislative body of the city shall submit such local law to the\nelectors of such city at the next general election therein held not less\nthan sixty days after the filing of such petition. Such proposed local\nlaw shall fix or provide the method of determining the number of members\nof such commission and shall provide for its composition. It may name\nall or any of such members and may provide for the election or\nappointment of all or any of them. It shall prescribe the manner of\nappointment of appointive members and the time and manner of election of\nelective members. It shall also determine whether elective members shall\nbe elected from the city at large or by districts described in such\nlocal law. Such petition shall conform to the provisions of section\ntwenty-four in relation to petitions. It shall be examined and reported\non by the city clerk as prescribed in such section, and objections\nthereto shall be disposed of by the supreme court as prescribed by such\nsection. The city clerk shall transmit such proposed local law in the\nform in which it is to be submitted, which shall include the proposed\ncomposition of such commission, to the election officers charged with\nthe duty of publishing the notice of such election. If two or more such\npetitions are filed providing for the submission of different proposed\nlocal laws, the city clerk shall designate each such proposed local law\nnumerically in the order of the time of the filing of the petitions. If\nsuch a proposed local law receives the affirmative vote of a majority of\nthe qualified electors of such city voting thereon, the members of the\ncharter commission named in such local law, or elected or appointed as\nprescribed therein, shall be the charter commission of such city, except\nthat if at the same election more than one local law for establishing a\ncharter commission receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the\nqualified electors of such city voting thereon, only the one receiving\nthe largest number of affirmative votes shall be deemed adopted and the\nmembers of the charter commission named in such local law or elected or\nappointed as prescribed therein, shall be the charter commission of such\ncity.\n  4. (a) A charter commission to draft a new or revised city charter may\nalso be created by the mayor of any city. Such commission shall consist\nof not less than nine nor more than fifteen members, all of whom shall\nbe residents of the city. Original appointments to such a commission\nshall be made by the mayor by a certificate of appointment which shall\nspecify the number of, and names of, the members to constitute the\ncommission, which certificate shall be filed forthwith with the city\nclerk. The chair, vice-chair, and secretary shall be appointed by the\nmayor from among the members of the commission. Any vacancy in the\nmembership of such a commission or of its officers shall be filled by\nthe mayor.\n  (b) When a certificate of appointment is filed within sixty days\nbefore or after the date of a general election at which a mayor is\nelected, but before January first in the year following such election,\nthe continued existence of the charter commission and appointments to\nthe commission shall be dependent on confirmation by the mayor in office\non the first day of January of the following year within one hundred\neighty days of the start of the calendar year. Failure to obtain such\nconfirmation within the one hundred and eighty day period shall cause\nthe charter commission to expire and nullify all appointments to such\ncommission as well as any proposed revisions to the city charter or any\nnew proposed charter.\n  5. (a) The charter commission of a city created pursuant to this\nsection shall review the entire charter of such city and prepare a draft\nof a proposed new or revised charter of such city. If the commission\nshall decide to leave a part of the existing charter unchanged, it may\npropose in one or more amendments a revision of the remaining parts. In\nsuch case it shall make a report to the public, accompanying its\nproposals, in which it shall refer specifically to such unchanged part\nand explain its decision to leave such part unchanged. The proposed\ncharter or such amendments may contain such provisions or effect such\nresults as may be made or effected by local law under the provisions of\nthis chapter, and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of\nsubdivision four of section ten of this chapter, may contain any\nprovisions of the existing charter of such city deemed necessary to make\na complete charter of such city or appropriate amendments to the\nexisting charter, with such changes in the headings and in the numbering\nof the titles, articles, chapters, sections and subdivisions wherein\nsuch provisions are found in the existing charter as may be deemed\nappropriate to correlate and coordinate them with the other provisions\nin the proposed new or revised charter and with such changes in the text\nof such provisions as may be deemed desirable to clarify the meaning of\nsuch provisions, and to vest in any of the officers of the city provided\nfor in the proposed new or revised charter any power or authority\ncontained in such provisions.\n  (b) Such new charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the\noffice of the city clerk in time for submission to the electors not\nlater than the second general election after the charter commission is\ncreated and organized. The local law or certificate establishing the\ncommission or, in the absence of such provision therein, the charter\ncommission shall provide for such publication or other publicity in\nrespect to the provisions of the proposed charter or amendments as it\nmay deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors of the city\nat a general or special election held not earlier than sixty days after\nthe filing thereof in the office of the city clerk and not later than\nthe next general election which does not occur within the said sixty\ndays, provided, however, that if such general election occurs within\nninety days after the said filing, the proposed charter or amendments\nshall be submitted at such general election. At such election, if a\nproposed new charter is submitted as a single proposal, there shall be\nsubmitted to the qualified electors of the city the question: "Shall the\nnew city charter proposed by the city charter commission be adopted?"\nThe charter commission may, however, require that its proposed charter\nbe submitted in two or more parts so arranged that corresponding parts\nof the existing charter shall remain in effect if one or more of such\nparts are not adopted, or may in lieu of a new charter submit a revision\nof the existing charter in one or more amendments and may also submit\nalternative charters or amendments or alternative provisions to\nsupersede designated portions of a proposed charter or amendment if\nadopted. In such case the charter commission shall prescribe the form of\nthe questions to be submitted, which shall be such as clearly to\nindicate the effect of their approval.\n  (c) No provision for the election of any elective officers by any\nsystem of proportional representation shall become effective under the\nprovisions of this section unless a definite question with respect to\nthe adoption of such system for the election of such officers shall have\nbeen submitted as a separate question and separately approved at the\nsame election by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified\nelectors voting thereon.\n  (d) If any question submitted by the charter commission receives the\naffirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the city\nvoting thereon, the proposal submitted thereby shall take effect as\nspecified therein and the new charter or the amendment or amendments to\nthe existing charter as so proposed shall become operative as prescribed\ntherein; except that if there be a conflict between the provisions of\ntwo or more proposals approved by the electors at the same election, the\nproposal receiving the largest number of affirmative votes shall prevail\nto the extent of such conflict.\n  (e) At any election at which any question or questions shall be\nsubmitted to the qualified electors of the city by a charter commission\npursuant to this section or within sixty days thereafter, no other\nquestion or questions shall be submitted to or voted upon by such\nelectors pursuant to any local law, ordinance, resolution or petition if\nsuch commission was created pursuant to subdivision four of this\nsection, and no such other question or questions shall be submitted\nexcept by another charter commission if such commission was created\notherwise, if such other question or questions involve or relate\ndirectly or indirectly to the adoption of a new city charter, the\namendment of a city charter, charter revision, the establishment of a\ncommission to draft a new or revised city charter, or the functions,\npowers or duties of any elective officer of the city, except as provided\nin paragraph (g) of this subdivision.\n  (f) While a charter commission is in existence under the provisions of\nthis section, the local legislative body shall not submit to the\nelectors any of the questions specified in subdivision (e) except at a\ngeneral election.\n  (g) If a proposed local law submitted pursuant to section thirty-seven\nof this chapter would under the provisions of such section be submitted\nat a general election at which a question or questions submitted by a\ncharter commission are to be voted on, such local law shall not be\nsubmitted at such election but shall be submitted at the general\nelection in the year following regardless of other questions which may\nbe voted on at the latter election and notwithstanding any inconsistent\nprovision of this title.\n  6. Any charter commission created under this section shall also be\nsubject to the following provisions:\n  (a) Members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their\nservices, but shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses\nincurred by them in the performance of their duties.\n  (b) The commission shall appoint and may at pleasure remove such\nemployees and consultants as it shall require and fix their compensation\nand may accept any services, facilities or funds and use or expend the\nsame for its purposes. On request of the commission, the mayor or, in a\ncity having a city manager, the city manager may direct any board, body,\nofficer or employee of the city to cooperate with, assist, advise,\nprovide facilities, materials or data and render services to the\ncommission.\n  (c) In addition to action under any other power to make appropriations\nfor the support of a charter commission, the appropriate officials of\nthe city shall have power, on request of the commission, to appropriate\nto such commission such sum or sums as shall be necessary to defray its\nexpenses and, in the event the appropriating body or bodies do not take\naffirmative action to provide such sum or sums within forty-five days of\nthe commission's request, the mayor of the city shall have power to\nauthorize, by certificate filed with the fiscal officer or officers of\nthe city, the commission to incur liabilities and expenses as specified\nby him, but within the sum or sums so requested, which shall be a charge\nagainst the city and which shall be audited and paid by the appropriate\nofficials of the city.\n  (d) No person shall be disqualified to serve as a member, employee or\nconsultant of the commission by reason of holding any other public\noffice or employment, nor shall he forfeit any such office or employment\nby reason of his appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions\nof any general, special or local law, ordinance or city charter.\n  (e) The terms of office of the members of the commission shall expire\non the day of the election at which the proposed new charter or charter\namendments prepared by the commission are submitted to the qualified\nelectors of the city, or on the day of the second general election\nfollowing the organization of the commission if no such questions have\nbeen submitted by that time.\n  (f) The commission shall conduct public hearings. It shall conduct\nsuch public hearings at such times and at such places within the city as\nit shall deem necessary. The commission shall also have power to conduct\nprivate hearings, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require the\nproduction of books, papers and records.\n  (g) The provisions of the election law or any other law relating to\nthe submission of questions at general elections, so far as the same are\napplicable and not inconsistent herewith, shall apply to a question\nsubmitted pursuant to the provisions of this section.\n