N.Y. MHR Law § 37 — New York Code / Act MHR / Article 4 / Part 2 / Section 37
Provisions for adoption of city charter amendments or new city charters initiated by petition
Status: in_force

§ 37. Provisions for adoption of city charter amendments or new city\ncharters initiated by petition. 1. A local law amending a city charter\n(however extensively) or providing a new city charter, also may be\nadopted in accordance with the provisions of this section.\n  2. Qualified electors of a city, in number equal to at least ten per\ncentum of the total number of valid votes cast for governor in such city\nat the last gubernatorial election, or to thirty thousand, whichever is\nless, may file in the office of the city clerk a petition for the\nsubmission to the electors of the city of such a proposed local law to\nbe set forth in full in the petition. Qualified electors shall be deemed\nfor this purpose to be voters of the city who were registered and\nqualified to vote in such city at the last general election preceding\nthe filing of the petition.\n  3. Such local law shall set forth the new matter to be added to the\ncharter either in italics or underlined and the matter to be deleted\ntherefrom either in brackets or with lines drawn through it, and after\nadoption the matter so set forth in italics or underlined may be set\nforth in the charter in ordinary type, and the matter in brackets or\nwith lines through it may be omitted; but failure so to set forth any\nprovision of the charter which is in fact superseded shall not\ninvalidate the amendment or new charter or any portion thereof.\n  4. Such a local law may amend, repeal or supersede any local law\ninconsistent with the charter amendment or new charter proposed thereby\nor any inconsistent provision of a state statute which may be amended by\nlocal law, in which event it shall specify the chapter number and year\nof enactment, sections, subsections or other parts of each statute or\nlocal law so affected. Such a local law also may contain provisions as\ndescribed in paragraph (a) of subdivision four of section thirty-six of\nthis chapter.\n  5. Such petition shall conform to the provisions of section\ntwenty-four of this chapter in relation to petitions. It shall be\nexamined and reported on by the city clerk as prescribed therein, and\nobjections thereto shall be disposed of by the supreme court as\nprescribed by such section. In addition, the city clerk, at the same\ntime that he transmits to the legislative body his certificate that the\npetition complies or does not comply with all the requirements of law,\nshall transmit a copy of such certificate to the person by whom the\npetition was filed and, if he certifies that the petition does not\ncomply with all the requirements, shall state in such certificate\nspecifically in what respects it fails to comply. If he shall certify\nthat there is an insufficient number of valid signatures, he shall make\navailable to the legislative body a statement as to the number of\nsignatures found to be invalid and the reasons for such invalidity, and\nshall make the same information available to the person by whom the\npetition was filed and make it, together with the petition and his\nnotations of rulings thereon or relative thereto, a matter of public\nrecord in his office. A finding by the city clerk that a petition does\nnot comply with all the requirements of law may be contested in a\nproceeding in the supreme court.\n  6. Whether or not he finds the petition sufficient, the city clerk\nshall transmit such proposed local law forthwith to the legislative\nbody. If the proposed local law is such that a mandatory referendum is\nnot required for its adoption under the provisions of this chapter or of\nthe city charter, such legislative body may adopt it as its own act\npursuant to article three of this chapter. If a mandatory referendum is\nrequired, the legislative body may submit it to the electors of the city\nat the next general election occurring at least sixty days after the\nlegislative body votes to submit it.\n  7. If, however, such a petition meets all the requirements of law and\nduring a period of two months immediately following the filing thereof\nsuch legislative body shall fail so to adopt such local law without\nchange or to submit it without change to the electors of the city as\naforesaid, an additional petition filed with the city clerk at least two\nmonths and not more than four months after the filing of the original\npetition and signed at any time prior to its filing by qualified\nelectors who did not sign the original petition, equal in number to at\nleast five per centum of the total number of votes cast for governor in\nsuch city at the last gubernatorial election, or to fifteen thousand,\nwhichever is less, may require the submission of the local law at the\nnext general election held not less than sixty days after the filing of\nsuch additional petition.\n  8. Such an additional petition shall conform to the requirements of\nsubdivision five for an original petition and shall be dealt with by the\ncity clerk and by the supreme court in the same manner as an original\npetition except that the city clerk shall submit his certificate as to\nits sufficiency within twenty days after it is filed with him.\n  9. When so required by the filing of such an additional petition\ncomplying with all the requirements of law, the city clerk shall\ntransmit such proposed local law in the form in which it is to be\nsubmitted to the election officers charged with the duty of publishing\nthe notice of such election, and the legislative body shall provide for\nsuitable publication thereof and publicity thereon for the information\nof interested voters. If there be more than one such proposed local law\nto be voted upon at such election, each such proposed local law shall be\nseparately and consecutively numbered.\n  10. Any political committee organized for the purpose of supporting or\nopposing any charter amendment or new charter submitted to the voters\nunder the provisions of this section shall have the same rights as a\npolitical party to name watchers and challengers to serve at the\nelection at which the question is submitted.\n  11. No such petition for a proposed local law requiring the\nexpenditure of money shall be certified as sufficient by the city clerk\nor become effective for the purposes of this section unless there shall\nbe submitted, as a part of such proposed local law, a plan to provide\nmoneys and revenues sufficient to meet such proposed expenditures.  This\nrestriction shall not prevent the submission of a local law to adopt a\nnew charter or to reorganize the functions of city government, or a part\nthereof, relying partly or solely on normal budgetary procedures to\nprovide the necessary moneys to meet the expenses of city government\nunder such reorganization, whether or not such reorganization includes\nthe creation of new offices, provided only that such reorganization\nshall not require specific salaries or the expenditure of specific sums\nof money not theretofore required.\n  12. No charter amendment or new charter submitted under the provisions\nof this section which requires the expenditure of money shall become\neffective with respect to such expenditure before the beginning of the\nfirst fiscal year for which a city budget is prepared and adopted after\nthe adoption of the amendment or new charter.\n  13. If any such proposed local law receives the affirmative vote of a\nmajority of the qualified electors of such city voting thereon, it shall\nbecome operative as prescribed therein, except that in case of conflict\nbetween provisions of two or more local laws adopted at the same\nelection the local law receiving the largest number of affirmative votes\nshall prevail to the extent of such conflict.\n