Opinion ID: 1192546
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: New York State's Referendum Scheme

Text: As a general matter, this case touches upon the City Council's and Mayor's authority to enact local laws amending the City Charter. Cities in the State of New York are given broad power to enact local laws, including those amending a city charter, as long as they relat[e] to its property, affairs or government and are not inconsistent with the provisions of th[e] [state] constitution or any general law. N.Y. CONST., ART. IX, § 2; see also N.Y. MUN. HOME RULE LAW § 10( l )(i)-(ii). This includes local laws relating to [t]he powers, duties, qualifications, number, mode of selection and removal, terms of office, compensation, hours of work, protection, welfare and safety of its officers and employees. N.Y. MUN. HOME RULE LAW § 10( l )(ii). A city may enact such laws by a majority vote of its legislative body and the approval of its mayor, and, in the case of a mayor's veto, the legislative body may override the mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote. See id. §§ 20-21. [1] Moreover, sections 36 and 37 of the New York Municipal Home Rule Law allow voters to enact such laws directly by means of a referendum. See id. at §§ 36, 37. Such a referendum may be initiated directly by voters through a process commonly referred to as a voter initiative. See id. § 37. Generally, if qualified voters file with the City Clerk a petition containing a certain number of signatures requesting that a proposed local law amending the City Charter be put to referendum, the proposed local law will appear on the ballot at the next general election. See id. A referendum proposing a local law amending the City Charter may also be initiated by a charter commission. See id. § 36. A charter commission may be created by a voters' petition, the City Council or the Mayor. See id. § 36(2)-(4). Notwithstanding these provisions, the New York Court of Appeals has made clear that [d]irect legislation in cities must always rest on some constitutional or statutory grant of power. Government by representation is still the rule. Direct action by the people is the exception. McCabe v. Voorhis, 243 N.Y. 401, 413, 153 N.E. 849 (1926).