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

Heading: 1993 Voter Initiative and 1996 Referendum

Text: In November 1993, City voters put a referendum on the ballot by voter initiative proposing term limits for certain elected City officials, which was ultimately adopted by a vote of more than 59%. It provided: CHAPTER 50 TERM LIMITS 17 § 1137. Public Policy. It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the city of New York to limit to not more than eight consecutive years the time elected officials can serve as mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and council member so that elected representatives are citizen representatives who are responsive to the needs of the people and are not career politicians. § 1138. Term Limits. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this charter, no person shall be eligible to be elected to or serve in the office of mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president or council member if that person had previously held such office for two or more full consecutive terms (including in the case of council member at least one four-year term), unless one full term or more has elapsed since that person last held such office; provided, however, that in calculating the number of consecutive terms a person has served, only terms commencing on or after January 1, 1994 shall be counted. N.Y. City Charter §§ 1137-38 (N.Y. Legal Publ'g Corp. 2001) (repealed Nov. 3, 2008) (hereinafter, the 1993 Voter Initiative). In 1996, the City Council put a referendum on the ballot seeking to increase the term limits applicable to Council Members from two to three consecutive terms (1996 Referendum). City voters rejected the 1996 Referendum by a margin of approximately 54% to 46%.