Eric Adams-backed commission pitches change that would make it tougher for City Council to pass laws
A commission backed by Mayor Eric Adams dropped its controversial final report Tuesday – with recommendations for ballot measures that would make it tougher for the City Council to pass bills.
The 123-page document from the Charter Revision Commission quickly became another salvo in the long-running power struggle between the council and Hizzoner by suggesting New Yorkers vote on five proposed ballot measures this November that could wrap local lawmakers in red tape.
The ballot measures would include a proposed rule forcing the council to get a fiscal impact statement from the mayor’s budget office before it even holds a hearing on a proposed law, as well a measure to require more hearings, lengthier delays and mountains of paperwork before the council could change any law that affects cops, firefighters or correction officers, the report said.
Lawmakers immediately castigated the report in a Tuesday afternoon statement, saying it has “made a mockery of what should be a serious process.”
“This Mayor’s sham Charter Revision Commission has done a disservice to New Yorkers by putting forward rushed proposals that block voters’ rights while undermining democracy and oversight of the Mayor’s administration,” said Julia Agos, the council’s spokesperson.
“The Mayor’s commission has put forward proposals that impact the Council without engaging us as the entity affected, different from the Council’s legislative process that the Mayor’s Commission has consistently attacked.”
Council members were also peeved that the proposed referendums could knock their own measure off the November ballot if the Adams administration meets the Aug. 5 filing deadline. The City Council’s proposal would ask voters to broaden the council’s power to confirm the leaders of city agencies.
It’s not the first time the council has pilloried the 13-member commission over their stated mission, which it began pursuing in late May.
Late last month, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — who isn’t related to her foil, the mayor — skewered the commission as a “wholly unserious” body meant to “attack the City Council and its oversight of the executive branch” just when the council was fighting against Adams’ proposed budget cuts.
Other members complained to The Post that the fiscal impact statement requirement would kneecap the legislature’s ability to swiftly pass bills.
“If all legislative items become subject to closed-door budget negotiations, you’re undermining the stated goals of giving the public more transparency and input into the process,’’ a council member said.
The Adams administration has said it simply wants to address unfunded mandates.
