NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8186
SPONSOR: Epstein TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to authorizing
the New York city council to remove the mayor from office
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 9 of the New York city charter to provide for
an additional process to remove the mayor
Section 2 amends section 28 of New York city charter to authorize the
city council to remove the mayor from office
Section 3 provides the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
Under this bill, the New York City Council would be authorized to remove
the mayor after notice, an opportunity to be heard, and a three-quarters
vote of all the council members. This legislation enhances local control
by creating a new power for the Council that is similar to the power the
state legislature holds to remove an executive, or Congress to remove an
executive.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8186
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to authorizing
the New York city council to remove the mayor from office
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 9 of the New York city charter is amended to read
2 as follows:
3 § 9. Removal of mayor. The mayor may be removed from office by:
4 a. the governor upon charges and after service upon [him] such mayor
5 of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in [his] such
6 mayor's defense. Pending the preparation and disposition of charges,
7 the governor may suspend the mayor for a period not exceeding thirty
8 days; or
9 b. the New York city council pursuant to the provisions of subdivision
10 h of section twenty-eight of this charter.
11 § 2. Section 28 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a
12 new subdivision h to read as follows:
13 h. The council shall have power to remove the mayor from office, upon
14 charges and after service upon such mayor of a copy of the charges and
15 an opportunity to be heard in such mayor's defense, by an affirmative
16 vote of three quarters of all the council members. Pending the prepara-
17 tion and disposition of charges, the council may suspend the mayor for a
18 period not exceeding thirty days by an affirmative vote of three quar-
19 ters of all the council members.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10239-02-5
