Citizens Union advocates reforming the operating rules of the State Legislature and the New York City Council to make these legislative bodies more representative, deliberative, accountable, and efficient. We support strengthening committees, providing greater power for rank-and-file members over legislative leadership, increasing public transparency of information and procedures, instituting equitable allocation of resources between lawmakers, and diminishing opportunities for conflicts of interest through compensation methods and discretionary funds.
Citizens Union has long been a champion in the movement to reform the operations of the City Council, which led to the historic new set of rules adopted by the Council in 2014. In 2006, CU released a groundbreaking report, Principles of Council Reform: Ideas for a More Democratic and Effective City Council, and have monitored the progress towards reform through ongoing report cards. In 2012, Citizens Union released a comprehensive report detailing the allocations of individual members for expense and capital funding, as well as the process as a whole: Creating a More Objective and Equitable Discretionary Funding Process in New York City.
Citizens Union continues to advocate for Rules Reform in the Legislature and the City Council to make legislative work more transparent and effective.
Recent Activity – Legislative Rules
Good Government Groups Request Updates to Legislative Rules That Can Help Improve the Senate and Assembly
December 20, 2022 - Citizens Union and other good government groups request legislative leaders to make updates to legislative rules that can help their ongoing efforts to improve the Senate and Assembly
Transparency and Disability Groups Ask Legislature for Open Meetings Webcasting Rules
December 19, 2022 - Citizens Union joined more than a dozen transparency and disability groups in calling the legislative leaders pass new rules that ensure that all public meetings in the Legislature are webcast. Due to changes in the Open Meetings Law (OML) approved by the Legislature in April, if the Senate and Assembly intend to use videoconferencing to allow members to participate remotely in public meetings, they must adopt a one-time joint resolution after a public hearing to authorize videoconferencing.
Letter to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams requesting a public hearing on possible reforms to the Rules of the Council 2022
January 20, 2022 - A group letter to new Council Speaker Adrienne Adams asking that she convene a public hearing on possible reforms to the Rules of the Council in the coming weeks
Letter to Legislative Leaders on Rules Reform and Legislative Activity in Remote Conditions 2020
January 4, 2021 - Group letter to the four legislative leaders urging them to make it a top priority to reform the rules governing the proceedings and operations of the legislature in order to address new challenges stemming from remote legislative work under the COVID-19 pandemic and improve public confidence in the legislative process.
Letter to Legislative Leaders in Support of Rules Reform in the Legislature 2019
January 8, 2019 - Group letter to the four legislative leaders urging them to reform the rules governing the proceedings and operations of the legislature.