June 17, 2024 - Citizens Union testified before the 2024 New York City Charter Commission's Government and Election Reform Hearing. Recommendations include establishing a minimum timeframe for future Charter Revision Commissions and for local laws sent to a referendum, maintaining Ranked Choice Voting, and more.
June 6, 2024 - Citizens Union submits the following statement in response to the amended bill to expand the City Council’s advice and consent, scheduled for a vote on June 6, 2024.
May 29th, 2024 - Citizens Union submitted a testimony in response to proposed legislation that would amend the City Charter to require the advice and consent of the City Council for 21 commissioner appointments. In the testimony, Citizens Union urges the Council not to rush through this Charter amendment process, and to allow for more time, committee meetings, and public hearings to fully consider the implications of this proposal.
May 21, 2024 – Citizens Union, the Let NY Vote coalition, and over two dozen advocacy groups signed on to a memo in support of S9126 (Skoufis)/A10466 (Walker), which would align city and other elections with presidential or gubernatorial elections. This change would strengthen our democracy by significantly increasing the number of people who vote for local offices and reducing racial and age-based gaps in voter participation.
April 19, 2024 – Testimony on bills regarding prohibitions lobbying in connection with campaign-related fundraising or political consulting, the city’s post-employment restrictions, and other proposed reforms in lobbying oversight and enforcement.
April 17, 2024 – Citizens Union joined Reinvent Albany and Common Cause NY to testify in support of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB)'s proposed rule changes to the policymaker list. This testimony includes additional recommendations related to data transparency.
April 9, 2024 – Citizens joins over a dozen groups in opposition for proposed legislation that would make significant changes to the public campaign finance law before the existing public matching law is used for the first time in an election.
February 7, 2024 – Memo supporting legislation requiring New York to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) or another multistate voter list maintenance organization
February 6, 2024 - Citizens Union appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony regarding Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed Executive Budget for State Fiscal Year 2025. We will focus on the proposed funding for the Public Campaign Finance Board, the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying, and the State Board of Elections.
January 16, 2024 - Citizens Union and several other good government groups submitted a memo in support of a bill to expand the term “lobbying” to include any attempts to influence the nomination or confirmation of any person to state office for a position that is subject to Senate confirmation.
December 15, 2023 - Citizens Union urges he Governor to sign the bill that would requirements for foreign and domestic limited liability companies (LLCs) in New York State to publicly disclose their “beneficial owners."
April 5, 2023 - Memo of support for A3291 (Dinowitz), which would make permanent the definition of “illness” for the purpose of applying for an absentee ballot to mean instances when there is risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause illness to the voter or other members of the public.
March 30, 2023 - Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of New York State, and the Committee for Modern Courts, released the following statement calling on the Assembly to reject Governor Hochul’s proposed “program bill” (A5983/S06061) which passed the Senate this morning and will change the selection process for appointing judges to the New York State Court of Appeals:
March 29, 2023 – Citizens Union’s testimony before the new state ethics commission focused on several measures that would improve independence, transparency, and public confidence in COELIG, as well as needed changes to the lobbying law.
March 20, 2023 - Testimony before the City Council Committee on Public Safety for the FY2024 Preliminary Budget Oversight Hearing – CCRB budget
February 15, 2023 - Testimony for the 2023 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing, Local Government and General Government, regarding the the proposed funding for the Public Campaign Finance Board and the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying
January 25, 2023 - Comments from several watchdog groups regarding emergency regulations, Part 941 on Adjudicatory Proceedings, of the NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government
December 13, 2022 - Memorandum of Support for Preconsidered Intro. T2022-2607A, Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring disclosure of the identity of contributors to entities making independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to any municipal ballot proposal or referendum
December 5, 2022 - Letter urging Governor Hohul to sign into law S2951A/A8858A (reducing the voter registration cutoff to the Constitutional minimum of 10 days) and S284C/A642C (remedies the “Wrong Church suppression” technicality by counting eligible votes on affidavit ballots cast in the correct Assembly District, but at the incorrect poll site)
August 16, 2022 - Citizens Union’s written testimony before the NYC Districting Commission during the second round of public hearings on the new Council district proposal
July 7, 2022 - Citizens Union’s written testimony before the NYC Districting Commission during the preliminary round of public hearings on the Council redistricting process
May 26, 2022 - Citizens Union’s written testimony before the NYC Districting Commission during the preliminary round of public hearings on the Council redistricting process
April 13, 2022 - Group Memorandum in Support of S8428/A9050, an act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure of law enforcement officer's disciplinary records.