Citizens Union testimony – NYC Districting Commission Jul 7, 2022 Hearing
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
Citizens Union testimony – NYC Districting Commission May 26, 2022 Hearing
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
Memo in support of S8428/A9050, a bill clarifying the intent of the 50-a repeal, April 2022
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.
Memo of Support for a Senate Legislative Package Concerning Board of Elections Reform, April 2022
April 2022 - Memorandum in support of a State Senate legislative package concerning reforming the Board of Elections, including bills S263 (Myrie), S823A (Kreuger), S4542A (Mayer), S5800B (Comrie), S6684A (Mannion), S7442 (Myrie), S8289 (Gaughran), S8292 (Mannion), S8311 (Mayer), S8337 (May)
Memo of Support: A642B/S284B, Counting “Wrong Church” affidavit ballots
March 18, 2022 - Memorandum of support for A642B (Myrie)/S284B (Carroll), an act to amend the election law, in relation to counting of affidavit ballots. This bill would require counting the votes of eligible voters who cast an affidavit ballot at an incorrect poll site but in the correct county, instead of disqualifying the entire ballot. Only votes for contests to which that individual was entitled to vote in would be counted.
Testimony before the City Council on Agency-Based Voter Registration, February 2022
February 28, 2022 - Testimony before the City Council Committee on Governmental Operations on New York City’s Pro-Voter Law (Agency-Based Voter Registration)
Testimony for the 2022 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on the Governor’s ethics reform proposal
January 25, 2022 - Testimony for the 2022 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing regarding the Public Protection and General Government Article VII Legislation, and specifically the Independent Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022
Group Memo of Opposition to Council bill proposing changes to budget process for New York City Campaign Finance Board, November 2021
November 26, 2021 - a memorandum of opposition to Int 2429-2021, A local law to amend the New York City Charter, in relation to the budget of the Campaign Finance Board, which would reduce the budgetary independence of the Campaign Finance Board
Memo in support in of Intros. 2440-2021 (CCRB powers) and 2297-2021 (NYPD officer qualifications)
November 22, 2021 - CU Memorandum of support for to bills before the City Council, Int. 2440-2021 (Adams), authorizing the Civilian Complaint Review Board to initiate complaints, and Int. 2297-2021 (Moya), in relation to qualification for service with the Police Department
Memo of Opposition to proposed legislation reducing mass-mailing blackout period before elections, October 2021
October 19, 2021 - Memorandum of Opposition to Intro. No. 0034-2018, A Local Law to amend the New York City Charter, in relation to the use of government resources during an election campaign. which would reduce the blackout period for sending official mass-mailings prior to an election
Testimony before the State Senate Elections Committee on reforming the Board of Elections, September 2021
September 20, 2021 - Written Testimony to the New York State Senate Committee on Elections regarding elections administration and voting rights in New York State
Testimony before the Senate Ethics Committee on New York’s system of ethics oversight and enforcement, December 2021
December 9, 2021 - Citizen Union testifies on measures that could improve the system of ethics oversight in New York. JCOPE is not the only agency tasked with keeping our government clean, related to relevant enforcement agencies like the Attorney General, the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Inspector General, as well as the Board of Elections, including its Chief Enforcement Officer.
Citizens Union testimony – New York State Independent Redistricting Commission August 15, 2021 Hearing
August 15, 2021 - Citizens Union’s written testimony before the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission
Testimony before the Senate Ethics Committee on New York’s system of ethics oversight and enforcement, August 2021
August 15, 2021 - Citizen Union testifies on the need to overhaul the system of ethics oversight in New York, and specifically to replace the ethics watchdog JCOPE with an independent agency.
2019 CRC – Response to Preliminary Staff Report
May 2019 - Throughout its history, Citizens Union has supported periodic comprehensive review of the New York City Charter absent a political agenda via the appointment of an independent Charter Revision Commission.
Memo of Support for A2513/S3695, an act to repeal section 50-a of the civil rights law, relating to personnel records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers
March 25, 2019 Summary: A.2513 (O’Donnell)/S.3695 (Bailey) would repeal Section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law. Click here for the…
2019 CRC Testimony – Public Advocate
March 18, 2019 - Good evening Chair Benjamin and distinguished members of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. I am Betsy Gotbaum, executive director of Citizens Union and the former New York City Public Advocate from 2002 to 2009. We are happy to see that you are holding a meeting on the Office of Public Advocate, and for giving Citizens Union and I the opportunity to share our recommendations with you.
2019 CRC Testimony – Police Accountability
March 7, 2019 - Good evening Chair Benjamin and distinguished members of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. My name is Rachel Bloom and I am the Director of Public Policy and Programs at Citizens Union. We thank you for holding this meeting on police accountability, and for giving Citizens Union the opportunity to publicly share our recommendations with you.
Memorandum of Support: S.3287 (Krueger)/A.1835 (Ortiz)
February 16, 2019 - An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to creation of the non-partisan legislative budget office
2018 CRC Testimony – Community Boards
June 19, 2018 - Good afternoon Chair Perales and distinguished members of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. My name is Rachel Bloom and I am the Director of Public Policy and Programs at Citizens Union. We thank you for inviting us here today and giving Citizens Union the opportunity to publicly share our recommendations on community board reforms with you.
2018 CRC Testimony – Campaign Finance
June 14 2018 - Good afternoon Chair Perales and distinguished members of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. My name is Rachel Bloom and I am the Director of Public Policy and Programs at Citizens Union. We thank you for inviting us here today and giving Citizens Union the opportunity to publicly share our recommendations on campaign finance with you.
2018 CRC Testimony – Hearing
May 7, 2018 - Good evening Chair Perales and distinguished members of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. My name is Rachel Bloom and I am the Director of Public Policy and Programs at Citizens Union. We thank you for holding this and other public hearings, and giving Citizens Union the opportunity to publicly share our recommendations with you.
Citizens Union Testimony on Int. 241 – Charter Revision Commission
March 16, 2018 - Good morning Chair Cabrera and members of the Committee on Governmental Operations. My name is Ethan Geringer-Sameth and I am the Public Policy & Program Manager at Citizens Union. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the Council proposal for Charter Revision Commission