FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 2026
Contact: Soojin Choi |347-556-6335| press@johnliusenate.com

Albany, NY — State Senator John Liu today announced that his legislation, the ERIC Act (Election-Related Requirements for Initiating Charter Commissions Act), has been incorporated into state budget legislation as part of the Public Protection and General Governance (PPGG) budget bill, expected to pass today.

The measure seeks to protect voter intent and prevent political sabotage by outgoing mayors by creating new requirements for the establishment of Charter Revision Commissions (CRC) around the time of general elections and approval procedures by new administrations.

Under current state law, the NYC mayor has the ability to unilaterally create a Charter Revision Commission at any time through the end of the term of office. Once formed, CRCs can operate for years and create ballot questions that can lead to permanent changes in city governance. The legislation requires that any CRC created within a window of 60 days before a municipal general election up to January 1st of the following year to be confirmed within the first 180 days of the following year by the mayor in office. The provision is deemed to have been effective on November 4, 2025.

This bill was drafted in response to the creation of a Charter Revision Commission by the former mayor on December 31, 2025, his last day in office, creating conflict with the incoming mayor and therefore the will of the voters.

Senator John Liu stated, “Charter Revision Commissions have enormous consequences for New Yorkers and should never be implemented without just cause and due consideration, nor should they be used by outgoing executives as a means to undermine political rivals. Passing this legislation into law is necessary to give duly-elected mayors the ability to retain or annul 11th-hour commissions mustered by outgoing mayors.”