I checked in with the City Council president's office earlier this week and again today about this letter. And according to their office, there should be a process posted up pretty soon, on how the council will be reviewing the Charter Reform Commission's proposals.
The CRC was created precisely because big changes have ripple effects, and require a comprehensive approach. It is crucial that the full City Council be involved at the front end of the process so the Committee can cultivate consensus reforms. Sincerely, California Clean Money Campaign California Common Cause Cal RCV Fair Rep LA Generation Vote Los Angeles Hub League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles for Democracy Vouchers Unrig LA Wellbeing Economy Alliance California
‼️FINAL / WE NEED YOUR HELP!
LA deserves Charter reform that delivers results.
🔎Look up your Councilmember & tell them you support Fair Rep LA's requests: neighborhoodinfo.lacity.gov
📨Ask your local org to sign on: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔗to letter: drive.google.com/file/d/1kOHi...
Provide five days notice for all Committee meetings. Acknowledging the need for greater notice, the City Council required the CRC to provide five days notice for all CRC meetings. We further request that relevant agenda materials also be posted at least five days in advance of meetings. Given the limited time and capacity of Committee members and their staff, it is important that they have adequate time to prepare for meetings and engage with relevant stakeholders in advance. Provide video for all Committee livestreams/recordings. The City Council typically does not provide video of committee meetings. However, it has done so in limited circumstances when there are significant issues moving through a Committee. This includes the annual budget process, consideration of the Redistricting Commission’s proposed map, and the work of the former Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform. Committee meetings can be tough to follow for a new viewer, or someone who speaks English as a second language. Video makes it easier to follow along with presentation materials, process what is being discussed, and put faces and names to voices that might not be so familiar to your average person. Either hold meetings in the evening or provide remote public comment. The Rules Committee typically meets at 9:00 am. We ask that meetings either be held at a more accessible time, or that the Committee also take public comment via phone.
4 - 6 / PROVIDE 5 DAYS' NOTICE, VIDEO, AND ACCESSIBLE TIMES FOR COMMITTEE MEETINGS
LA City Councilmembers, staff, & the public deserve enough time to prep for meetings, video of committee meetings to follow along from home, and accessible meeting times to make it easy to engage.
Hold at least five to six Committee meetings total, and release a tentative schedule. The Committee will need at least three to four meetings to review the CRC report, consider motions referred to the Committee, and where necessary, request reports from relevant departments. It will also need at least two meetings to review, revise, and make further refinements. We ask that a tentative schedule be issued so that elected officials, departments, and interested parties may plan for what will be considered by the Committee at each meeting.
3/ HOLD AT LEAST 5-6 COMMITTEE MEETINGS TOTAL, & RELEASE A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
We need a clear plan, and enough meetings for meaningful deliberation, so the public and policymakers can engage in the Charter reform process before LA City Council.
Allow a larger and more diverse Committee to review the CRC’s recommendations. The City Council could either temporarily expand the Rules Committee to seven members, or establish a seven-member Ad Hoc Committee. A larger Committee provides better representation of the City of LA and the sentiments of the broader council. Each of our Councilmembers has unique expertise and skillsets, and to the extent that we have more voices at the table we will be able to produce better reforms.
2/ ALLOW A LARGER, MORE DIVERSE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE LA CHARTER REFORM COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS
LA City Council's Rules Committee only has five members. We need more citywide representation, and more voices at the table, if we're going to produce better Charter reforms.
Allow the CRC to present their report to the full City Council. The full City Council must be given the opportunity to receive and respond to the CRC’s recommendations before the matter is referred to a Committee. While we are excited about many of the reforms advanced by the CRC their current form is not ballot-ready. The Committee will need to undertake extensive efforts to produce carefully considered reforms that are viable for City Council and the general public. Jumping straight to a Committee would be a mistake. Presenting the report to the full City Council will allow a broader temperature check on major issues and allow the Committee to make revisions in a more tailored and efficient manner. The last time the full City Council had some level of discussion on the topic of Council size was in the fall of 2022, and the full City Council’s last discussion about the Charter Reform Commission’s substantive work occurred in the summer of 2024. The CRC’s report is the product of a $1 million dollar budget. No matter what anyone thinks of the CRC process, the recommendations were arrived at through nine months of extensive efforts by Commissioners, departments, and the broader public. These reforms impact fundamental issues of representation and power at City Hall. The full City of Los Angeles must be represented in that conversation before we move to Committee. Without this initial step, a majority of our Council would be left on the sidelines, and limited to either providing their thoughts in writing, introducing a motion, or backchanneling their concerns to Committee members. They would only be brought into the fold at the eleventh hour when reforms are up for a final vote, and there is limited opportunity to realistically entertain amendments. We worry that an abbreviated process will undermine consensus-building, inevitably force the City Council to dramatically limit the scope of what it is able to advance to the ballot, and negatively affect voter confide
1/ ALLOW THE LA CHARTER REFORM COMMISSION (CRC) TO PRESENT TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL
After 9 months of intense engagement and a $1 million budget, ALL Councilmembers, representing the WHOLE city, should be able to ask questions, make comments, & introduce amendments.
April 16th, 2026 Members of the Los Angeles City Council 200 North Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: Charter Reform Process - Council File 26-0489 Dear Honorable Councilmembers, This Council is about to enter one of its busiest stretches in recent history. In addition to the annual budget process, we will be considering Charter reform, potential amendments to Measure ULA, a number of revenue-generating ballot measures, and multiple citizen initiatives. We, the undersigned organizations, write to respectfully request that City Council engage in a thorough and inclusive review of the Charter Reform Commission’s (CRC) recommendations:
LA Charter reform is about to head to City Council -- but *will the process be set up for success?*
🧵Check out our SIX key asks for a *thorough, inclusive* review of the Charter Reform Commission's recommendations below:
📨Have your org sign on at: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
For more on PRCV and how it might work in Los Angeles, check out materials & mapping from @calrcv.bsky.social & @equitabledemocracy.bsky.social:
8d11b894-734b-40e3-8a3a-3f52bc630b36.filesusr.com/ugd/ee566b_a... & 8d11b894-734b-40e3-8a3a-3f52bc630b36.filesusr.com/ugd/ee566b_9...
The Commission's final report does not contain any info about an elected Public Advocate (see below) & proportional ranked choice voting (PRCV).
The Commission narrowly voted down recommending them, or even referencing them in the report, while multiple Commissioners in support were absent.
2026 Los Angeles City Charter Civic Assembly Final Recommendations March 8, 2026 The following Recommendations were created and approved by the 2026 Los Angeles City Charter Civic Assembly. The Assembly addressed the following question: “What should be the size and structure of the Los Angeles City Council?” The Recommendations below were written by the Assembly’s Delegates after approximately 26 hours of in-person information gathering, deliberation, and decision making between Feb. 28 and March 8. The Assembly heard from 17 informational presenters and reviewed many supporting documents. The Assembly identified 68 initial policy concepts and worked to refine these into a slate of Final Recommendations through a multi-stage small- and large-group deliberative process. These Final Recommendations were supported by 31 of 35 voting Delegates (that is, 89%) at the end of the Assembly. With the exception of this explanatory text preamble, this report is composed exclusively of the words of Delegates themselves, with no additions, deletions, or edits of any kind by staff. The official recipient of these Recommendations is the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, which committed to receiving the results and thoroughly considering them as the Commission prepares its own final recommendations for the Los Angeles City Council on proposed changes to the City Charter. This Assembly was a project of Rewrite LA, a coalition of several nonprofits and individuals working to expand public participation in the charter reform process. Rewrite LA includes Nick Goddard, Joe Mathews, and leaders of Public Democracy Los Angeles, Metagov, Healthy Democracy, and Sortition USA. This Civic Assembly was funded by contributions from local individual donors and foundations – including the Broad Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation, and the Berggruen Institute. Assembly Delegates were selected from among respondents to a postcard mailed to 20,000 residential addresses equally distrib…
Recommendations 1. Establish a permanent civic assembly, randomly selected to reflect LA demographics, to review, advise, and refer Council decisions back for consideration, with a minimum of two assemblies per year. 2. The City Council should be 25 single-member districts. The office of City Council president should randomly rotate between members with nonconsecutive terms ending at the end of each session, including special sessions. 3. As population increases per the U.S. Census, the size of the City Council should automatically increase. There should be no more than 170,000 people per district. 4. Councilmembers must live in their respective district for at least one year prior to the election. 5. Councilmembers and the Mayor will no longer have appointment powers to the Ethics Commission. 6. Create an independent, nonpartisan office of the Inspector General with the authority to investigate, audit, and refer for prosecution any City employee, whether they be elected or appointed. The Inspector General will lead the Ethics Commission. 7. Voting will be done by ranked choice. 8. One council size option should be presented for the vote, Language shall include that an increase in City Council membership is an increase in representation. 9. Hire a qualified COO and CFO independently, not appointed by the mayor or City Council.
LA's first civic assembly also issued its own recommendations for Charter reform thanks to @publicdemocracyla.bsky.social and its partners.
You can find them below, along with more info about the LA Charter Civic Assembly, at: healthydemocracy.org/LA
The LA Charter Reform Commission's final report, summarizing its recommendations on ways to improve LA's constitution and government, is now out!
Link: drive.google.com/file/d/1hHa0...
Thank so much you for the kind words and useful suggestion! 🥰😁
We're thinking through the best way to gather and share all the information we've gathered from the Charter Reform Commission, and will definitely consider including our posts as part of that package. 😎
Our video of what turned out to be the final meeting of the LA Charter Reform Commission is now up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=giCQ...
Finally, despite a last-minute letter on the history of efforts to make the City Attorney appointed, the Commission approved language splitting the office into an elected City Prosecutor & appointed City Attorney.
Letter: drive.google.com/file/d/15crC...
Language: drive.google.com/file/d/1ZzYz...
The Commission also approved draft language on procurement reforms. However, members of the public called language allowing the City to waive defects in campaign finance ethics paperwork "a massive step backwards for ethical conduct."
Full language: drive.google.com/file/d/1OZNh...
Also approved at this final meeting:
- amendments to the Charter's restriction on buildings' floor area, approved 8-2 (Meza, Stein opposed due to concerns about corruption);
- language that streamlined planning decision-making, w/unanimous approval
With the Commission's report due to City Council by April 2nd, Councilmembers now have until June 17th to decide whether or not to send reform recommendations to the November ballot.
It turns out the final motion of the night will also be the final motion of the LA Charter Reform Commission: Ted Stein withdraws his motion to hold a final meeting so Commissioners can review and vote on their final report, ending the Commission's business.
In a 9-4 vote, the LA Charter Reform Commission approved draft Charter language expanding mayoral powers (Fuentes, Mac, Thomas, Yap opposed).
New powers would include the ability to call special Council meetings, introduce motions, & transfer funds.
Full language: drive.google.com/file/d/1AXMc...
The Commission also tweaked their draft language on requiring liability insurance for police officers, raising the potential cost limit from $20/month to $50/month.
Link to original draft language: drive.google.com/file/d/1jlWt...
In a 12-1 vote, LA Charter Reform Commission amended their draft Charter language on police accountability to more clearly state the City Council has authority over the Board of Police Commissioners, while striking their previous language.
Link to original: drive.google.com/file/d/1jlWt...
An attempt to to lower the number of mayoral appointees and increase the number of Commission-selected commissioners on a future Charter Reform Commission was voted down 4-9 by all appointed Commissioners (& Andrades), who argued they were wholly independent of their appointees.
The Commission has unanimously approved draft Charter language to shift LA to a 2-year budget, with a significant amendment to require the submission of the Mayor's budget by *April 1st*, instead of April 20th.
Link to full draft Charter language: drive.google.com/file/d/1gFZe...
The Commission has approved draft Charter language on:
- Neighborhood Councils (from DONE/BONC/LANCC): drive.google.com/file/d/1e7ly...
- language access: drive.google.com/file/d/1MJzX...
- a Public Bank: drive.google.com/file/d/1KpuH...
The LA Charter Reform Commission has approved draft Charter language allowing Neighborhood Councils to deliver statements on legislation to other government agencies, 10-3 (Morrison, Murray, Thomas opposed), with new language in red, and amendments in blue below.
A motion to add Charter language (see below) stating that Neighborhood Council elections will be held every two years has been voted down 3-10 (Andrades, Field, Levin, Lewis, Meza, Morrison, Murray, Sanchez, Stein, Yap opposed).
(d) The Ethics Commission shall have the authority to submit ordinances measures within their subject matter jurisdiction directly to the voters. Any ballot measure proposed by the Ethics Commission shall be presented to the City Council, which shall have the opportunity to hold a public hearing and propose amendments, but shall not have authority to block the Commission from submitting ordinance measures within their subject matter jurisdiction directly to the voters.
The Commission has unanimously approved all draft Charter language on ethics, the Ethics Commission, and a proposed Inspector General office, which can be found here: drive.google.com/file/d/1xfvH...
The one amendment to that language is in BLUE below.
The LA Charter Reform Commission has unanimously approved the following Charter language for suspending elected officials pending trial.
Amendments to that language are in blue.
Check out @thelareporter.bsky.social's latest news on how the LA Charter Reform Commission is deliberating on proposals to change the office of the City Attorney!
🚨 The LA Charter Reform Commission is meeting today to try to finalize 22 (!) recommended Charter changes, & vote on whether to meet & vote on its final report.
🧵We'll have motions & votes threaded below, and video up soon after.
Meeting/Zoom info: bit.ly/FRLA26