Ad Hoc Committee on Charter Review · Held · Special

Los Angeles City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Charter Review special meeting, October 21, 2026

October 21, 2026, 1 p.m. · Updated October 22, 2026

From official records: The Los Angeles City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Charter Review met in a special meeting on Oct. 21, 2026, and voted 4-0, with Eunisses Hernandez absent, to recommend that the Council note and file reports from the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Clerk on deadlines, procedures and pending matters for Charter amendments at future elections. The City Clerk's report gives Nov. 18, 2027 as the deadline for final ballot resolutions for the March 7, 2028 primary and July 20, 2028 for the Nov. 7, 2028 general election. The committee Journal was not posted as of Oct. 22, 2026.

As of October 22, 2026, outcomes for the October 21, 2026 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Charter Review of the Los Angeles City Council come from official records posted so far, such as council files, recorded votes and filed statements. Some results may be missing until the full minutes are posted and read.

The special agenda, “Called by Committee Chair” and posted Oct. 20, 2026, set the meeting for 1 p.m. in Room 1010, City Hall. Public comment was in person only. Members, per the Council President’s assignment letter: Tim McOsker (chair), Heather Hutt (vice chair), Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman and Katy Yaroslavsky. The agenda lists the same five members.

1. Deadlines, procedures and a public matrix for 2028 Charter amendments

• What it does: The agenda lists reports from the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Clerk “relative to applicable deadlines, procedures, pending matters, and matrices regarding potential Charter amendments to be submitted for future elections” (agenda). The underlying motion says the committee should start by taking stock of Charter proposals already studied and those left unresolved. It asks the Chief Legislative Analyst to keep a public-facing matrix of those matters and asks the committee to take testimony (motion, CF 26-1238).
• Who brought it: Tim McOsker, seconded by Adrin Nazarian (CF 26-1238).
• The deadlines: The City Clerk’s Oct. 16, 2026 report, written with the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Attorney, says the City Election Code requires two Council votes. The Council must ask the City Attorney to draft the ballot resolutions and election ordinance at least 125 days before the election, and adopt them at least 110 days before. For the March 7, 2028 primary, those dates are Nov. 3, 2027 and Nov. 18, 2027. For the Nov. 7, 2028 general election, they are July 5, 2028 and July 20, 2028. The Clerk expects the July dates to fall during a Council recess and recommends acting by mid-June 2028 and June 30, 2028.
• Earlier work: The Clerk’s report says research and reporting on a complicated Charter amendment often takes more than four to five months. It recommends starting that work before June 2027 for the March 2028 ballot. For the November 2028 ballot, the text says before January or February 2028 and the report’s milestone table says by November 2027. Amendments that need California Environmental Quality Act review or meet-and-confer talks with employee unions must be identified early, because that work must be done before the Council can place them on the ballot (City Clerk report).
• Primary ballot limits: Under state law, a Charter amendment can go on a primary ballot only if it does not change any protection, right, benefit or employment status of City employees, retirees or their unions, the report says. Each amendment needs approval by a majority of voters, and the ordinance calling the election is subject to the Mayor’s approval or veto (City Clerk report).
• Chief Legislative Analyst report: The Chief Legislative Analyst filed report No. 26-10-0731 on Oct. 14, 2026 (CLA report, CF 26-1238).
• Neighborhood council positions: For: North Hollywood Northeast (agenda).
• Earlier action: The committee continued this file to a date to be determined at its first meeting, on Sept. 30, 2026 (CF 26-1238; Sept. 30 meeting).
• Council District 10 list: A communication from Councilmember Hutt filed on Oct. 21, 2026 lists six additions to the Chief Legislative Analyst’s summary of pending Charter matters: lowest bidder versus best value in contracting, 2 percent of the General Fund budget for Public Works, the Controller’s waste, fraud and abuse powers, public banking, a Charter right to legal counsel for immigrants, and delegating loan approval and amendment authority to the Housing Department’s general manager (CD 10 list; CF 26-1238).
• What happened: After public comment, the committee voted 4-0 to recommend that the Council note and file the CLA’s Oct. 14 report and the City Clerk’s Oct. 16 report “inasmuch as no further Council action is required at this time.” McOsker, Hutt, Raman and Yaroslavsky voted yes; Hernandez was absent (committee report).
• What’s next: The report goes to the Council (committee report).

Previous meeting: September 30, 2026 · All meetings