Los Angeles City Council creates city’s first-ever charter reform commission

By JOSE HERRERA, City News Service

In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council established L.A.’s first-ever Charter Reform Commission on Tuesday, June 18, which will be tasked with recommending updates to a vast range of government procedures — including possible expansion of the City Council and improving transparency.

Council members passed the ordinance 13-0, with the aim of having the commission propose charter amendments for Los Angeles voters to consider on the November 2026 ballot.

Council President Paul Krekorian said commission appointments would be made shortly, with the new panel’s work commencing soon.

“When you look at the breadth of what we have in the City Charter, the number of issues that it touches upon, it’s really incumbent upon us to regularly update these and make sure that we’re ensuring that the city is operating as effectively, as efficiently and with the greatest transparency and accountability possible,” Krekorian said before  Tuesday’s vote.

The council’s action culminates months of work by the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, which Krekorian formed to bolster transparency and address corruption following the leaked racist audio recording involving three council members that rocked City Hall in 2022.

According to Krekorian, this will be the first time the city has created a Charter Reform Commission.

The panel will be able to consider issues ranging from the city’s land-use processes to the role of the Ethics Commission, how vacancies are filled in elected offices, and consequences for elected officials if they are censured or suspended — as well as the issue of expanding the City Council.

The council has 15 members, but there have been calls from various sectors for that number to grow, making for smaller districts that expansion advocates say will be more representative and more transparent.

According to the ordinance passed Tuesday, the Charter Reform Commission will consist of 13 members, appointed in two phases.

Four members will be appointed by the mayor, and the council president and council president pro tempore will appoint two members each, all of whom will need to be confirmed by the full City Council. Those initial eight commissioners would then appoint five additional commissioners who would also need approval by the City Council.

An executive director, selected by the mayor and council president, will aid the commission as well as the offices of the chief legislative analyst, city administrative officer, city clerk and city attorney.

As part of its work, the commission will be required to gather feedback from a wide variety of residents and organizations. An outreach and engagement plan will need to be established as well, including an effort to collect input from at least 60% of the city’s neighborhood councils.

Krekorian said the commission will begin its outreach work after a “robust public outreach process.”

Draft recommendations for reform are expected to be prepared for council consideration by January 2026, with a deadline of April 2, 2026 to approve them — giving members time to debate those issues and ultimately place amendments on the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide.

According to a report from the chief legislative analyst’s office, the schedule will coincide with the city’s budget process as well.

Krekorian said the commission will dissolve after making its recommendations for the November 2026 ballot, unless the term of the commission is extended. Per Tuesday’s ordinance, subsequent Charter Reform Commissions would be established every 10 years after 2026.

“Rather than waiting another quarter of a century, this will impose the discipline of looking at the charter for review every 10 years,” Krekorian said.

The impetus for charter reform grew out of the 2022 racist audio scandal.

Three council members, two of them now gone, were caught on a leaked recording discussing ways to redraw districts in their favor under the current redistricting system — which takes place every 10 years, but which also allows incumbent members to have ultimate say.

Additionally, three former City Council members — Mark Ridley-Thomas, Jose Huizar and Mitch Englander — have been indicted in recent years on corruption charges, Ridley-Thomas for actions while he was a member of the county board of supervisors.