Los Angeles is one step closer Friday to revamping its City Charter as a 13-member panel released its recommendations on how to improve city governance
Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council established the Charter Reform Commission in 2025 — an action prompted by federal bribery and corruption cases involving elected officials, unethical land-use decisions shaped by money, and a racially charged leaked audio of elected officials scheming to abuse the redistricting process.
The Charter Reform Commission issued its 301-page report Thursday, detailing proposals to modernize L.A. governance. Recommendations were informed by months of public outreach, discussions with experts, and intensive deliberation.
City Council members are expected to take up the report and decide which recommendations to push through by June in order to place them on the November ballot for voters to decide.
Among the recommendations, the committee highlighted three major reform proposals, which includes the following:
— Expanding the City Council from 15 members to 25 and reducing each district’s size to about 155,000 residents;
— Changing the position of chief administrative officer to chief financial officer with the goal of establishing a centralized authority responsible for long-term strategic financial health and coordinated budget planning;
— Granting City Council authority to oversee the Los Angeles Police Department, which would be done in conjunction with the Board of Police Commissioners, the entity that currently has the sole power to do so;
— Implementing a two-year budget cycle and long-term capital improvement plan.
“This report reflects a consensus on the strategic changes imperative for effective governance and public trust,” Raymond Meza, commission chair, said in a statement. “The Commission’s recommendations were informed by a robust public survey that garnered over 14,000 total responses, with 71% of respondents supporting both council expansion and a multiyear budget planning process.”
The report detailed further recommendations such as lowering the voting age to 16, as well as adopting ranked-choice voting, empowering the neighborhood council system and reducing barriers so more candidates have the ability to run for office.
Commissioners also called for robust ethics reforms. There is a recommendation to give the Ethics Commission the authority to hire outside general counsel and limited staff attorneys.
Other proposals include doubling parks funding from .0325% to .065% of assessed property value, allocating a 2% minimum of general fund dollars to the Department of Public Works for infrastructure improvements such as streets, sidewalks and bridges.
There’s also a proposal to split the powers of the City Attorney’s Office into two roles: an appointed city attorney who would oversee legal counsel and legislative affairs and an elected city prosecutor. This proposal has been opposed by the current City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto.
Meanwhile, the commissioners have recommended expanding mayoral powers, allowing the mayor to reorganize departments, inter-departmentally transfer funds and employees and participate in City Council meetings.
The commission last met on March 24. Commission members did approve a draft of the report before it was complete.