Suffolk lawmakers may quickly serve twice as lengthy — from two to 4 years — beneath a brand new measure signed Friday by County Govt Ed Romaine.
However voters will nonetheless must approve the term-limit change on the November poll.
The “Term Limit Preservation Act” will ask voters on Nov. 4 whether or not they assist doubling the time period size for county legislators, whereas nonetheless capping their complete time in workplace at 12 years.
Romaine signed the invoice to put the measure on the poll in Hauppauge, framing the transfer as a method to give residents extra management over how native authorities features as a result of a brand new controversial state regulation dictating election schedules.
“This is an opportunity,” Romaine stated.
“If you think that less politics and more government is a good thing, then this is something to support.”
The proposal, first handed by the legislature in early July, stems from a 2023 state regulation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that strikes all native elections in New York to even-numbered years to coincide with state and federal races — which Hochul stated would scale back voter fatigue and save taxpayer {dollars}.
However Lengthy Island politicians, particularly Republicans, say they’re nervous about necessary native points being drowned out by the nationwide noise, and argue the shift has created confusion and will wreak havoc on the county’s election calendar.
“If the elections stay in even years, I am concerned that local issues will get lost in the shuffle of national and state politics,” Romaine instructed reporters.
He stated this modification would enable legislators to spend much less time campaigning and extra time doing the work of native authorities, as they’d basically win in November and have to begin instantly campaigning once more because of the modifications.
If the poll measure passes, present lawmakers can be allowed to serve out their closing time period if it goes past the 12 yr most — a transfer politicians claimed was to keep away from the “chaos” of midterm resignations.
Though lawmakers used the shift in election years as justification to beef up the size they might serve with out campaigning, Suffolk just lately pushed to stretch lawmakers’ phrases from two to 4 years in 2020.
Greater than 70% of voters voted in opposition to the measure on ballots.
Westchester County’s Board of Legislators equally tried to increase time period limits in 2024, with voters promptly voting in opposition to the measure.
