a. In case of the suspension of the mayor from office, the mayor's temporary inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor by reason of sickness or otherwise, or the mayor's absence from the city, the powers and duties of the office of mayor shall devolve upon the public advocate or the comptroller in that order of succession until the suspension, inability or absence shall cease. While so acting temporarily as mayor neither the public advocate nor the comptroller shall exercise any power of appointment to or removal from office or any power lawfully delegated by the mayor to a deputy mayor before the commencement of such suspension or inability, or before or after the commencement of such absence; and shall not, until such suspension, inability or absence shall have continued nine days, sign, approve or disapprove any local law or resolution, unless the period during which the mayor can act thereon would expire during said nine days in which case the public advocate or the comptroller shall have the power to disapprove the same within forty-eight hours before the time to act expires.
b. In the case of a failure of a person elected as mayor to qualify, or a vacancy in the office caused by the mayor's resignation, removal, death or permanent inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the public advocate, the comptroller or a person selected pursuant to subdivision c of section twenty-eight, in that order of succession, until a new mayor shall be elected as provided herein. Upon the commencement of the term of the person first elected mayor pursuant to the provisions of subdivision c of this section, the person then acting as mayor pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, if an elected official, shall complete the term of the office to which such person was elected if any remains.
c. 1. Within three days of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of the mayor, the person acting as mayor shall proclaim the date for the election or elections required by this subdivision, provide notice of such proclamation to the city clerk and the board of elections and publish notice thereof in the City Record. After the proclamation of the date for an election to be held pursuant to paragraphs four or five of this subdivision, the city clerk shall publish notice thereof not less than twice in each week preceding the date of such election in newspapers distributed within the city, and the board of elections shall mail notice of such election to all registered voters within the city.
2. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of the term, a general election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term shall be held in the year in which the vacancy occurs, unless the vacancy occurs after the last day on which an occurring vacancy may be filled at the general election in that same year with party nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law. If such a vacancy occurs in any year after such last day, it shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at the general election in the following year provided, however, that no general election to fill a vacancy shall be held in the last year of the term, except as provided in paragraph nine of this subdivision. Party nominations of candidates for a general election to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term shall be made at a primary election, except as provided in paragraph five of this subdivision.
3. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy on an interim basis has not been previously held pursuant to paragraphs four, six, seven and eight of this subdivision, the person elected to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election shall take office immediately upon qualification and shall serve until the term expires. If a special or general election to fill the vacancy on an interim basis has been previously held, the person elected to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election shall take office on January first of the year following such general election and shall serve until the term expires.
4. If a vacancy occurs during the first three years of the term and on or before the last day in the third year of the term on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election with party nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law, a special or general election to fill the vacancy on an interim basis shall be held, unless the vacancy occurs less than ninety days before the next primary election at which party nominations for a general election to fill the vacancy may be made and on or before the last day on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at the general election in the same year in which the vacancy occurs with party nominations of candidates for such election being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law.
5. If a vacancy occurs after the last day in the third year of the term on which an occurring vacancy may be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at a general election in each year with party nominations of candidates for such election are being made at a primary election, as provided in section 6-116 of the election law, but not less than ninety days before the date of the primary election in the fourth year of such term, a special or general election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term shall be held.
6. Elections held pursuant to paragraph four or five of this subdivision shall be scheduled in the following manner: A special election to fill the vacancy shall be held on the first Tuesday at least eighty days after the occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the person acting as mayor, in the proclamation required by paragraph one of this subdivision, may schedule such election for another day not more than ten days after such Tuesday and not less than sixty days after such proclamation if the person acting as mayor determines that such rescheduling is necessary to facilitate maximum voter participation; except that
(a) if the vacancy occurs before August seventeenth in any year and the first Tuesday at least eighty days after the occurrence of the vacancy is less than ninety days before a regularly scheduled general election, the vacancy shall be filled at such general election;
(b) if the vacancy occurs before August seventeenth in any year and the first Tuesday at least eighty days after the occurrence of the vacancy is after a regularly scheduled general election, the vacancy shall be filled at such general election; and
(c) if the vacancy occurs on or after August seventeenth in any year and the first Tuesday at least eighty days after the occurrence of the vacancy is after, but less than thirty days after, a regularly scheduled general election, the vacancy shall be filled at a special election to be held on the first Tuesday in December in such year.
7. All nominations for elections to fill vacancies held pursuant to paragraphs four and five of this subdivision shall be by independent nominating petition. A signature on an independent nominating petition made earlier than the date of the proclamation required by paragraph one of this subdivision shall not be counted.
8. A person elected to fill a vacancy in the office of the mayor at an election held pursuant to paragraph four of this subdivision shall take office immediately upon qualification and serve until December thirty-first of the year in which the vacancy is filled for the remainder of the unexpired term pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision. A person elected to fill a vacancy in the office of the mayor at an election held pursuant to paragraph five of this subdivision shall take office immediately upon qualification and serve until the term expires.
9. If a vacancy occurs less than ninety days before the date of the primary election in the last year of the term, the person elected at the general election in such year for the next succeeding term shall take office immediately upon qualification and fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
10. If an election is held pursuant to this subdivision for which nominations were made by independent nominating petitions, and if such election has not utilized ranked choice voting as provided in section 1057-g, and if at such election, no candidate receives forty percent or more of the vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes shall advance to a runoff election which shall be held on the second Tuesday next succeeding the date on which such election was held.
d. Determination of mayoral inability.
1. Voluntary declaration of temporary inability. Whenever the mayor transmits to the official next in line of succession and to the city clerk, a written declaration that he or she is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the official next in line of succession, subject to the provisions of subdivision a of this section. Thereafter if the mayor transmits to the acting mayor and to the city clerk a written declaration that he or she is able to resume the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of mayor, the mayor shall resume the discharge of such powers and duties immediately upon the receipt of such declaration by the city clerk.
2. Inability committee.
(a) There shall be a committee on mayoral inability consisting of: the corporation counsel, the comptroller, the speaker of the council, a deputy mayor who shall be designated by the mayor, and the borough president with the longest consecutive service as borough president. If two or more borough presidents have served for an equal length of time, one of such borough presidents shall be selected by lot to be a member of such committee. If at any time there is no valid mayoral designation in force, the deputy mayor with the longest consecutive service as a deputy mayor shall be a member of such committee. The authority to act as a member of such committee shall not be delegable.
(b) Such committee by affirmative declaration of no fewer than four of its members shall have the power to make the declarations described in paragraphs four and five of this subdivision. No such declaration shall be effective unless signed by all the members making it.
3. Panel on mayoral inability.
(a) There shall be a panel on mayoral inability. Unless otherwise provided by state law, such panel shall consist of all the members of the council.
(b) The panel shall have the power to make the determinations described in paragraphs four and five of this subdivision.
4. Temporary inability.
(a) Whenever the committee on mayoral inability personally serves or causes to be personally served upon the mayor and transmits to the official next in line of succession, the members of the panel on mayoral inability and the city clerk, its written declaration that the mayor is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, together with a statement of its reasons for such declaration, such declaration shall constitute a determination of temporary inability unless the mayor, within forty-eight hours after receipt of such declaration, transmits to the official next in line of succession, the members of the committee on mayoral inability, the members of the panel on mayoral inability and the city clerk, a written declaration that he or she is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, together with responses to the statement by the committee on mayoral inability of its reasons for its declaration.
(b) If personal service of the committee's declaration upon the mayor cannot be accomplished, or if such service has been accomplished but the mayor has not transmitted a declaration that he or she is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor within forty-eight hours after receipt of such declaration, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the official next in line of succession, subject to the provisions of subdivision a of this section, unless and until the mayor resumes the authority to discharge such powers pursuant to the provisions of subparagraphs (e) or (f) of this paragraph.
(c) If within such forty-eight hours, the mayor transmits a declaration that he or she is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall not devolve upon the official next in line of succession and the mayor shall continue to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, unless and until the panel on mayoral inability, within twenty-one days after its receipt of the mayor's declaration, determines by two-thirds vote of all its members that the mayor is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor. If the panel determines that the mayor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the official next in line of succession, subject to the provisions of subdivision a of this section, unless and until the mayor resumes the authority to discharge such powers and duties pursuant to the provisions of subparagraphs (e) or (f) of this paragraph.
(d) If, at any time prior to a final determination by the panel pursuant to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph the mayor transmits a voluntary declaration of temporary inability pursuant to the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, to the official next in line of succession, the members of the committee on mayoral inability, the members of the panel on mayoral inability, and the city clerk, then the procedures set forth in paragraph one of this subdivision shall be followed.
(e) If a determination of temporary inability has been made pursuant to the provisions of subparagraphs (a) or (c) of this paragraph, and if thereafter, the mayor transmits to the acting mayor, the members of the committee on mayoral inability, the members of the panel on mayoral inability and the city clerk, a written declaration that he or she is able to resume the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of mayor, then the mayor shall resume the discharge of such powers and duties four days after the receipt of such declaration by the city clerk, unless the committee on mayoral inability, within such four days, personally serves or causes to be personally served upon the mayor and transmits to the acting mayor, the members of the panel on mayoral inability and the city clerk, its written declaration that the mayor remains unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor.
(f) If the committee transmits a declaration that the mayor remains unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, the mayor shall not resume the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of mayor unless and until the panel on mayoral inability, within twenty-one days of its receipt of such declaration, determines by two-thirds vote of all its members that the inability has in fact ceased. Upon such a determination by the panel, or after the expiration of twenty-one days, if the panel has not acted, the mayor shall resume the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of mayor.
5. Permanent inability.
(a) Whenever the committee on mayoral inability personally serves or causes to be personally served upon the mayor and transmits to the official next in line of succession, the members of the panel on mayoral inability and the city clerk, its declaration that the mayor is permanently unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, together with its reasons for such declaration, the panel on mayoral inability shall, within twenty-one days after its receipt of such declaration, determine whether or not the mayor is permanently unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor.
(b) If the panel determines by two-thirds vote of all its members that the mayor is permanently unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor, such powers and duties shall devolve upon the official next in line of succession as acting mayor pursuant to subdivision b of this section, and the office of mayor shall be deemed vacant.
6. Continuation of salary; disability allowance.
(a) During the time that any official is acting as mayor pursuant to a determination of temporary inability, the mayor shall continue to be paid the salary of the office of mayor, and the acting mayor shall continue to be paid the salary of the office to which such person was elected.
(b) Any mayor who has been determined to be permanently unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of mayor pursuant to paragraph five of this subdivision shall continue to receive from the city, a sum which together with the mayor's disability benefits and retirement allowance, if any, computed without optional modification, shall equal the annual salary which such mayor was receiving at the time of the determination of permanent inability. Such disability allowance shall begin to accrue on the date of the determination of permanent inability and shall be payable on the first day of each month until the expiration of the term for which such mayor had been elected or such mayor's death, whichever shall occur first. Such mayor shall apply for any retirement allowance or disability benefits to which he or she may be entitled and the disability allowance provided for in this section shall not reduce or suspend such retirement allowance or disability benefits, notwithstanding any other provision of law.
(Am. L.L. 2019/215, 12/11/2019, eff. 12/11/2019)