a. There shall be established a commission on racial equity, the purpose of which is to enable community members with equity expertise or lived experience relevant to the goal of equity to propose priorities for racial equity in city decision-making and policy and assess performance towards those priorities.
b. Membership of the commission; appointments; executive director; staff. The commission shall consist of 15 members, including the chair, appointed as follows: seven members of the commission shall be appointed by the mayor; five members of the commission, each of whom shall be a resident of a different borough, shall be appointed by the speaker of the city council; one member of the commission shall be appointed by the public advocate; and one member of the commission shall be appointed by the comptroller. The chair of the commission, who shall be jointly appointed by the mayor and speaker, shall also serve as executive director. The chair shall have charge of the organization of the commission's office and have authority to employ, assign and superintend the duties of such officers and employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The chair shall devote their full time to the position and shall be entitled to compensation for the position.
c. Commission compensation. Members of the commission other than the chair shall be entitled to the following compensation and reimbursement for their service to the commission:
1. Compensation at a per diem rate for each calendar day they perform the work of the commission, except that any commission members who are also government employees serving as part of their duties are not entitled to receive per diem compensation, but may continue to receive regular compensation for city employment; and
2. Reimbursement for actual and necessary reasonable expenses as determined by the chair, incurred as a result of commission service other than service by governmental employees serving as part of their duties, including, but not limited to expenses incurred for childcare, elder care, or home health care for any dependents who would otherwise have been cared for by that commission member.
d. Commissioner terms.
1. The first members shall be appointed to serve as follows:
(a) The chair, jointly appointed by the mayor and speaker, for a term of 3 years;
(b) Three members appointed by the mayor, and one member each appointed by the public advocate and the comptroller, for a term of two years;
(c) Five members appointed by the speaker of the city council for a term of three years; and
(d) Four members appointed by the mayor for a term of four years.
2. The first term for each member shall commence on August 1, 2023. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chair and executive director's functions and responsibilities may commence on or before August 1, 2023. Thereafter, the terms of all such members shall be three years, and no such member, including the chair, shall be appointed to serve more than three terms.
e. Removal of members; vacancies; holdovers. All members may be removed only by such member's appointing official or officials and only for cause and upon notice and hearing. Vacancies in the commission as a result of removal, resignation, incapacity, or death shall be filled by such member's appointing official or officials for the remainder of the unexpired term, in a manner consistent with the requirements of subdivision b of this section. If the appointing official fails to make an appointment to fill the vacancy within 90 days, the commission shall be entitled to fill the vacancy, including the chair, for the remainder of the term. Upon expiration of the term of a member who holds over in their position, if the appointing official shall fail to appoint a member, including the chair, within 90 days of the expiration of such term, the term of the holdover member shall be extended for an additional one year and the term of the successor to such member shall be shortened by an equal amount of time. If the appointing official fails to appoint a member, including the chair, by the end of the additional one year, the commission shall be entitled to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. Service as a holdover for an extended year shall not constitute service for an additional term for purposes of paragraph 2 of subdivision d.
f. Qualifications of commissioners. Members of the commission shall be residents of the city of New York. One member each appointed by the mayor and speaker of the council shall represent the perspectives and concerns of New Yorkers under the age of twenty-five. In appointing members to the commission, the mayor, speaker of the city council, public advocate and comptroller shall consider:
1. Individuals who have expertise in racial equity or racial justice, including at the intersection of race and other marginalized identities;
2. Individuals who are representative of or have experience advocating for New Yorkers who are Black, Indigenous or People of Color; immigrants; people with limited English proficiency; people with disabilities; students; youth; elders; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming or non-binary; people who are justice-involved; recipients of public benefits; or residents of public housing; and
3. People who have never served on a New York city public body.
g. A majority of the whole number of members of the commission then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. The commission shall have the power to act by majority of such whole then in office.
h. The appropriations available to pay for the expenses of the commission on racial equity during each fiscal year shall be not less than an amount sufficient to fund, personal service costs for full-time and part-time personnel necessary to implement the charter mandated requirements of the commission, as certified by the mayor in the budget message submitted pursuant to section 250.
i. Jurisdiction, powers and duties of the commission. The commission shall have the power and duty to:
1. Propose community equity priorities and outcome indicators relevant to the community, for possible inclusion in the upcoming citywide and agency racial equity plans in accordance with the equity planning schedule established by section 3403. To develop the community equity priorities, the commission shall:
(a) consider those needs and priorities that local community members view as most relevant to their wellbeing, giving particular consideration to the priorities of groups or categories of community members that have been historically underrepresented in, or underserved by, government and its processes;
(b) consider published disparity indicator data and any other information that the commission deems appropriate regarding current, past, or anticipated inequities; and
(c) propose metrics that provide data on outcomes most pertinent to communities.
2. Following the releases of the preliminary citywide racial equity plan and the citywide racial equity plan, the commission shall make public and submit to the mayor and the office of racial equity a statement assessing the extent to which the plan is responsive to the community racial equity priorities and making recommendations, if any, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 5 of subdivision d of section 3403. In their recommendations, the commission may, among other things:
(a) propose modifications to priorities, strategies, or indicators in the citywide and agency racial equity plans; and
(b) propose specific strategies to address patterns of inequitable behavior or policy as identified through the receipt of complaints from the public, including by making recommendations to agencies to address such complaints where appropriate.
3. Track and publicly report on agency and citywide compliance with the racial equity planning process as established by subdivisions b and c of section 3403.
4. Receive complaints about agency conduct that may have the effect of exacerbating racial equity disparities and make recommendations to agencies to address such complaints where appropriate.
5. Respond to requests of the speaker of the council and its committees regarding racial equity concerns.
j. Confidentiality. The commission, to the extent consistent with law, shall keep confidential any complaints received pursuant to paragraph 4 of subdivision i of this section.
(L.L. 2022/121, 12/2/2022, eff. 12/2/2022)