Charter 101

As LA faces daunting problems that deeply affect all Angelenos, we want you to be a part of answering the most important question facing the future of our city: how can we change our Charter to meet the collective challenges of the 21st century, and beyond?

While that might seem like a question too big for any one person, we’ve broken it down into key issues and possible Charter changes that we can tackle together, and provided info so you know how these issues directly affect you, what’s being discussed. We suggest you read the below before joining the conversation.

Skip to deliberation

Equip Yourself

In California, a city’s voters can approve a charter that acts as their city’s constitution, which ultimately can determine a city’s culture and identity. Just like the U.S. Constitution, LA’s Charter determines who holds the power, how billions are spent, and how decisions are made. But voters have the power to change their charter by approving amendments at elections, letting them decide how their city runs.

Updating the Charter isn’t just about fixing old language. It’s about designing a city government that reflects who we are today: diverse, creative, and ready for the future. This is your chance to help write the next chapter of how Los Angeles works.

Brief Charter History

  • The 1924 Charter was designed to combat “corruption” as it was perceived at that time:  the systems of “patronage” (read: mobs) seen in non-WASP communities who were arriving from the East Coast in great numbers in a time of rapid city growth in Los Angeles. As a result, rather than fully blocking all corruption fullstop, the charter shaped the style of and tendencies toward a uniquely Los Angeles flavor of corruption.

  • In 1999, two competing charter commissions produced  a “transitional” charter (the word of George Kieffer, a charter commission head) reaffirming the 1924 charter but making several changes to enhance the powers of both the mayor and city council, and to make city departments more powerful. A major driver of the charter reform process was trying to prevent the Valley from seceding from the city (And it worked–Valley secession was voted down in 2001).  

  • In 2025, what are we trying to hash out? The city council and mayor created a charter review commission in 2024, but it took until summer 2025 for the commission to be appointed and meetings to begin. This charter commission was proposed after several years of scandal, including multiple arrests and convictions of City Hall insiders and city council members for public corruption, and the disclosure of a “racist tape” made of a conversation between three council members and a labor official. 


    The charter commission has the authority to look at any part of the charter, but is limited in time, staffing and budget, and thus looking at only some parts of the charter. 

Who is the Charter Reform Commission, and what is their task?

The Charter Reform Commission was established by Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles City Council in August 2024. The Commission is tasked with reviewing the City Charter and developing recommendations for amendments and revisions for consideration by the City Council and Mayor. It is a civilian board that will be comprised of 13 Commissioners:

  • Four appointed by the Mayor. 

  • Two appointed by the Council President. 

  • Two appointed by the Council President Pro Tempore.

  • Five appointed by the initial eight members through an application process. 

All appointments are subject to confirmation by the City Council.

The LA City Charter is the foundational legal document that governs the structure and operation of the city government. It serves as the City's constitution, outlining the roles, powers, and responsibilities of City officials and departments.   

The Commission will have the authority to review the entire Charter and also specifically consider changes recommended by the Council. The city government has suggested some specific subjects for its consideration, including “improving the delivery of City services, revising the City's contracting process, revising the City's budgeting process, establishing a consistent procedure for filling vacancies in elected offices, defining the rules for censure and suspension of elected officers, and exploring an increase in the number of Council districts.” 

Recommendations for charter changes must be delivered from the charter commission to the city council in April. The council has until July to put any charter changes on the November 2026 city ballot, for voters to approve or reject.

What is, and is not, the Charter?

7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHARTER

The City Charter is Los Angeles’s governing framework, setting the rules for how decisions are made and how city leaders serve residents. As reform efforts move forward, here are key things to know about the document that shapes daily life in LA.

  • The Los Angeles City Charter is the document through which the people of Los Angeles authorize the creation of a “municipal corporation,” or city government, to serve them. The charter is sometimes called a constitution or “basic law.” Charters typically do not determine specific policies, but rather determines how decisions are made.

  • Only the people of the city of Los Angeles can change the charter. All charter amendments, revisions or rewrites must go to the voters.

  • Voters first adopted a city charter in 1889, before adopting a charter with more familiar features, like our 15-member City Council, in 1924, with the changes going into effect Jan. 1, 1925. It was significantly changed through an intensive Charter reform process in 1999. Smaller updates have been made by ballot measures since then.

  • In August 2024, Mayor Bass and the City Council approved the creation of a 13-member Charter Reform Commission, with 8 members appointed by the council and mayor, and an additional 5 selected by the Commission. The commission is reviewing the entire Charter and will recommend changes for the November 2026 ballot. That’s when you’ll get to vote on whether or not you agree with the changes.

  • The charter consists of more than 52,000 words—about the same length as three famous American novels: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

  • The charter is divided into two volumes. The first volume consists of nine articles that detail all the basics of city government. These include the powers and service delivery of the city government; the responsibilities of city officers and administrators; rules for elections and ballot measures; the management of 40 different city departments; the rules for finance, accounting, and budgeting; the city ethics commission; the board of education; and the department of neighborhood empowerment. The second volume consists of two articles, one focusing on civil services rules and employees, and the other governing city pension funds.

  • Los Angeles, California’s most populous city, is unusual among cities in some notable ways. LA:

    • Has the smallest city council of any major U.S. city (15 members for 4 million people), 

    • Has a citywide system of 99 elected Neighborhood Councils with their own budgets, that advocate for their communities at City Hall

    • Has special departments to govern its airport (LAWA), harbor (the Port of LA), and utilities (LADWP), and

    • Includes unusual specifics — like rules about the LA Zoo, restrictions on taxing certain homes built before 1985, and limits on private building surface areas.

7 THINGS THE CHARTER DOES NOT INCLUDE

Because LA hasn’t revised its Charter in over two decades, it leaves out topics that appear in newer city constitutions around the world. Some of these may appear in other city constitutions or basic laws, but not in the Charter itself.

  • This includes minimal mention on how to respond to modern natural disasters.

  • This includes no mention of processes such as participatory budgeting or civic assemblies

  • Limited detail on public health and emergencies, even after the pandemic and fires.

What’s Next?

Now it’s time for you to have your say on what those changes should be. 

You could say really detailed things like “every ticket in Dodger Stadium should be $5.” You could also say structural things like, consolidating departments, or replacing the mayor with a seven-headed executive. We want to hear your thoughts about both potholes (detailed) and procedures (structural), but ultimately this opportunity is for Los Angelenos to express what the Charter should really stand for, and how the government of Los Angeles should restructure itself to address problems and face ongoing changes head on.

Join the Conversation