The process by which new laws are created is called law making, and occurs at all levels of government. At the federal level, Congress is responsible for drafting and passing legislation. The process begins when a proposal for a law is submitted to the House of Representatives or Senate. This can be done by a sitting member of Congress, or by an interested party, like an organization or business. The bill is then assigned to a committee whose members will review and make changes to it. When the bill is ready to be voted on by the entire body, it is then passed and becomes a law.
At the local level, a similar process occurs. New York City Council members often draft their own legislation, and interest groups and government agencies can also submit ideas for new laws to be considered as bills. Once a bill is introduced, it’s then reviewed and amended by a committee before being sent to the Mayor for signing or vetoing. If the Mayor vetoes a bill, the City Council has 30 days to override the veto by a 2/3 vote. If the Mayor signs a bill into law, it then becomes part of the New York City Charter or Administrative Code.
Some of the many recent laws new include one that prohibits landlords from charging broker fees to tenants, and another that requires maternity patients to have access to a doula. Other new laws address the opioid crisis by requiring that hospitals be equipped with fentanyl test strips, and allowing health care professionals to dispense supplies used to administer the non-opioid sedative xylazine. In public safety, a new law makes it a second-degree felony to remove or threaten to remove religious clothing such as a yarmulke or hijab, and another designates November 26 as Sojourner Truth Day, in honor of the women’s rights activist and abolitionist from Ulster County, New York.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has published rules to implement the recently passed Local Law 144 of 2021, which requires City agencies that use automated employment decision tools to conduct a bias audit before using the tool, and notify affected job applicants. Read the rule.