Politics & Government Reviewed July 2026
How a bill becomes a law in New York City
The City Council passes hundreds of local laws a term, and the rules for every one of them sit in the Charter: one subject, seven days on the desk, and a mayor who can be overruled.
The numbers that matter
- What the Council passes
- 'Local laws.' By the Charter, all legislative action by the Council is by local law, and each may cover only one subject (NYC Charter § 32, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- Votes to pass
- At least a majority of all council members must vote yes; the city has fifty-one seats, so that is twenty-six (NYC Charter § 34, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- The mayor's move
- The mayor may sign, veto, or do nothing; inaction for thirty days lets the law take effect anyway (NYC Charter § 37, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- Override
- A two-thirds vote of all council members, thirty-four of fifty-one, overrides the mayor's veto (NYC Charter § 37, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
It all runs on 'local laws'
The City Council is the city's legislature, and almost everything it does that carries the force of law takes one form. The Charter is blunt about it.
Except as otherwise provided by law, all legislative action by the council shall be by local law.
One subject per law is the rule right after this line, which is why omnibus everything-bills are a state-legislature habit, not a city one. A Council bill about e-bikes is about e-bikes.
The seven-day desk rule
A bill cannot be rushed to a vote the moment it is written. It has to sit, in final form, where every member can read it, unless the mayor formally certifies an emergency.
No local law shall be passed until it shall have been in its final form and upon the desks of the council members at least seven calendar days, exclusive of Sundays, prior to its final passage, unless the mayor shall have certified as to the necessity for its immediate passage and such local law be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the council members.
This is the city cousin of Albany's message of necessity. In Albany the governor waives the aging period; here the mayor certifies the emergency, and the price is the same: a supermajority to move that fast.
The vote, then the mayor
Passage takes a majority of the whole Council, not just those who happen to be in the room.
Except as otherwise provided by law, no local law or resolution shall be passed except by at least the majority affirmative vote of all the council members.
Once the Council passes a bill it goes to the mayor, who has three moves. Two are obvious. The third is the one people forget.
If within thirty days after the local law shall have been presented to him or her, the mayor shall neither approve nor return the local law to the clerk with his or her objections, it shall be deemed to have been adopted in like manner as if the mayor had signed it.
No pocket veto here. Sit on a city bill and it becomes law without your signature, the opposite of the federal rule, where a president's inaction at the end of a session kills the bill.
Overriding the veto
If the mayor does veto, the Council gets one more turn, and a high enough vote ends the argument.
If after such reconsideration the votes of two-thirds of all the council members be cast in favor of repassing such local law, it shall be deemed adopted, notwithstanding the objections of the mayor.
Two-thirds of fifty-one is thirty-four votes. A Council that can hold thirty-four members together does not need the mayor at all, which is why veto overrides are a real, if rare, feature of city government.
This is the city-level version of a process the state runs too. For the Albany pipeline that produces state law, see how a bill becomes a law in Albany. For who is actually casting these votes, see who actually runs New York City.
The questions New Yorkers actually ask
How many votes does it take to pass a bill in the City Council?
At least a majority of all council members, under Section 34 of the City Charter. The city has fifty-one council seats, so a simple majority is twenty-six votes; overriding a mayoral veto takes two-thirds, or thirty-four.
What is the seven-day desk rule?
A local law cannot pass until it has sat in final form on the council members' desks for at least seven calendar days, excluding Sundays. The only exception is a mayoral certification of necessity, which then requires a two-thirds vote to pass.
Can the mayor kill a bill by ignoring it?
No. Under Section 37, if the mayor neither signs nor returns a bill within thirty days, it becomes law as if signed. There is no pocket veto at City Hall.
What is the difference between a local law and a resolution?
Local laws change the law and are what the Charter requires for legislative action; resolutions are the Council's non-binding positions, home-rule messages to Albany, and internal business. Both pass by majority vote.
The documents
The public records this page draws on. Read them yourself:
Now watch the machinery move.
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