A bipartisan group of state lawmakers will be pushing legislation to give the public the power to recall elected officials, a move that could give voters a new way to clean up scandal-scarred Albany.
“It’s important that voters have a right to recall elected officials if they’re unhappy with their performances,” said Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx), who is sponsoring the bill in the Assembly.
Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens) has his own recall bill, and has been working with Sepulveda to come to agreement on joint legislation.
Sepulveda’s measure, which was still being fine-tuned over the weekend, would allow voters to petition to recall state and local officials as well as judges.
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia permit the recall of state officials, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
At least 29 states have provisions for recall elections in local jurisdictions.
