Los Angeles council kills LAPD policy-control reform and pulls noncitizen-voting proposal

The Los Angeles City Council voted 8-6 to reject a proposed charter reform that would have expanded the council’s authority to create policies for the Los Angeles Police Department, according to an account published July 14 by Council District 13.

The vote came before the council’s July recess and stopped the proposal at this stage. The District 13 account said the measure had passed the council 10-5 two weeks earlier before being rejected in the later vote.

Proposal would have expanded council role in LAPD policy

The proposed reform concerned the division of authority over police-department policy. Under the proposal, the City Council would have gained authority to create policies for the LAPD.

The 8-6 vote means that proposed expansion of council authority did not advance. The available account does not establish whether or when a similar proposal could be considered again.

The decision concerns a central question of city government: the role elected council members would play in setting policies for the police department. It also represents a reversal from the 10-5 vote cited by the district office two weeks before the final rejection.

Voting-rights proposal pulled from November ballot

District 13 also said a separate proposal to expand voting rights in city elections to longtime Los Angeles residents who are not U.S. citizens was pulled from the November ballot for further discussion.

The action was a withdrawal from the proposed ballot, not a vote by the public on the measure. The district office’s account did not reproduce the proposal’s full legal text or provide further procedural details.

Both actions affect proposed changes to how residents participate in and oversee Los Angeles city government. The LAPD measure addressed council authority over police policy, while the voting proposal concerned eligibility to vote in city elections.

Other charter changes also rejected, district office says

The District 13 statement said the council also rejected other significant charter changes, without detailing them in the source material provided.

For the LAPD proposal, the known outcome is the 8-6 council vote before recess. For the noncitizen-voting proposal, the next stated step is further discussion after it was removed from the November ballot proposal.