What type of government does nyc have

The Speaker is elected by Council Members and leads us in setting priorities, passing laws, and directing public money for the benefit of New Yorkers. Currently, Speaker Corey Johnson heads the Council. The Majority Leader of the Council comes from the political party with the most representation.

The Minority Leader of the Council comes from the political party with the second most representation. Most of our legislative work happens in committee meetings and hearings focused on human services, infrastructure, and government affairs.

These committees discuss proposed laws, receive updates from agency representatives, and hear feedback from New Yorkers like you. Each committee is chaired by a Council Member and meets at least once every other month, except in July and August. Every Council Member is assigned — through a voting process by all Council Members to — serve on various committees and subcommittees, a committee that considers specific matters and reports back to the standing committee.

The mayor is, well… the mayor. The office-holder has enormous influence over what gets done in the city, and how. The mayor sets priorities on policies and program funding — like the development of affordable housing or how schools are run — and drafts the city budget, which outlines how to pay for it all.

The mayor also appoints the heads of every city agency and can approve or veto legislation passed by the City Council. If you have some time, you can read through all of them here.

If you have less time, check out Meet Your Mayor , our quiz-driven interactive tool that shows you how the candidates match with your take on the issues that matter most to New Yorkers.

Knowing how to solve a problem on your block or in your community often means knowing who has the power to fix it — and knowing how to get their attention. This can sometimes mean alerting elected officials and sometimes not.

It often comes down to finding the right agency, department or supervisor. One of the first steps to getting more involved in local government is knowing who represents you. You can search your address and find your elected officials and their contact information here. Talking to the staff at your local community board is often a great first step, or finding the squeakiest wheel in your neighborhood to get advice.

Think: a longtime resident, advocate or the leader at a local nonprofit or community space. If you know a squeaky wheel — or are one yourself — let us know by emailing civicnewsroom thecity. If you have a local issue that needs attention, there are likely multiple offices that can help you solve your problem.

For example, if lots of cars are illegally parking in a local bike lane, your community board, City Council member and borough president could — in theory — help escalate your complaint to the appropriate agencies.

But will those offices take your call, listen and do something about it? But there is often a ladder of power when it comes to getting stuff done. And while addressing a problem may start with your community board, the road to a solution might lead all the way to the state capitol — which brings us to State officials work closely with city officials like the mayor and City Council, who work closely with community boards and the borough presidents. Certain issues, like fixing potholes on your block, are things that the city government is responsible for, which means the first thing you might want to do is call Other issues, like housing or immigration, have different facets that are influenced by different levels of government.

For example, while federal government makes the laws about immigration, the state government can do things like create a relief fund for undocumented workers affected by the pandemic and the city government has done things like create IDs for anyone regardless of immigration status. Once again, you can find your representatives at every level of government and their contact information here.

Perhaps the best way to start getting involved in government and taking action about things that matter to you is to find others who share your passion. This could be a neighbor, your community board, a nonprofit organization, an advocacy group, a local political club or one of your elected officials. See if they have meetings you can attend, email lists to subscribe to or calendar updates to follow to stay informed about the issues that matter most to you and when you can weigh in.

Maybe even attend one of our Civic Newsroom sessions! This is just a start. All 50 states have legislatures made up of elected representatives, who consider matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law. The legislature also approves a state's budget and initiates tax legislation and articles of impeachment. The latter is part of a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government that mirrors the federal system and prevents any branch from abusing its power.

Except for one state, Nebraska, all states have a bicameral legislature made up of two chambers: a smaller upper house and a larger lower house. Together the two chambers make state laws and fulfill other governing responsibilities. Nebraska is the lone state that has just one chamber in its legislature. The smaller upper chamber is always called the Senate, and its members generally serve longer terms, usually four years. The larger lower chamber is most often called the House of Representatives, but some states call it the Assembly or the House of Delegates.

Its members usually serve shorter terms, often two years. State judicial branches are usually led by the state supreme court, which hears appeals from lower-level state courts. The Supreme Court focuses on correcting errors made in lower courts and therefore holds no trials. Rulings made in state supreme courts are normally binding; however, when questions are raised regarding consistency with the U. Constitution, matters may be appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court.