The Onondaga County Legislature set aside $100,000 to sue the state over a new law that would move some local elections to even years.
Legislators approved the expenditure Tuesday on a party-line vote, with all 11 Republicans voting to spend the $100,000. Five Democrats voted against the proposal and the sixth, Nodesia Hernandez, who represents the legislature’s 17th district, abstained because she works for the state.
County Republicans painted the state law as an an attack on the county charter during Tuesday’s meeting.
“We’re being targeted,” said legislator Kevin Meaker, a Republican who represents the Town of Clay. “We have to stop it.”
When filed, the lawsuit will challenge whether the state legislature and governor have the power to move elections in counties governed by a charter without a referendum. Republicans believe a countywide referendum would be required to move the elections.
It’s unclear whether the county’s law department will handle the lawsuit or whether it will be handled by outside lawyers.
Burtis has called the $100,000 a “starting amount,” implying that more money could be spent on the lawsuit. Senior Deputy County Attorney Benjamin Yaus said he believed that any future spending on the lawsuit would have to come before the legislature.
Democrats said at Tuesday’s meeting that the lawsuit is likely to fail and is a waste of taxpayer money. They railed against the county’s process to get to the vote. The proposed expenditure did not go through a committee before being brought to the legislature.
Ryan cautioned Republicans that they should have more information about case law before filing a lawsuit he believed could lead to more significant expenditures.
“We have to be cognizant of these things before we start spending the taxpayers’ dollars on million-dollar lawsuits, Ryan said.
Both houses of the New York State Legislature passed the bill last summer before Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the law in December.
County Executive Ryan McMahon and other Republicans have railed against the law to move elections, saying it would allow national and state elections to drown out local issues and increase costs to run elections.
Under the law, McMahon would serve his full term before a race for a three-year term in 2027.
Democrats have touted the law as a way to increase voter turnout in elections that previously would not have had as many people go to the polls.
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