Westchester County Board of Legislators

County government provides services at the local level, similar to the way the Federal government provides services at the national level and State government at the state level.   Also similar to the Federal and State governments, County government consists of three branches – legislative, executive and judicial.

In Westchester, the legislative branch is the County Board of Legislators (“County Board” or “BOL”).   The County Board sets policy and enacts laws, levies taxes, approves budgets and appropriates funds to operate programs and provide services, and has oversight responsibility of the executive branch, including approving appointments.

There are 17 Districts in Westchester Country, each electing one Legislator to a two-year term with elections held in odd-years.  Legislators must live in the District they represent.   As of early 2020, the County Board is comprised of sixteen Democrats and one Conservative.   The County Board operates as a single legislative body and employs a committee system, with each committee representing a policy area.  The Chairman of the County Board appoints the committee members and the committee chair. Currently, there are thirteen standing committees and each legislator serves on at least one committee.

Westchester County Board of Legislators
800 Michaelian Office Building
148 Martine Avenue, 8th Floor
White Plains, New York 10601
Main Tel: (914) 995-2800; Fax: (914) 995-3884

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Not sure what district you live in? Input your address to find your local representative.

How the Westchester County Legislative Process Works

Proposals for new laws as well as changes to existing laws can come from citizens, organizations, legislators and the executive branch, however only legislators or the county executive can sponsor a law.  Proposals must first be placed before the full County Board; the County Board then decides which ones will be considered for enactment and assigns those to a committee.  If the proposal includes a fiscal component, it will be assigned to the Budget and Appropriations Committee in addition to the respective policy committee.   Proposals are evaluated and reviewed within the committee(s) with input from the public and from the county executive and legal branches.   When proposals are finalized, the committee(s) sign out a resolution which will be voted on by the full County Board.  The County Board can approve the proposal (approval consists of a majority vote of 9 for enacting acts, resolutions and laws, and for approving appointments and a vote of 12 for bond issues), reject the proposal, or send it back to committee for revision.

Approved proposals are sent to the County Executive who has ten days to sign the legislation into law or to return the bill to the County Board with an explanation for the veto.   If the County Executive does not act within 10 days, the proposal automatically becomes a law.  A veto by the County Executive can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the County Board.

How to Participate

Contact your District Legislator (see below for list of Representatives by District)

Attend meetings (meetings are open to the public)

Meetings of the County Board of Legislature are held every other Monday night at 7 pm.  Opinions can be expressed at the Public Hearing held during the first thirty minutes of each County Board Meeting.  Those intending to speak, should arrive early and register for the three-minute time slots.

Committee Meetings are usually held on Mondays or Tuesdays during the day.

Visit the County Legislature website https://www.westchesterlegislators.com

or call (914) 995-2800 to check meeting dates and agendas.

Some meetings can be live streamed visit http://westchestercountyny.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx