Plans to expand the Los Angeles City Council from 15 to 25 members are unlikely to advance ahead of the November ballot, as a key City Council committee voted Monday to delay consideration of the measure for further study. The Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, comprised of five council members, opted to remove the expansion proposal—under discussion for nearly four years—from the charter reform package slated for voter approval on Nov. 3.

At its final meeting on proposed charter changes, the committee also rejected other major items, including the adoption of ranked choice voting and a proposal to divide the city attorney’s office into two separate roles: an elected city prosecutor and an appointed city attorney. Instead, the committee recommended advancing measures that would expand voting rights to noncitizens in local elections, increase oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department, establish a director of Public Works, switch to a two-year budget cycle, create a capital improvement program, and eliminate a section of the charter restricting the city from selling goods it produces.

The full City Council is expected to review the committee’s recommendations in a session on Wednesday to decide which proposals will be included on the ballot.

The committee’s decision to postpone the council expansion stemmed from a report by the chief legislative analyst’s office, which called for additional study and suggested deferring any expansion vote until 2028. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who chairs the committee, said he supports a larger council in principle but raised concerns that expanding the council could shift the balance of power, making the mayor’s office more dominant than it is under the current structure. He noted that council expansion has been debated for nearly three decades but said he was “absolutely opposed” to pursuing it now.

Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is challenging Mayor Karen Bass in the upcoming mayoral election, pushed unsuccessfully to keep the expansion measure on the ballot. Raman expressed disappointment, emphasizing that expanding the council was a key original motivation for the reform process and questioning what further study is necessary. “There is a great deal of mistrust in L.A. city government right now,” she said.

The committee approved moving forward with a proposal from Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez to allow noncitizen residents to vote in city and school district elections, even though it was not recommended by the Charter Reform Commission. Soto-Martínez argued that long-term residents who contribute to the community should have a voice in local elections.

Police accountability reforms also gained committee approval, including measures to increase City Council authority over the LAPD’s policies. These passed despite opposition from Councilmember John Lee, who warned against politicizing police oversight and described the department as “extremely progressive.”

The recommendations follow a charter review process launched in 2022 after a scandal involving leaked racist remarks by former City Council leaders eroded public trust. The Charter Reform Commission, a citizens’ panel formed to study the city’s governance, issued proposals earlier this year, but many of its significant recommendations face delay.

Critics of the committee’s actions, including City Controller Kenneth Mejia and local advocacy groups, voiced frustration that major reforms were being deferred. Mejia described the decision to pause council expansion and ranked choice voting as an effort to maintain the “status quo” and criticized what he called City Hall’s resistance to transparency and accountability.

Advocates said the process risks prolonging entrenched political dynamics. Godfrey Plata, deputy director of L.A. Forward, called for putting reforms before voters instead of further study. Similarly, Rob Quan of Unrig LA described the committee’s moves as a “merry go round,” expressing concern that critical issues central to the commission’s creation are being sidelined once again.