Proposed law changes to allow councils to determine whether shops can trade on Easter Sunday are unnecessarily complicated, Local Government New Zealand says.
The bill, which is being considered by Parliament's commerce committee, would allow councils to pass a by-law to allow shops to open.
But Local Government president Lawrence Yule said by-laws were time consuming and clumsy and could be subject to appeals.
He said councils should instead be issued with a license or provision from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to make changes after consulting the community.
Mr Yule said up to 15 councils wanted to change their Easter Sunday trading laws.