New Yorkers no longer have the patience to be politely dissatisfied with the state’s performance in delivering meaningful ethics reform. They are fed up with the embarrassing headlines about public officials convicted of corruption, taking bribes, embezzling public money, perpetuating sexual harassment, and more. Making matters worse is the fact that even those who break […]
New Yorkers no longer have the patience to be politely dissatisfied with the state’s performance in delivering meaningful ethics reform. They are fed up with the embarrassing headlines about public officials convicted of corruption, taking bribes, embezzling public money, perpetuating sexual harassment, and more. Making matters worse is the fact that even those who break the public trust are still able to collect a taxpayer-funded pension.
The list of disgraced public officials is extensive, yet the actions taken by state leaders to enact ethics reform fall devastatingly short. What is it going to take for us to pass the ethics reforms New Yorkers deserve?
After damning poll results were released by Siena College earlier this year, which indicated that 90 percent of New Yorkers believe corruption is a serious problem in the state, the governor included very modest reforms in his original budget proposal in January. Yet here we are, post-budget, and any sign of reforms was entirely removed from the final enacted budget, which was negotiated in secret between the governor and legislative leaders.
It didn’t take a poll for me to act, and I haven’t walked away from my commitment to ethics reform. My Assembly Republican colleagues and I have legislation that the Assembly could take up immediately if the Democrat majority members aren’t sure where to start. They don’t have the best track record with timely ethics reform. It took Assembly Speaker Heastie’s co-called Reform Caucus more than a year to come up with many of the same reforms that my Assembly Republican colleagues and I proposed earlier this year.
I sponsor two critical bills to ensure New York has the toughest ethics laws in the country. The first is the Public Officers Accountability Act, A.4617, which addresses the roots of corruption — the concentration of power among highly influential political leaders, unchecked campaign financing, overall weak ethics laws and punishments, and a lack of independent oversight on public officials. The act creates eight-year term limits for legislative leaders and committee chairs; creates rules about the use of campaign funds, ensuring real consequences for failure to file; creates a new and tougher commission on ethics to correct the failings of entities like the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE); and requires more transparency in discretionary state spending.
The second is the Public Pension Forfeiture Act, A.4643A. This legislation would create a public referendum to alter the New York State Constitution to allow public officials to be stripped of their publicly funded pensions if they are convicted of a felony related to their duties. This legislation has some bi-partisan support, so it would make sense for the Assembly Democrat majority to stop blocking passage of this bill. It should come to the floor for a vote.
There are many important matters to be addressed during the remainder of the legislative session, but ethics reform must take priority. If the Assembly majority members allow for the session to adjourn for the year without any such reforms, they will be exposed for their rampant self-interest and voters will respond. Ethics reform is the priority of the people, and we are elected to represent their interests.
Marc W. Butler (R,C,I–Newport) is a New York State Assemblyman for the 118th District, which encompasses parts of Oneida, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties, as well as all of Hamilton and Fulton counties. Contact him at butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us