Failure to Enact Reforms in Albany is Disappointing

I voted in favor of 17 reform measures on March 9] that would have created more openness and accountability in the [New York] Assembly. The Assembly has been mired with scandal and dysfunction for several decades, something I believe could have been corrected if the Democrats chose to adopt this set of reforms.

I am dismayed at the failure of the Democratic Assembly majority to adopt meaningful reforms that would have launched the Assembly on a more transparent and accountable path. At some point, especially looking at the decades of scandals and dysfunction, it is time to make some changes. The people deserve reform; they deserve to trust their government again.

Among the reform measures were eight-year term limits for legislative leaders, including the Assembly Speaker and committee chairs. Also included were measures to make the legislative-committee process more open by videotaping the proceedings and making them available online, as well as a proposal ensuring that each member of the Assembly could bring to the floor at least one piece of legislation with statewide significance for a vote. But, the Democrat majority accepted none of the reforms.

The people’s house is under new leadership, and the majority could have taken this opportunity to shake things up and improve how we serve the people of this state. Instead, we got more of the same, an unwillingness to let sunshine in the murky legislative process in the Assembly. It truly is disappointing.        

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. This editorial is drawn from a news release that Butler’s office issued on March 9.