publications | about us | on campus | jobs | alumni | cmap | straphangers campaign | fuel buyers group |
|
Heading Down the Home Stretch
This is it, the final days of the 2006 legislative session. And just like most sessions, the key issues remain unresolved, waiting to be wrapped up in the final moments of the session. One key reform – strengthening the state’s ethics laws – took one step closer to being part of the end of session frenzy when Assembly Speaker Silver advanced his policy package late last week. Overall, the legislation covers an impressive number of topics. The Assembly bill tightens the state’s gift ban, restricts honoraria, makes it harder for legislative employees to immediately begin lobbying when they leave public service, and establishes ethics trainings for top public officials and lobbyists. But the legislation does not cover all of the areas that need reform. The legislation does not call for the creation of an independent ethics commission for both the legislative and executive branches, or establish a ban on campaign fundraising by lobbyists and those receiving government contracts. Moreover, the bill does not adequately address the problem caused by the “personal use” of campaign contributions by lawmakers. It is this problem that has stirred most of the complaints about Albany’s ethics. Some lawmakers have used their campaign contributions to pay for luxury cars, trips to exotic locales and dinners with lobbyists. The Assembly package recognizes the problem, but recommends a weak first step. The bill requires that the State Board of Elections issue rules that limit the “personal use” of campaign contributions and to hold public hearings on these regulations. Obviously, if the State Board issued tough regulations and used the hearings as a way bolster public support for that decision, this plan would be quite productive. But there has been no evidence that the State Board would be so courageous. Thus it is likely that reliance on the State Board to point the way toward stronger ethics in this area will fail. And lawmakers will have to deal with this problem anyway. Reformers have been encouraged by the Assembly package and are hoping that negotiations will begin. The hope is that through discussions with the Governor and the Senate, the Assembly package will be strengthened. Unlike other major issues, ethics reform is not an area in which Republicans and Democrats have serious philosophic differences. It was the State Senate that initially passed a ban on gifts from lobbyists in 1999. The Governor last year called for a total ban on gifts from lobbyists. And this year, Senate Republicans have advanced reform proposals. Senate Ethics Committee chair George Winner has proposed legislation banning gifts from lobbyists and Senate Elections Committee chair John Flanagan last week introduced legislation dramatically limiting the “personal use” of campaign contributions by lawmakers. While there has been no action on these two proposals, it is clear that there is support for ethics reform in the Senate. But the mere introduction of legislation does not mean that laws will result. It takes leadership, the kind of leadership that is all too often missing from these kinds of discussions. The Assembly Speaker’s proposal should bring the issue of ethics reform to the table. There is support for elements of the plan in the Senate. The real issue is what will the Governor do? If the Governor uses his considerable influence to move this issue along, it may turn out that one of his important legacies will be a more ethical Albany. It is a legacy worth the effort. New Yorkers will know soon if Albany’s leaders are serious about strengthening state government’s ethics. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
 |
