“Clean Up Albany” Comprehensive Ethics Reforms

Senator Martin Malavé Dilan recently joined members of the Democratic Conference to unveil a major legislative package to address the ongoing ethics crisis in State Government and restore the public’s trust.
 
 “Allegations of corruption, arrests and convictions have become commonplace in Albany, and the public’s perception of the State Legislature has gone from distrust to disdain. As public officials stand trial or serve sentence, entire constituencies go without representation during key discussions and decisions. Hearings, public forums and the day-to-day business of the people’s work is being disrupted by new allegations and more arrests. The State Legislature is at a critical juncture and we need to act now. Any hope of restoring order and regaining the public’s trust lies with these comprehensive reforms,” said Senator Dilan.

The Senate Democratic Conference ethics reforms are intended to restore the public’s trust in state government and meet head-on the ongoing ethical issues and conflicts-of-interest reported by the Moreland Commission and cited by federal prosecutors. The “Clean Up Albany” package includes measure that would:

• Restrict the type and nature of a legislator’s outside income, and limit outside income to 15 percent of gross legislative salary and require all state elected officials to disclose the source and nature of all income;
• Lower the LLC contribution cap from $150,000 in aggregate to $1,000;
• Bar the use of campaign money for criminal defense  and prohibit the taxpayer reimbursement of campaign and legal defense funds for legal fees in criminal cases;
• Retroactively strip pension benefits from all state or local officials convicted of a felony involving breach of public trust, not only those that joined after 2011, as the law exists in current form;
• Establish a public financing system, require detailed disclosures of campaign contributions, strengthen regulations regarding use of campaign funds for “any lawful purpose,” lower contribution limits, and cap contributions to “soft money” accounts at $25,000;
• Make it a felony to steer public contracts or grants to institutions or organizations for the benefit of official with oversight.