Ethics Reform Up Next?

Ken Lovett of the the NY Daily News has been on the leading edge of the news coverage of ethics reform in Albany.

On Sunday, the News reported that (citing an unnamed “administration official”) now that the state budget has been enacted into law, passage of a tough ethics reform bill is now the “first, second and third priorities.”

The News followed up today, reporting that Assembly Speaker Silver says there is two-way agreement on ethics reform between the Governor and the Assembly.  The agreement  on an ethics reform bill would:

–         maintain the State Commission on Public Integrity (CPI) and the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC);
–         give the CPI the authority to investigate the Legislature and refer any findings to local district attorneys or to the LEC for follow-up action;
–         strip lawmakers convicted of corruption offenses of their pensions; and
–         clarified current law to permit lobbyists to hold legislative receptions for lawmakers and staff.

Not be left behind, the NY Post published an editorial today that calls on the Governor to get an ethics reform bill enacted.

Update: The State of Politics blog reports (via an  interview with Deputy Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous) that the Senate Republican Majority intends to take up an ethics package later this session, but he provide no details on what that bill will include.