Earlier today, the Assembly gave final approval to legislation (S.5109/A.8111) that re-opens an existing exemption for state employees who are laid off, and who would otherwise be prohibited from appearing […]
Archive Ethics
CPI’s Time Winding Down
In today’s Times Union, Jim Odato considers the not-so-bright future of the Commission on Public Integrity (CPI). Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the bill creating the new Joint Commission […]
Evaluating Albany’s Ethics Reform Bill
The debate over the ethics bill (which has not yet been delivered to the Governor for his signature), and its shortcomings, continues today. Lawrence Norden, Counsel to the Brennan Center […]
Assembly Advancing the Comptroller Campaign Finance Reform Act
Last week, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli submitted a program bill to the Legislature to provide (according to the Comptroller’s press release) “comprehensive election reform program including public financing of campaigns for […]
Ethics Reform Bill Update (Updated)
The Senate and Assembly introduced the agreed-to ethics reform bill late last week. The Governor’s program Bill is S.5679 Skelos/A.8301 Silver. Speaker Silver has also introduced a chapter amendment (A.8304) […]
Common Cause/NY Reports on Anonymous Grassroots Advocacy in Albany
This week, Common Cause/NY released “Lifting the Veil: A Report Analyzing Grassroots Lobbying in New York State and Recommending Amendments to the Lobbying Act.” In it, the group examines New […]
Reaction to Ethics Reform Bill
Now that there is an actual bill available, the reactions are coming in. On the news side, some interesting details begin to emerge: New York Times: “The actual language of […]
Attorney General Appoints Public Integrity Officers in Nassau, Suffolk
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today that he has appointed Assistant Attorneys General in his Nassau and Suffolk Regional Offices as public integrity officers who “will focus exclusively on rooting […]
Agreement Announced on Ethics Reform, Part II
Following up on Friday’s late-afternoon announcement of a deal on ethics reform, Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders held a press conference yesterday to shed more light on the agreement […]
Health Care Consultant Found Not to Have Violated Lobbying Law
The New York Times is reporting that the Commission on Public Integrity (CPI) has concluded that Jeffrey Sachs, a member of the Governor’s Medicaid Redesign Team, “did not violate state […]