Agreement Announced on Ethics Reform

The Governor and legislative leaders released a joint statement late this afternoon saying that they have reached three-way agreement on Clean Up Albany Act of 2011.

There is no bill text to review yet, but the “good government” groups are gushing over the bill.

The details are much as I described here earlier in the week.  The final product, which I don’t expect to see before Monday at the earliest, should make for some very interesting reading.

Perhaps the key to changing the culture of Albany — at least for those who view elected office as a license to steal — is the structure, authority and autonomy of the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE).

There appear to be many facets to this agreement.  I will be looking at the specific provisions of this bill closely in the next few days.

For example, the new law will require the State Board of Elections to issue new regulations relating to independent expenditure disclosure and “substantially” increases penalties for Election Law filing and contribution violations.  Changes of this nature could have long-reaching impacts on anyone who makes political contributions or expenditures in New York.

For more details, check out coverage in the New York Times and the New York Law Journal.