Common Cause/NY Releases List of Lawmakers w/ Outside Income + Analysis of Ban and Cap

Ban and cap would only affect 33.7% of returning lawmakers w/ outside income

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NEW YORK, NY (03/07/2019) (readMedia)-- Corruption is a pervasive and systematic problem in Albany, where for decades lawmakers have been able to make supplementary outside income on top of their base pay of $79,500. Common Cause/NY has long supported a pay raise in exchange for a ban on outside income. Last year the 2018 compensation commission recommended something similar: a ban on income earned through certain professions and a cap of up to 15% on certain permissible outside income from select professions. However, the nonprofit Government Justice Center with support from Speaker Heastie, is currently suing to halt the ban from taking effect in 2020, preferring only the pay raise.

Despite the commission's recommendation, there is an alarming trend of legislators who are still seeking outside work through consulting -- though they are far from from the top earners. Senator George Amedore and Assemblyman Stephen Hawley are leading the pack (see chart below), making over 600K and 400K respectively.

In response to the latest restrictions on outside income, Common Cause/NY is releasing an updated analysis of the impact of the rules on returning New York State lawmakers.

"It's common practice for Albany lawmakers to take second or even third jobs to earn extra money -- and execute power -- while working on the taxpayers' dime. But not any more. Lawmakers deserve a raise, and New Yorkers deserve elected officials who work only for them. End of story," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.

Methodology

Common Cause/NY reviewed the 2017 Financial Disclosure Statements found on the NY State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) website. Data from 209 disclosure forms were migrated from individual PDF documents to an excel spreadsheet for analysis.

Highlights (charts and graphs attached)

  • 33.7% of returning state legislators reported outside income, most of which will be banned by 2020 and they must divest over the next year.
  • 49.1% of returning Republican state legislators have outside income, while 26.3% of returning Democratic state legislators have outside income.
  • 56% of returning state legislators with outside income represent downstate districts.
  • 35% or 45 of 129 returning Assembly members have outside income.
  • The top ten lawmakers who make the most in outside income (see attached graph)
  • The top ten professions for returning state lawmakers (see attached graph)

The full report is attached and available here.