Common Cause/NY Statement on the Budget

NEW YORK, NY (03/31/2014)(readMedia)-- In response to the paltry ethics reform package in the 2014 New York State budget Common Cause/NY Executive Director, Susan Lerner, released the following statement:

"The Governor's failure to pass meaningful campaign finance reform is a crushing defeat to the 71% of voters who think he hasn't done enough to fight corruption. Emboldened by the dissolution of the Moreland Commission, lawmakers will leave Albany to raise big money from the special interests that set our public policy. It's back to business as usual with the Governor's blessing. "

Background

Over the weekend, good government groups submitted a joint memo to the Legislature opposing the Comptroller only pilot program for public financing. The proposal, now law, invests significant powers with the Board of Elections. Given the Board's track record and the fact that there are only five months until the state's primary elections, it is extremely doubtful that an adequate system can be implemented in time to provide a true representation of a public funding system. Additionally, this bill strips the restrictions on spending by political parties that existed in the Comptroller's earlier proposals.