Governor Paterson Announces Compromise Albany Reform Legislation

ALBANY, NY (02/06/2010)(readMedia)-- Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he will introduce compromise Albany Reform Legislation on Monday, February 8. This legislation will reform Legislative and Executive oversight, will alter the structure of the State Board of Elections to enhance campaign finance enforcement, and will reduce the influence of money in politics.

"Last month, I introduced the most significant and sweeping ethics reform package in decades," Governor Paterson said. "Unfortunately, the Legislature acted on its own bill – a bill that did not go far enough to address the underlying issues that have caused the public to lose their faith in government."

"Numerous attempts to sit down and negotiate a stronger, more effective Albany reform package, in an effort to reach compromise, have been met with resistance," the Governor added. "That is why today I am announcing that on Monday I will introduce compromise legislation that includes recommendations from the Senate minority and maintains a transparent approach with enhanced enforcement provisions. It is my hope that this legislation will serve as the basis for meaningful negotiations among Legislative Leaders."

The Governor's proposal includes a number of provisions designed to achieve compromise with members of both houses of the Legislature in increasing oversight and enhancing transparency.

Under the proposed legislation, two independent five-member ethics commissions would be created – one for the Executive Branch and one for the Legislature. Members of the commissions will be selected by a 10-member independent Designating Commission, similar to the judicial nominating commission.

The five-member Executive Ethics and Compliance Commission would oversee ethics compliance by the Executive branch, enforce both financial disclosure and lobby laws and replace the current Commission on Public Integrity. The five-member Legislative Ethics and Compliance Commission would oversee ethics compliance by the Legislative branch, including conducting investigations into financial disclosure or lobby violations, both on its own initiative or in reaction to complaints.

Both commissions would be responsible for enforcing the laws governing pay to play, including the disclosure of all outside business services for their respective branches of Government. State officers or legislators with outside legal practices would be required to disclose their income and clients to the relevant commission, which would determine any conflicts of interest.

In addition, this legislation would alter the structure of the State Board of Elections to provide for enhanced enforcement of campaign finance violations. It would bifurcate enforcement to eliminate one party dominance, would conduct investigations into alleged campaign finance violations and conduct audits of filed reports. The bill also would require a bipartisan review of all complaints.

Finally, the Governor's proposed reforms would reduce the influence of money in politics by reducing all allowable contributions by 50 percent, limiting contributions to housekeeping accounts, banning the bundling of contributions, banning transfers among campaign committees and requiring the return of unused campaign funds upon leaving public office.

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