[LocalLeaguePresidents] Ethics Update!

[Betsey Swan]

ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM UPDATE

 

 

Today, January 13th, leaders in both houses (Assembly majority and minority
along with Senate majority) announced an agreement on the reform bill for
ethics and campaign finance enforcement  that we anticipated in the
Legislative Packet Part I that you received recently.  While not everything
that the League and our good government colleagues sought, the proposed
changes would improve both ethics and campaign finance enforcement and
create greater transparency. We were at the Capitol during the negotiations
and offered input to the process. 

 

We anticipate that the measure will come for a vote next week. If you have
set up appointments to lobby your state representatives using the
Legislative Packet Part I, let him or her know that the League supports this
bill.  We will mobilize local leagues through e-mails to Presidents and
Action Chairs and individual members through CATT with a bill number as soon
as it is available.  

 

We will send you a bill number and talking points as soon as we get the
bill.

 

The past week has been filled with additional political drama that has not
yet run its course.  On January 6th in his State of the State address.
Governor Paterson excoriated the New York legislature for its attempts at
ethics reform, calling for wide-ranging reform of the type the League and
other good government groups have advocated for years.  But at the same
time, he took aim at good-government groups and accused the groups of being
political and masking their sources of funding. The following day the
Governor announced that he should be judged on his ability to come up with
ideas for ethics reform and not for his ability to enact those ideas into
law.  

 

We are not particularly concerned about the Governor's attacks on the good
government groups and while this drama plays itself out, we will continue to
work with the legislature to obtain ethics and campaign finance enforcement
reform for New York State.  We urge the Governor to do the same.

 

Betsey and Sally

 

 

             





 

 

 

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