The Independent View: NY Budget Deal Includes Ethics Reforms

New York legislative leaders Sunday night agreed to a budget that includes a compromise on the aggressive ethics reforms.

The ethic reforms that Governor Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie originally agreed to remained largely unchanged in the final agreement.

As Heastie and Cuomo previously agreed to, the ethics deal will:

- Require legislators who receive outside income to disclose the source of any compensation in excess of $1,000 and disclose the name of the client for compensation in excess of $5,000.
- Legislators who are employed by law firms and who, for example, are serving as counsel and have no specific clients are also required to disclose their income.
- A lawmaker who is paid to bring in clients, but does not represent them, must also reveal those clients.
- Pension forfeiture if convected of a crime.
- Per Diem reform.
- New Campaign finance disclosure reforms.

Prohibition of personal use of campaign funds:

- Used to pay interest or any other finance chargers upon monies loaned to the campaign.
- Any residential/non-residential or household items, supplies, mortgage, rent, utility payments for any part of any personal residence of a candidate or officeholder or a member of their family. In the event that any property or building is used for both personal and campaign use, personal use shall be expenses that exceed the pro-rated amount for such expenses based on fair-market value.
- Clothing, other than items that are used in the campaign.
- Tuition Payments.
- Childcare costs.
- Dues, fees, or gratuities at a country club, health club, recreational facility or other non-political organization, unless they are part of a specific fundraising event.
- Salary payments or other compensation provided to any person whose services are not solely for campaign purposes.
- Salary payments or other compensation provided to a member of a candidate's family, unless the family member is providing bona fide services to a campaign. Payments or other compensation in excess of the fair market value of the services provided shall be considered payment for personal use.
- Admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment, unless such event is part of a campaign or officeholder activity.
- Payment of any fines or penalties assessed in connection with a criminal convection or public ethics violation.
- Travel expenses including automobile purchase or leases, unless used solely for campaign purposes. If expenses involves both personal, campaign, or official duties, the incremental expenses as the results of personal use must be reimbursed to the campaign within ninety days.

The Senate was granted one major modification: Any legislator who is also a practicing attorney will be able to request that a client’s name be redacted from public records if that client is found not to be directly involved with legislation or other state affairs. The Office of Court Administration or JCOPE will ultimately make that determination.

State legislators will be required to use a swipe card to prove that they are in Albany to collect their $172-a-day per diem under the budget deal. If lawmakers come in on a Sunday night, they would need to show some proof that they were in town, such as a meal receipt.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman slammed the ethics reform deal in Albany as window dressing that won’t “get at the root of corruption.” Schneiderman has pushed for an outright ban on outside income for legislators, accompanied by a pay raise and abolition of the per diem payments that pols get when they’re in Albany. He said the package is similar to past ethics changes that haven’t slowed the parade of pols getting hauled off in handcuffs.