The Independent View: NY Legislature 2016 Reform Needed

New York Assembly Member Charles D. Lavine serves as a Democratic Assemblyman from Nassau County and is Co-Chairman of the New York State Legislative Ethics Commission and Chairman of the Assembly Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance.

In today's New York Times, Lavine makes the case for a full time legislature, televised proceedings, an end to "slush" funds and recognizes the need for the public to "clean house, beginning with common-sense reforms. New Yorkers deserve no less."

He writes:

Despite the fact that New York is one of the largest states in the country and one of the largest economies in the world, Legislature members work shockingly few hours: Next year they are scheduled to spend just 57 days in Albany between Jan. 6 and June 16, when the Legislative session ends.

Thirty of those days will go toward completing the state budget, due at the end of March. Those days will be totally consumed with fiscal analysis and negotiation, leaving only 27 days between April 1 and June 16 to consider all other governmental business, including more than 10,000 bills. There’s little chance they will get to more than a handful of those. Our part-time Legislature fails the needs of the public and sets the lowest of expectations for Legislators.

The recent criminal convictions, the former Assembly Speaker and the former Senate Majority Leader, demonstrate an even more pressing reason for a full-time Legislature. When the Assembly and Senate are in Albany, the members are able to question and look over the shoulders of the leaders. When the Legislature is out, which is to say most of the time, too much power is abdicated to the two Legislative leaders and the Governor. A full-time Legislature would temper that power and allow for far more scrutiny of the conduct of Legislative leaders.

This isn’t a new idea, and it has its critics. Oddly, some claim that the part-time, “citizen-legislator” model honors our founders’ vision of democracy. But the 18th century is long past, and in any case, our founders were pragmatic men who wouldn’t hesitate to change the rules when needed. We pay them no respect by failing to live up to their faith that future American generations would do the same.

Others claim that our State Constitution would need to be amended to keep the Legislature active throughout the entire year, a lengthy and cumbersome process. But our State Constitution contains no such requirement. The number of days the Legislature spends in Albany is entirely up to the Senate and Assembly.

Four additional reforms are necessary to counter corrupt influences and open the process to greater public scrutiny.

- As in Congress, State Legislators should not engage in outside employment. Their exclusive and unyielding loyalty must be to the citizens of New York, not the clients of their law firms, the corporations, or the special interests that employ them. Instead, they should be full-time employees of the State, with sufficient incomes to offset the loss of outside employment.

- To open the legislative process to the public, the Legislature must adopt a televised system similar to C-Span. Not only should floor debate be broadcast, but also committee meetings, where much of the real work gets done.

- Ban on slush funds. One of the revelations at former Assembly Speaker Silver’s trial was that he had control over large amounts of public money, and answered to no one in determining to whom his largess would flow. Even more shocking to many New Yorkers was that such a fund was legal in the first place. The people have the right to know how each public dollar is spent. There must be a straightforward schedule of all such funding published on the State’s website identifying the amounts, the recipients and the identity of the legislator initiating an appropriation.

- We need to recognize that these convictions have brought public faith in the State government to an abysmal new low. In response, the Legislature should conduct public hearings on legislative integrity throughout the entire state. New Yorkers have every right to express their concerns and offer ideas on how to improve our legislative process. Public-interest groups and social and political scientists should be heard as well.

To bounce back from the Silver and Skelos convictions, the Legislature needs to clean house, beginning with these common-sense reforms. New Yorkers deserve no less.