Originally Published: March 12, 2015
Good government group wants to cap and disclose all outside income, boost legislative salaries, increase JCOPE role and budget, expand disclosure of executive and legislative lump sum funds, and end use of budget for policy changes
Citizens Union today announces a set of ethics, compensation, and budget reforms that pulls back the veil of secrecy that defines Albany, ends the dispiriting rise in corruption, and puts Albany on a path toward earning back the public trust.
The detailed reforms recommend:
- overhauling elected official compensation by capping and disclosing all outside income while substantially increasing legislative salaries;
- strengthening ethics enforcement with more funding and a bigger role for JCOPE that also changes their voting structure;
- reforming campaign finance to end personal use of campaign funds and fully closing the LLC loophole; and
- ending the use of the executive budget appropriations bills to force enactment of policy changes while increasing the transparency of all legislative and executive lump sum expenditures.
“Given the rise in public corruption, half-a-loaf ethics reform measures will no longer cut it. Bold, comprehensive action on ethics reform must replace the incremental steps taken since 2007. Many of those steps have resulted in improvements, but wholesale change is now needed. There are many good legislators working hard on behalf of their constituents, but they need to work differently to change the culture in Albany. Key to achieving this change is overhauling elected official compensation because we want the best going to Albany to serve. Our state leaders acting together must find not the lowest common denominator but the highest possible ground in fulfilling the public’s hope for a more ethical and responsible government in Albany that serves the public interest,” said Dick Dadey, Citizens Union’s executive director.
The issue of elected official compensation has received particular attention given the indictment of former Speaker Sheldon Silver, due to allegations that he used his public post to personally profit from his ability to influence government action. Citizens Union has sought to address the issue comprehensively, not only addressing outside income, but the full scope of compensation that elected officials receive.
Citizens Union recommends the following to overhaul compensation for elected officials:
- Establish a Stakeholder-Balanced Quadrennial Compensation Commission
- Require Full Disclosure of and Cap All Outside Income to as much as 25% or More
- Prohibit Income for Referring a Person Seeking State Action to the Lawmaker’s Firm
- Increase Significantly Legislators’ Base Salaries
- Continue Per Diem System, but with Verification
All recommendations on compensation should be applied equally to the state legislature and statewide elected officials. Citizens Union’s recommendations go beyond those recommended by the Governor in that we want a more stakeholder balanced pay commission and do not support a two-tiered salary structure.
The Governor’s budget also does not sufficiently address the enforcement mechanisms needed to ensure proper oversight of the new disclosure requirements. Existing powers and roles of Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) and the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC) must also be made. Citizens Union had previously released recommendations on improving transparency of JCOPE, which are available here and encapsulated in our updated position.
Citizens Union supports the following to strengthen the system of ethics oversight to ensure that the new disclosure requirements are meaningfully enforced:
- Appoint Review Commission to Evaluate JCOPE and LEC
- Increase Disclosure of Votes & Stop Minority Blocs from Halting JCOPE Investigations
- Give JCOPE Sufficient, Independent Budgeting
- Allow JCOPE to Hold Enforcement Hearings for Legislators
- Require Electronic Filing of Financial Disclosure Forms
- Application of Pension Forfeiture to All Public Officials, Subject to Judicial Discretion
Citizens Union largely supports the governor’s proposals on campaign financing, which put in place restrictions on personal use of campaign funds, and create a public matching funds system for state campaigns, among other items. Specifically, we recommend expanding the governor’s campaign finance proposal to include the following:
- End Personal Use of Campaign Funds, Including Attorneys’ Fees
- Fully Close LLC Loophole, Including Ensuring that Related LLCs are Sourced Together
- Enact Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reforms, Including Public Matching Funds
Reforms to the budget process supported by Citizens Union include expanding the governor’s proposals on disclosure and vetting of certain lump sum appropriations, which are used by elected officials to issue grants and contracts outside of the regular budget process. Specifically, lump sum appropriations should be fully reformed to:
- Eliminate Conflicts of Interest and Ensure Proper Public Use
- Require Comprehensive, Online Disclosure of Lump Sums Grants and Contracts
- Apply Reforms to All Lump Sums in the Budget, Including Governor’s
We also support that any reforms to lump sum appropriations be codified in state finance law to ensure application to all future lump sum pots.
Citizens Union has identified at least 66 lump sum pots in the current proposed executive budget, 12 of which were covered by the governor’s new requirement requirements; however, the currently covered items are only legislative, and there are additional items where the governor has discretion to provide grants or contracts that are not covered. Citizens Union will be issuing a separate, comprehensive report review the proposed lump sum appropriations next week, and previously issued a report on this topic in 2013.
In supporting many elements of the Governor’s ethics reform proposal, Citizens Union does not support the use of appropriations bills to change policy, but rather supports only the inclusion of policy proposals in the Article VII authorization bills.