Originally Published: May 28, 2013
Vito Lopez Scandal Highlights Need to Fix Flawed Voting Procedures and Increase Transparency
Calls On State Leaders to Address Legislatively this Session as Part of Anti-Corruption Reforms
Citizens Union today issued four recommendations to change the voting structure and improve the transparency of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE)’s deliberations. These suggested improvements are made in light of recent events surrounding JCOPE’s investigation of former Assemblymember Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment of his staff and its review of the Assembly’s own mishandling of the matter.
Citizens Union’s proposed changes would remove the ability of a small minority of JCOPE’s members to block an investigation and, if that change is not made, require that its votes are disclosed in certain instances. Citizens Union also recommends including earlier disclosure of the names of persons who are the subject of approved reports indicating JCOPE believes there is a substantial basis to conclude an ethics violation has occurred.
Though the value of a more independent watchdog for policing ethical misconduct in Albany like JCOPE was proven when it passed judgment on a sitting legislator and found serious fault and violation of law, this important test case also illustrated the deficiencies in the law regarding JCOPE’s voting procedures.
Citizens Union calls upon the Governor, Speaker Silver and Senate Leaders Skelos and Klein to make changes to the 2011 Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA) that would provide the public with confidence that the new ethics law has created a truly independent force for effective oversight of public misconduct.
Citizens Union urges the following reforms be made:
- Change JCOPE’s voting structure to remove the veto power of as few as three members from the same party and branch voting in concert to block an action and instead allow a supermajority of 9 of 14 votes to approve a full investigation or issue findings.
- If the flawed voting structure remains in place, disclose the vote tally – but not the subject or person – of a minority blocked investigation or issuance of a report within seven days of JCOPE taking the vote.
- When JCOPE approves issuing a substantial basis report, release publicly the vote tally and name of the person who is the subject of the investigation within seven days of the vote.
- JCOPE’s required annual report should include greater information regarding each case (identified by number only) that incorporates the above recommended disclosures. JCOPE should also more fully comply with existing requirements for transparency in its annual report.
“JCOPE’s substantial basis report regarding Vito Lopez presented a full accounting of the facts regarding the Lopez’s misconduct and the Assembly’s mishandling of the confidential settlement. Yet it did not completely assess whether other members of the Assembly besides Lopez or Assembly staff violated applicable ethics laws, possibly because it was not given the authority to do so. There may have been no other violation, but we do not know if a review against that standard was even attempted. Seeing now the possible consequences of JCOPE’s complex voting rules, it has become clear to us that a simpler and more public bipartisan approval process that does not allow a minority of as few as three commissioners to block investigations from moving forward is needed to ensure that political considerations are not involved,” said Dick Dadey. “New Yorkers need to have full confidence in the decisions being made by JCOPE which is why we also call for earlier public disclosure of particular votes,” he added.
Citizens Union’s analysis and recommendations are available here.