December 15, 2022
Yesterday, in response to news about a possible pay raise for lawmakers, Citizens Union joined Common Cause/NY, League of Women Voters of NYS, NY Public Interest Research Group, and Reinvent Albany penned a letter to legislative leaders in Albany demanding any raise come with a ban on income earned through certain professions and a cap of up to 15% on certain permissible outside incomes. This request follows the same guidelines Congressional members use.
“The NYS Legislature is technically a part-time body and lawmakers are allowed to have outside jobs. However, there can be a clear conflict of interest if lawmakers leverage their public position to advance their own private interests. Prior analysis of legislators’ outside income revealed that a limited number of members earned income in ranges in excess of $250,000. Constituents should never have to question the loyalty of their elected representatives to the public interest. Conflicts of interest, perceived or actual, erodes faith in our democratic institutions,” the groups write in the letter.