It was wonderful to see so many of you at our recent Civic Conversation as we talked trash with Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Commissioner Tisch discussed Sanitation’s latest initiatives to keep our city clean and manage the 44 million pounds of garbage generated on our streets daily. Thank you to the Commissioner for joining us and to King & Spalding for hosting and sponsoring the event.

This month, New York State finally passed a budget. Despite being over three weeks late, the state’s budget had some positive highlights. These included a considerable investment in public campaign financing, establishing a new statewide center for voting and election data, and increased funds for judicial conduct oversight and local boards of elections. However, the final budget was hastily approved without adequate time for public or lawmaker review.

You can read more about what we’ve been up to this month in this edition of The Reformer.

Best,

POLICY UPDATES

Proposed Legislation Aims to Limit Lobbyists Who Serve on Political Campaigns 

Earlier this month, we testified at a City Council hearing in support of legislation prohibiting political fundraisers and campaign consultants from lobbying their previous employers for one year after those politicians are elected.

Currently, firms that receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to work for candidates running for office later receive millions from private clients to lobby those same city lawmakers they helped elect. This dynamic creates an environment where lobbyists have greater access to certain elected officials and can receive favors in exchange for their campaign services. This bill, introduced by Council Members Gale Brewer and Lincoln Restler, will give the public faith that their elected officials aren’t unduly influenced by lobbyists to whom they may feel indebted.
Read our testimony in support of this legislation and our further recommendations here.

Youth Advocacy Day for the Student Voter Empowerment Act

In mid-April, Citizens Union joined Generation Vote and the Let New York Vote coalition to lead an advocacy day at the State Capitol to promote youth voting rights.

High school and college students traveled to Albany with the coalition to advocate for the Student Voter Empowerment Act. The act would require educational institutions to develop an action plan to promote voter engagement among students, disseminate nonpartisan election information, and implement excusal policies for voting.

We received strong support from legislators to protect the voting rights of young New Yorkers and other Let NY Vote coalition priorities, including moving all local elections in New York State to even-numbered years.

Citizens Union Strongly Opposes Legislation to Amend New York’s Public Campaign Finance Program

Last year, Governor Hochul vetoed a bill that aimed to weaken New York State’s Public Campaign Finance Program. The program had been kept intact until this month when Senate lawmakers introduced a bill attempting to significantly alter the public campaign finance law.

Now is not the right time to make changes to the program. The 2024 election cycle is underway, and hundreds of candidates have already enrolled in the program. Revisions to the program should be considered after the election cycle is over and we have more data about the program’s effectiveness.

You can read more about why Citizens Union and other good government groups oppose this bill here.

Responding to Proposed Changes to New York City’s “Policymaker” List

Citizens Union joined Reinvent Albany and Common Cause NY to testify in support of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB)’s proposed rule changes to the policymaker list. The COIB maintains a list of officials within city agencies with substantial policy discretion, referred to as “policymakers,” who are bound by restrictions on political activities and fundraising.

The proposed changes will ensure that restrictions on city policymakers are enforced more timely, including a mid-year update. In our testimony, we suggested additional recommendations related to data transparency that will enable the City Council, Public Advocate, City Comptroller’s office, and the public to better understand the scope of reporting by agencies and of the COIB’s enforcement activities.

You can read more about our support and recommendations to the COIB in our testimony here.

CU IN THE NEWS

Gothamist
What if NYC’s mayoral election was this year? Experts say more people would vote in it.
April 25, 2024

New York Daily News
Added impediment
April 18, 2024

Times Union
Senate Democrats renew push for changes to matching funds program
April 4, 2024

Times Union
N.Y. law moving local elections to even years challenged
April 2, 2024

WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE

New York Daily News: NYC Council bill would ban political consultants, fundraisers from lobbying former clients

The New Yorker: The Ex-N.Y.P.D. Official Trying to Tame New York’s Trash

New York Daily News: Bad form: City Hall should try again on making elected officials submit requests to talk