January 5, 2023 - Citizens Union joined over 100 voting, racial justice, labor, and good government groups to urge Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie to continue leading on voting, election administration, and campaign finance reforms in the 2023 legislative session.
December 20, 2022 - Legislative leaders introduced a bill late last night giving hefty raises to the next state legislature. The leaders are proposing base salaries of $142,000 starting January 1, 2023, with a limit on outside income of $35,000 beginning in 2025 (about 25% of the increased salary).
December 20, 2022 - Citizens Union and other good government groups request legislative leaders to make updates to legislative rules that can help their ongoing efforts to improve the Senate and Assembly
December 19, 2022 - Citizens Union joined more than a dozen transparency and disability groups in calling the legislative leaders pass new rules that ensure that all public meetings in the Legislature are webcast. Due to changes in the Open Meetings Law (OML) approved by the Legislature in April, if the Senate and Assembly intend to use videoconferencing to allow members to participate remotely in public meetings, they must adopt a one-time joint resolution after a public hearing to authorize videoconferencing.
December 19, 2022 -- Citizens Union, Common Cause NY, the League of Women Voters of the City of New York, NYPIRG and Reinvent Albany have sent a letter to NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Majority Leader and Rules Committee Chair Keith Powers, calling on the Council to hold a public confirmation hearing for the New York County Democratic nominee for Commissioner of Elections and take transparent measures that would vet the nominee’s experience and fitness to administer elections.
December 16, 2022 - Yesterday the New York State Public Campaign Finance Board voted on its budget request for FY 2023–2024. The board’s commissioners approved a request totaling $114.5 million, including $100 million for future matching funds for participating campaigns and $14.5 million for program administration. The new program launched on November 9 and will provide public matching funds to participating candidates for state offices beginning with the 2024 legislative elections.
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.
November 21, 2022 - Watchdog groups ask Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James to announce their final nominations to New York’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (the “Commission”). Four seats on the new ethics commission still remain unfilled.
November 11, 2022 - Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY, N.Y. Public Interest Research Group, and Reinvent Albany sent a letter to the members of the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, requesting they investigate JCOPE’s approval of former Governor Cuomo’s book deal as well as compliance with and enforcement of the terms of that approval. The letter also requested the Commission revise its rules to require Commission approval for outside income requests of agency heads statewide officials.
November 1, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum as New York City’s redistricting process reaches its conclusion
October 7 - Letter sent to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams requesting that she speed up the City Council’s review of the plan submitted by the New York City Districting Commission, so that the public has sufficient time to provide input on future revisions
October 6, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after New York City Districting Commission released and voted on their latest draft of district maps, as part of the redistricting process for New York City’s 51 council districts
October 5, 2022 - Eight unions and 27 organizations sent a memo of support today urging Governor Hochul to sign S6809-A/A7925-A (Reichlin-Melnick/Zebrowski), which restores many of the State Comptroller’s contract oversight powers. District Council 37, CWA District 1, AFSCME, and NYSUT were among those calling on the Governor to sign the bill, which the legislature passed in June.
September 30, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after the New York City Districting Commission completed their two day process for drawing maps for New York City’s 51 council districts, which was open to the public
September 26, 2022 - In a letter to the new members of the NYS State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, watchdog groups said that the creation of the new Commission provides the opportunity to “reset” public and state officers and employees’ expectations about state ethics oversight.
September 22, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after New York City Districting Commission voted down the second draft of the district maps as part of the redistricting process for New York City’s 51 council districts
September 8, 2022 - Now that the New York State Independent Review Committee composed of the State’s law school deans has approved seven out of eleven commissioners, we urge New York’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (CELG) to begin its work immediately. There are now enough commissioners appointed for a quorum – the legal minimum required to conduct business.
September 1, 2022 - Watchdog and civic technology groups asked Governor Hochul to issue an Executive Order mandating annual updates to the state agency transparency plans she first required in September 2021.
August 10, 2022 - Citizens Union was joined by dozens of good government and community groups in urging the New York City Districting Commission to hold mapping deliberations on the new City Council district plan as part of an open public meeting, and to provide the public with a detailed explanation of how and why new lines are drawn.
July 15, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after New York City Districting Commission released the first draft of the district maps for New York City’s 51 City Council districts
June 22, 2022 - Our groups welcome the review procedures developed by New York’s law school deans (who by law compose the Independent Review Committee or “IRC”) to review candidates submitted to them by the state’s elected officials.
June 8, 2022 - We write knowing that the adopting legislation in the budget sets a short time frame for appointing members to the new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (“CELG”). We urge you, as you consider the statutory requirements of “background and expertise,” to abide by the following principles
June 6, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after New York City Districting Commission Chair Dennis Walcott that draft district maps would be delayed and drawn after additional public hearings
June 1, 2022 - Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum after the NYS Assembly passed S2951A/A8858A which would reduce the time for mailing and receipt of voter registration applications to the Constitutional minimum of 10 days before election
May 24, 2022 - Leading government and budget watchdog groups are once again asking Government Hochul to keep her promise to bring a “new era of transparency” to state government, this time by showing the public how billions in state lump sum funds are spent.