Media Center

Albany Ethics Reform is Inadequate

Common Cause New York, along with the Moral Mondays Movement NY, hosts rally outside Governor Cuomo's NYC office to demand an ethics clean-up of Albany.

A coalition of government reform organizations today urged that Governor Cuomo and State Lawmakers agree on strict, new limits on legislators’ outside income. As part of their call, the groups issued a report, “Serving Two Masters: Conflicts of Interest in Albany,” which argued that New York should follow the restrictions applied to Congress.

Common Cause NY discusses lack of transparency and openness in Assembly Speaker replacement process, urges Governor and legislators to take up ethics and rules reforms this session.

Today, representatives of New York's leading good government watchdog groups, the Brennan Center for Justice, Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters and NYPIRG, responding to the disappointing process on display this past week leading to the selection of a new Assembly Speaker, urged the members of the Assembly to use this historic opportunity to pass long-overdue reforms that would transform how it conducts business.

The arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver by federal authorities for undisclosed income further reveals the crucial role the Moreland Commission played in bringing corruption in New York State government to light.