Stamping Out Corruption in Albany
March 14, 2011
As a legislator, it truly saddens me that every time Albany is in the news it’s because of yet another corruption scandal—and I can only imagine how it makes everyday New Yorkers feel. It seem there is a never-ending tide of graft and corruption, which reinforces the perception that all lawmakers are crooks or clowns.
As a member of the state Assembly, I know that isn’t really the case. The vast majority of my colleagues work tirelessly—and honestly—on behalf of the people of New York. But until we finally step up and pass real, comprehensive ethics reform, we’ll deserve every ounce of the public’s scorn.
The only way to stop corruption is through tough and thorough reform legislation. This is why I introduced the Public Corruption Prevention and Enforcement Act (PCPEA), the most comprehensive anti-corruption bill in state history. This important reform legislation will clean up Albany by closing the ethical loopholes that some politicians have become adept at exploiting.
The bill:
Enacts a Duty of Faithful Public Service: Incredibly, there’s no such duty on the books today. The Joe Bruno scandal showed what a glaring hole this is. If we want to eliminate the culture of corruption, we need a law that makes clear that public officials must serve the public first and foremost.
Punishes Corrupt Schemes to Defraud the Government: Currently, the law only punishes schemes to defraud government agencies of property, services, or resources. The PCPEA expands the crime of defrauding the government to punish any and all corrupt schemes involving public servants and others who seek to corrupt the operation of government in any way.
Reforms Criminal Bribery Statutes: The bill takes action to ensure that bribery of apublic official is punished just as seriously as completed bribes, and it makes sure that public bribery is treated in the same way as bribery in the private sector.
Reforms the Member Item Process: The bill creates new standards and prohibitions for community projects grants, which are commonly known as “member items.” Among other protections, it stops lawmakers from funneling taxpayer money into shady nonprofits that don’t even provide real services, but in which they or their relatives have a financial interest.
Enhances Financial Disclosure for State Officials: As it stands, the clients that legislators represent in private practice are hidden from public view. While this makes sense in a few instances — such as when the clients are involved in family court cases, where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy — there’s no reason why most of lawmakers’ private clients shouldn’t be disclosed, just as they are in other states. This bill will allow the public to monitor the sources and values of outside income earned by our elected officials.
Strengthens Campaign Finance Rules: Up until n ow candidates have legally been allowed to get away with disguising loans intended for campaign use as personal gifts—allowing them to circumvent campaign contribution limits. This bill closes that loophole.
Ultimately, I believe that we should ask why our system encourages lawmakers to have outside income at all. We should make representing New Yorkers a full-time job. Then there will no longer even be a perception of any conflict of interest with our official duties as legislators.
Today, I published an op-ed in the New York Post about the importance of passing comprehensive ethics reform now. You can read the op-ed here.
If we enact these reforms, instead of being synonymous with scandal, it is my hope that Albany will once again be recognized as an incubator of progressive innovation.
Remaking New York’s Government
January 12, 2011
I have been a strong advocate for reforming and redesigning our state’s government, sponsoring legislation to crack down on public corruption, reduce waste, and make our government more transparent, among other important reforms.
We also need innovation and reform when it comes to New York’s budget. In the middle of a fragile recovery, with the state’s current deficit still at a whopping $10 billion and growing, we can’t be held hostage to improvising our way out of budget trouble (whether with taxes, cuts and/or borrowing) year after year. We have to recognize that we must fundamentally transform the very way New York state’s government is structured. We need smarter spending and vastly improved efficiency.
Governor Cuomo is leading the way, with important new ideas to make our state government smarter and more efficient. We in the legislature should be working with our new Governor to make these solutions — and other great ideas — a reality. Yesterday, I published an op-ed in the New York Post about how the so-called “millionaire’s tax” represents a step backwards at a time when we should be focusing on growth and innovation. You can read the op-ed here. You can also click here to listen to me being interviewed on Talk-1300 AM radio about this and other subjects (my segment starts about halfway through the clip).
Governor’s Veto Is Not the End for RIOC Reform
August 31, 2010
In June, I reported that my legislation to reform the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) had passed the Assembly. I am incredibly disappointed that Governor Paterson has now vetoed this legislation — and I vehemently disagree with the reasons he has given for his veto. By passing the reform bill with overwhelming margins, the legislature clearly communicated its intent that RIOC should be more open and accessible, and that Island residents should have a greater say in the Island’s decision-making process. RIOC’s decisions have a vastly bigger impact on Island residents than on anyone else, and the needs of those who live on the Island should outweigh the abstract concerns expressed by the Governor in his veto message.
By rejecting these common-sense measures, the Governor has set back the cause of open government and public authorities reform. Nonetheless, I will not stop fighting to open up RIOC and make it more accountable to the Island residents it serves. I will bring these reforms back as many times as it takes to make them a reality.
A copy of the Governor’s veto message is below.
Governor’s Veto of RIOC Reform Bill
Kellner RIOC Reform Bill Passes Assembly
June 29, 2010
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) is responsible for decisions that have a huge impact on the lives of Roosevelt Island residents — from housing to transportation, parks, sanitation, and more. Islanders know that the Island only works when RIOC is accountable and responsive to the community. This is why I introduced legislation to reform RIOC, opening it up to greater community input. I’m pleased to announce that my RIOC reform bill passed the Assembly today.
This bill means that Islanders will have a greater role in the governing process—it opens up the corporation to the public and establishes the principle that Island residents must have a say in how the Island is run.
The legislation gives the public a role in the process of hiring the RIOC President — requiring the Board of Directors to consider at least three candidates for the job and to hold hearings allowing members of the public as well as Board members to interview the candidates. It requires that meetings of the Board of Directors be subject to the state’s open meetings law, and specifies that members of the public must have an opportunity to comment on all agenda items before the Board votes on those items.
The bill also provides that two of the public members of RIOC’s Board of Directors will be chosen upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the Assembly and the Temporary President of the State Senate—who will make their suggestions based on consultation with the local member of the Assembly and the Senate, ensuring input for the elected officials who are most answerable to Roosevelt Island residents.
The bill’s passage is a victory for Roosevelt Islanders — a clear affirmation of residents’ right to be part of the Island’s decision making process.
Koch Lauds Kellner as Reformer
June 23, 2010
I was proud to be one of the first elected officials to sign the three reform pledges sponsored by Mayor Ed Koch’s New York Uprising. The pledges are aimed at changing the culture of Albany and reforming our state’s government.
I am passionate about cleaning up Albany. I have introduced important new reform legislation–toughening anti-corruption laws, cracking down on government waste, making government more transparent, and opening up policy debates to the public. The New York Uprising pledges represent precisely the kind of change I am working to bring about.
“I applaud Assembly Member Micah Kellner as a “Hero of Reform” for signing the three New York Uprising pledges. This year voters are counting on candidates to commit to specific reforms in advance, as Assembly Member Kellner has done. I look forward to working with him to see them swiftly implemented should he be reelected.” — Mayor Koch
The pledges include the following:
Ethics Reform: As a signer, I pledge to support the creation of a state ethics commission, a comprehensive annual financial disclosure form for state officials, and an end to “pay-to-play” campaign contributions;
Redistricting Reform: I pledge to support the creation of an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission in order to end gerrymandering and take politics out of the redistricting process; and
Responsible Budgeting: I pledge to support the adoption of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to prepare and manage the state’s budget, as well as the creation of an Independent Budget Office, and other reforms to the state’s budget process.
Kellner Proposes Governor’s Questions Hour
May 24, 2010
New Yorkers are sick of the “three-men-in-a-room” closed-door process that dominates so much of Albany’s business–and of the failures that this broken system has brought us. This is why I am introducing legislation to create a Governor’s questions hour, opening up debates over the direction of the state to public scrutiny. The bill would require the Governor to stand before the legislature for an hour each month during the legislative session to answer questions from Senators and Assembly Members, in a televised interaction similar to the British tradition of Prime Minister’s Questions.
A Governor’s questions hour would help break the logjam in Albany’s political process, giving New Yorkers direct access to the discussions that shape the state’s policies. By pushing political debates out into the open, it will create a remedy to the backroom dealings and bickering for which New York’s state government has become notorious.
People want to see an ongoing constructive dialogue between their legislators and the Governor to move our state forward. And having a regular questions hour would do just that.
The bill will give legislators an opportunity to question the Governor about the strategic direction, financial status, and general governance of the state. It will require the Governor to stand before the Assembly and the Senate on alternating months during the legislative session, responding to inquiries from Republicans and Democrats alike. The bills specifies that the percentage of time allotted for questions from members of the majority and minority parties will be based on the percentage of representation of each party.
Public dialogue and debate are critical to democracy. But as it stands, there is no opportunity for legislators and the Governor to get together on a regular basis to openly talk about the issues we’re facing. New Yorkers want accountability from their elected officials—and that means putting our debates and competing ideas out in the open.
Kellner Introduces Major Anti-Corruption Legislation
May 4, 2010
There has scarcely been a month since I first came to Albany where we have not seen a scandal involving a public official abusing the public trust for his or her own gain. This seemingly never-ending tide of graft and corruption reinforces the perception that all lawmakers are crooks or clowns. Unless the legislature faces its responsibility to close loopholes that allow this entrenched, unethical behavior to continue, we will deserve every ounce of scorn and distrust.
This is why I am proud to be the Assembly sponsor of the Public Corruption Prevention and Enforcement Act, a major reform that will strengthen New York’s anti-corruption laws (the New York Times reported on the bill here). This wide-ranging legislation closes loopholes in current state law that prevent the prosecution of corrupt schemes, adds tougher rules for member item grants, implements stronger campaign finance and financial disclosure measures, and fixes an apparent loophole in the Election Law. The bill has been introduced in the State Senate by Senator Eric Schneiderman, and was drafted in co-operation with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
The Public Corruption Prevention and Enforcement Act includes a host of measures to ensure that lawmakers are working for the public and not for their own personal benefit: it enacts a duty of faithful public service, punishes corrupt schemes to defraud the government, reforms criminal bribery statutes, creates new standards and prohibitions for community projects grants (commonly known as “member items”), enhances financial disclosure for state officials to prevent even the possibility of corrupt activities, and strengthens campaign finance rules to prevent loans intended for campaign use from being disguised as personal gifts (fixing a perceived loophole that recently led to the acquittal after trial of a public official in Manhattan).
It is time that lawmakers work to enrich the lives of their constituents instead of their own wallets. This is 2010, not the Boss Tweed era, and our laws should soundly punish those who abuse the public trust.
Kellner Reform Will Bring Assembly Activities Into the Light
April 26, 2010
Too much of the Assembly’s public business is conducted behind closed doors. While many of the Assembly’s documents and records are posted online, there is little information readily available about which lobbyists are fighting to pass or kill which legislation, and about what goes on during the committee meetings that are a crucial part of the legislative process.
Just as I have introduced legislation to require New York State’s agencies to put their public records on the internet, I believe that New Yorkers are entitled to know what is happening in their state legislature. For this reason, I am introducing a rules resolution that will require the Assembly to dramatically improve its transparency by putting records of all its work online.
When a bill is introduced, it is sent to one of the Assembly’s standing committees for review, and before it can be voted on by the full Assembly it must first be approved by the committee. Lobbyists seeking to influence the legislative process will send memos to the committee members, urging them to vote a bill through – or, in many cases, to vote against a bill so that it never makes it out of the committee to a full vote. The public should know who is trying to influence Assembly Members, and what those lobbyists are saying. My resolution will require these lobbyist memoranda to be published on the Assembly’s website.
The resolution will also require the Assembly to show its work on the internet, putting meeting notices, agendas, transcripts, minutes, recordings, and attendance and voting records online for all to see. It will let New Yorkers see and hear who is saying what about each bill, who is pushing to have a bill advanced out of a committee, and who is trying to keep it bottled up. It will open up the Assembly’s legislative process, from beginning to end, for public scrutiny.
Making laws is often compared to making sausages – it is said that it’s better not to see how it happens. But the lawmaking process is critically important to New Yorkers’ everyday lives, and the public has every right to expect that their legislature works in a way that allows citizens to see what is happening and to participate. My resolution will make this kind of transparency standard practice for the Assembly.
10-Bill Package to Protect the Rights of Tenants Passes Assembly
February 4, 2009
Anyone who rents in New York City knows that the rent laws are broken and our City’s affordable housing stock is in crisis. Over the past decade we have watched as speculation in multi-family housing resulted in the harassment and eviction of families from their homes.
I’m proud to say that earlier this week, the Assembly acted to update and strengthen New York’s rent laws. For your information, these ten bills are listed below. The bill package is now headed to the Senate.
A.2005 (Rosenthal) – Repeals vacancy decontrol laws that allow landlords to deregulate apartments. The bill also re-regulates thousands of units that are renting for less than $5000/month.
A.1686 (Lopez) – Reduces the maximum amount a landlord can increase the rent on a vacated apartment from 20% to 10%.
A.860 (Bing) – Adjusts income decontrol thresholds to more accurately reclect present day realities and tie income decontrol thresholds to inflation in the NYC metropolitan area.
A.1687 (Lopez) – Require former Section 8 properties to be automatically subject to rent regulation.
A.1685 (Lopez) – Limit a landlord’s ability to recover an apartment for personal use to one unit per property.
A.1688 ( Lopez) – Repeals the Urstadt Law, allowing New York City to make its own rent laws.
A.857 (Bing) – Maintains the rents for tenants at their same levels when a building leaves the Mitchell-Lama program and enters rent stabilization.
A.1928 (O’Donnell) – Extends the length of time during which major capital improvement (MCI) expenses are recovered by landlords so that the costs to tenants are more spread out. Also, prohibits rent surcharges for MCIs after the costs of the improvement have already been recovered.
A.2002 (Silver) – Creates civil penalties for tenant harassment and raises penalties on landlords that violate DHCR housing codes.
A.465 (Jeffries) – Protects tenants with preferential rental agreements from exorbirant rent increases.
Nothing to Hide: Financial Disclosure Laws for Lawmakers Should be More Transparent
September 18, 2008
A cynical observer might assume that the reason I am so nonchalant about handing over unredacted copies of my financial disclosure forms to anyone who asks, including the New York Sun, who published an article today that featured my doing so (“Taciturnity is the Word on Legislators’ Pay”) is that other than my public service as an Assembly Member, I have no other income. But the fact is that it is precisely because of my elected post that I don’t have any other income. Being a legislator is a full-time gig. Most of my colleagues treat it as a full-time job, and they should.
I was a little surprised that when the Sun called around, I was the only one to comply with their request, but I strongly suspect that if they had called more than just a few lawmakers, they would have received many more forthcoming replies.
As I said in that article, there is an unfair public perception that all lawmakers are crooks or clowns, and the high-profile scandals following the exposure of the occaisonal bad apple only heightens this carictature. But for the vast majority of legislators this is simply not the case, and being more transparent about their finances would demonstrate this. I will work in the next legislative year to improve the laws around transparency. The public deserves to know when lawmakers have other jobs and how much they make from them.
A little over a week ago, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told the Associated Press that he would be taking steps to reform ethics and disclosure rules for lawmakers next year. When I next spoke to the Speaker, I made sure to tell him that I completely supported what he said and that I looked forward to working with him on legislation to accomplish good government reforms. I will continue to update you on our progress when the legislature goes back to session in January.
Taciturnity Is the Word On Legislators’ Pay
By JACOB GERSHMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun | September 18, 2008
While other state lawmakers are accustomed to cloaking their financial secrets behind lax disclosure laws, Assemblyman Micah Kellner stands apart.
Unlike most of his Albany colleagues, the 29-year-old Democrat of the Upper East Side has no problem providing an unredacted review of his financial disclosure forms. Not that his forms disclose terribly much: The only income Mr. Kellner earns comes from his $79,500-a-year salary as a legislator.
“I guess I’m very poor,” he said. “It’s the most depressing day having to fill out these forms.”
Other lawmakers contacted by The New York Sun, including the four legislative leaders, were not so forthcoming, refusing to make available the full versions of their annual statements.
Under rules set up by lawmakers in the 1980s, they are permitted to conceal how much outside income they earn, a practice that is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Last week’s arrest of a Queens assemblyman, Anthony Seminerio, whom federal prosecutors accuse of accepting payoffs from hospital executives in exchange for lobbying his colleagues on budget matters, has again trained a spotlight on Albany’s disclosure laws. Critics say they are too weak, allowing lawmakers to hide business interests that could potentially conflict with their public duties.
Mr. Seminerio, who maintains his innocence, established a private consulting firm to sell his services. By law, he was not required to publicly disclose the nature of his business or how much outside income he earned.
In Albany, it’s hard to find a lawmaker defending the current system. In theory, most are supportive of stricter reporting requirements. Some, including Mr. Kellner, are pressing for new resolutions or legislation, saying the Seminerio arrest has undermined their credibility.
Mr. Kellner said he is concerned that the public has a perception that lawmakers are “crooks or clowns.” For the “vast majority of us, neither of those things is true,” he said, adding that by giving the public a fuller account of their outside work, lawmakers could better make that case.
In practice, few are willing to share information beyond what the law requires. Those who are so inclined say they fear such an act of transparency would alienate their less-forthcoming colleagues.
[Click here to read more...]
- Via @MicahKellner + @MMViverito NYPD, never sensitive to Trans NYers, but if these allegations true its beyond the pale http://t.co/UGWWI9Tn
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