Brennan Center Expresses Approval of the Substantial Baisis Investigation Report

By Kelly Williams

The Brennan Center for Justice expresses its approval of today’s release by New York State Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC) of the Substantial Basis Investigation Report that was unanimously approved by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) in February.  We note that release of the report is the clear obligation of the LEC as provided by reforms included in the 2011 Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA).  Today’s release of the Substantial Basis Investigation Report by LEC demonstrates that this part of the new ethics oversight process established under PIRA can work – now it is up to the LEC to decide what the proper course of action will be.  We congratulate the JCOPE Commissioners and their staff on today’s important development and hope the remainder of this process will be handled fairly and expeditiously.