Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Ethics in NY, Wherefore Art Thou?

This weekend we learned, despite appearances to the contrary, Florida is actually the most corrupt state, as measured by the number of convicted elected officials in the past 10 years. What about New York According to the New York Times, we rank second on that score. (And 23rd per capita.)

And yesterday, Clyde Haberman proved a good summary of recent (mis)doings in the state.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Legislative Reform 2008 Update
Now Due on Jan. 5

Still Broken: New York State Legislative Reform 2008 Update will now be released in Albany on Monday, January 5.

Friday, December 05, 2008

New NY Legislative Reform Report
Out on 12/18

The newest edition of the Brennan Center's Report on New York State Legislative Reform will be released in Albany on the morning of Thursday, December 18.

One difference from previous years is that the Senate will switch to Democratic control in January. We've had ongoing conversations with the current Senate Minority about reforming legislative rules. (And, we hope that the Assembly will consider the same.)

The landmark 2004 Report, The New York State Legislative Process: An Evaluation and Blueprint for Reform, found that the entire legislative process was dysfunctional. In 2005, the legislative leaders, despite disagreeing with the Report's findings, announced several changes to the operating rules intended to make the process more open and robust.

The follow-up in 2006, Unfinished Business: New York State Legislative Reform, found that not much had changed in either chamber.

Our 2008 Report will...you'll have to wait until December 18 to find out. What I can say is that alongside several case studies of legislation, we examine a raft of issues that prevent the Senate and Assembly from acting as an accountable, deliberative, representative and transparent body and propose solutions.