Dear Friend,
This past week we took two major steps forward in our fight to clean up Albany and restore the public’s trust -- the equivalent of a boxing one-two punch: unprecedented disclosure by our elected officials and the empanelling of a commission to investigate public corruption.
The disclosure law, passed in 2011, just went into effect. From now on, legislators must disclose revealing and relevant financial information -- including outside income, employment and holdings. The public finally has transparency that has been missing from Albany since the birth of state government.
This past session, I put forward the most comprehensive and aggressive legislative package Albany has seen in decades to address the corrosive influence of money in elections; strengthen prosecutors’ ability to fight corruption; increase penalties against those who violate the public trust; and give voters more access to the ballot box.
From the beginning, I said I would not accept a watered-down approach to cleaning up Albany and that the Legislature must either act on this legislation or I would take action to achieve these same goals of real reform through other means.
Regrettably, the Legislature failed to act. So I have.
Last week, I formally empanelled the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. This commission will convene the best minds in law enforcement and public policy from across New York to address weaknesses in the State’s public corruption, election and campaign finance laws; generate transparency and accountability; and restore the public trust.
I have outlined the entire plan in an op-ed in the Daily News. You can read it
HERE.
These actions provide the foundation necessary to rebuild the public trust. The steps we have taken are more potent than any reforms enacted before. And I for one will not rest until we have fully restored the people's confidence in our State government.
Sincerely,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo