Message from Liz...
As we approach the end of the legislative session, members of the Senate Majority Coalition are making a lot of excuses as to why the Senate can't take action on several key pieces of the governor's agenda, including public financing of campaigns, marijuana arrest reform, and a comprehensive Women's Equality Act – including provisions protecting a woman's right to make her own private choices about her reproductive health, with her doctor, under New York State law.
These are all measures that deserve a vote on the Senate floor. If these major proposals are killed without even receiving an open vote, it will be a major failure for the Majority Coalition's professed goal of reforming the way Albany does business.
Members of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), which has allied with Republicans to form this "Majority Coalition" ruling the Senate, claim that reproductive health and marijuana reform can't pass because they cannot be assured of unanimous support from Democrats. And even though Democrats have unanimously announced their support for campaign finance reform, the Majority Coalition has still not committed to a floor vote even on that issue, because of the objections of Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos.
The reality is that in any legislative body, finding the votes for a particular measure often involves reaching across the aisle. Governor Cuomo proved adept at doing this in 2011, when he secured the support of four Republican senators to secure passage of marriage equality. Given the chance, I am sure that the governor, working with advocates, can achieve the same success on the 10-point Women's Equality Agenda and marijuana reform. But to achieve that success, there has to be a vote on the Senate floor.
What's more, there's a long history in New York State of advances on reproductive choice and women's rights in particular requiring and eventually securing bipartisan support. The Women's Health and Wellness Act passed in 2002 with the help of Republican votes. The original 1970 legislation decriminalizing abortion in New York also passed with bipartisan support.
Between the Democratic Conference and the IDC, even the most conservative count only puts us one or two away from the 32 votes we need to pass the governor's full women's equality agenda, including protections for reproductive rights and health. If the bill goes to the floor – which it certainly would with a Democratic majority setting the agenda – I have confidence that it would have more than enough cross-party support to pass.
The case is even starker with regards to legislation creating a campaign finance system with public matching funds. In this case, cross-party support isn't even necessary – the members of both the Democratic Conference and the IDC have indicated they support such a proposal, so it could pass with a majority even if every Republican chose to vote no. While there are a few different bills floating around, they all share the core goal of creating a public matching-funds system to refocus elections back on everyday voters instead of big-money donors. The coalition needs to be willing to bring this proposal to the floor for a vote – a Republican minority shouldn't be empowered to block it. What's more: as with reproductive rights, I fully expect that if the bill did come for a vote, some Republican members would in fact support it.
Campaign finance and ethics reforms in general have become all the more urgent given the recent indictments of several legislators. Let me be clear: I have zero tolerance for legislators violating the law, either inside or outside our roles as public officials. We are supposed to be held to higher standards. No one forced us into these jobs. We asked you to vote for us and give us the power to establish the laws you must live under.
But as disturbing as the indictments are, there is a growing consciousness of Albany's stunningly open and more-or-less legal pay-to-play culture. Legislators are "rented" through huge campaign contributions that, with a nod and a wink, are connected to the submission of some bills or the holdup of others. Leaf through our daily newspapers in any given week, and you'll see stories about some legislator taking $50,000, $70,000 or even more in "legal" campaign contributions in exchange for acting on legislation benefiting special interests. I would submit that this is far more harmful to our state and to the concept of democracy than most of the individual indictment stories, and it disgusts me. Moreover, I think it contributes to a larger culture of corruption in the legislature that spawns the seemingly-perennial stream of indictments.
We need comprehensive, top-to-bottom reform, not a couple of narrow laws passed in response to one particular scheme or another. I believe that without such reform, we will not be able to change the corrupt culture of this town. That's why I think much lower donation and spending limits, small-donor matching funds, and strict laws preventing the "purchase" of legislative actions all need to pass this year – as soon as possible.
The bottom line is this: the only factor in preventing passage of comprehensive campaign finance and ethics reform, the full Women's Equality Agenda, and marijuana law reforms – all crucial, broadly-supported measures – is the IDC's decision to give the Republican Conference Leader, Dean Skelos, a veto over all legislative business.
There are still six weeks of session left to get these important bills done. The only thing holding them up is the usual Albany game of hide-the-ball, where Senate majority leaders refuse to allow their members to vote. Sometimes their members like it that way, as they would prefer not to have to take a public stand on controversial issues – but taking these votes is what we are elected to do.
I will be working with the governor, with like-minded colleagues, and with advocates on all of these issues to encourage the reluctant Senate majority leadership to stop blocking votes on these critical issues.