Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that the New York State Assembly has initiated a nationwide search for an attorney with extensive experience in legislative ethics to head the Assembly's newly created Office of Ethics and Compliance.

"New Yorkers expect and deserve transparency in government and elected officials who work for public and not for their own interests," said Speaker Heastie. "The Office of Ethics and Compliance will lead the way for meaningful reform, and its director will have the opportunity to help create change. Our state should have a government as good as its people and our officials must be beyond reproach. The person chosen to lead this new office will not only be committed to compliance with stringent ethical standards, but will also be proactive in identifying areas where our rules and regulations need improvement."

Continuing Speaker Heastie's efforts to strengthen ethics and introduce greater transparency and accountability in the Assembly, the Office of Ethics and Compliance will educate and assist members of the Assembly and staff in order to ensure adherence to laws and regulations, as well as provide recommendations to strengthen legislative ethics within the Assembly.

The director will be responsible for reaching out to members and informing each member of available services, streamlining and operating ethics training for all members and staff, responding to questions and providing assistance with financial disclosure forms, reviewing best practices in legislative ethics to make recommendations for improvements and working with the Ethics Counsel of both the Majority and Minority conferences to identify areas for review.

The bi-partisan search committee, which was convened in February, will recommend to the Speaker a list of candidates to consider. The search committee is comprised of the following members who have extensive experience in the practice of law and ethics:

• Todd D. Kaminsky, former assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York and assistant district attorney.
• William B. Magnarelli, an attorney and former captain in the Army Reserves who has previously served as chair of the Assembly Ethics Committee;
• Janet L. Duprey, a member of the Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee;
• Shelley Mayer, former assistant attorney general in the office of the New York State Attorney General;
• Phil Ramos, retired detective from the Suffolk County Police Department;
• Michele R. Titus, former attorney for the New York City Board of Education, the Consumer Frauds Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office, and the Integrity Bureau at the Queens County District Attorney's Office.

The Assembly encourages qualified applicants to send their resumes to Magnarelliethics@assembly.state.ny.us or to Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli, Legislative Office Building, Room 837, Albany, NY 12248. The New York State Assembly is an equal opportunity employer and encourages members of the various protected classes to apply.