Fitzpatrick: Assembly Majority Reform Agenda Lacks Teeth, Offers Nothing New

Statement from Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C,I-Smithtown) on the Assembly Majority’s reform agenda proposals today.

“The Assembly Majority’s proposal is designed to give the illusion of reform with no substantive change. My Assembly Minority colleagues and I have been advocating for term limits for legislative leadership positions and committee chairs, measures that would expedite votes on legislation with bi-partisan support, and one of the hottest current issues right now, the stripping of public pensions from elected officials convicted of felonies related to their public office. In addition to these proposals, I have long advocated for removing elected officials and political appointees from participation in the taxpayer-funded defined benefit retirement system altogether, and enrolling them in the same defined contribution retirement system used by 70 percent of the teaching staff at the State University of New York (SUNY), a program that enjoys broad support and delivers performance. What the Majority offered today was a hollow gesture to give the appearance of good government reform without loosening the vice grip of control they have exerted for decades at a tremendous cost to New York jobs and competitiveness.”