As we approach the end of the legislative year, the Legislature faces a critical choice between doing what’s right by New Yorkers and playing party politics. In recent times, the already-broken trust in state government has been further weakened as corruption and scandal run rampant through Albany. State officials are elected to office to serve the people but it seems all too often they are merely working to boost their own ambitions.

Last Friday, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted on corruption charges. For years, Silver was a powerful force in Albany and used his authority for personal gain. With this conviction, he will pay for crimes committed against the state, but how did we allow one of the most powerful figures in New York state to commit such egregious crimes? I’m hopeful this conviction will ignite a much stronger effort from the Legislature to take up legislation ensuring top officials are unable to break the law.

In March, former aide to the governor Joe Percoco was also convicted on three serious corruption-related charges. During his career, Percoco spent decades working alongside the governor and was referred to as his friend. How can we continue allowing top state officials to break the law with no intension of working to solve the problem? Our current system is flawed, and it’s time to change the way our state government is run.

Weeks ago, Eric Schneiderman resigned as attorney general following numerous accusations of domestic abuse. As attorney general, Schneiderman championed women’s rights, but used his power to take advantage of women for personal pleasure. These accusations highlight the lack of morality of public officials in our state. Schneiderman’s egregious behavior in office is why the Legislature must come together and work toward legislation to keep state officials in check and ensure they are acting both morally and ethically.

Despite the scandals in state government, my conference’s ethics reform package, the Public Officers Accountability Act (A.05864), remains stagnant in committee. This year, I’ve been displeased by the lack of effort to stop government corruption and the failure to collaborate on a realistic solution. We cannot continue allowing state officials to use their power for personal gain with no regard for the law. With just over a month remaining in the legislative year, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take on ethics reform and restore trust in our state government.