It seems that all too often; talk of corruption and ethics violations emerge from Albany. It also does not do the honest and hard-working residents of this state any favors when New York is known as the “most corrupt state in the country.” Earlier this week, my colleagues and I took a step in the right direction to correct this perception and give the residents of this state the opportunity to change it.

On Monday, the Assembly and Senate completed their required second passage of pension forfeiture legislation to amend the state constitution and strip corrupt public officers of their taxpayer-funded pensions. Ensuring no politician is able to collect a cent of taxpayer money after being convicted of a felony while in office was approved in the Assembly by a 147-0 margin, and will appear on this November’s ballot to be approved by New York’s voters. I am proud to have been part of this process and to have done what I can to give some control over taxpayer dollars back to New Yorkers.

It is moments like this that help reassure me and my colleagues in the Assembly Minority that our efforts are paying off. As the Minority in the Assembly, having our message heard by the Majority is always an uphill battle. We must constantly fight to ensure the voices of millions of New Yorkers are taken into account and acted upon. This week was a victory for all of these New Yorkers, who are sick and tired of seeing corrupt politicians live off taxpayer money, and I am confident that come November, this will no longer be the case.

I want to congratulate all those who have spoken their mind, helped me and my colleagues keep the pressure on the Assembly Majority, and forced them to pass this legislation. While there are still many more reforms such as campaign finance reform and economic development oversight, if we continue to mount the same pressure on those issues as we did with pension forfeiture, we can shake the “most corrupt state in the country” tag in the near future.

For those interested in viewing the pension forfeiture bill in its entirety, follow the link here.

I want to hear your thoughts on pension forfeiture, ethics reforms and any other legislative matters that come to mind. Please contact me by emailing blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov or calling my office at 493-3909.