Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) joined Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb and his Assembly Minority colleagues this morning at a press conference highlighting the need for critical ethics reform. These reform measures would bring greater transparency and fairness to the chamber’s operations and provide better representation for all New Yorkers.

“We need to come together to reform this house so we can put last year behind us and finally restore the public’s trust,” said Palmesano. “Adopting these measures would be a good step forward toward rebuilding that trust.”

Part of the comprehensive reform plan is the implementation of the Public Officers Accountability Act (A.4617), which would:

• Institute eight-year term limits for legislative leaders and committee chairs;
• Require a legislator to return campaign funds to either donors or charity after a felony conviction;
• Create a new crime for failure to report corruption;
• Ban the use of campaign funds for criminal defense;
• Replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics with an independent oversight panel; and
• Reform member items.

Palmesano also touted the conference’s rules reform proposals, which include:

• Streaming standing committee meetings on the Assembly website;
• Allowing each member of the Assembly to have at least one substantive piece of legislation move from committee and be brought to the floor for a debate and vote;
• Making it more difficult to rush legislation with a message of necessity by requiring two-thirds of the members of the Assembly to approve the message; and
• Requiring that bills with 76 sponsors (a majority of the house) be brought to the floor for a vote.

Most importantly, last session, the Assembly Majority backed away from a deal to strip pensions from public officials who violate the public’s trust. Palmesano hopes that after the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, it will be easier to reach consensus on this common-sense issue.

“Simply put, corrupt officials who abuse their offices and are convicted of felonies don’t deserve a taxpayer-funded pension, period. If the Assembly Majority can’t agree with us on that, then it’s going to be a long session,” said Palmesano.