[1]Alessandra Biaggi - Democrat for State Senate



Friends -

Last week, the State Senate passed a package of several bills that will
significantly overhaul political ethics laws in New York State.

I was proud to sponsor bill S.6964-A, Omnibus JCOPE Reform, as part of
this effort. The Omnibus Bill will reform the Joint Committee on Public
Ethics (JCOPE), the board in charge of setting standards for ethics and
lobbying the New York State government, and of investigating ethical
violations when they occur.

As we wait for the Assembly to pass this bill, I’d like to take some time
to explain how this reform legislation will improve JCOPE’s functioning,
and why this is so important, especially now.

Since JCOPE was founded ten years ago, the board has struggled to earn
trust with the public due to persistent integrity issues. The truth is
that Albany has been plagued with corruption for decades, and JCOPE simply
has not done its due diligence to uphold integrity in our state
government. Just recently, the board gave the green light for Andrew Cuomo
to receive a $5 million book deal. Not great.

I have long supported JCOPE reform, and I feel confident that the
provisions included in the Omnibus Bill will help to bridge the gap
between JCOPE’s stated mission and the work that it does. Here is what the
bill will do:

* Change the way in which legislative appointees are nominated to
eliminate partisan advantages.
* Remove an arbitrary requirement that, for an individual to be
investigated or convicted of an ethical violation, two members of
their own party must be in support of the decision.
* Remove red tape surrounding the process for appointing or removing an
Executive Director, so that these actions can be completed with a
simple majority vote.

Again, the Omnibus Bill is just one component of a larger package of bills
that will institute necessary reforms like instituting anti-sexual
harassment training for lobbyists and strengthening anti-discrimination
protections for employees.

It is my hope that once this comprehensive legislation package is passed
JCOPE will have the tools necessary to root out corruption in Albany.

[ [link removed] ]If you agree that an overhaul of JCOPE is necessary, I am asking you to
please show your support for this legislation by adding your name here.

While repeated questionable actions on the part of Andrew Cuomo have
underscored the need for a robust body in charge of investigating ethics
violations, our state will benefit from a new and improved JCOPE for
decades to come.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll share more information with you when I
have it.

- Alessandra Biaggi

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