The Democratic-led state Assembly laid out details of its spending proposals on Monday, and ethics reform was not listed as a priority, despite the corruption indictment of former Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Gov. Cuomo is pressuring the Legislature to insert anti-corruption measures into the $142 billion state budget scheduled for adoption on April 1, but Assembly members said they want to deal with ethics — such as requiring more disclosure of outside income by lawyer-legislators — as a separate issue.
“Much of what the governor is proposing is policy, not budget. I’m having a hard time seeing why this has to be put in the budget with a manufactured deadline,” said Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-SI).
Another Democratic insider said Cuomo’s ethics proposals were actually stripped from the Assembly budget resolution to be unveiled on Tuesday.
Cuomo’s ethics plan would force lawyer-legislators to name their outside clients, require legislators to provide more documentation to justify per diem housing and travel expenses, and strip the pensions of elected officials convicted of public corruption, among other changes.
The lawmakers’ refusal to put reform in the budget came as protesters descended on the governor’s Midtown offices on Monday, demanding “real” ethics reform.
Silver (D-Manhattan) is accused of lining his pockets with $4 million in kickbacks leveraged through his public office. The former speaker denies the extortion and wire fraud charges brought by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
Among the major spending details in the Assembly’s proposal is an additional $1.8 billion more for education over last year’s budget, double what Cuomo has proposed.
But it doesn’t include as much money for charter schools as Cuomo wants. Also, there is no funding for tax credits for private schools, another Cuomo proposal, and it does not include Cuomo’s policy proposal for teacher evaluations.