As a New Yorker, I’m used to perpetual sticker shock, but we can't have a democracy that's priced like Madison Square Garden, where even the lowest priced ticket is out of reach for the average New Yorker. We need new campaign finance laws in our fair state.

Campaign finance advocates continue to push a variety of reforms to combat the effects of last year’s Citizens United ruling, including challenging the tax status of outside spending groups.

As expected, Senator Tom Udall explained that a simple majority can stop obstruction and force an up-or-down vote on any proposal to reform the Senate’s rules on the first legislative day of the session.

The Brennan Center mourns the passing of Larry Hansen – Vice President of the Joyce Foundation in Chicago since 1994, and a one-of-a-kind leader in the movement to make American democracy work better.