New York State’s governmental ethics laws are in need of major reform. Significant areas of governmental and special interest activities that threaten the performance and integrity of public officials remain outside the reach of existing laws and enforcement powers. Even behavior by public officials that is prohibited by existing criminal laws is at the same time invited by weak ethics laws and by the absence of meaningful and independent enforcement mechanisms.
If passed, the “Ethics in Government Act of 2006” would close numerous current loopholes, expand the reach of existing ethics rules without burdening public officials with needless paperwork, and strengthen ethics enforcement. This measure would reform New York’s ethics laws in the most scandal-prone areas in order to improve both the quality of our government’s decisions and public confidence in our elected officials. This bill would make New York State a national leader in holding its government to the highest ethical and substantive standards.