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Three North Country state
representatives told Saranac Lake business owners Thursday that
although an ethics reform package that was recently introduced by
state legislative leaders isn’t perfect, it’s a step in the right
direction.
Assemblywomen Teresa Sayward and Janet
Duprey joined state Senator Betty Little at the annual Saranac Lake
Area Chamber of Commerce legislative breakfast, which was held at
North Country Community College.
On Wednesday, leaders from both
parties announced that they’d agreed on an ethics reform package
that will expand the Commission on Public Integrity. It will be
split into two separate bodies: the Lobbying Commission and the
Executive Ethics Commission.
And for Duprey, the measure is at
least a start at cracking down on rampant abuses of power in Albany.
“It’s finally happening. Is it the
best ethics bill in the country? Absolutely not,” Duprey said. “But
it’s the first time I have seen an ethics bill with some actual
teeth in it.”
Democratic Governor David Paterson has
been pushing for tougher ethics restrictions in Albany for weeks.
Shortly after the announcement of the legislative version of the
reforms, Paterson ripped them for not being strong enough.
He took particular exception with the
fact that the Lobbying Commission will still include several
legislators.
In the governor’s version of ethics
reform, the oversight body would not include any elected officials.
Paterson said that only a totally independent ethics commission will
have the teeth to clean up the state legislative bodies.
He has also called for term limits and
stricter penalties for violators.
The conviction of former GOP Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno on two counts of corruption for funneling
lucrative state contracts to his supporters has fostered a sense of
urgency around the ethics reform debate.
Paterson labeled the Legislature’s
version of ethics reform nothing more than – quote – “election year
window dressing.”
And on at least one point of
contention, Sayward agrees with the governor’s assessment.
“I have always believed that there
should be term limits for any politician,” Sayward told WNBZ. “But
at the State of the State dozens of representatives from the
majority literally turned their backs to the governor when he
brought it up.”
All three legislators lauded
Paterson’s recent efforts in proposing the consolidation of 14 state
agencies and a 4 percent cap on state spending and the potential
privatization of numerous state holdings. Such cost-cutting measures
have topped the GOP wish list for years.
However, like most members of the
state legislature, they remain skeptical over Paterson’s approach to
slashing the budget.
He has targeted the state’s two
biggest expenses, Medicaid and school aid, for deep cuts in an
attempt to rectify an expected $8 billion shortfall.
But according to Little, cuts to these
two specific funding streams would only shift an even greater burden
on local property tax payers.
“We shouldn’t be talking about going
after schools and hospitals,” Little said. “We should instead
privatize the services that government shouldn’t be doing for you.”
Little is calling for more tax
incentives for businesses that employ only a handful of employees.
“Small businesses are the backbone of
our region,” she said.
-Jon
Alexander, 1-15-10
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