The man has a sense of humor - even when he's pursuing a serious topic - along with an astute sense of the leadership-driven, secretive world that is Albany and a complete lack of fear in seeking to expose it.

Kirwan, a Newburgh Republican, just announced he has introduced a bill that would require elected officials in New York to list an identify any source of outside income over $100 and provide information on what they did to earn it.

Kirwan half-jokingly referred to this as the "Snowball's Chance in Hell Bill" because it's a near-certainty that it will never be allowed to come to the floor for a vote by the leadership in either house (Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, both of whom have come under fire for their outside business interests, although only Bruno is being investigation by the FBI).

"When we read what leadership in both houses of the state Legislature refuse to divulge to the public - a public that has grown increasingly cynical about how Albany operates - the reason for this bill becomes clear said Kirwan.

“The public has the right to know if outside influences condemn a particular bill to eternal damnation in committee, and that same public has a right to be assured that their legislator’s actions or votes are dictated by the general good and welfare of the state,”

This isn't the first time Kirwan has sought to speak truth to power. In 2006 (back when "legislative reform" were still the buzzwords on everyone's lips), he teamed up with Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger to sue Silver and Bruno for keeping the minority members down in their respective chambers by denying them equal resources and power. The lawsuit was unsuccessful.