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NY1, May 03, 2005
In Final Stretch Of
Legislative Session, Lawmakers Put Emphasis On Reform
Kristi Berner
With seven weeks left in the state legislative session
and no budget to worry about, Albany
lawmakers say they're focusing on reform. But are they working on real
reform, or is all just talk? Political Reporter Kristi Berner has more in
the following report.
It's the most popular word in Albany this year: reform.
Last year a report declared New York's state government the most
dysfunctional in the nation. Several lawmakers lost their seats last
November, possibly as a result. Lawmakers are listening to the public
rumblings for big changes.
"Currently everyone in Albany
is a reformer and the challenge for New York's
voters is to separate the real reformers from the Johnny-come-latelies,"
said Jeremy Creelan of the Brennan
Center for Justice at
the NYU School of Law.
And it's not just lawmakers. Governor George Pataki
jumped on board Tuesday by signing legislation to open up state agencies
for easier scrutiny. A revised freedom of information law requires the
agencies to acknowledge certain requests from journalists within five days
and to respond in full within 25 days.
"I think this will go along way, not just to
providing information on public agencies across the state to the public,
but as I said, to make sure it's provided in a timely manner," said
Pataki.
And earlier Tuesday, Democrats in the senate minority
called for reform in the way companies lobby the state for contracts. Right
now those firms don't have to report their lobbying activity.
"Really, what's critical is, we put that
information out there, so the public can know who's influencing who, or
who's being paid to influence who," said State Senate member Liz
Krueger.
Other reforms in the senator's bill include changing how
public authorities report their activities, changing how legislative
districts are drawn, and campaign finance reform.
But experts say a key reform is getting more power for
individual lawmakers. They say the senate majority leader and assembly
speaker still control too much, such as when a bill gets to the floor for a
vote.
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