Ethics reform advice Albany needs

Welcome to Albany, a funhouse of smoke and mirrors. It’s a zone where facts are fluid and truth is spun with relish.

The topic is ethics reform. And people across New York are fed up with politicians’ shenanigans.

So what’s going on? Sadly, not enough. Nowhere near enough.

The two legislative bodies, the State Assembly and State Senate, have offered weak proposals that literally have nothing to do with each other. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who says he strongly supports ethics reform, has pronounced both as lacking. Yet Cuomo has taken an RV tour to every corner of the state and has held numerous news conferences to promote his paid family leave and $15 minimum wage initiatives, but has not done the same for ethics.

Now it seems likely that ethics will not be part of the budget due April 1. Instead, it will be taken up during the rest of the legislative session that follows. Why? Because Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Majority Leader John Flanagan are making deals with other goals in mind, and ethics reform is not a neat fit.

We are of mixed minds about this.

No one uses the leverage of the budget process better than Cuomo. With that removed from his tool kit, Cuomo could try to embarrass the legislature into taking action. It helps that the sentencings of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Majority Leader Dean Skelos, both convicted last year on corruption charges, are set for April 13. But that moment will pass quickly, and the legislature has shown repeatedly it is immune to shame. There is motivation for both chambers to get something done before the special election April 19 to fill Skelos’ seat. Democrat Assemb. Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach is running on an anti-corruption platform his colleagues don’t seem to fully back, while Republican contender Christopher McGrath of Hewlett is silent on any reform agenda.

But if that’s not enough, Cuomo can always keep legislators in Albany after the session ends in mid-June, delaying summer vacations and election-year campaigning, until he gets what he wants. That’s the nuclear option, and he should not hesitate to use it.

But there is a silver lining to postponing ethics to a spring showdown. Ethics reform by its nature demands open discussion, not behind-doors meetings. It needs public hearings and separate votes, so legislators have to say exactly where they stand on this critical issue. Each faces an election in November, and a vote on ethics should be part of every record. After April 1, Cuomo should eschew his usual statewide budget victory lap and instead outfit that RV with new signage. Then he should barnstorm once more, pressing for serious ethics reform. It must be comprehensive and address all the ills that plague this state’s politics, not a take one from column A and one from column B approach that lets our leaders say they’ve done something without really solving the problem.

What would that approach include?

— Pension forfeiture — That, fortunately, appears to be low-hanging fruit. Both houses and Cuomo want to strip pensions from officials convicted of job-related felonies. The Assembly has been skittish about including union members. We prefer the Senate’s more far-reaching version. Betray the public trust, lose the public pension.

— Outside income — A ban, coupled with a hike in legislator salaries, is not happening. So we need an appropriate limit. The Senate won’t touch this, and the Assembly’s proposal is ridiculous. Its limit is 40 percent of what State Supreme Court justices make. That turns out to be nearly $70,000, which will rise soon when judicial salaries go up; legislators make $79,500. It was designed to hurt the fewest members with sizable second paychecks in the least possible way. We prefer Cuomo’s proposal of 15 percent of the legislative salary, essentially the limit for members of Congress. You can’t serve two masters, and if your outside income is too high, you’re not serving the public.

— LLC loophole — Another Senate no-go. The Assembly would not ban campaign contributions from limited liability corporations, which offer tax and liability advantages and are subject to fewer rules on contributions. But it would limit them to the same $5,000 aggregate for corporations and require them to identify all owners. It’s a start.

— Term limits — The Senate is pitching eight years for legislative leaders and committee chairs. That’s good. Term limits for all legislators would be better.

The Assembly last week tweaked its rules to improve the transparency of its operations and make it easier to bring bills to a vote on the floor. That’s encouraging. But as they and their Senate colleagues dither and dicker in the weeks ahead about the larger steps they should take, they should remember their constituents’ outrage.

A recent Newsday/News 12/Siena College poll found that more than 80 percent of Long Islanders said corruption among elected local officials is a serious problem. And they want action.

So, Gov. Cuomo, rev up the RV. Legislators, get serious. You all have a problem. And only you can fix it. No more smoke and mirrors.