(Long Island, NY) Upon the conviction of former Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head) and many of his colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference are repeating their call to pass historic ethics reform measures in Albany.
“Following the long-awaited conviction of the former speaker, it is critical that we adopt meaningful and effective ethics reform in New York,” said Montesano. “There is no question that this year’s top priority must be to move forward with ethics reform measures to restore the trust of residents across New York State.”
Montesano and his colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference have introduced ‘The Public Officers Accountability Act,’ which calls for term limits for legislative leaders and committee chairs, campaign finance and member-item reforms, removing pensions from convicted officials, and replacing the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) with a truly independent integrity panel.
“For years my colleagues and I have encouraged the legislature to adopt our all-encompassing ethics reform solution,” continued Montesano. “The Public Officers Accountability Act would eradicate the corruption that has wrongfully infiltrated the Capitol, while also preventing power hungry people from becoming long-term legislative leaders.”
As a member of the Assembly Ethics Committee and the Legislative Ethics Commission, Montesano has long called for increased transparency of the legislature in order to ultimately improve the process and ensure representatives are held to a higher standard.
