Goo Goos Still on Road and Still Give a Hoot!

So do 900+ other New Yorkers who have taken action on campaign finance reform.

I just arrived in Rochester this afternoon for a local Town Hall Meeting that will be held tonight on the need for action on campaign finance reform before session ends. Last night, I helped moderate a lively discussion in Syracuse on the same issue.

Kudos to Senators Valesky and DeFrancisco, and Assembly Member Stirpe, all of whom joined us for the forum and talked candidly about discussions that lawmakers have been having this session concerning money in politics.

NYS Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno publicly stated yesterday that New Yorkers "don't give two hoots" about campaign finance reform.  But a group of good government advocates are setting out on a roadtrip today that will prove him wrong.  I am getting ready to pile into a minivan today along with representatives from NYPIRG and the League of Women Voters of NYS to travel to a series of local forums that will bring state-level legislators together with the public to discuss campaign finance reform.

We will travel to Syracuse today (May 23rd) and Rochester tomorrow (May 24) and convene again in Schenectady next Saturday (June 2).  On June 6th, I will participate in another campaign finance reform forum sponosred by the Women's City Club in Manhattan.   We have had a great response to these events, with numerous New Yorkers telling us that they want to attend and to learn more about how they can get involved in the fight to get big special interest money out of state politics.

With the State Legislative Session over in NYS, It's a good time to reflect on the good and the bad re: progress on reform issues.

Check out my commentary on the session, and read below for the session's top news stories.

NYS Enacts One of Country's Tightest Gift Limits. Common Cause/NY applauded the adoption in March of a stronger gift ban by the NY Temporary State Commission on Lobbying.  State law bans gifts to lawmakers and their staffs that are worth $75 or more.  However, the rule had previously been interpreted to apply per gift rather than per year.  In other words, lobbyists could give lawmakers limitless $74.99 gifts.  The limit will now be annual.  New York's strengthened gift ban is now in the top dozen of such restrictions across the country, according to a 50 state survey released by CC/NY, the League of Women Voters/N.Y.S. and NYPIRG.

City Reins In Lobbyist Power. In May, the New York City council took a significant step towards limiting the influence of lobbyists on city politics. The council passed a bill that bans large gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, requires lobbyists to report work done on local political campaigns, and limits public matching given for lobbyist campaign contributions. The bill also included a stronger enforcement framework, such as harsher penalties for violations of lobbying laws.

Hi, I'm Rachel Leon, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY checking in with my first post on this blog. I thought I'd share a commentary I do on a bi-weekly basis for WAMC/ Northeast Public Radio, a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states. These include New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Stations and translators are in ten locations throughout the region. My first broadcast was on voting. The next, to air this Friday on midday magazine, will be on lobby reform. Check it out here.

I look forward to feedback, and be sure to let me know of any ideas for future commentaries in the Comments section!