ETHICS REFORM MEASURES CLEAR SENATE WITH HELP FROM SERINO

ALBANY, NY—Senator Sue Serino (R, C, I—Hyde Park), announced that key ethics reform measures passed the Senate last night including the measure that would strip corrupt politicians of their taxpayer-funded pensions, which cleared a significant hurdle by passing the State Senate with her support for the second consecutive time.

“New York’s taxpayers work far too hard to worry about their money being used to line the pockets of corrupt politicians,” said Serino who has been a vocal supporter of the measure since taking office. “If we want to truly restore the public’s faith in their government, it starts by putting common sense measures like this one in to place, and I am proud to have voted in the affirmative once again.”

The bill (S. 418), which has been one of Serino’s highest priorities, is unique as it proposes an amendment to the State Constitution—requiring it to pass both houses of the Legislature in two consecutive terms and be approved by New York’s voters in the next general election before it can become law.  

Under existing law, officials elected after 2011, such as Senator Serino, lose their pension if convicted of a felony crime. As recent convictions in both houses of the Legislature prove, the reach of that law does not go far enough. The bill passed both houses for the first time at the end of last year’s legislative session and subsequently cleared both houses once again yesterday. It will now need to be sent to the state’s voters for final approval.

In addition to this critical piece of legislation, the Senate also approved a joint resolution (B. 404) that will require lawmakers to have a written advisory opinion from the Legislative Ethics Commission when they undertake outside employment. The measure seeks to combat corruption by substantially limiting conflicts of interest.

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