I bumped into NYPIRG Legislative Director Blair Horner this afternoon behind the Assembly chamber and asked him about Sen. Lanza's position on the ethics bill. It's impossible to know exactly what Lanza means when he says he supports full disclosure, Horner said, because there is no Lanza or Senate Republican bill. Is Lanza misrepresenting Gov. Cuomo's position, I asked Horner, and he said that's impossible to say, too, because there is no Cuomo bill. Nor is there a bill put in by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. What we have instead is a typically secret Albany negotiation that may or may not come up with meaningful reform.
While it is Horner's impression that the Senate Republicans are resisting reform, he has no real evidence to that effect. He said he remains hopeful that something will emerge better than the 2007 ethics law, which did more harm than good. What if the new bill just represents marginal improvement, I asked, and he replied that he would have to support it. "Roundheels Horner, they call you," I said, turning to go, and he responded: "You know what I am, it's just a question of price." [Note to the literal-minded: We were laughing, joking. Horner does not bear any physical or metaphorical resemblance to a lady of the evening.]
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