As the Legislature and governor continue to negotiate ethics reform behind closed doors, I asked Staten Island's Andrew Lanza, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, about the issue on the Senate floor following this afternoon's session.
Lanza said he is for full disclosure of legislators' private-sector incomes and clients, including for attorneys, but that Gov. Cuomo's bill (i.e. proposed bill language) focuses too narrowly on attorneys and does not have broad enough disclosure provisions. "The more disclosure the better," Lanza said, adding that it would provide valuable information to voters. I asked him whether Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos agrees, and Lanza did not answer directly but said "I am continuing to press" for full disclosure. Skelos, like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is a lawyer who has not disclosed his income and clients.
I also asked Lanza whether negotiations over the bill should be public, but he was not enthusiastic about this, noting "people behave differently" when the cameras are on and may be reluctant to put forward ideas and brainstorm.
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