Watchdog groups seek ‘reset’ with new ethics commission (Spectrum News1)
Spectrum News1, September 26, 2022
Watchdog groups seek ‘reset’ with new ethics commission
The watchdog groups want the new Commission on Lobbying and Ethics in Government to address many of the issues that had plagued the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The new panel’s commissioners should find ways of increasing transparency and access to public information, have a clear ‘firewall’ between appointed commissioners and the elected officials who appoint them, pursue enforcement issues promptly and examine how best to issue advisory opinions for ethics-related concerns. The push for changes from the groups, which include Reinvent Albany, the New York Public Interest Research Group, the New York City Bar Association, the League of Women Voters and the Sexual Harassment Working Group, would also include having commissioners take ‘trauma-informed’ harassment training as well.
