26 April 2021: A Recipe for Failed Reform of NY's Public Official Ethics Watchdog

26 April 2021: A Recipe for Failed Reform of NY's Public Official Ethics Watchdog

New York's ethics' overhaul on a slow path to reform, but will it get there?

This article is mostly about why a proposal for reforming New York's commission overseeing public officials is not going anywhere quickly, but does contain this description of what makes the current Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) ineffective and how the leading proposal to change it is different from the current system:

Under the 2011 law creating JCOPE, the commission has 14 members: Six appointed by Cuomo and eight by leaders of both parties in the Legislature. Under special voting rules, two Cuomo appointees can kill an investigation into the governor. There's a similar rule giving legislatively appointed commissioners veto power over investigations into members of the Legislature.

Under the proposed constitutional amendment, only two members would be appointed by the governor and a total of four by the Democratic and Republican leaders in the Legislature. The other seven members – a slim majority – would be appointed jointly by New York’s chief judge and presiding justices of the state's appellate courts. Investigations could be authorized by a simple majority vote.

It also describes how the proposed changes would not really decrease the influence of the Governor in choosing who might investigate claims against public officials, which refers to New York's chief judge Janet DiFiore, who was appointed to her office by Governor Cuomo:

Under the proposed constitutional amendment, DiFiore’s partner in making seven appointments to the proposed new commission are the presiding officers of the Court of Appeals, who also receive their titles through appointments from Cuomo.

So while Cuomo would get far fewer direct appointments to the new commission, he would appoint the judges who would make the majority of appointments.

It's as if New York's government was controlled by a single political party whose members are intent on not being held accountable for any misdeeds they commit while in office.