Citizen Action of New York News

Legislative Gazette

Albany, NY

http://www.legislativegazette.com/day_item.php?item=913

A report entitled New Yorkers Pay When Big Money Plays: The Case for Public Financing of Elections was released today by Citizen Action of New York.
The report analyzes how campaign contributions affect bills relating to policy areas such as dealing with ticket scalping, rent regulations, health care and wetlands:
The group said campaign contributions made by wealthy corporations are preventing the passage of legislation that concerns the most important needs of the public. Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action of New York, said lawmakers pay more attention to wealthy contributors than to non-profits and the public.
The group also hopes to pass a public funding of elections bill they said would give a voice to New Yorkers when voting for elected officials to address their concerns.
?The current campaign finance system gives too much control over how public policy is made in this state to big money campaign contributors. We need a system that provides transparency and accountability to the voters ? public financing of elections is that system,? said Scharff.
Citizen Action says bills such as these are being impacted by campaign contributions from companies with an interest in making sure they don?t pass:
- A bulk purchasing bill (A.2007B/S.121-A) would establish a prescription drug discount program that provides access to prescription drugs to participants at a discounted price.
- A health insurance rate regulation (A.3122/ no same as) calls for limiting superintendent control of insurance that allows rate increases above five percent for certain hospital service corporations.
- A ticket broker bill (A.8283/S.5525) would put a price cap on tickets that are resold in order to keep prices affordable for New Yorkers.
- A wetlands bill (A.6363/S.848 and S.4956) would give the Department of Environmental Conservation regulatory authority over Freshwater wetlands.
- A vacancy decontrol bill (A.2005/S.2237A) would make changes to the emergency tenant protection act relating to vacancy decontrol.
Scharff said a public funding for elections bill passed in the Assembly last year, however, under the former Republican control, it was not able to pass in the Senate.
Each of the five bills are pending in the 2009 legislative session and the report argues that passing public financing of elections for statewide offices would end the current system of the wealthy halting legislation they don?t like.
?New Yorkers can no longer afford not to pass public financing of elections for statewide offices,? said Scharff.

The Buffalo News

Buffalo, NY

http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/683931.html

It is understandable that the public’s initial response to the recently passed New York State budget was a negative one. Media reports stressed unfair taxes and fees and bemoaned the failure to cut state spending.

A closer look, however, reveals that the budget is a reasonable response to a dire situation. It’s not a perfect budget — far from it — but there are key positives that have prevented more serious cuts in essential education, health and social services. Rather than vilify Sens. William Stachowski and Antoine Thompson, we should thank them for protecting the residents of economically depressed Western New York.

First and foremost, they deserve thanks for passing the Fair Share Tax Reform, which was aggressively advocated by the Working Families Party and Citizen Action of New York, along with other groups in the Fair Share Tax Coalition. By raising the income tax rate on the wealthiest New Yorkers (families earning more than $300,000 per year), more than $4 billion will be raised.

Statewide, this tax increase affects only 3.5 percent of the taxpayers, and an even smaller percentage in Western New York. New York’s highest tax rate is now comparable to that of New Jersey. Progressive income taxes are much fairer than sales taxes and fees, which impact lower income families to a greater degree. Without this tax revenue, Western New Yorkers would be burdened with higher property taxes in order to support necessary health and education services.

School districts will be spared major cuts or increased school taxes. Advantage After-School Programs will receive increased funding in order to expand the provision of after-school programs, which will benefit thousands of youth throughout New York State.

Although there are cuts in health care that will hurt hospitals, the budget included authorization to expand Family Health Plus, removed a proposed premium increase on the Medicaid buy-in for working people with disabilities and reformed the process to enroll in public health insurance programs.

The Working Families Party and Citizen Action of New York would like to thank all the Western New York legislators who were courageous enough to vote for the Fair Share Tax Reform, particularly Stachowski and Thompson, who have taken the greatest heat.

We urge them to tackle other reforms in the months ahead. Legislation governing industrial development agencies needs to ensure that our tax dollars will be used to create living-wage jobs. A system of public financing of elections needs to be established to reduce the influence of money in elections. Also, a thorough examination of state public authorities should be undertaken to assess the need for their continued existence, and if so, to establish a strong mechanism to make them accountable to the taxpayer.

Sam Williams is co-chairman of the Working Families Party. Ellen Kennedy is board president of Citizen Action of New York.

WAMC

Albany, NY

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1510250/WAMC.New.York.News/New.Report.Favors.Public.Financing.of.NY.Elections

“]As the New York State Senate begins a process of seeking public comment on the shape of “public financing elections legislation,” Citizen Action of New York is out with a report that finds campaign contributions from corporate interests are used to block legislation that would help consumers, tenants and the environment. Capital District bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

RADIO – click link above to listen to the story.

Elmira Star-Gazette

Elmira, NY

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090527/NEWS01/905270361/1117/Paterson+proposes+ethics+reform+overhaul

By Jay Gallagher
Albany Bureau Chief

ALBANY – In the wake of several scandals, including one involving the state ethics- oversight agency, Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday proposed setting up a new ethics panel that he said will be more independent than the one it would replace and would also oversee the Legislature.

“The time has come for a comprehensive overhaul of Albany’s existing ethics reforms,” Paterson said. “Today, I call on my colleagues in the Legislature to support my legislation to create a truly independent, efficient and comprehensive entity.”

But calls for similar changes in the past have failed to gain the approval of the Legislature, which has insisted for decades that lawmakers can police themselves, even though legislative ethics panels have never publicly criticized or disciplined a lawmaker. There was no immediate indication today that legislators’ stance has changed.

A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said the proposal would be reviewed. “We are open to changes,” said spokesman Dan Weiller.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, said, “we welcome the Governor’s submission of ethics-reform legislation,” but pointed out the Senate has its own ethics changes it is considering.

Paterson’s proposal follows a scathing report earlier this month by state Inspector General Joseph Fisch that slammed the two-year-old state Commission On Public Integrity for allegedly leaking confidential information about the panel’s probe of the administration of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer to a top Spitzer aide.

Fisch called for the resignation of commission Executive Director Herbert Teitelbaum, who quit a few days later even though he denied any wrongdoing. Paterson then called for the resignation of the 12 holdover members of the commission, but they refused.

The new panel, according to Paterson, would:

* Enforce campaign-finance laws, now the responsibility of the state Board of Elections, as well as ethics laws for both executive- and legislative-branch officials and employees.

* Have independent enforcement power, as well as the ability to refer cases to the attorney general.

* Have its five members picked by a new 10-member “designating commission” for five-year terms. Four members of that panel would be picked by the governor, and one each by the four legislative leaders and one each by the attorney general and comptroller.

The current panel has 13 members, seven of whom were appointed by the governor. Its critics say that giving the governor the power to appoint a majority of the members compromised its independence.

Blair Horner, legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, who has been pushing ethics changes for decades, said Paterson’s idea would be an improvement over the current setup.

“At the end of the day, what the public should expect is an independent body to oversee ethics,” he said.

Also Tuesday, Citizen Action of New York presented a report that said for-profit special interests outspent, by a 9-to-1 ratio or more, non-profit groups that lobbied on legislation relating to health care, the environment, rent regulation and ticket scalping.

The group wants the Legislature to adopt a public-financing program.

The Senate has drafts of three public-financing bills on its Web site and is holding public hearings on the issue in Rochester Thursday and Albany on June 3, when Paterson’s bill is also expected to be discussed.

Last year, the Assembly passed a bill that would give candidates $4 in public money for every dollar raised in contributions of $250 or less from state residents. The voluntary system would be similar to what New York City has.

The Assembly has introduced and passed public-financing legislation almost annually for three decades, the report said. But they have not been taken up by the Senate, which until this year was controlled by Republicans since 1966.

Fox 40 WICZ

Binghamton, NY

http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=9089

Do campaign contributions from big corporate industries affect legislation?

Well, a recently released report from citizen action says big money makes contributions that block legislation that benefits citizens.

On Tuesday, protestors stood in front of the state building, and spoke about 5 specific bills related to health care, the environment, rent regulation and ticket scalping.

According to Citizen Action’s report, the bills have been blocked by big industries for years, because they don’t want laws put in place  that could hurt business.

Citizen action reps say all residents must voice their opinions or this trend will continue.

“I can’t under value the importance of people calling their state representatives, going to our website.  Speaking to their friends, their neighbors, getting them to call, send e-mails,” said Lea Webb of Citizen Action.

Citizen Action reps encourage people to voice their opinions in the next four weeks before the state legislature votes on the bills.

Log on to voters.donors dot.org for more information.

VIDEO: http://www.wicz.com/news/video.asp?video=05+26+09+citact.wmv.flv

News Channel 34 – ABC/NBC

Binghamton, NY

http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Citizen-Action-Calls-for-Finance-Reform-on-the/mkGvLbQwkE60uSLTEHs3sQ.cspx

Citizen Action is pushing for campaign finance reform.

It wants public financing for candidates.

Citizen Action says contributions by some industries and corporations influence politicians.

In a report called “New Yorkers Pay When Big Money Plays”, Citizen Action says it’s clear that state residents pay more for some things because of corporate interests.

An example, drug companies don’t want the state to buy prescription drugs in bulk, because it would lower the price of prescriptions for consumers and they would lose money.

Finance reform could also get more people involved with politics.

Webb says, “It really opens the door for more people from the grassroots level to really run for office, because it will take away the need for major fund-raising. If you want to run for a statewide office you need to raise well over 100-thousand dollars. So, we feel by taking big money interests away from the political system it will really push forward the peoples agenda.”

The state legislature will be considering legislation to support public financing.

Citizen Action also has a website at www.votersnotdonors.org with more info.

News 10 Now

Binghamton, NY

http://news10now.com//Default.aspx?ArID=472973

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — New York needs to stop pay-to-play politics, some Binghamton activists say.

Members of Citizen Action picketed outside of the State Building in Binghamton Tuesday to protest the way New York State’s senate and assembly campaigns are financed. The organization released a report saying contributions from corporate interests have led to the blocking of consumer-friendly legislation.

“For far too long, big corporate interest has dictated the agenda of New York. And when you’re talking health care and other important issues that people care about, it’s really important that people recognize the importance or the role that big money has played in politics,” said Lea Webb.

Citizen Action plans to travel to Albany on Thursday to protest in the Capitol.

VIDEO: http://news10now.com/Video/video_pop.aspx?vids=156452&sid=1001&rid=1013

Booklyn Ron (blog)

Binghamton, NY (Brooklyn, NY)

http://www.brooklynron.com/lea-webb/

Lea Webb

Lea Webb is the first African American elected to the City Council in Bhinghamton, in upstate New York.
Only 28 years old, she’s making a name for herself taking on progressive causes, one after the other.

Webb is calling for New Yorkers to press their state legislators on the issue of public financing of campaigns.

There is much concern about this cause now, especially since we know how campaign donors and their conduits milked state coffers in the form of pension fund investments.

Webb says interested New Yorkers must tackle this problem right away by signing notes to their elected officials demanding public financing.

Here’s a video of her making her case.

Elmira Star-Gazette

Elmira, NY

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090526/NEWS01/905260336/Health+care+reform+advocates+honor+Massa

By Jeff Murray
jdmurray@gannett.com

Local health care reform advocates Monday pushed for national legislation and also presented Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning, with their “Golden Stethoscope Award” for his support of national health care reform.

Citizen Action of New York released a new report Monday indicating that consolidation in the private health insurance industry is creating skyrocketing premiums for both patients and employers.

Between 2000 and 2007, health insurance premiums increased more than seven times faster than wages of New York’s working families, said Eileen Hamlin, chairwoman of Citizen Action of New York of the Southern Tier.

“When a couple of companies hold a near-monopoly, they not only set the prices, but they also make the rules and call the shots,” Hamlin said. “Private health insurance companies have proven year after year that they’ll do whatever they want when left to their own devices. It’s time for real comprehensive reform that includes regulation and the choice of a public health insurance plan, so we are no longer at the mercy of the private health insurers in New York state.”

Health insurance premiums have gone up an average of more than 87 percent nationwide over the past six years, the report said.

Members of Citizen Action of New York held a brief ceremony Monday at Wisner Park in Elmira to present Massa with his award.

The freshman representative promised that Congress would take definitive action on health care initiatives this year.

“We will have a major health reform bill pass Congress before Thanksgiving, and it will contain a public health option,” Massa said. “I and over 100 members of Congress are dedicated to making sure there is a viable, competitive Medicare-for-all option. I ask you to become activists in this. Providing adequate, quality health care to everyone is job No. 1.”