July 24, 2015: "New Hire for ethics board attacked", Albany Times Union (Casey Seiler)

"An eight-member JCOPE review panel named in early May by Cuomo and legislative leaders is now halfway through its anticipated lifespan, though it's unclear if any activity has taken place. The review panel was originally required by statute to be named almost a year earlier; Cuomo and lawmakers ignored that deadline and gave themselves a new one in the 2015 budget negotiation.

Dick Dadey, executive director of the ethics reform group Citizens Union, said he had heard 'nothing' about the review panel's activities — including whether it would be scheduling public hearings — despite numerous queries.

Dadey pointed to the latest wave of corruption news, including the convictions of former senators Tom Libous and John Sampson.

'With these legislators dropping like flies, it's remarkable that this review commission isn't doing anything,' he said.

A JCOPE spokesman identified Anthony Crowell, dean of New York Law School, as a media contact for the review panel. Crowell did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

The report is due Nov. 1."

August 1, 2015: "JCOPE's question of rules", Albany Times Union (Casey Seiler)

August 10, 2015:  "Ethics Stays in the News",  WAMC Radio -- Blair Horner

"New York law requires that an independent commission review the work of JCOPE.  That group has been appointed and is beginning its work.  Its recommendations are due later this year.  When its reactions become public, the governor should use that opportunity to call lawmakers back to get cracking on ethics reforms."

August 20, 2015:  "JCOPE reviewers meet commission critics", Capital New York (Jimmy Vielkind)

"The commission tasked with examining New York's ethics watchdog met last week with some of its most persistent critics, POLITICO New York has learned.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics' review board, which was (tardily) appointed in May, huddled in Manhattan with leaders of Common Cause New York, the New York Public Interest Research Group, League of Women Voters and Citizens Union.

That group's executive director, Dick Dadey, said members of the review commission, led by Anthony Crowell, the dean of New York Law School, showed 'sincere interest' in the advocates' thoughts.
...
Blair Horner, the longtime executive director of NYPIRG, said the meeting — to which he and Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters phoned in — was 'welcome.'

'They were seemingly beginning their fact finding...'...

In response to a phone call, Crowell and Patricia Salkin—the dean of Touro Law Center and another member of the review commission—issued a statement saying last week's gathering was 'productive and part of a broad outreach' that will include additional meetings over the next six weeks." 

August 26, 2015:  "NY Reform groups have high hopes for ethics reform panel" North Country Public Radio (Karen DeWitt)  NY Now;  WXXI; WRVO; WBFO; WSHU

"The controversial New York State ethics commission is in the midst of a review by a panel appointed by Governor Cuomo and the legislature. Government reform groups said they have been asked to give their opinions on how to fix some of the commission’s problems...

The review panel has already reached out to reform groups. Blair Horner, with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), said he had a preliminary meeting with the panel. 'They’re just beginning that process,' Horner said. 'We’ve urged them to continue working.'

The League of Women Voters’ Barbara Bartoletti also met with the reform panel. ...

Bartoletti said the reform panel looking into JCOPE, is made up of 'irreproachable' appointees, including its chair, former Albany Law School Dean and now Dean of the Touro Law School, Patricia Salkin. It also includes a former Republican State Senator, Dale Volker from Western New York, and a former long-time aid to Governor Mario Cuomo, Elizabeth Moore, and others.... 'This review commission is our single best hope for turning things around,' Bartoletti said.

The review commission is due to issue a final report by November 1..."

 

September 20, 2015:  "Will review of ethics watchdog have bite?", Albany Times Union (Chris Bragg)

"A panel reviewing the operations of the state's ethics and lobbying watchdog, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, faces a Nov. 1 deadline to issue a report on its findings. But it's not clear how deeply the panel can or will delve into the operations of an entity often criticized for its secrecy and charged with a lack of independence.

About six weeks from the deadline, one review panel member, Patricia Salkin, said she was not aware of any efforts to request nonpublic documents from JCOPE that might shed light on a watchdog that makes many of its decisions behind closed doors.
...
The Times Union also asked Salkin, dean of Tuoro Law Center on Long Island, whether the review panel had asked JCOPE for any records of investigations that were opened but never ended up in enforcement actions or settlements, or asked to see requests for investigations JCOPE had received.

'Not to my knowledge but I am just one member,' Salkin said via email.

Calls and emails to a number of other members of the review panel were not returned..
..
Some critics believe Cuomo and the legislative leaders who appointed the JCOPE review panel do not want a truly thorough review of its operations. JCOPE has faced particular criticism for its perceived closeness to the Cuomo administration.

Under the ethics reform law that created JCOPE, the panel was supposed to begin its work in June 2014, but its members were not appointed until this May 1.

As of early August, the review panel had held one live meeting and one conference call — neither of them open to the public.

According to Salkin, the review panel is in the process of scheduling a public hearing in Albany on Oct. 7, and scheduling a series of meetings in Albany on Sept. 28.

Salkin said interviews of JCOPE staff and commissioners have been conducted, and were ongoing. It's unclear how revealing those will be, however: JCOPE commissioners and staff, are required to sign non-disclosure statements saying they will not discuss confidential commission information, subject to a criminal penalty.

The review panel did confer in mid-August with leaders of several good-government groups, including Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters. Bartoletti said she was impressed by the academic credentials of the eight volunteer commissioners, and believed they would be independent.

The topic of whether the review panel was requesting documents from JCOPE did not come up at the meeting.

'Considering most of the people on the panel are very accomplished lawyers, I can only assume they thought about it and decided legally they can't do it,' Bartoletti said.

But JCOPE's commissioners can collectively choose to make such information public. The law states that, 'Any confidential communication to any person or entity outside the commission related to the matters before the commission may occur only as authorized by the commission.'

JCOPE commissioners themselves have said they to want to make more information public.

In a February report on its own workings, the watchdog's very first recommendation was that lawmakers change state law to 'provide JCOPE with more flexibility to make information public by a vote of the commissioners, including the ability to make investigative findings public if no legal violation is found or if JCOPE determines not to investigate.'

The commissioners also implored lawmakers to consider whether JCOPE's current exemptions from the Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Law should be 'modified to increase the transparency of JCOPE's operations while still protecting the integrity of JCOPE's sensitive compliance and investigative functions.'

David Grandeau, the state's former top ethics official and now a lobbying compliance lawyer, first raised some of these issues on his ethics and lobbying blog on Tuesday.

Grandeau, a strident JCOPE critic, posted an email he had received Tuesday morning from Salkin, in which she asked for Grandeau's input on the JCOPE review, and invited him to testify at the October public hearing.

Grandeau responded by asking Salkin to provide him with a list of investigations opened by JCOPE, files for concluded cases, minutes of executive sessions and transcripts of interviews of past and present JCOPE commissioners and staff.

'If you have these items I would be happy to review them prior to my appearance before your review commission so as to provide meaningful input on (JCOPE's) 'activities and performance,'' Grandeau wrote, adding later that 'if you haven't requested or reviewed those items nothing else you do will have any value or worth.'

Salkin did not provide Grandeau such documents in a follow-up email, as they apparently have not been requested by the review panel during its four-and-a-half month existence.

Salkin told the Times Union Tuesday, 'I received David's suggestion this morning; the commission as a whole has not seen it yet. It will be shared with everyone.'"
 

September 22, 2015:   "JCOPE review panel sets two -- count 'em! -- hearings", Capitol Confidential-Albany Times Union (Casey Seiler)

"The review panel appointed in May to review the operations of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics has scheduled two public hearings to receive public comments on the workings of JCOPE and the Legislative Ethics Commission.

The first hearing will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Albany Law School; the second will run 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the following Wednesday, Oct. 14, at New York Law School, located at 185 West Broadway in New York City.

'In order to accommodate everyone who wishes to be heard, the public is encouraged to sign up in advance at admin@nyethicsreview.org,' the panel said in its release. Written testimony can be submitted, as well."

                            New York Ethics Review Commission

September 24, 2015:  "Ethics Commission Review Panel Set To Hold Hearings in October", WSKG News  (Karen DeWitt):  NY Now  WAMC  North Country Radio  WRVO

"Fixing the New York's troubled ethics commission will be the subject of two hearings in Albany and New York City next month. Reform groups say they are ready with suggestions....

According to Dick Dadey, with Citizens Action, the hearings will be a chance for New Yorkers to weigh in on how to clean up public corruption.

Citizens Union and other groups have already offered suggestions to the panel, but also intend to speak at the hearings."

October 1, 2015: "Few indications of 'national search' for new JCOPE head", Albany Times Union (Chris Bragg)

"Wednesday's JCOPE meeting is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.

A half hour later, a panel mandated by state law to review JCOPE's operations will be holding one of two planned public hearings: The session, at Albany Law School, will overlap with JCOPE's meeting and make it difficult for commissioners to testify.

The report of the review panel, also appointed by Cuomo and legislative leaders, is due Nov. 1." 

October 2, 2015:  "JCOPE review panel cancels Albany hearing", Capitol Confidential-Albany Times Union, Casey Seiler

"...The panel, which is supposed to file its report by Nov. 1, will instead hold only a single hearing, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 14 at New York Law School in Manhattan, before submitting its findings.

The Review Commission’s brief notice of the Albany cancellation gave no reason."

 October 5, 2015:  "Lovett: NY Senator who chairs labor committee owns firm charged with breaking labor laws", Daily News (Ken Lovett)
 

October 7, 2015: "Three Cuomo-tied hires spark JCOPE board unrest", Capitol Confidential-Albany Times Union, Chris Bragg

"A panel created by a 2011 law mandated to review JCOPE’s operations was set to hold its only Albany public hearing on Wednesday — but it was canceled Friday in part because the review panel did not want to “pose a conflict” with JCOPE’s meeting, according to a review panel spokesman.

But only six people from the public (including journalists) attended the JCOPE meeting on Wednesday — with no members of the review panel on hand to see JCOPE in person."

October 13, 2015:  "A guide to what the JCOPE review commission will be looking at", Capitol New York, Bill Mahoney 

 

PRESS COVERAGE
OF THE COMMISSION's OCTOBER 14, 2015 PUBLIC HEARING

October 14, 2015: "Witnesses at Public Hearing Say Ethics Commission Not Living Up to Its Mission", WXXI, Karen DeWitt; WXKG , North Country Radio; "Witnesses testify of dysfunction on state ethics commission at public hearing", WVRO

October 14, 2015:  "JCOPE review chairman says he asked Cuomo for staff", Capital Confidential-Albany Times Union, Chris Bragg

October 15, 2015:  "Reform Proposals Fly as Panel Evaluates Ethics Watchdog", Gotham Gazette, Samar Khurshid

 

* * *

October 16, 2015: "NYC Bar: Delay JCOPE review deadline three months", Capitol Confidential - Albany Times Union (Chris Bragg)

October 19, 2015: "Blair Horner: Perfect Storm For Ethics Reform?", WAMC Radio