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FACTUAL BACKGROUND
TO CJA's JULY 19,
2013 CORRUPTION COMPLAINT
VIDEO of Governor Cuomo's April 9, 2013 press conference
&
press release: "Governor
Cuomo Proposes New Class of Public Corruption Crimes"
DA Vance Statement on Governor Cuomo's Proposed Public Trust Act (April 9,
2013 press release)
"Senator
Kennedy: Public Trust Act is Important, Necessary Step to Crack Down on
Albany Crime Spree",
April 9, 2013
"Senator
Serrano Applauds Governor Andrew Cuomo for Introduction of the Public Trust
Act",
April 9, 2013
April 16,
2013
"Cuomo
won't give AG election enforcement powers",
Capitol Confidential, Jimmy Vielkind
April 25, 2013
“Where’s
the bills?”,
WNYC-Capitol Report
* * *
June 11, 2013 letter, signed by ALL 62 New York
State District Attorneys to Speaker Silver &
Senate
Majority Coalition Leaders Skelos and Klein -- "RE: Governor's Program Bill
#3: Public Trust Act"
"Manhattan
District Attorney Vance, Governor Cuomo, District Attorneys from Around the
State Urge Passage of Public Trust Act" -- June 11, 2013 press release
Governor's Program Bill #4 --
Creating Enforcement Counsel at Board of Elections;
Repeal of Wilson-Pakula; Party Enrollment Deadline Change
memorandum
Governor's Program Bill #5 --
Voter Registration; Ballot Access; Ballot
Simplification
memorandum
Governor's Program Bill #12--
"Campaign
Finance Reform Act of 2013"
memorandum
Governor Cuomo's July 2, 2013 press release, with
VIDEO "Governor Cuomo Appoints
Moreland 'Commission to Investigate Public Corruption,' with Attorney
General Schneiderman Designating Commission Members as Deputy Attorneys
General"
“This session, I put forward the most comprehensive and aggressive
legislative package Albany has seen in decades to address the corrosive
influence of money in elections, strengthen prosecutors’ ability to fight
corruption, increase penalties against those who violate the public trust,
and give voters more access to the ballot box. From the beginning, I said I
would not accept a watered-down approach to cleaning up Albany and that the
Legislature must either pass this legislative package or I would empanel an
investigative commission tasked with accomplishing these same goals to
achieve reform. Since THE LEGISLATURE HAS FAILED TO ACT, today I am formally
empanelling a Commission to Investigate Public Corruption pursuant to the
Moreland Act and Section 63(8) of the Executive Law that will convene the
best minds in law enforcement and public policy from across New York to
address weaknesses in the State’s public corruption, election and campaign
finance laws, generate transparency and accountability, and restore the
public trust.”
...INVESTIGATION #1: the Legislature's "fail[ing] to act..."
Governor Cuomo's 2013 Program Bills
CJA's FOIL Requests
-- Public Trust Act/Program Bill #3
CJA's July 16, 2013 FOIL request
to Governor Cuomo
CJA's July 25, 2013 e-mail to Governor Cuomo
--
"Where is the Governor's Acknowledgment of CJA's July 16, 2013 FOIL Request Pertaining to His Program Bill #3: 'Public Trust Act'?"
Governor's July 29, 2013 response
Governor's August 22, 2013 response
indicated website page
CJA's July 16, 2013 FOIL request to Secretary of the Senate,
Majority Coalition Leaders Skelos & Klein, & Minority Leader Stewart-Cousins
Senate's July 25, 2013 response with
Guide to Inspection & Copying
CJA's July 25, 2013 reply to Senate
-- "CJA's As-Yet Unresponded-To 2 FOIL Requests to You and Senate
Leaders -- July 16 & July 18"
CJA's August 16, 2013 e-mail to Beth Garvey, Counsel/Senate Republican
Conference -- "Awaiting Your Written Responses to Our July 16th
& July 18th Letters: Gov's Program Bill #3 (Public Trust Act) & His Program
Bills #4, #5, #12"
Counsel Garvey's August 16, 2013 e-mail
Governor's August 22, 2013 response
indicated website page
CJA's July 16, 2013 FOIL request to Assembly Records Access Office,
Assembly Speaker Silver & Assembly Minority Leader Kolb
Assembly's July 23, 2013
response
Assembly Rule VII,
Public Officers Law Sec. 88,
Guide to Inspection & Copying of Legislative
Records
Program Bills #4, #5, #12
Governor's Program Bill #4 --
Creating Enforcement Counsel at Board of Elections;
Repeal of Wilson-Pakula; Party Enrollment Deadline Change
memorandum
Governor's Program Bill #5
Voter Registration; Ballot Access; Ballot Simplification
memorandum
Governor's Program Bill #12--
"Campaign
Finance Reform Act of 2013"
memorandum
CJA's July 18, 2013 FOIL request to Governor
Governor's July 25, 2013 response
CJA's July 18, 2013 FOIL request to
Secretary of the Senate, Majority Coalition Leaders Skelos & Klein, & Senate
Minority Leader Stewart-Cousins
Senate's July 25, 2013 response
with
Guide to Inspection & Copying
CJA's July 25, 2013 reply to Senate -- "CJA's As-Yet
Unresponded-To 2 FOIL Requests to You and Senate Leaders -- July 16 & July
18"
CJA's August 16, 2013 e-mail to Beth Garvey, Counsel/Senate Republican
Conference -- "Awaiting Your Written Responses to Our July 16th
& July 18th Letters: Gov's Program Bill #3 (Public Trust Act) & His Program
Bills #4, #5, #12"
Counsel Garvey's August 16, 2013 e-mail
CJA's July 18, 2013 FOIL request to Assembly Records Access Officer,
Assembly Speaker Silver & Minority Leader Kolb
Assembly's July 23, 2013
response
* * *
Inquiries to Legislators
--
To Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins:
--
July 12, 2013 e-mail to her Legislative Director --
"Subject: Follow-Up: Securing a Functioning
Legislature"
"...Insofar as Governor Cuomo's
'Public Trust Act' - his Program Bill #3 - I have examined
the Senate Rules and it would appear that Democratic
Conference Leader Stewart-Cousins could have introduced the
"Public Trust Act'. Here's what Rule VII, Sec.7 entitled
'Program, departmental and agency bills' states:
'Every bill proposed by the
Governor, the Attorney General, the Comptroller or by state
deparhnents and agencies shall be submitted to the office of
the Temporary President and shall be forwarded by the
Majority Coalition Leaders for introduction purposes to the
appropriate standing committee in
accordance with section one of Rule VII. Any such bill which
is not so forwarded within three weeks after receipt by the
office of the Temporary President shall be offered to the
Democratic Conference Leader who may in accordance with
section one of Rule VII, forward such bills to any member
for introduction purposes.'
Please advise whether, pursuant
to Senate Rule VII, Sec.7, Governor Cuomo's 'Public Trust
Act' was "offered' to Democratic Conference Leader
Stewart-Cousins - and, if not, what steps she took to have
it 'offered' so that, 'in accordance with section one of
Rule VII', she could have forwarded it 'to any member for
introduction purposes', herself included."
While waiting for an
answer, this is what Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins tells
the press in a July 23, 2013 interview by Gannett's Journal
News: "Democratic
leaders wants 'bad apples out': Stewart-Cousins
'disappointed' reforms fizzled"
Editorial Board:
“How come the legislature could not find common ground on a legislative
response to a problem that certainly seems to be damaging the institution?”
Stewart-Cousins: "Well, that’s certainly a
good question.
It’s a question I ask myself because our
conference… has been very, very clear about wanting to, and really insisting
on ethics reform.
It was the huge, huge elephant in the
room...
Because we
have this odd configuration where the Republican-dominated majority
coalition did not want to do ethics reform. … The fact is the four members
of the IDC…has joined with the Republicans and the relationship that they
have disallows anything from getting to the floor that the other group
doesn’t agree with.
So
in terms of ethics reform you had the Assembly putting out a package, you
had our Senate Democrats putting out a package….
The reality is that even the Independent
Democrats put out something, but the Republicans put forward nothing and
because the Republicans did not want to put forward ethics reform it was not
allowed to come to the floor, so we couldn’t vote on it...
Editorial Board:
…so nothing prevailed.
Stewart-Cousins:
…Nothing prevailed.
* * *
click here for:
CJA's VIDEO & PAPER TRAIL CHRONOLOGY
of Corrupt
Commission Scheme
to Raise Salaries of Corrupt Public Officers (2011- to
date)
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