Democracy In Albany

The following is the summary of distinctions between the current law and the proposal:

Conflicts of Interest - Prohibits a County official from participating in matters that may result in a financial benefit for family, business associates, or big campaign contributors.

Gifts - Prohibits County officials from accepting or soliciting gifts from people doing business with the County.

Education - Requires the Ethics Commission to develop educational materials and programs for County officials regarding ethics rules and procedures.

Revolving Door - Closes the revolving door on former employees who seek to do business with the County.

Disclosure - Requires disclosure of additional liabilities and interests of county policy makers and officials involved in contracting. This will likely be the area of the greatest amount of debate.

Penalties - $2,500 for each violation and liability for three times the value of any financial benefit received as a result of unethical conduct.

Ethics Commission - Prohibits an Ethics Commission member from holding office in a political party, participating or contributing to many political campaigns, or lobbying government officials. Also, no more than two members may be enrolled in the same political party.

This article does a good job of breaking the issue down and how the State Legislature should act to raise the bar for all municpalities>