Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is announcing that the Assembly is tackling reform by introducing a large package of reform bills at the start of this year’s session. The following eight reform bills are being introduced: Budget Reform Implementation Legislation; Budget Reform Constitutional Amendment; Campaign Finance Reform; Procurement Lobbying Reform; "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA) Implementation Package; Public Authorities Reform; Empire Zone Reform; Judicial Selection Reform.

"I’ve been a strong advocate of reform in Albany. I am pleased we are picking up several reform initiatives right from the beginning of session. The bills we are picking were in fact passed in the Assembly last year, but the other branches of the state legislature were reluctant to follow suite. So, I am encouraged by the immediacy of the Assembly in pushing for reform because by doing so we will put additional pressure on both the Senate and the governor to take up reform and make real changes to New York’s government," Dinowitz said.

The Budget Reform Implementation legislation would change the beginning of the fiscal year to May 1st, require additional budget reporting and public discourse and implement the Budget Reform Constitutional amendment.

The Budget Reform Constitutional amendment would enact a contingency budget which would take effect in the event a budget was not enacted before the beginning of the fiscal year.

The Campaign Finance Reform legislation is a large initiative that would establish a system of optional partial public campaign financing for statewide and legislative offices, authorizes localities to establish their own public campaign finance systems, require additional campaign finance disclosure and generally ban fundraisers in Albany during legislative session days.

Procurement Lobbying Reform would impose registration and disclosure requirements on lobbyists who lobby state agencies, public authorities, the state legislature or the judiciary on procurement contracts, executive orders or tribal compacts.