Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,TCN-Deerpark) stood with Minority colleagues today in the house to introduce 14 ethics reform proposals that would inject transparency, equity and accountability into state government. All were voted down by the Assembly Majority.

“It is deeply regrettable that something as simple as equal staff budgets for all lawmakers in the Assembly was disregarded and killed today by Politicians,” Brabenec said. “Each year we propose these common-sense ethics reforms and each year they are voted down. The worst part is that Assembly leadership rewrites our proposals and passes them at a later date to take the credit for themselves in a shameful lack of bipartisanship and utter selfishness.”

Measures voted down by The Assembly Majority:

• Requiring equal funding for every member’s individual office, regardless of party affiliation or seniority
• Impose eight-year term limits on Speaker, Majority and Minority Leader of the Assembly
• Allow each member to bring one substantive piece of legislation of his or her choosing to the floor for a vote during their two-year term
• Impose eight-year term limits on committee chairs