Albany needs a real ethics cop: Another unconstitutional blunder by New York Democrats

Just two days ago we were lamenting the Democratic-run Legislature’s penchant for violating the state Constitution, as they did with the proposed Equal Rights Amendment for this fall’s ballot that skipped the procedures clearly laid out in New York’s fundamental governing law. A judge rightly decided that the ERA, which we support, is void for now and cannot appear on the November ballot. Meaning: the Constitution is the binding rulebook, not just a list of suggestions.

We also listed the Legislature’s failed effort to gerrymander New York’s 26 congressional districts to favor Democrats (thrown out by the courts) and the Senate’s blatant abrogation of its duty to vote for or against Gov. Hochul’s chief judge nominee, Hector LaSalle, (again, they lost in court and had to conduct a roll call on LaSalle).

Now, the Legislature’s weak and pathetic attempt to police Albany ethics has been ruled to break the Constitution. Of course it does, as a trial judge first concluded in September. Yesterday, an appellate panel decided 5-0 that the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is unconstitutional.

Aside from the horrible acronym COELIG (which is such a bad nickname that it should also be ruled illegal), since only three of the agency’s 11 commissioners are nominated by the governor, it improperly usurps the executive’s powers granted under the Constitution. An executive agency, like COELIG, must be controlled by the executive.

The man who knocked down this flimsy edifice is Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who sued when COELIG tried to go after the $5.1 million he got for his COVID memoir, a horribly timed book that he nonetheless had permission to write from the previous ethics regulator, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics or JCOPE.

JCOPE said yes to Cuomo when he was popular and riding high during his famous COVID briefings in 2020. When Cuomo fell from grace and resigned in 2021 (the book deal was among the allegations against him, along with sexual harassment charges) JCOPE tried to undo its approval. That’s typical of ethics watchdogs, reluctant to rein in powerful big shots, but happy enough to bring the hammer down hard on those in the doghouse or without clout.

Post-Cuomo, Gov. Hochul and the Legislature then replaced JCOPE with COELIG, which among its first actions was to pursue the book money. Cuomo sued, saying, correctly, that COELIG is unconstitutionally structured and should not exist. By that same logic, his 2011 creation, JCOPE, is equally unconstitutional as the governor also had a minority of the appointments, six of 14 seats. Someone should have sued to invalidate JCOPE on those grounds.

The answer is to properly and legally amend the Constitution to establish a tough ethics oversight regime that can keep officeholders in line. In fact, such a move was considered when COELIG was being discussed, but instead they decided to go the easy route and not the multiple years needed to alter the Constitution. If they had done it right, COELIG would have been perfectly legit.

As for Cuomo’s book money, the regulator at the time gave him its blessing and then he proceeded. It’s too late to have a do-over because he’s the ex-governor. Changing the ruling in hindsight is an unfair way for any agency of government to operate.