During their time in power, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver made thousands of dollars in outside income as attorneys. But their clients remained a mystery. Financial disclosure statements from their successors in the Assembly and Senate tell a different story.
"It makes sense to us that the legislative leaders with their enormous power would step back from making money on the side and we think it's an indication -- at least for now -- that it's going to be the practice in Albany," said NYPIRG Legislative Director Blair Horner.
For the second straight year, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Majority Leader John Flanagan reported almost no outside income. Heastie left his job as an accountant after becoming speaker; Flanagan resigned from his law firm when he took the leadership post. IDC Leader Jeff Klein in 2015 also has stepped down from his law firm. Still, most lawmakers continue to hold dual roles as legislator and taking in outside income.
Not everyone is an attorney. One lawmaker is a funeral home director. Another is a farmer. But Governor Andrew Cuomo says it's problematic for legislators to have legal or business clients while also deciding public policy.
"Maybe they come to you because you're a senator and they have a bill that's going to come up. So, it's an inherent conflict of interest," Cuomo said.
Cuomo has tried and failed to limit outside income for lawmakers, who earn a base $79,500 as elected officials. Some lawmakers point to the governor's own outside income for the money he earned for a low-selling memoir. Cuomo sought and received approval for the income from ethics regulators.
"We totally agree that the governor's book deal should fall under this sort of rubric, particularly all the information we've found out since then, such as how much he's going to get for it, and the fact that HarperCollins is owned by Rupert Murdoch," Horner said.
Tax filings made public by Cuomo show he has received $783,000 for the book.