I’ve been working with Governor Spitzer and the Legislature for reforms that will help bring transparency and accountability back to our state government. We’ve made progress under the new leadership, and we’re working every day to build on it.

We came together to pass comprehensive budget reform that makes the budget process more transparent, and an ethics reform package that strengthens integrity in state government. Additionally, we passed a monumental workers’ compensation reform law that strengthens New York’s economy and makes us more competitive with neighboring states.

I know there is more work to be done. We have a long way to go to ensure our government is one we can all trust, and I’ll continue my work in making that goal a reality.

Enacting comprehensive budget reform.
Assemblywoman Lifton sponsored the budget reform legislation signed into law by Governor Spitzer (Ch. 1 of 2007) that:

		Eliminates the $200 million in “lump sum” appropriations for local initiatives—an important step in cleaning up the budget process
		Mandates “quick start” budget discussions each November
		Requires that the enacted budget—and not just the submitted budget—must be balanced

Strengthening government integrity.
Lifton also sponsored legislation that was signed into law by the governor to curtail gifts from lobbyists and create a comprehensive watchdog agency to ensure the integrity of state government (Ch. 14 of 2007). This law:

		Bans virtually all gifts of more than a nominal value from registered lobbyists to public officials
		Toughens penalties for ethics and lobbying law violations
		Creates a permanent watchdog on ethics issues by merging the Temporary State Commission on Lobbying and the State Ethics Commission into a new entity—the Commission on Public Integrity

Improving New York’s business climate.
Lifton helped fix New York’s broken workers’ compensation system—a long overdue move that points New York’s economy in the right direction—by supporting a new law (Ch. 6 of 2007) developed by members of both the labor and business communities that:

		Reduces costs for employers between 10 and 15 percent
		Increases the maximum benefit rate and the minimum weekly benefit for injured workers in the future
		Creates strong anti-fraud measures and new, innovative programs to help workers get prompt medical treatment
		Spurs the economy by making New York a more competitive place to do business