Is there a need for reform in Albany Term Paper

Is there a need for reform in Albany - Term Paper Example and corruption matters that occurred in the State legislature in the past two years and the kind of reforms that the Governor and the legislature has put in place to address the matter. The paper then describes the legal and policy structure of the adopted reforms and the public criticism that this has generated. The paper then concludes by giving recommendations to the Governor and to the State Legislature to restore the public trust (Katz). Although there are numerous cases of corruption in Albany, the most pointed cases have been in the legislature. In a recent scandal, the senators from Buffalo state George Maziarz as well as Patrick Gallivan purportedly spent $ 140,000 and $ 80,000 respectively in time they were in office. In this particular case, the problem was not in the spending of the money itself but the fact that they did not find it fit to report their expenditures. Apart from Senators’ George Maziarz and Patrick Gallivan being investigated, the now defunct Moreland Commission was also investigating state Sen. Diane Savino of Staten Island for alleged mismanaging of campaign funds. These two cases are a clear indication of the rot in the state’s Legislature (Frisch). In light of the corruption allegations within the state, Governor Cuomo set up the Moreland Commission (now defunct) to address the allegations. The power to form this commission comes from the Moreland Act, a legislation that gives the Governor the authority to set up a panel to look at waste in the government and to come up with recommendations for reforms. Upon setting up the committee, Attorney General Schneiderman offered to deputize the commission something that bolstered its powers. This was because his presence had accorded the commission a wider legal reach than the current powers that were contained in the Moreland Act (Medina). For Governor Cuomo, there is need to develop a campaign finance system that incorporates the option of public financing. The call for this reform