<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
UPDATE<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Today, January 13<sup>th</sup>,
leaders in both houses (Assembly majority and minority along with Senate
majority) announced an agreement on the reform bill for ethics and campaign finance
enforcement that we anticipated in the Legislative Packet Part I that you
received recently. While not everything that the League and our good
government colleagues sought, the proposed changes would improve both ethics
and campaign finance enforcement and create greater transparency. We were at
the Capitol during the negotiations and offered input to the process. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>We anticipate
that the measure will come for a vote next week. If you have set up
appointments to lobby your state representatives using the Legislative Packet
Part I, let him or her know that the League supports this bill. We will
mobilize local leagues through e-mails to Presidents and Action Chairs and
individual members through CATT with a bill number as soon as it is available.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>We will send you
a bill number and talking points as soon as we get the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The past week
has been filled with additional political drama that has not yet run its
course. On January 6th in his State of the State address. Governor Paterson
excoriated the New York legislature for its attempts at ethics reform, calling
for wide-ranging reform of the type the League and other good government groups
have advocated for years. But at the same time, he took aim at good-government
groups and accused the groups of being political and masking their sources of
funding. <span style='color:black'>The following day the Governor announced
that he should be judged on his ability to come up with ideas for ethics reform
and not for his ability to enact those ideas into law. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>We are not
particularly concerned about the Governor’s attacks on the good
government groups and while this drama plays itself out, we will continue to
work with the legislature to obtain ethics and campaign finance enforcement
reform for New York State. We urge the Governor to do the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Betsey and Sally<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><br>
<br>
</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>