Kelly Williams and Andrew Stengel of the Brennan Center call out Albany lawmakers for shooting down ethics bills that could address major areas of concern for New York Voters. The pair chides state legislators for watering down recent ethics bills and encourages a number of reforms including full public financing of campaigns, like the Clean Elections program enjoying success in neighboring Connecticut.

New York's campaign finance and ethics laws have been rightly criticized for leaving open huge loopholes for corrupt practices.  Williams and Stengel hit the high (low) points, which include lax disclosure laws for legislators' outside income, and no independent oversight body.

Their recommendations for change include adoption of a Clean Elections-model public financing program.  Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was an enthusiastic supporter of Clean Elections and his successor Gov. David Paterson also has a record of supporting the idea, though he's not made it a priority for his administration yet.