Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, R-Black River, says he wants to see ethics reform among the top priorities when the Assembly and Senate reconvene in Albany in January.

Blankenbush represents the 117th District, including the towns of DeKalb, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, Edwards, Fowler and Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County plus Lewis County and parts of Jefferson and Oneida counties.

“This fall, ethics reform was an issue on campaign trails throughout New York and should be the first issues we address come January. Albany must clear the cloud of corruption that lingers over the capitol and pass meaningful ethics reform,” the assemblyman said in a press release.

The members of the Assembly Minority Conference have been the loudest advocates for ethics and rules reforms within the Legislature. Our conference has continuously pushed for pension forfeiture and term limits for legislative leadership positions and I will continue to push for these reforms come next session,” he said.

He wants to see term limits for lawmakers and pension forfeiture for convicted legislators among the items adopted to promote ethics in the capitol.

“Term limits are crucial for combating the current stagnation that exists in committee leadership positions and would ensure legislators don’t become too entrenched in a system that should be serving the people of New York,” he said.

“There is no reason any representative should be opposed to legislation that helps keep our government vibrant and active other than that they hold their own personal agenda above the will of the people.

“Pension forfeiture is another necessary reform we must put in place this upcoming session. Ensuring no politician is able to collect a cent of taxpayer dollars after being convicted of a felony while in office is common sense and should be unanimously accepted,” Blankenbush said. “This session, we took the first steps toward implementing pension forfeiture, but we must continue to build on this progress and pass pension forfeiture legislation next session as well.

"Because pension forfeiture would require a constitutional amendment, any pension forfeiture reform must be passed by two consecutive legislatures in order to be put on the ballot the next election. These reforms are overwhelmingly supported by New Yorkers and should be addressed whenever talking about ethics reform in this state.”