Most New Yorkers believe corruption is a big problem in state government, according to a new poll.

Eighty-nine percent of those polled say think it’s a serious problem, and 53 percent say they think its very serious, according to a Siena College poll of New York State registered voters released last week.

The poll indicates that two-thirds of New Yorkers believe the problem is serious among legislators in their area.

“New Yorkers’ confidence in state government in Albany hovers at historic low levels. Nearly nine in ten voters say corruption is a serious problem in Albany, with more than half saying it’s ‘very’ serious,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “Nearly two-thirds think corruption among state legislators from their area is a serious problem. The Senate and the Assembly are each viewed favorably by fewer than 40 percent of voters,” he said.

“Ethics reform has become a more important issue for voters than it was at the beginning of last year., Greenberg said. “One-quarter of voters say it’s one of the top two issues they want the governor to address – up from 19 percent last year, and nearly half of voters say the recent corruption scandals make it less likely that they will re-elect their state legislators,” he said.

Sixty percent of those questioned in the poll say they think it’s time to make the jobs of state senators and assembly members full time and put a ban on income they can earn outside of their state paychecks, while 55 percent do not want state legislators to get a raise from the current base salary of $79,500 even if outside income is banned.

The survey indicates a high degree of support for paid family leave and for stripping pensions from convicted legislators. There is also strong support for a minimum wage increase, for the proposed $300 million Environmental Protection Fund, and for closing the LLC (limited-liability company) campaign contribution loophole currently in effect.

“The top three issues for Democrats are education, jobs and ethics; for Republicans are taxes, jobs and education; and for independents are education, taxes and jobs,” Greenburg said. “Regionally, New York City voters see education and jobs as far and away the top two, with health care a distant third; downstate suburbanites focus on education and taxes, with ethics and jobs tied for the third spot; while upstaters say education, with jobs and taxes closely behind,” Greenberg said.

The poll was conducted Jan. 24-28, by telephone calls conducted in English to 805 New York State registered voters.

Some of the poll results, with charts and some time-series data, are at https://www.siena.edu/assets/files/news/SNY_February_2016_Poll_Release_--_FINAL.pdf.