CANDIDATE COMPARISON: PUBLIC INTEGRITY PLEDGES

The below “Public Integrity Pledges” chart details and compares the public integrity and government reform agendas published on
the web sites of the five democratic Attorney General candidates in the following categories:

 Public Integrity Enforcement Initiatives

 Campaign Finance Reform

 Whistleblower Enhancement

 Ethics Reform

 Government Reform

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 P UBLIC INTEGRITY ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES SCHNEIDERMAN RICE COFFEY DINALLO BRODSKY
 Ask Executive for authority to investigate and prosecute officials for all violations of the Public
Officers Law, ethics laws or general corruption where authority is lacking    
 Use current powers to Investigate and launch enforcement actions against businesses that engage in
illegal acts in relation to public corruption, or that violate the Election Law, or campaign finance laws 
 Investigate and take action against public officers when they violate business or charities laws over
which the AG has jurisdiction   
 Expand use of False Claims Act, the state’s triple-damage whistleblower law, against government
contractors, with increased focus on non-Medicaid fraud cases  
 Without asking permission, launch both investigations and enforcement actions against public
officers and elected officials for fraudulent spending (e.g. travel and lodging reimbursements, meals, 
per diem expenses, etc); punish officials who do not cooperate by seeking contempt (possible jail-time)

 Enforce regulations of New York City’s campaign system that are related to the receipt of public
funds 
 Assign state prosecutors to District Attorney offices / work more closely with local governments to   
help investigate and prosecute corruption cases

 Encourage local governments to use False Claims Act themselves to go after fraud against the  
government

 Use Tweed Act (Executive Law § 63-c) to combat fraud against the government and/or hold public
*
employees for fraudulent spending
IF FALSE CLAIMS ACT   
DOESN’T APPLY

 Expand “Project Sunlight” to include more information on government spending, requests for
government funds, and/or member items  

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 LEGIS LATIVE AGENDA: CAMP AIGN FINANCE SCHNEIDERMAN RICE COFFEY DINALLO BRODSKY
 Empower AG to enforce campaign finance and/or election laws    
 Adopt public financing of political campaigns    
 Strengthen board of elections enforcement power or ability    
 Increase penalties for violating election law or campaign finance law   
 Set limits on housekeeping / soft money / corporate LLC loophole    
 Lower contribution limits to candidates     
 Ban or lower limits on donations from those seeking government business (pay to play)   
 Increase disclosure requirements for campaign donations *
*CALLS FOR INCREASED
 DISCLOSURE ONLY IF  
DONOR SOLICITS STATE
BUSINESS

 Address “Citizens United” decision with greater transparency and disclosure for independent 
corporate and special interest campaign expenditures.

 Ban candidates from using campaign funds for their personal use   
 Require candidates to “use or lose” campaign funds 

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 LEGIS LATIVE AGENDA: ETHICS REFORM SCHNEIDERMAN RICE COFFEY DINALLO BRODSKY
 Empower AG to enforce all aspects public officers law and ethics laws and codes, and corruption    
 Create independent / new ethics commission with investigatory and enforcement powers    
 Adopt “faithful public services” law to prevent public officers from self dealing (“Bruno Gap”) or 
pass legislation for a new code of ethics FAITHFUL PUBLIC SERVICES LAW 
 Increase penalties for government ethics violations  
 Create a full-time legislature  
 Require more public disclosure and oversight of member items process and recipients or those   
seeking member items

 Bar “member items” to for-profit businesses  

 Require legislators to better disclose outside business activity and income, including clients    
 Require legislators to better disclose gifts 
  CALLS FOR “FULL
“DISCLOSURE”
WITHOUT SPECIFICS

 Require legislators to disclose donations to personal legal defense funds  

CALLS FOR “FULL
DISCLOSURE” WITHOUT
MENTIONING PDFS

 Mandate expulsion for any legislator convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense 

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 LEGIS LATIVE AND P ROGRAM AGENDA: WHIS TLEBLOWERS SCHNEIDERMAN RICE COFFEY DINALLO BRODSKY
 Increase or improve outreach, education or coordination efforts for whistleblowers   
 Create a “False Claims” Unit or Special Deputy to handle whistleblower cases and outreach  
 Use the False Claims Act that protects and rewards whistleblowers that report government fraud  
 Adopt the same amendments to the New York False Claims Act that President Obama signed into 
the then-similar United States False Claims Act. (Amendments that were endorsed by New York Times).

 Institute first-in-the-nation ban on employers suing whistleblowers who provide authorities with 
evidence of a fraud against the government

 Adopt novel anti-blacklisting policies so that companies can’t refuse to hire whistleblowers who 
reported a fraud against the government

 Reverse policies that penalize whistleblowers under the False Claims Act when they use FOIL to 
uncover a scheme to defraud the government

 Amend the False Claims Act so that fraudsters pay local governments civil penalties on top of triple 
damages

 Require state contractors to notify and educate employees about their whistleblower rights 
 Make government contractors take actions to protect whistleblowers that report fraud against the 
government

 Eliminate special protection for legislators, senior officials & judges against some whistleblower 
suits that expose a government fraud

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 LEGIS LATIVE AGENDA: GOVERNMENT REFORM SCHNEIDERMAN RICE COFFEY DINALLO BRODSKY

 Adopt independent and non-partisan redistricting     

 End sole trusteeship of state pension fund  *
IN WALL ST. PLAN

 Require executive agencies to estimate tax dollars lost to improper payments 

 Simplify voting, registration and petitioning processes / expand access   
 Allow same day registration and voting in general elections 
 Shorten the time one has to wait in order to vote in a primary election after joining a party;  
 Eliminate requirement for voters to justify needing an absentee ballot to the government   
 Allow counties with shorter polling hours to keep polls open longer during primaries  
ALLOWS COUNTIES OPTIONS IMPOSES MANDATE

 Eliminate obscure remnants of property ownership requirements in some local election processes  
 Require equitable distribution of member items  
 Adopt a merit selection of judges or judicial election reform  
 Raise judicial pay  
 Hold a constitutional convention / constitutional amendments  
 Create a unicameral legislature 

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