NY governor seek term limits, ban on officials' extra income

NEW YORK – Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York to enforce word limits connected her bureau and different statewide elected officials and prohibition them from earning an extracurricular income, changes that implicitly rebuke her predecessor Andrew Cuomo.

Hochul, a Democrat who took bureau successful August aft Cuomo stepped down amid intersexual harassment allegations, issued a connection Monday saying the proposals are aimed astatine restoring spot and integrity successful the authorities government.

"On time 1 arsenic governor, I pledged to reconstruct spot successful authorities and I person taken steps each time to present the open, ethical governing New Yorkers deserve,” Hochul said. “I privation radical to judge successful their authorities again. With these bold reforms, we volition guarantee New Yorkers cognize their leaders enactment for them and are focused connected serving the radical of this state.”

She did not notation Cuomo successful the statement.

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Cuomo, a Democrat, was elected to a 3rd word successful 2018 — a feat his father, erstwhile Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, and respective different governors achieved. But Andrew Cuomo didn't decorativeness his 3rd term, stepping down aft an probe from the authorities lawyer general concluded helium had sexually harassed 11 women.

Cuomo has attacked the probe arsenic inaccurate and biased, denying helium mistreating women and saying helium resigned to debar subjecting the authorities to turmoil.

Cuomo's spokesperson Rich Azzopardi did not instantly respond to a connection seeking comment.

Hochul said she volition suggest a authorities law amendment to enforce a bounds of 2 four-year presumption connected the governor’s office, arsenic good arsenic the different statewide elected offices: lieutenant governor, lawyer wide and comptroller. The authorities would request to beryllium approved by the authorities legislature and voters.

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Hochul said she besides plans to present authorities barring those statewide elected officials from earning wealth extracurricular their authorities salaries unless it's for an world presumption that's approved by a authorities morals board.

Cuomo was acceptable to gain $5.1 million for penning a publication astir his enactment during COVID-19, and was paid a $3.1 cardinal advance. The authorities morals committee initially approved the publication deal, but rescinded approval aft concluding Cuomo utilized authorities property, resources and unit to constitute the book.

Cuomo has acknowledged that authorities employees helped with tasks including editing the manuscript. But helium says those employees were volunteering their backstage time.

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New York's Joint Commission connected Public Ethics is seeking to person Cuomo crook implicit to the authorities each wealth helium was paid for “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Cuomo’s lawyer Jim McGuire has called the commission’s effort to prehend the publication profits illegal.

The politician is expected to connection much details astir her plans successful her archetypal State of the State code Wednesday.

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