Testimony to the Senate Task Force on Reforming the New York State Legislature
by Mark W. Bitz

Family, Community, Education, Free Enterprise, and Democracy are the keys to a vital population. In 1950, the population of New York State enjoyed intact families, strong communities, exceptional education, vibrant businesses, and a working democracy. More than any other state or nation, the people of New York State thrived.

Fast forward 56 years, and the population of New York State ranks 44th among the fifty states in a composite of several vital measures. Our state ranks 45th in ten year personal income and population growth, as well as in the proportion of the population employed. We have the 32nd highest proportion of people without health insurance and the 41st highest poverty rate. We spend more for education on a per pupil basis than any state, yet have the 44th lowest high school graduation rate and 43rd lowest SAT scores.

Many attribute our state’s poor performance to its climate and the economic rise of the South, Mexico, and China. Yet, Minnesota farther north and with a harsher climate, ranks 8th among the fifty states. To paraphrase Shakespeare,” the fault dear friends, is not in our stars, but in our dysfunctional governors and legislatures that we are underlings.”

After a year of reviewing the data on our state, clearly our state leaders and Legislature do not address the systemic problems of education, healthcare, an uncompetitive business climate, and a dysfunctional government in a meaningful way. They allow healthcare costs to escalate at rates four times the inflation rate and become unaffordable to much of our population. They ignore the plight of inner-city and rural youth. They overtax businesses to the point of bankrupting them or causing them to move to other states.

They sell laws and benefits to the highest bidder. They hold office for life by amassing campaign contributions to deter challengers. They rig the voting districts. They rarely solicit public input on bills, nor debate, research, and amend them. They do little more than rubber stamp laws that the Majority Leader and Speaker work out with vested interests.

Today, I wish to introduce to you seven of the twelve reforms delineated in my book, Creating a Prosperous New York State. My 64 page book will be published Monday and a copy of the book will be sent to every state senator and assembly member. I also wish to strengthen your resolve to enact serious reforms.

Voter Initiative

There is no purer form of democracy than direct democracy, and Voter Initiative is such a form of direct democracy. New York State needs Voter Initiative, because the Legislature has proven incapable on enacting many needed reforms, such as borrowing, taxing, and spending restraints.

Please enact a process where citizens who obtain 500 supporting signatures in each of New York’s 62 counties can propose laws to the voters in general elections. Massachusetts would be more like New York State, in decline and less prosperous, without its Voter Initiative Law and the taxing and spending constraints that came from it.

Non-Partisan Voting Districts

The genius of democracy is in the system’s ability to obtain feedback from its citizens and pass laws that reflect at least a majority of the population’s needs and preferences. By drawing districts in a manner that protects incumbency rather than reflects people’s preferences, elected officials subvert the effective feedback mechanism and power of democracy.

Please, set up an independent commission of retired judges to oversee the development of a computer algorithm to draw Senate and Assembly districts, maximizing the use of county and township lines and minimizing the number of lines to draw each district.

Citizen Based Campaign Financing

In the last 10 years special interests lobbying expenditures have increased 350%. The right of free speech that interest groups use to justify their expenditures is a sham. When the speech of a few powerful interests in the form of campaign support overwhelms citizens’ concerns, this influence needs limiting. New York’s future literally depends on your willingness to curb the largest eight PACs’, the Teacher’s Union, Health Care Union, Attorneys Union, Doctor’s & Dentist’s Unions, Public Employees and Civil Unions, and the Police and Prison Guard’s Union, influence on elections and policies.

Please pass laws to allow candidates to raise campaign funds only during the ten months prior to an election and require them to return any used campaign funds to donors after an election. Bar businesses, unions, PACs, and all organizations from making campaign contributions, and limit individual contributions to $100 per candidate per year.

Senate and Assembly Rule Reforms

Current Senate and Assembly Rules enable the Majority Leader and Speaker control each of their party’s members by deciding committee assignments, member staffs, and budgets, lulus, and member items. You, as members of the minority, understand this better than I can express. You also understand each of you should be able to represent your constituents as well as any member in the majority.

The Senate and Assembly Rules should be changed so all senators and assembly members are treated equally within their respective houses with regard to their budget, staff, member item money, and compensation. The rules should also require any exceptions for house and committee leaders to be approved by two-thirds of the members in both the Senate and Assembly.

The rules should empower committee chairs to employ and terminate staff and require committees to hold a public hearing upon the request of one quarter of the committee members. They should require committee chairs to hold votes to release each bill referred to the committee 60 days prior to the end of a session.

Your rules should require a complete committee report for all bills favorably reported by a committee, require a house floor vote on every bill that is favorably discharged from a committee within 60 days, and convene conference committees upon the request of either of a bill’ major sponsors.

Interstate Benchmarks & Performance Based Compensation for Legislators

Benchmarking New York’s performance against other states reveals the effectiveness of state policies and agencies, as well as opportunities for improvement. Businesses constantly benchmark with their peers, and so should the Legislature and state. The governor should be required by law to publish annually the following New York State’s Rankings among the 50 states:

1. Four Year Population Growth,
   
2. Four Year Personal Income Growth,
   
3. Percent of the Population Employed,
   
4. Percent of the Population without Health Insurance,
   
5. Percent of the Population Living in Poverty,
   
6. Per Pupil Education Cost,
   
7. High School Graduation Rates,
   
8. Average Math & Verbal SAT Scores,
   
9. Average Commute Times, and
   
10. The Composite Average of These Nine Benchmarks.
    

In addition, please base your compensation on your performance as indicated by the composite ranking. Citizens would be happy to see their representatives earn three times as much was the above composite measure among the top five states in the country.

Public Sector Borrowing & Spending Limits

From 1992-2002, state borrowing and spending grew twice the rate of inflation, while the population of New York State grew less than half of a percent per year. The unbridled borrowing and spending cause New York State taxes to be the among the most oppressive in the nation.

The data suggest that public education contains spending far better than state and local governments. Public education is required to gain taxpayer approval on all spending. The residents of New York State would be better served by a similar approval procedure for state and local government borrowing and spending.

New York State needs a constitutional amendment limiting the growth of per capita state and local government borrowing and spending to the inflation rate, unless a majority of the voters approve a larger increase in a public referendum. This change more than any other helped transform Colorado’s economy into one the fastest growing economies in the country.

Reining in Medicaid

From 1992-2002, the cost of Medicaid increased 107%, while New York State’s population hardly grew. We want to take care of the poor, but we do not want people with means to live off the system. For in doing so, we lessen our ability to care for the poor.

The Legislature will not be in a position to responsibly borrow, tax, and spend until it deals with the Medicaid monster. To gain control over this monster, require three years of state residency and poverty level incomes and assets for people to be eligible for Medicaid. Include spouses’ income and assets and a 5 year look-back on an applicant’s assets in the eligibility determination.

Conclusion

Family, Community, Education, Free Enterprise, and Democracy are the keys to a vital population. The data clearly indicates our state policies steadily erode these keys rather than strengthening them. Blaming the other branches of government or gridlock for the poor results is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Please cease taking money from vested interests and then rewarding them with taxpayer funded benefits. Please elect a new Majority Leader and Speaker, people who will facilitate the democratic process rather than usurp it. Please responsibly utilize your office and the trust voters place in you.

New York State can once again lead the country and the world. We could once again become the most prosperous people on the planet. For this to happen though, we need leaders and representatives who address rather than ignore our challenges.

Mark Bitz' book "Creating a Prosperous New York State" can be purchased at FreeNYS.org, Amazon.com, and numerous book, grocery, and drug stores.