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New York Proposal 2, Pension Forfeiture for Convicted Officials Amendment (2017)

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New York Proposal 2
Flag of New York.png
Election date
November 7, 2017
Topic
Government accountability and Pension
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature
2017 measures
Seal of New York.png
November 7, 2017
New York Proposal 1
New York Proposal 3
New York Proposal 2

New York Proposal 2, the Pension Forfeiture for Convicted Officials Amendment, was on the ballot in New York as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 7, 2017. It was approved.[1]

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to authorize judges to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public officer convicted of a felony related to his or her official duties.
A "no" vote opposed this amendment to authorize judges to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public officer convicted of a felony related to his or her official duties.

Election results

Proposal 2
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 2,512,671 73.15%
No922,19526.85%
Election results from New York Elections Office

Overview

Amendment design

Proposal 2 allowed judges, following a court hearing, to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public officer convicted of a felony related to his or her official duties. Under the measure, judges consider the severity of the crime in determining whether to reduce or revoke the officer's public pension. Proposal 2 also required judges to consider whether pension forfeiture would create undue hardship for the convicted officer’s spouse, children, and other dependents. The measure defined public officers as elected officials, governor-appointed officials, municipal administrators and managers, heads of government departments, boards, and commissions, state and local chief fiscal officers and treasurers, judges and justices of the unified court system, and employees of the state designated as policymakers. Proposal 2 was designed to apply to any crimes committed on or after January 1, 2018.[1][2]

Pension forfeiture in New York

In New York, the issue of pension forfeiture for public officials rose to prominence following the criminal convictions of multiple elected officials, including Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver (D-65) and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-9) in 2015.[3][4][5] Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison; however, his sentence was vacated in June 2017.[6] He was permitted to receive an annual pension of $79,224.[7][8] Skelos was sentenced to five years in prison.[9] He was set to receive an annual pension of $95,832.[10] In 2011, the state enacted the Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA), which allowed judges to reduce or revoke the public pension of officials convicted of crimes. As the state constitution described pensions as contractual relationships, PIRA could not authorize judges to reduce or revoke pensions of those who entered the state retirement system before the law's enactment.[11][12] An amendment was required to allow for judges to reduce or revoke pensions of officials who entered the system before November 2011.[1]

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:[13]

“ The proposed amendment to section 7 of Article 2 of the State Constitution would allow a court to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public officer who is convicted of a felony that has a direct and actual relationship to the performance of the public officer’s existing duties. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?[14] ”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:[13]

New York’s Constitution now provides that the benefits of a public pension or retirement system cannot be reduced or impaired. The purpose of the proposed amendment is to allow a court to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public officer who is convicted of a felony that has a direct and actual relationship to the performance of the public officer’s existing duties.

A court could determine, after notice to the public officer and a hearing, if a public officer convicted of such a felony would lose part or all of the pension. In reaching this determination, the court must consider factors including the seriousness of the public officer’s crime, the proportionality of a reduction or revocation to the crime, whether forfeiture would result in undue hardship or other inequity to dependent children, spouse, or other dependents, and any other factors provided by the Legislature. The Legislature must enact law that puts this proposal into effect, taking into account principles of fairness.

The proposed amendment would define “public officer” to mean the following:

  • An official filling an elected office within New York;
  • A person holding an office that is filled by appointment by the New York Governor, whether or not that appointment has to be confirmed by the Senate;
  • A county, city, town, or village administrator, manager or equivalent position;
  • The head of any state or local government department, division, board, commission, bureau, public benefit corporation, or public authority in New York who is vested with authority, direction, and control over that entity;
  • The chief fiscal officer or treasurer of a municipal corporation or political subdivision in New York;
  • A judge or justice of the Unified Court System; and
  • A legislative, executive, or judicial employee who directly assists in the formulation of legislation, rules, regulations, policy, or judicial decision-making and who is designated by law as a policy-maker.

If approved, the amendment will apply only to crimes committed on or after January 1, 2018.

Constitutional changes

See also: Article V, New York Constitution

The measure amended Section 7 of Article V of the New York Constitution. The following underlined text was added:[1] Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

(a) After July first, nineteen hundred forty, membership in any pension or retirement system of the state or of a civil division thereof shall be a contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this section, the public pension of a public officer, as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, who stands convicted of a felony for which such felony has a direct and actual relationship to the performance of the public officer's existing duties, may be reduced or revoked, following notice and a hearing by an appropriate court, as provided by law. The court determination whether to reduce or revoke such pension shall be based on the consideration of factors including the severity of the crime and the proportionality of a reduction or revocation of such pension to such crime. When a court issues an order to reduce or revoke such pension, the court shall consider and determine specific findings as to the amount of such forfeiture, if any, and whether forfeiture, in whole or in part, would result in undue hardship or other inequity upon any dependent children, spouse or other dependents; and other factors as provided by law. The legislature shall enact legislation to implement this amendment taking into account interests of justice.

(c) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, the term "public officer" shall mean: (i) an official filling an elected office within the state; (ii) a holder of office filled by direct appointment by the governor of this state, either upon or without senate confirmation; (iii) a county, city, town or village administrator, manager or equivalent position; (iv) the head or heads of any state or local government department, division, board, commission, bureau, public benefit corporation, or public authority of this state who are vested with authority, direction and control over such department, division, board, commission, bureau, public benefit corporation or public authority; (v) the chief fiscal officer or treasurer of any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state; (vi) a judge or justice of the unified court system; and (vii) a legislative, executive, or judicial employee of this state who directly assists in the formulation of legislation, rules, regulations, policy, or judicial decision-making and who is designated as a policymaker as set forth in statute.

(d) Paragraph (b) of this section shall only apply to crimes committed on or after the first of January next succeeding the date upon which the people shall approve and ratify the amendment to the constitution that added this paragraph.[14]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2017
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The New York Board of Elections wrote the ballot language for this measure.


The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 15, and the FRE is 34. The word count for the ballot title is 54, and the estimated reading time is 14 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 15, and the FRE is 28. The word count for the ballot summary is 325, and the estimated reading time is 1 minute, 26 seconds.


Support

Supporters

Officials

The following officials sponsored the amendment in the state legislature:[1][2]

Organizations

Arguments

  • Rep. David Buchwald (D-93), a legislative sponsor of the measure, said, "This constitutional amendment is designed to discourage public officials from taking part in unscrupulous practices that hurt New Yorkers and tarnish the reputation of our state government."[16]
  • Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan (R-2) stated, "There must be zero tolerance for public corruption, and these ethics reforms are crucial to holding officials accountable and making sure they don’t profit from abusing their positions."[17]
  • Rep. Bill Magee (D-121) said, "To see their hard-earned tax dollars being squandered by corrupt politicians is an insult to all New Yorkers. The pension forfeiture constitutional amendment ensures those convicted of crimes related to their elected office will no longer be able to collect a pension on the taxpayer’s dime."[18]

Opposition

Arguments

  • Sen. Diane Savino (D-23) said that pensions are personal property and revoking them for bad behavior would set a troubling precedent. She added, "I think we go down a very bad road when we send a message that pensions can be taken away for behavior."[16]
  • Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-32), one of the four senators to vote against referring the amendment in 2017, stated, "This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. If I do something, then, yes, I go to jail. But then my wife is out on the street? Just to please the media?"[10]

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for New York ballot measures
Total campaign contributions:
Support: $0.00
Opposition: $0.00

As of October 5, 2025, no ballot question committees registered to support or oppose the amendment.[19]

Reporting dates

New York ballot measure committees filed a total of five campaign finance reports in 2017. The filing dates for reports were as follows:[20]

Polls

See also: Polls, 2017 ballot measures
  • In March 2015, Quinnipiac University Poll surveyed 1,228 voters in New York on whether "elected state officials who have been convicted of a felony should lose their pensions or not?" A total of 76 percent of the respondents favored pension forfeiture for convicted officials, while 18 percent opposed pension forfeiture. The biggest difference in support found was regional, with 69 percent of respondents in New York City, 78 percent in upstate New York, and 83 percent in suburbs supporting pension forfeiture.[21]
  • Siena College surveyed 793 registered voters in July 2017 on Proposal 2 using the official ballot question. Of those surveyed, 75 percent supported and 18 percent opposed the amendment. As with the March 2015 Quinnipiac Poll, the biggest difference in support was regional. Support was 64 percent in New York City, 81 percent in upstate New York, and 88 percent in suburbs.[22]
New York Issue 2 (2017)
Poll Support OpposeUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
Siena College
7/9/2017 - 7/13/2017		 75.0%18.0%7.0%+/-4.0793
Quinnipiac University
3/11/2015 - 3/16/2015		 76.0%18.0%6.0%+/-2.81,228
AVERAGES 75.5% 18% 6.5% +/-3.4 1,010.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Media editorials

See also: 2017 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

  • The Adirondack Daily Enterprise said: "A New York state pension is a generous, taxpayer-funded privilege far beyond the hopes of most private-sector workers. It’s outrageous and unjust that the public will guarantee this money to crooks like [Joyce] Mitchell for the rest of their lives. Vote yes to rein that in."[23]
  • The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal and Niagara Gazette said: "The proposed change would serve two purposes. On the one hand, it would impose just punishment for individuals convicted of corruption crimes, hitting them where it hurts them the most, right in their pocketbooks. In addition, the measure should serve as motivation by promoting better behavior among lawmakers and others working on the public’s behalf."[24][25]
  • Watertown Daily Times said: "We urge voters to approve this proposed constitutional amendment in November. The measure grants courts the necessary leeway to consider how the loss of a state pension would adversely affect family members, which is a reasonable provision. But public officers must finally be put on notice that they’ll no longer be able to benefit from the state if they betray the public’s trust and are convicted of corruption."[26]

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not find media editorials opposing the measure. If you are aware of an editorial, please email it to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Pension Policy Logo on Ballotpedia.png
Pension policy is a major issue in New York. To learn more, see "Public pensions in New York."

In New York, the issue of pension forfeiture for public officials rose to prominence following the criminal convictions of multiple elected officials, including Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver (D-65) and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-9) in 2015.[3][4][5] Both Silver and Skelos were allowed to collect their pensions from the state's retirement system. Alan Hevesi, the comptroller who oversaw the state pension system between 2003 and 2006, was receiving $8,858 per month in pension benefits after he was convicted of taking bribes from companies interested in investing pension funds. Between 2000 and 2015, 16 public officials collected pensions after their criminal convictions. As of 2015, the state pension system was paying out about $531,000 per year to 14 former public officials convicted of crimes.[27]

In 2011, the state enacted the Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA), which allowed judges to reduce or revoke the public pension of officials convicted of crimes. As the state constitution described pensions as contractual relationships, PIRA could not authorize judges to reduce or revoke pensions of those who entered the state retirement system before the law's enactment.[11][12] A constitutional amendment was required to empower judges to reduce or revoke pensions of officials who entered the system before November 2011. As of 2012, New York was one of 25 states with a statute allowing for pension forfeiture for at least some convicted officials.[28]

Silver and Skelos

See also: Conviction of assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, 2015 and Conviction of senate majority leader Dean Skelos, 2015

In 2015, both Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver (D-65) and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-9) were convicted on unrelated corruption charges.

Former Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver
Former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos

In January 2015, Speaker Silver was indicted on five counts of bribery, extortion, and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty to one count of honest services mail fraud, one count of honest services wire fraud, and one count of using his office for extortion.[29] In April, federal prosecutors filed a new criminal charge against Silver: engaging in monetary transactions involving crime proceeds. On November 30, 2015, Silver was found guilty on all seven counts and was removed from office.[30] He was sentenced on May 3, 2016, to 12 years in prison. He was allowed to stay free pending his appeal.[6] On July 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated Silver's conviction.[31][32][8]

On December 1, 2015, Silver filed for his retirement from state government. The state comptroller said Silver would receive an annual pension of $79,224. He was enrolled in the state's oldest pension tier, as he entered the state's pension system on May 24, 1971.[7]

Sen. Skelos and his son, Adam Skelos, were arrested and charged with corruption on May 4, 2015.[33] The two faced three counts of extortion, two counts of soliciting bribes, and one count of conspiracy.[34] On June 1, 2015, Sen. Skelos and his son pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges.[35] On July 21, 2015, federal prosecutors released an expanded indictment that added two new charges of soliciting bribes from a Long Island company in return for favorable legislation.[36] On December 11, 2015, Skelos and his son were convicted of all eight counts of bribery, extortion, and corruption. Dean Skelos was convicted of using his position in the senate to benefit three companies in exchange for the companies' agreement to employ his son. Prosecutors said that the three businesses provided Adam Skelos with about $300,000 and other benefits.[37][38] On May 12, 2016, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood sentenced former Sen. Skelos to five years in prison.[9] On September 26, 2017, a federal appeals court overturned Skelos' 2015 conviction and granted him a new trial. The court found that the jurors in the case were wrongly instructed and were not consistent with a 2016 Supreme Court decision.[39][40]

In December 2015, Skelos filed for his retirement from state government. He was set to receive an annual pension of $95,832.[10][41][42]

PIRA of 2011

In June 2011, the state legislature passed the Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA). Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the bill on August 15, 2011. PIRA was designed as an ethics legislation package, with Article 3-B addressing pension forfeiture. Article 3-B authorized supreme courts to reduce or revoke the public pension of a public official convicted of a crime related to holding public office. The law provided the attorney general or district attorneys with jurisdiction over forfeiture cases, as well as with the burden of providing clear and convincing evidence of the defendant's criminal intent related to public office. The law provided that officials who had their pensions revoked are entitled to a return of their pension contributions without interest.[11]

Article 3-B required courts to consider the following factors in determining whether to revoke or reduce a convicted official's pension: (a) the severity of the crime, (b) monetary loss of the state or municipality due to the crime, (c) whether the crime was a fraudulent scheme against the state, (d) degree of public trust placed in the official's government position, (e) the official's criminal history, (f) the impact of forfeiture on the official's spouse and dependents, (g) the proportionality of forfeiture to the crime committed, and (h) other factors as determined by the court.[11]

PIRA only applied to officials who entered the state retirement system on or after the law's effective date on November 13, 2011.[18] The law could not be applied retroactively because the New York Constitution described public pensions as contractual relationships and states that benefits "shall not be diminished or impaired."[43][44] While PIRA made Article 3-B part of the contractual relationship for public officials entering the system after the law's effective date, the conditions of the contract were already determined for employees who entered the system before the law's effective date.[11][12]

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2016, the New York State Legislature referred 19 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 15 and rejected four of the referred amendments. Most of the amendments (12 of 15) were referred to the ballot during odd-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on the ballot during an odd-numbered election year was between one and two. No amendments appeared on the ballot in 2015. However, six amendments were referred to the ballot in 2013. The approval rate at the ballot box was 78.95 percent during the 20-year period from 1996 through 2016. The rejection rate was 21.05 percent.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2016
Years Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Annual average Annual median Annual minimum Annual maximum
Even years 3 3 100.00% 0 0.00% 0.27 0.00 0 2
Odd years 16 12 75.00% 4 25.00% 1.60 1.00 0 6
All
years		 19 15 78.95% 4 21.05% 0.90 0.00 0 6

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the New York Constitution

According to Section 1 of Article XIX of the New York Constitution, the state legislature has the power to propose amendments to the state constitution through a majority vote in each legislative chamber during two successive sessions.

2015-2016 legislative session

Rep. David Buchwald (D-93) and Sen. Tom Croci (R-3) sponsored the amendment in the legislature during the 2015-2016 legislative session. The New York State Assembly approved the amendment as Assembly Bill 7704 on June 16, 2016, with 132 representatives voting in favor of referring the measure and nine representatives absent or excused.[45][46] On June 17, 2016, the New York State Senate approved the amendment as Senate Bill 8163, with 57 senators voting in favor of referring the measure and five senators voting against referral. One senator was excused from voting.[47] The assembly passed the amendment again on June 17, 2016, following the senate's approval, but no vote was recorded.[48]

Vote in the New York Senate
June 17, 2016
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 32  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total5751
Total percent90.48%7.94%1.58%
Democrat2651
Republican3100
Vote in the New York Assembly
June 16, 2016
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 76  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total139011
Total percent92.67%0.00%7.33%
Democrat9905
Republican4004


2017-2018 legislative session

Rep. David Buchwald (D-93) and Sen. Tom Croci (R-3) sponsored the amendment in the legislature during the 2017-2018 legislative session. On January 30, 2017, both the lower chamber and upper chamber of the state legislature approved the amendment. The New York State Assembly approved the amendment as Assembly Bill 1749, with 147 voting in favor and three excused.[1] The New York State Senate passed the measure, with 57 senators voting in favor and four voting against.[2] As the amendment was approved during the previous legislative session, the votes of approval on January 30, 2017, referred the amendment to the ballot for the election on November 7, 2017.[16]

Vote in the New York Senate
January 30,2017
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 33  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total5742
Total percent90.47%6.35%3.18%
Democrat2840
Republican2902
Vote in the New York Assembly
January 30, 2017
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 76  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total14703
Total percent98.00%0.00%2.00%
Democrat10502
Republican4201

State profile

Demographic data for New York
 New YorkU.S.
Total population:19,747,183316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):47,1263,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:64.6%73.6%
Black/African American:15.6%12.6%
Asian:8%5.1%
Native American:0.4%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.9%3%
Hispanic/Latino:18.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.6%86.7%
College graduation rate:34.2%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$59,269$53,889
Persons below poverty level:18.5%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in New York.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in New York

New York voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 18 are located in New York, accounting for 8.74 percent of the total pivot counties.[49]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. New York had 14 Retained Pivot Counties and four Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 7.73 and 16.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More New York coverage on Ballotpedia

Related measures

See also: Public employee retirement funds ballot measures
Pension measures on the ballot in 2017
StateMeasures
MaineMaine Question 4: Public Pension Unfunded Liabilities from Experience Losses Amendment Approveda

See also

External links

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New York 2017 Pension Felony Official Amendment. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

New York Proposal 2, Pension Forfeiture for Convicted Officials Amendment (2017) - Google News


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 New York State Assembly, "Assembly Bill 1749," accessed January 30, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 New York State Senate, "Senate Bill 418," accessed January 30, 2017
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 WSTM, "You finally get a say if corrupt officials keep their NYS pension," January 30, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Daily Messenger, "New York state legislators pass pension reform bill," January 30, 2017
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Buffalo News, "Legislature approves pension forfeiture measure," January 30, 2017
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Auburn Pub, " Breaking: Ex-NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver gets 12 years in prison," May 3, 2016
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Journal News, "Sheldon Silver's pension is official: $6,600 a month," January 20, 2016
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 New York Post, "Silver’s overturned conviction is ‘encouraging’ news for Skeloses," July 13, 2017
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Washington Post, "The Latest: Ex-NY Senate leader gets 5 years for corruption," accessed May 12, 2016
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Newsday, "State Legislature gives final OK to pension forfeiture bill," January 30, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 New York State Assembly, "Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011," accessed January 31, 2017
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Syracuse.com, "NY Assembly may vote to strip pensions from corrupt public officials," June 15, 2016
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 New York State Board of Elections, "Proposal Certification," August 2, 2017
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  15. ↑ The Legislative Gazette, "Conservative Party announces its positions for Nov. 7 ballot questions," September 14, 2017
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Poughkeepsie Journal, "Voters to decide on pensions for corrupt NY officials," January 30, 2017
  17. ↑ WHAM, "NYS Legislature passes pension ethics reform; voters to decide in November," January 30, 2017
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Oneida Daily Dispatch, "Local lawmakers applaud pension ethics reform," January 31, 2017
  19. ↑ New York Board of Elections Campaign Finance, "View Disclosure Reports," accessed October 5, 2025
  20. ↑ ‘'New York Board of Elections, “New York 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Calendar," accessed January 31, 2017
  21. ↑ Quinnipiac University Poll, "Voters Want Leaders’, Spouses’, Line-Ins’ Income, Quinnipiac University New York Poll Finds; No Budget Without Ethics Fix, Voters Say," March 19, 2015
  22. ↑ Siena College, "Siena College Research Institute July 2017," accessed August 15, 2017
  23. ↑ Adirondack Daily Enterprise, "Vote ‘yes’ for land bank, reining in felons’ pensions," October 25, 2017
  24. ↑ Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, "Our View: Targeting pensions will get our vote," February 10, 2017
  25. ↑ Niagara Gazette, "Editorial: Targeting pensions will get our vote," February 3, 2017
  26. ↑ Watertown Daily Times, "Hit in the pocketbook: Legislators pass a bill to strip felons of their public pensions," February 4, 2017
  27. ↑ Poughkeepsie Journal, "Convicted politicos get N.Y. pensions - for now," April 20, 2015
  28. ↑ Governing, "State Pension Forfeiture Laws," accessed January 31, 2017
  29. ↑ Yahoo News, "New York assembly ex-speaker Silver indicted on corruption charges," February 19, 2015
  30. ↑ New York Times, "Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Is Found Guilty on All Counts," November 30, 2015
  31. ↑ CBS News, "Ex-New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s corruption conviction overturned," July 13, 2017
  32. ↑ New York Times, "Sheldon Silver’s 2015 Corruption Conviction Is Overturned," July 13, 2017
  33. ↑ New York Times, "Dean Skelos, New York Senate Leader, and Son Are Arrested on Corruption Charges," May 4, 2015
  34. ↑ Newsday, "Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and son Adam Skelos face federal corruption charges, feds say," May 4, 2015
  35. ↑ Reuters, "Ex-NY Senate leader Skelos, son plead not guilty in corruption case," June 1, 2015
  36. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Sen. Dean Skelos, Son Face New Charges in Extortion Case," July 21, 2015
  37. ↑ Newsday, "Dean Skelos, son get postponement in sentencing on corruption conviction," March 2, 2016
  38. ↑ New York Daily News, "Dean Skelos guilty in corruption case; former state Senate Majority Leader and son now face up to 130 years in prison," accessed December 11, 2015
  39. ↑ Washington Post, "Ex-NY Senate leader Skelos gets new trial in corruption case," September 26, 2017
  40. ↑ Bloomberg, "Ex-New York Senate Leader Dean Skelos Gets New Trial," September 26, 2017
  41. ↑ New York Daily News, "Corrupt ex-NY Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos will receive $96G pension, despite likely prison term on horizon," February 17, 2016
  42. ↑ CBS New York, "Ex-NY Senate Leader Dean Skelos To Receive Nearly $100K Yearly Pension Despite Corruption Conviction," February 18, 2016
  43. ↑ New York Times, "Effort to Strip Pensions From Corrupt New York Officials Stalls," May 3, 2015
  44. ↑ Times Union, "Cuomo: Strip pension from corrupt officials," February 16, 2015
  45. ↑ New York State Assembly, "Assembly Bill 7704," accessed January 30, 2017
  46. ↑ New York Upstate, "NY Assembly passes bill to strip pensions from corrupt public officials," June 16, 2016
  47. ↑ New York State Senate, "Senate Bill 8163," accessed January 30, 2017
  48. ↑ New York State Assembly, "Assembly Bill 10739A," accessed January 20, 2017
  49. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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