Ulster County Legislature committee members reject longer ban on hiring former lawmakers – Daily Freeman

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Members of the County Legislature’s Rules and Regulations Committee on Thursday, July 11, rejected an attempt by legislator Joseph Maloney to extend the period a former county legislator must wait before taking office in county government.

The resolution’s defeat means the proposal will not automatically move forward to the full Legislature for consideration, although Maloney, a Saugerties Democrat, said he would likely use a procedure known as a “discharge petition” to force a vote in August.

“I’ll probably post it … but I doubt it’ll go through,” Maloney said.

Under a law passed before the county charter was passed, when the Legislature managed the day-to-day operations of county government, former lawmakers are prohibited from working in county government for a year after leaving the Legislature. Maloney said his proposal would restore that restriction, prohibiting both the Legislature’s appointment and the executive branch’s confirmation of any former county lawmaker to a paid government position for three years.

Legislator Jeff Collins, who sits on the Law, Rules and Government Services Committee, called the proposal a “nonsense change” that “tries to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

He said the original law was passed when the Legislature was responsible for hiring. Now, he said, lawmakers merely approve a few government hires.

“I don’t think this is a conflict that needs to be fixed or changed or modified in any way,” said Collins, a Democrat from Woodstock.

Maloney disagreed, asking, “Why would anyone think it’s a good idea for someone to be a legislator for 10 years, leave, and then come back two months later and get a job from the executive branch for $100,000?”

“All that would happen is that no elected official in Ulster County government would be able to turn around and get a job,” he said, adding that there are only a “handful” of executive appointments in county government that require approval from the Legislature.

“It’s just good government and public service and giving everyone in the county the same chance,” he said.

Originally published: July 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM