Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes sponsored a bill to fight corruption. Now she doesn’t support it.

Statement from Reclaim New York Initiative Executive Director Brandon Muir on the Assembly’s failure to move on the Procurement Integrity Act:

“Lawmakers claim they want to tackle Albany corruption. There’s overwhelming support in the State Assembly for a bill to fight the Empire State’s pay-to-play culture. Everything should be in place for New Yorkers to get a long-awaited win against corruption.

“There’s only one problem: The legislation’s sponsor, Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes, doesn’t support her own bill.

“The Procurement Integrity Act is a bi-partisan effort to restore oversight measures and end conflicts of interest. Passing this legislation should be a no-brainer.

“The State Senate has already passed the bill by a whopping 60 to 2 vote. But the Assembly has yet to prove that it’s willing to tackle corruption.

“With only three days left in this legislative session, the bill is stalled in the Assembly’s Governmental Operations Committee. Peoples-Stokes, the sponsor of the bill and the chair of the committee, has publicly stated that she no longer supports it.

“Lawmakers shouldn’t have to think twice about putting a stop to Albany’s pattern of bad behavior. There is still time for Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes to bring this bill to a vote.

“Establishing these commonsense reforms will help restore New Yorkers’ trust in government. If the Assembly truly wants to crackdown on Albany corruption, they will pass the Procurement Integrity Act now.”