While New York lawmakers are virtually high-fiving each other for what they called groundbreaking political progress, good government groups are unimpressed with the 2008 legislative session.

“After promising to change the way Albany operated, the governor allowed the process in Albany to return to it’s bad old roots: secrecy and insider negotiations,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

The biggest objection from observers was the traditional “three men in a room” dealings and a lack of transparency.

Much of Paterson’s major legislation wasn’t adopted, including an extensive plan for campaign finance reform introduced earlier this month on the same day good government groups held a press conference chastising lawmakers for a lack of action on the issue.

Paterson ran as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer‘s lieutenant governor on the promise of changing state government’s bad reputation. Then Spitzer was linked to a high-priced prostitution ring and resigned, leaving Albany reeling.

Now groups like NYPIRG and the Women’s League of Voters are objecting to the status quo that continued to grip Albany under Paterson’s leadership.

“We are somewhat sympathetic of our governor, who had to take over and finish our budget in two weeks, but the budget was done behind closed doors,” said the league’s Barbara Bartoletti. “We thought things would get better, but they didn’t _ they got worse.”

Paterson, however, rejected the criticism.

“In only three months the governor was able to achieve enactment of 26 of his priority bills … This was, by any measure, a historically productive legislative session,” Paterson spokeswoman Risa Heller said. “We look forward to working with the legislature, the advocates and other interested parties in the coming months on a variety of issues including campaign finance reform and the property tax cap.”

Newly minted Senate majority Leader Dean Skelos and Paterson have described the session as productive. Skelos stopped short of calling it a success, saying crushing property taxes in New York still haven’t been dealt with. Officials in Skelos’ office declined to comment on the criticism of good government groups.

“Considering all of the tumult New Yorkers endured in the first half of this year, the 2008 Legislative session was remarkably successful, though our work is not done,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in a written statement. “In a time of economic challenges and political distress, Governor David Paterson worked with the Legislature to achieve a balanced and on-time budget.”

He also cited successful measures on gun control, to prevent foreclosures, save New York City Off-track Betting jobs, end mandatory overtime for nurses, and reform the state’s brownfields program.

But good government groups were horrified when a bill that would have protected children from lead poisoning failed at the last minute. It would have mandated preventive measures by the state Department of Health and offered state tax credits to landlords who update their properties. It’s an issue that could gain more traction next year, but “meanwhile, children very well may die,” Bartoletti said.

The groups did praise a few developments as positive _ tougher state oversight of doctors, the reforms in the way New York gives tax breaks for cleaning up brownfields and net metering of electricity.

NYPIRG praised Paterson and the Legislature for coping with the abrupt departure of Spitzer and managing to pass a budget a little more than a week late. They also hailed the bills that brought relief to home owners facing foreclosure and protections against identity theft.

Overall, though, special interests got their way in this election year instead of the voters, Bartoletti said.

Some of the biggest winners were the unions. One bill that passed both chambers would give the public employee unions the ability to veto any attempt to change retiree health benefits _ even if a government employer found a way to offer the same benefits for less money. It would create a one-year moratorium that would prevent state and local governments from changing benefits, but many think it’s likely to become permanent.

“For the state as a whole, and for the state’s economy, this is a bad thing,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, part of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute. “It simply adds to the very high cost of government in New York and is one of the things that is going to perpetuate our heavy tax burden.”

Unions argue the moratorium is necessary while a 12-person task force _ which will include several union members _ evaluates health plan options.

“What was passed was a two-year study about how to best fund health plans,” AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said.

He said the moratorium will allow time to review the health care benefits before there are any changes.

The bill has been sent to Paterson, who hasn’t made a decision on it yet. Whatever he decides, the good government groups will be watching.

“We certainly would encourage more openness as we go forward,” Bartoletti said. “Especially in these times when things economically are changing rapidly. People should be able to feel that the government is working for them, not the special interests.”

Source: AP