With 59 largely unenthusiastic ayes, the State Senate on Wednesday approved a package of bills meant to combat political corruption and require elected officials to disclose more about their outside financial interests.

Despite more than three hours of debate and grousing from many senators that they felt the bills were at best a half-step toward meaningful change, only one senator voted no.

Earlier in the day in the State Assembly, there was an equally indifferent embrace of the legislation. Though the main bill easily passed, 137 to 2, only a handful of Assembly members spoke in its defense.

For many legislators, voting on the ethics measure posed a conundrum: Do they take the risk of going on record against one of the most significant reform measures to come before the Legislature in years, or do they set their concerns aside and vote for a bill that many consider imperfect?

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