March 2008

The Honorable David A. Paterson Governor of New York
The Honorable Joseph L. Bruno Majority Leader of the Senate	The Honorable Sheldon Silver Speaker of the Assembly
The Honorable Malcolm A. Smith Minority Leader of the Senate	The Honorable James N. Tedisco Minority Leader of the Assembly

On behalf of the Commissioners and staff of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity, it is our honor to present you with the Commission's first annual report.

As you know, the Commission was created by the Public Employee Ethics Reform Act of 2007, which combined the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying and the New York State Ethics Commission. By September, 2007, when the new Commission began operations, we already had obtained new offices, integrated staffs, transferred employees to the new payroll and prepared for the expanded jurisdiction provided in the legislation. All of this was accomplished while the new Commission continued the day-to-day work of the two predecessor agencies. Our success in implementing the Commission's statutory responsibilities could not have been achieved without the effort, enthusiasm and teamwork of the staffs of both the Ethics and Lobbying Commissions, as well as the assistance of the State Office of General Services and the Department of State.

We would be remiss if we did not express again our gratitude to Judge James King, the last Chair of the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying, and all of its members, as well as the members of the New York State Ethics Commission for their leadership efforts in assuring the success of the transition.

We look forward to working with each of you to insure the success of this new and important endeavor.