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Former New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made headlines recently due to rumors that he’ll soon jump into the 2025 race for New York City mayor. While the political maneuverings of the Empire State’s former chief executive certainly deserve media attention, the outcome of his lawsuit to shut down the state’s ethics watchdog may have a bigger impact on New York State’s future. 

After succeeding Cuomo as governor, Kathy Hochul proposed establishing a new state ethics agency to replace the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (JCOPE). JCOPE was a creation of the Cuomo Administration. During its decade in existence, JCOPE was plagued by scandal and roundly criticized by opponents of all kinds, from the political left to the political right, from the press corps to the so-called good government groups. When JCOPE was replaced by the Hochul-created ethics commission (the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government or COELIG), few tears were shed.

JCOPE was actually Gov. Cuomo’s attempt to improve upon the ethics watchdog created by Gov. Eliot Spitzer—the New York State Commission on Public Integrity (NYSCoPI). Like its successor, NYSCOPI was no stranger to scandal.

COELIG was Gov. Hochul’s attempt to establish a new state ethics agency to police state government. From the day it was up-and-running, COELIG was taking hits from critics across the political divide, and those critics didn’t just pen essays and op-eds. They actually took their criticisms to the courtroom.

COELIG’s most fearsome adversary has proven to be the already mentioned former governor: Andrew Cuomo. At the heart of Cuomo’s dispute with COELIG is the $5 million he received for writing a book while serving as New York’s governor.

In his lawsuit, Cuomo argues that COELIG’s structure violates the state constitution. The constitution, Cuomo’s contends, requires that the governor have the ability to remove members of executive branch agencies. Since COELIG is in the executive branch and the governor does not have the sole authority to remove COELIG commissioners, COELIG’s structure, according to Cuomo, is unconstitutional.

So far, the former governor’s arguments have prevailed. A trial court judge in Albany County agreed with Cuomo that COELIG’s structure violated the state constitution. The Appellate Division, Third Department, New York State’s intermediate-level court, affirmed this decision unanimously. Cuomo’s challenge to COELIG was argued at New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, last month. The Court of Appeals has not yet handed down a decision.

Even if Cuomo were to lose at the Court of Appeals, other challenges to COELIG are ongoing.

One challenge comes from former JCOPE Commissioner Gary Lavine. Lavine was nominated by the Senate Minority Leader to be his appointee to COELIG. Part of the appointment process for COELIG commissioners, however, requires that appointees be vetted and approved by a board comprised of the deans of all of New York State’s law schools. This board rejected Lavine’s nomination to serve on COELIG, and Lavine’s lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of requiring approval by this board of law school deans. Lavine’s lawsuit was unsuccessful at the trial level, and the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, unanimously affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Court of Appeals has not yet decided whether to hear Lavine’s appeal.

Another ongoing challenge to COELIG comes from former New York State Senator Jeff Klein. Klein was under investigation by COELIG for allegedly sexually harassing a subordinate during his tenure as a state senator. His lawsuit, like Cuomo’s and Lavine’s lawsuits, challenges the constitutionality of COELIG. A trial court judge in Albany County blocked COELIG from continuing its investigation of Klein. If the Court of Appeals rejects Cuomo’s arguments and finds that COELIG’s structure doesn’t run afoul of the state constitution, Klein’s win may be short lived.

Most recently, a lawsuit was filed against COELIG by David Grandeau, a one-time head of the now defunct state lobbying commission. In addition to challenging COELIG’s constitutionality, Grandeau’s lawsuit challenges a recently adopted COELIG rule on who may file disclosure reports on behalf of the clients of lobbyists. Oral arguments were held on February 3, 2025, and a decision by the Albany County trial court hearing the case is likely to come in the near future.

Former Governor Cuomo may be able to convince the Court of Appeals that COELIG violates the state constitution. Challenges from Lavine, Klein, and Grandeau are also ongoing. It’s even possible that Gov. Hochul or the leaders of the state legislature decide it’s best to scrap COELIG and start over. Given all these challenges and difficulties, any seasoned observer of New York State politics would have to agree that the future COELIG is far from certain.