When he took over the top post last year as Senate majority leader, John Flanagan announced he was leaving his private-practice law firm.
"I have a pretty good idea of what this job is," Flanagan said then. "I recognize how much time, effort and energy needs to be associated with it, and I've had conversations with my firm and made a decision to leave the firm, because if I'm going to do this job in the right way, I'm going to be all over the state and this 24-7."
But Flanagan still earned as much as $100,000 from the law firm last year before he left, according to a financial disclosure statement made public this week. He's not the only legislative leader walking away from private work. Senate IDC Leader Jeff Klein left his law firm on March 20 last year. And unlike his predecessor, Sheldon Silver, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie does not have any outside income.
"I think Speaker Heastie and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan did the right thing when they assumed their new posts of disavowing any outside income," said Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey.
An effort by Governor Andrew Cuomo to cap the outside pay of state legislators this year failed to gain any traction, despite the scrutiny raised by the corruption cases of Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.
"For many, the job is a full-time job," Dadey said. "Even though they may be in Albany a quarter of the days of the year, they are service representatives for their constituents."
In February, Flanagan insisted he was opposed to capping outside pay of state lawmakers, saying it wasn't an issue voters were focused on.
Lawmakers have not seen a pay increase since 1999 from their base pay of $79,500. A commission will study whether lawmakers will receive a pay hike. Governor Cuomo says lawmakers must make the case themselves, publicly in an election year, as to why they deserve a raise.