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6 NY Senators' outside income tops their state pay

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Financial disclosures show six state senators exceeded their legislative pay with outside income last year while efforts to restrict it foundered in the chamber. 

Filings at the state ethics commission by all 63 senators included five attorneys and one builder who made $100,000 or more from other jobs. At the same time, 33 senators reported having no other work. 

Legislative sessions in Albany run from January through June, but lawmakers maintain staffed offices in their districts that are expected to help constituents all year. The base state pay for state Senate and Assembly members is $79,500, and many get additional money for leadership posts. 

In March, the Democrat-controlled Assembly voted to limit legislators' outside income to about $70,000 annually. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had proposed limiting it to 15 percent of their base salaries. Advocates said it would help curb the influence of outside money on state government, part of a drumbeat for reform that followed the corruption convictions of New York's two top lawmakers. 

However, neither proposal advanced in the Republican-controlled Senate. 

Last fall, federal juries convicted former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of peddling their influence in office. Both were lawyers reporting significant outside income. 

Most senators reported spouses with incomes, drawing pensions or getting investment returns in publicly reviewable documents at the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. 

A commission is studying whether lawmakers deserve raises. Most face fall elections. 

_ Sen. Marc Panepinto, a Buffalo Democrat in his first two-year term, reported income between $150,000 and $250,000 last year as a personal injury litigator, as well as profit from the law practice between $650,000 and $750,000. He said he won't run again, putting the needs of his family and law firm first. 

 _ Republican Sen. George Amedore, whose family builds homes in the greater Albany area, reported income of $200,000 to $300,000 from two of their companies. 

 _ Sen. Michael Nozzolio, a Republican from Seneca Falls, reported income of $150,000 to $250,000 as a senior adviser and recruiter for a large law practice. He has announced plans to retire. 

Senators reporting law incomes of $100,000 to $150,000 were Michael Ranzenhofer, an Erie County Republican, and Philip Boyle and John Flanagan, Long Island Republicans. 

The Assembly-passed bill also would have prohibited the state's 213 lawmakers from getting paid by law firms or others for simply putting their names on the letterhead or for making client referral recommendations, instead requiring actual work and proportionate pay.  

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