ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul, looking to polish her “integrity of state government” image, will propose term limits on statewide elected officials in New York State, an idea kicking around Albany for many decades.
Hochul, who took over for disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who was planning to run for a fourth term in 2022, will formally unveil the idea Wednesday in her State of the State address, her office announced Monday.
Under her plan, statewide elected officials – governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller – would be limited to two consecutive terms, or a total of eight years, in the job.
Only 14 states, New York among them, have no legal restrictions on how many terms a statewide elected official may serve, according to the National Governors Association.
Those with term limits typically take the “consecutive” terms approach. Some, though, have a lifetime term limit law on the books, meaning an official, once the lifetime term limit has been hit, may never seek that office again.
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The Hochul plan calls for amending the state constitution, a multiyear process that requires approval by the State Legislature – twice – and then voters in a statewide referendum.
Taking a cue from the 2021 headlines from Albany, Hochul will also propose banning “earned” outside income by statewide elected officials, except for money received from academic positions.
Cuomo in 2020 struck a book deal, worth $5.1 million, to write about Covid-19. State ethics officials are looking to claw back those profits, claiming he broke an outside income agreement by, among other things, using state workers to help him research, write and promote the book.
“On day one as governor, I pledged to restore trust in government and I have taken steps every day to deliver the open, ethical governing New Yorkers deserve," Hochul said in a statement Monday.
Term limits have been an on-again, off-again topic in Albany for generations. In 1994, Republican George Pataki, in his race against then-Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, vowed to serve just two terms; he served three. State lawmakers in power have handily beaten back calls that they face term limits.
The concept of term limits in New York, unlike many other states, was not inserted into the original writings of the state constitution. The longest serving governor of New York was its first: George Clinton. He served from July 9, 1777 until 1795 and then from 1801 to 1804. In 1937, New Yorkers amended the state constitution, changing the term in office for governors from two years to four.
