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Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, is considered by good government groups to be one of those. She praised Smith's reforms. "All of these changes will liberalize debate and enable the Senate to be more open and transparent, and their adoption will go a long way toward the reforms that I and so many editorial boards and citizens have been calling for," she said in a statement released Friday.
Indeed, regarding the second-to-last recommendation above, Smith spokesman Austin Shafran was eager to point out, "Senator Smith also announced afterward that he was instituting a $350,000 baseline for member budgets – meaning no member, irrespective of party, would have their office budget go below that. [It's the] first time a majority leader has guaranteed a baseline of operating budget for members."
But regarding the last point, ironically, Shafran was unable to say exactly who had voted for and against the reform package. "It was a voice vote so there are no recorded names of yes or no but both resolutions passed," he wrote in an e-mail.
