Empire Zone brings the latest piece of news from the piece of work that is our State Assembly.

ALBANY — Speaker Sheldon Silver and fellow Assembly Democrats quietly introduced legislation late last month that would grant lawmakers a raise of nearly 21 percent, increasing their base pay to the second highest in the nation among state legislators.

No, this was not announced in a press release.

Of course not.

At the urging of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, also a Democrat, Mr. Silver agreed to hold off on the legislation for the moment, pending the outcome of a fight between the governor and Senate Republicans over campaign finance reform.

Here's a novel concept: how about tying that pay raise to rules reform? As presently constituted, the Assembly (and the Senate as well) are simply not legislatures as the term is commonly understood. Its members can't introduce legislation, call hearings, bring votes to the floor, any of the things, really, that legislators commonly do. No wonder this raise was introduced, as these things are commonly done in Albany, in the metaphorical dead of night, without debate, and without any opportunities for public input - isn't that a concise summation of the wider problems afflicting that dysfunctional body, and why it is considered the nation's worst legislature?

New Yorkers would probably support a legislative pay raise; but that would require that we also get some actual legislators. Seems a simple request, really - value for money.

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