Two Democratic New York lawmakers are trying to drum up support to set limits on the state’s obligation to pay legal fees associated with public officers’ defenses of civil claims, when the state Attorney General refuses to represent them.
Assemblymember Grace Lee and state Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger, who both represent Manhattan, introduced the State Taxpayer Oversight and Protection Act, motivated in part by the comptroller’s recent breakdown of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state-paid legal defenses and investigative reports by law firms that totaled about $60 million.