SENATE WON'T BUDGE REFORM OF ETHICS LAWS SAILS THROUGH ASSEMBLY.(Local)

Byline: Jeannie H. Cross and Bennett Roth

The Assembly Thursday night, by a 141-1 vote, gave bipartisan approval to a sweeping reform of government ethics laws that would bar lawyer-legislators from appearing before state agencies.

The measure also would require greater financial disclosure by statewide officials.

But the Senate remainied unwilling to consider the Assembly changes.

Senate Majority Leader Warren Anderson, R-Binghamton, said there is no reason to expand legislative ethics reform. "I don't think there's enough abuse," he said.

Anderson added: "I don't think there's anything particularly wrong" with lawyer-legislators or their law partners representing clients before government agencies. To bar that practice, "what you're really saying is you shouldn't have lawyers as legislators."

The sole dissenting vote to the ethics reform package was cast by Robert J. Connor, D-New City.

At about midnight, the Assembly, by a vote of 84-60 generally along party lines, passed a bill that would …