Statement: Giving a committee chair's stipend in the New York State Senate to another member of that committee "has been, in fact, a legislative practice for decades.
Speaker: diane savino
About the speaker: Diane Savino is a State Sentaor from Staten Island. She is a member of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of Democrats who caucus with Republicans in the State Senate.
Date: May 17, 2017
Location: new york
Topics: corrections and updates;ethics
Context: an interview on NY1
Fact-check justification: Savino said the practice of giving a committee chairman’s stipend to the vice chair in the State Senate has been "a legislative practice for decades." Records from the state Comptroller’s Office indicate otherwise. The practice did not happen any time in the last decade. It started in 2015. Records do not support Savino’s statement. We rate it . EDITOR'S NOTE - UPDATE Savino's office issued a statement about our story after publication on July 10. "It’s amazing that an outlet which calls itself Politifact could take liberties with the  and distort my words based on their ‘perception’ of an interview. Perception is not fact it is opinion, and the  is that the fragment they plucked from my full statement is as  today as it was when I said it: The practice of the Senate issuing stipends to senators has been a legislative practice for decades. I never said vice chairs were, though they are certainly entitled to under the legislative law. In fact, every senator in our house is entitled to one allowance including every senator in the minority," Savino said in the statement. For context, here's a transcript of the relevant portion of the interview we fact-checked:  ERROL LOUIS : For over a week now we’ve been telling you about the controversy involving stipends paid to state senators for positions they do not technically hold. Critics have denounced the practice but Republicans and Independent Democratic Conference leaders say it’s much ado about nothing. My first guest tonight is one of those senators. Democrat Diane Savino is a member of the IDC. She represents parts of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn and she got her stipend as role of vice chair of the senate codes committee. Welcome to the program, thanks for coming back down from Albany. SAVINO : Thanks for having me Errol, how are you? ERROL LOUIS : Oh I’m very good thanks. Tell me what a Vice Chair does. What’s the idea? SAVINO : Well first I want to just reflect on how you opened this. For the past week apparently the Albany press corps has been obsessed with this. When you look at what’s happening in the world, it’s almost as if the world is going to hell in a handbasket. The president is on the verge of being accused of possible crimes where they’re talking about impeachment, the stock market is collapsing today, but yet in Albany there seems to be an obsession with something that has been, in fact, a legislative practice for decades. And in fact when there was a question brought up about it, legal memos were presented and offered to the press to verify that was has been done has been consistent with legislative law and legislative practice for decades, the comptroller’s office verified that that is in fact in legislative law and has been practiced for decades. So, I am mystified as to what the obsession is. Our ruling does not change.