Requires additional disclosures from lobbyists

Summary of specific provisions

Definitions "family member" means any of the following: parents, stepparents, spouse, domestic partners, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts whether by birth or through legal sanction.

"agent" means any person acting at the direction of or on behalf of an individual or business entity.

"business entity" means a business corporation, professional services corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, business trust, association or any other legal commercial entity, organized under the laws of this state or any other state or foreign jurisdiction, including any subsidiary directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity, and any political organization including but not limited to any political organization organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, that is directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity;

"immediate family" means spouse or child of an individual or any financially dependent relatives who reside in the individual's household;

"housekeeping account" means an account maintained by a party committee or constituted committee from which expenditures are made to maintain a permanent headquarters and staff and carry on ordinary party activities which are not for the express purpose of promoting the candidacy of specific candidates;

"candidate for state office" means a candidate for the following state offices: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, senator and member of the assembly;

"behested payments" means contributions or payments solicited by state elected officials to be used for legislative, governmental or charitable purposes, but not campaign purposes;

"personal business transaction" means transactions for services offered by an elected official in his or her capacity as a private citizen to any member of the public.

The legislative law is amended to require campaign contributions and compensation paid to family members of public officials by lobbyists to be included on each bi-monthly lobbying report as well as each semiannual report to the commission. Lobbyists would also be required to report the contact information for any public official with whom he or she has a business relationship.

Requires lobbyists, persons who own more than 10% of a lobbying business, persons who hold senior management positions in lobbying businesses or immediate family members to any of those persons must file a report specifying political contributions to any state office candidates with the state board of elections. Elected officials would be required to report any behested payments they have solicited over $5,000 per calendar year. These records shall be a matter of public record.

Contribution limits for any lobbyists or persons intimately involved with lobbying firms would be set for state office ($500 for statewide office, $350 for senate and $250 for assembly). These persons would also be prohibited from donating more than $5,000 to a political committee which works to aid candidates. Lobbyists would be prohibited from transmitting contributions on behalf of another individual whose contributions would be limited by this law. Lobbyists would be prohibited from serving as an officer of any political committee, conducting personal business (over $2,000) with any public official, delivering money earmarked for a particular candidate or knowingly take steps to circumvent this law. No candidates may accept any money which would be in violation of this law.

Any person or business with a contract of $50,000 or more with the state, any person who owns 10% or more of such a business, any senior manager of such a business, or any family member of one of those persons must report any campaign donations within seven days (if within 36 days of the election) or within 31 days (all other times). These reports, made to the state board of elections, shall be available for public inspection.

Contribution limits to political campaigns would be set for persons Or businesses with certain contracts and it would be unlawful to make contributions to political committees in excess of $4,000 per election. Such persons and businesses would also be prohibited from soliciting or transmitting contributions on behalf of others participate in fundraising activities for certain candidates, serving as an officer for a political committee, conducting personal business transactions over $2,000 with any public official, delivering any contribution for a specific candidate and attempting to circumvent this law.

The state would be barred from entering into contracts with any person or business that violates the provisions of this bill. All contracts must contain a provision describing these requirements and before entering into such a contract, the state shall receive a sworn statement from the bidder that they have not made a contribution in violation of this law.

Lobbyists, persons who have received large contracts from the state, persons who own more than 10% of a lobbying business, a senior

manager of a lobbying business, or an immediate family member of any of those people will be prohibited from appointment to a state public board or commission which has the authority to award or audit any public contract.

Justification

Recent lobbying scandals at the national level have highlighted the potential for inappropriate and sometimes illegal influence by lobbyists over government officials. In the past, three state legislators and one top-ranking Pataki Administration official have been sent to prison in disgrace for violating the public trust. In order to restore that trust, it is essential that New York adopt strict standards of behavior for its public officials, and enforce those standards in a vigilant and consistent manner.

New York, in comparison with other states, has not been a leader in terms of adopting strong ethics standards for our public officials. This legislation would increase the amount of information shared with the public regarding relationships between lobbyists and legislators and bring much needed sunlight into our governmental process.

The first provision of this legislation addresses difficulties in determining the extent of lobbyists' contributions to political campaigns. In the wake of the Abramoff scandal at the national level, it is clear that such contributions are often given by lobbyists with the goal of inappropriately or illegally influencing the governmental decision making process. This legislation would reveal any such relationship to the public.

The next two provisions address issues of business employment relationships between lobbyists and public officials or their families. Because the New York state legislature is officially a part time job, New York State legislators are often employed in positions with law firms that do business with lobbying firms. These relationships should be disclosed to the public. Similarly, the public has a right to know if close relatives of legislators are employed as lobbyists, to citizens who are in a position to evaluate whether such relationships result in inappropriate influence over a government decision making.

Finally the bill prohibits the soliciting or receiving of contributions for a campaign for state or federal office while in a senior policy position in the executive branch. This is in response to the past disclosure that the head of an executive agency who acknowledged that he was not a candidate for any office, continued to raise and spend campaign funds to enhance his life style. To engage in such actions while overseeing an industry which actively and at great expense lobbies state government, at the very least gives the impression that favorable decisions were being sold and, true or not, feeds public cynicism. The legislation, again in conjunction with the new, more clearly delineated limits on the use of campaign funds, prohibits such misuse of campaign funds.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that section 14-132 of the election law as added by section six of this act shall take effect two years after such effective date.