Relates to state legislative ethics

BILL NUMBER:S572

Title of bill

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to state legislative ethics

Purpose or general idea of the bill

This bill further strengthens existing anti-nepotism prohibitions that currently exist in the law for state legislators and legislative employees who have been designated as policy makers and who wish to, either directly or indirectly, help to hire their relatives in the same legislative chamber as the one they are a member of.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the public officers law section 73 (the section that regulates business and professional activities by legislative personnel) to add two new subdivisions (14-a) and (14-b).

New subdivision 14-a adds new prohibitions that apply exclusively to state legislators or legislative employees who have been designated as policy makers. Under current law, a state legislator or legislative employee may not participate in any decision to hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative within the State Legislature (the current law). The underlying assumption is that the state legislator may not be directly involved in such decision. This bill adds a new subsection to also prohibit state legislators and legislative staff who are policy makers from having any knowledge of such hire or helping to process the paperwork for such hire in any way for relatives in the same legislative chamber. With this provision, a state legislator who even knows that a relative is being hired within the State Legislature (the chamber in which the regulated party works also) will be culpable of an act of nepotism. This significantly expands the prohibition against nepotism and hopefully will actively encourage legislators not to hire their relatives.

New subdivision 14-b requires that all members of the legislature and legislative employees must disclose on their financial disclosure statements the names of all of their relatives who are employed in the Legislature. This amendment is made so that even for legislative employees who are not policy makers, there will be a disclosure of their other relatives who are employed in the State Legislature.

Section 2 amends public officers law section 74(3) to add additional standards to the Code of Ethics. Section 74(3) (d) is amended so that no officer or employee of a state agency, member of the legislature or legislative employee should attempt to use their official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for their relatives.

Justification

Recent events have created a desire in the public and within the State Legislature to ensure that ethics oversight of the State Legislature is independent, transparent and accountable to the general public. This bill imposes additional ethical standards on state legislators and legislative employees preventing any connections whatsoever between their positions of authority and the hiring of their relatives in the State Legislature. Instituting this new ethical standard should remove any chance of even the perception by the general public that there is a breach of the code of ethics by state legislators or legislative staff.

Legislative history

2010 - S.6160 REFERRED TO FINANCE

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 90th day after it shall have become law.