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History
- Referred to finance
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to governmental operations
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 38–24
- Ordered to third reading cal.1031
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Print number 5009a
- Amend and recommit to finance
- Referred to finance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Prohibits certain lobbyists and political consultants from being affiliated with each other, or engaging in the other's profession
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Sandy Galef
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5009A
Title of bill
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to prohibiting lobbyists from engaging in political consulting of candidates for and holders of state office and prohibiting certain political consultants from engaging in lobbying; and to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the reporting of the provision of political consulting services
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to reform the state's ethics laws to place a fire wall between the activities of political consultants who help to elect state government officials and registered lobbyists, who lobby state government officials to obtain or thwart a specified state governmental policy. Political consultants are those who are paid to manage and operate political campaigns for public officials and candidates, raise funds to elect such officials, and provide media services or advice for such campaigns However, such political consulting does not mean the provision of legal work related to securing a place on the ballot, conduct of an election, or other election law issues, Registered lobbyists are those who lobby state elected officials for enactment or rejection of legislation, regulatory changes, budget items, procurement of services, or other changes in governmental policy,
Read the full memo (854 words)
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends Legislative Law section 1-c to add a definition for the term "political consulting". Such term means the provision, for compensation, to any state public official, candidate or potential candidate for any elective office, advice or services to such candidate or government official to help get such official elected to such office. Such advice or services can include, but is not limited to campaign management, fundraising activities, and public relations or media services, but it does not include any legal work related to litigation or advice related to the conduct of an election or the election law
Section 2: Amends Legislative Law section 1-m to ban State registered lobbyists from providing political consulting services as defined under section 1 of this bill to any state public official, candidate or potential candidate. This provision further provides that those who engage in political consulting shall not lobby or be associated with any organization that is a registered lobbyist.
Section 4: Adds to Election Law section 14-100 a definition for those who engage in political consulting for the purpose of reporting campaign receipts and expenditures.
Section 5: Amends Election Law section 14-102 to require that political committees must disclose those persons and organizations that provide political consulting services and the fair market value of such services.
Section 6: Amends Election Law section 14-104 to require that political campaigns must disclose those persons and organizations that provide political consulting services and the fair market value of such services.
Section 7: This act shall take effect 30 days after it shall have become law.
Justification
Recently, many significant reforms to New York State's ethics laws have been enacted as it relates to conflicts of interest and disclosure issues faced by elected and appointed government officials and the relationships and business interests that may be shared between government officials, both elected and non-elected, and those who lobby such officials. Unfortunately, this same scrutiny has not focused on the relationships and potential conflicts of interests that may be faced by the political consultant who helps to elect or finance the election of a state government official and then is paid to lobby the same state government official.
This situation can lead to a blurring of functions and roles of the political consultant/lobbyist who is instrumental in electing such state government official and then expects a certain enhanced sympathy and sensitivity from the same official to advance the interests of the lobbyists' client or client list. From the governmental official's vantage point, it may be difficult to decline to advance the goals of the lobbyist/political consultant, knowing that as a new election cycle begins, such official must rely heavily on this same individual or lobbying/political consultant firm to execute the state governmental official's election campaign, coordinate fundraising efforts, or to arrange media campaigns provided however, that political consulting does not include legal work related to securing a place on the ballot, ballot security efforts, petition activities, or election law court appearances should the election results be close.
In reviewing the websites and advertisements of political consultant/lobbyist individuals, firms or associations, it is clear that there is a purposeful blending of what should be the separate functions of performing election or fundraising activities for government officials, the ease of access to government officials who are also the clients of these same political consultants, and the dual listing of those state government officials and lobbying interest that the political consultant/lobbyist firm represents. The activities of political consultants who directly help or manage state government official's election campaigns should clearly be segregated from those individuals or lobbyists who seek legislation, budget items, regulatory changes, or the procurement of government services, contracts or goods. However, this bill does allow lobbyists to perform legal work that is directly related to election law since this is a very specialized trade.
Legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
None,
Effective date
30 days after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.