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History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5399
Title of bill
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to restricting the employment of relatives by members of the legislature
Purpose
Restrict the employment of relatives by members of the Legislature
Summary of provisions
Section One of the bill creates a new section, 81, in the legislative law to state a member of the legislature may not employ for legislative business the member's own relative, or the relative of another member from the same legislative district, using public funds over which the member has direct control.
The provision of this section shall not apply to a member of the legislature who has a physical impairment that necessitates the employment of a particular relative and discloses the employment to the legislative ethics commission
For the purposes of this section "relative" means: a spouse, parent or stepparent, a sibling or step sibling, child, stepchild, foster child, ward, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent or grandchild.
Existing law
New law
Justification
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the technical definition of nepotism is "bestowal of patronage by public officers in appointing others to positions by reason of blood or marital relationship." According to NCSL, "all 50 states have laws that either prohibit the practice or have guidelines to use in conflict-of-interest situations, which may restrict nepotism depending on interpretation of the law." While 24 states explicitly prohibit a legislator from hiring a relative either through statute or by constitution, New York falls in the latter group, with no specific nepotism restrictions in statute. This bill to amend the legislative law in relation to restricting the employment of relatives by members of the legislature would put New York on a par with leading states in addressing the problem of nepotism.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.