What's happening
This bill makes it a felony for public officials to give or receive unlawful benefits over $3,000, excluding legal campaign contributions.
Why it matters
Targets both giving and receiving. The bill criminalizes not just public officials who accept unlawful benefits, but also anyone who offers or gives such benefits, closing potential loopholes where only one party could be prosecuted.
Sets a clear monetary threshold. By establishing $3,000 as the value above which benefits are considered felonious, the law clarifies what constitutes a serious offense, potentially deterring larger-scale corruption while avoiding penalizing minor infractions.
Excludes legal campaign contributions. Explicitly exempts campaign donations regulated under current election law, aiming to focus the law on actual bribery rather than legitimate political fundraising, which could ease concerns about chilling political participation.
Covers officials and those selected for office. Applies not only to current public officials but also to individuals chosen to become officials, addressing attempts to influence future officeholders and reinforcing ethical standards throughout the public appointment process.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Big Gifts to Officials
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
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.
Ban Big Bribes to Officials
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Charles Lavine
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
106
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to giving and/or receiving unlawful benefits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 200.31 to read as follows: § 200.31 Giving unlawful benefits.
Anyone who otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty directly or indirectly gives, offers or promises any benefit with a value in excess of three thousand dollars, with the exception of campaign contributions under article fourteen of the election law, to any public official or person selected to be a public official because of that person's official position.
Giving unlawful benefits is a class E felony.
§ 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 200.36 to read as follows: § 200.36 Receiving unlawful benefits.
Anyone who, being a public official or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly seeks, receives or agrees to receive any benefit, with the exception of campaign contributions under article fourteen of the election law, with a value in excess of three thousand dollars because of that person's official position.
Receiving unlawful benefits is a class E felony.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03408-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to giving and/or receiving unlawful benefits
Purpose
This bill makes it a crime for public officials to receive or give any benefit (i.e. gift) with a value in excess of $3,000 simply because of that person's official position.
Under New York's current unlawful gratuity receiving and giving stat- utes, a public official must engage in some form of official conduct to be found guilty. This proposal would eliminate that requirement and make this type of behavior a crime absent official action taken by the public official.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill amends the penal law to create a new crime for giving unlawful benefits. A person is guilty of giving unlawful benefits when he or she directly or indirectly gives, offers, or promises any benefit in excess of three thousand dollars to a public official because of that person's official position. Giving unlawful benefits would be punishable as a class E felony.
Section two of the bill amends the penal law to create a new crime for receiving unlawful benefits. A public official is guilty of receiving unlawful benefits when he or she receives, directly, or indirectly, any benefit with a value in excess of three thousand dollars simply because of that person's official position. Receiving unlawful benefits would be punishable as a class E felony.
Section three of the bill is the effective date.
Justification
Currently, New York does not have a "pure" gift giving prohibition in the penal law. This bill would create such a statute by not requiring proof that a gratuity was given "for or because of any particular offi- cial act. By making this change, the bill would effectively make it a crime to give a public official a gift simply because of his or her official position. This loophole in the law was recently highlighted in the Supreme Court's decision in McDonnell v. United States - which effectively held that the acts former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell undertook in exchange for gifts were not official enough to qualify as "official" government acts for purposes of the bribery or theft of honest services statutes.
At its most basic premise, politicians should not be accepting anything of value, money or otherwise simply for doing their jobs. It is time we make that abundantly clear by making the ability to give gifts to offi- cials just for the sake of it illegal.
It should be noted this proposal was also made by the New York State Bar Association Government Ethics Task Force in 2011.
Legislative history
S.11-A- 2017/2018 S.8169- 2016
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.