Bill Text: NY A05358 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Requires certain candidates to file a statement attesting to the veracity of statements regarding the candidate's educational history, and service, employment and residency record; provides for the filing of amended statements; provides penalties.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-28 - print number 5358c [A05358 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05358-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5358--C

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. SILLITTI, SHIMSKY, EPSTEIN, DeSTEFANO, KELLES,
          RAGA, SIMONE, NOVAKHOV,  SIMON,  LUNSFORD,  ARDILA,  GLICK,  McDONALD,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SEAWRIGHT, DINOWITZ, WALLACE, L. ROSENTHAL, CRUZ --
          read  once  and referred to the Committee on Election Law -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Election  Law  in
          accordance  with  Assembly  Rule 3, sec. 2 -- again reported from said
          committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and  recommit-
          ted  to  said  committee  --  again  reported from said committee with
          amendments, ordered reprinted  as  amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law, in relation to requiring certain
          candidates to file a statement attesting to the veracity of statements
          regarding the candidate's educational history, and service, employment
          and residency record

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The election law is amended by adding a new section 6-170
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 6-170.  Veracity of statements of candidates. 1. Fifteen days  after
     4  the  filing of a certificate of acceptance, certificate to fill a vacan-
     5  cy, a petition for an opportunity to ballot by a candidate  pursuant  to
     6  section  6-158  of  this  article,  the filing of a designating petition
     7  pursuant to section 6-132 of this article, or the filing of an independ-
     8  ent nominating petition pursuant to section 6-140 of this article,  each
     9  candidate  shall submit a sworn statement including the following infor-
    10  mation:
    11    (a) military service record, if any, including dates of enlistment and
    12  discharge and appointments;
    13    (b) employment history, if any, for the previous five years;
    14    (c) current residential address;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09321-10-4

        A. 5358--C                          2

     1    (d) an attestation by the candidate that the candidate meets the resi-
     2  dency requirements of the office that they seek; and
     3    (e) educational history, including high schools, colleges or universi-
     4  ties  attended,  dates  of attendance and year of graduation and degrees
     5  received if any, or employment history not otherwise disclosed  pursuant
     6  to  paragraph  (b)  of  this subdivision, that the candidate voluntarily
     7  represents on their website, in their campaign  literature  or  verbally
     8  during the course of their campaign.
     9    In  the event that the fifteenth day after the filing of a certificate
    10  of acceptance, certificate to fill a vacancy, a petition for an opportu-
    11  nity to ballot by a candidate pursuant to section 6-158 of this article,
    12  the filing of a designating petition pursuant to section 6-132  of  this
    13  article, or the filing of an independent nominating petition pursuant to
    14  section  6-140  of  this article occurs on a weekend or state or federal
    15  holiday, the filing shall be due on the next  succeeding  business  day.
    16  Such  statement  shall  be attested to by the candidate under penalty of
    17  perjury, notarized and filed with  the  board  of  elections  where  the
    18  certificate  of  acceptance, certificate to fill a vacancy, petition for
    19  an opportunity to ballot, designating petition filed pursuant to section
    20  6-132 of this article, or independent nominating petition filed pursuant
    21  to section 6-140 of this article was  filed.  Such  statement  shall  be
    22  amended, as needed, upon the making of additional representations by the
    23  candidate  during  the  course of the campaign. Such amendments shall be
    24  filed with the applicable board of elections that  the  candidate  filed
    25  their  original  statement  with  on the date that the next statement of
    26  campaign receipt and expenditure  is  filed  pursuant  to  the  schedule
    27  promulgated  by  the  state board of elections.   Such amended statement
    28  shall be attested to by the candidate under penalty of perjury and nota-
    29  rized in the same manner as the original statement. Failure to  file  an
    30  amended  statement  shall constitute a further attestation by the candi-
    31  date that the original statement remains true, complete and correct.
    32    2. Within five business days of the filing of any statement or amended
    33  statement by a candidate pursuant to this section, the applicable  board
    34  of  elections  which  has  received  the statement or amended statement,
    35  shall post the statements required by this section on  its  website.  If
    36  the  candidate statement required by this section has not been received,
    37  the applicable board of elections shall notify the candidates  who  have
    38  failed  to  provide  the  required  statement  that they are required to
    39  comply with the requirements of  this  section  and  shall  individually
    40  identify  each  candidate  for whom a certificate of acceptance, certif-
    41  icate to fill a vacancy, petition for an opportunity to  ballot,  desig-
    42  nating  petition  or  independent nominating petition has been received,
    43  but who has failed to provide the statement required by this section  on
    44  the  applicable  board  of  elections  website  along with the completed
    45  statements that it has received from other candidates.
    46    3. Failure to file the statement, or an amended statement, required by
    47  this section within five business days of the applicable  filing  period
    48  deadline  of  any  designating petition carries an initial civil penalty
    49  not to exceed one thousand dollars, with additional  penalties  accruing
    50  at twenty-five dollars for each day the statement is more than ten busi-
    51  ness  days  overdue,  up to a maximum additional penalty of one thousand
    52  dollars. Penalties imposed by the board of elections for  violations  of
    53  the reporting requirement set forth in this section shall be paid by the
    54  candidate  failing to file the required disclosure.  Such penalty levied
    55  by the board of elections shall not be paid from contributions or  funds
    56  available in a campaign account.

        A. 5358--C                          3

     1    4.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms shall have the
     2  following meanings:
     3    a.  "military  service  record" means military service of the state or
     4  military service of the United States, as defined in section one of  the
     5  military  law,  service  as  a member of military reserves, and military
     6  service for any other country or territory or subdivision  thereof,  the
     7  number of years served by the candidate, the year the candidate finished
     8  their  military service and the rank with which the candidate left mili-
     9  tary service with;
    10    b. "employment history" means information including whether the candi-
    11  date was an employee or subcontractor, the name  of  the  employer,  the
    12  title of the position held, and dates of employment.
    13    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    14  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    15  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    16  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    17  on or before such effective date.
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