Bill Text: NY A06029 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits lobbyists who are convicted of or plead guilty to class D felonies or higher level crimes from acting as a lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction; provides the authority to extend suspensions; entitles such lobbyist to a hearing upon application for suspension extension.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-09-15 - enacting clause stricken [A06029 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A06029-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6029 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PICHARDO, TAYLOR, ASHBY, GALEF, GRIFFIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to prohibiting lobby- ists who are convicted of or plead guilty to class D felonies or high- er level crimes from acting as a lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1-o of the legislative law, as added by chapter 14 2 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1-o. Penalties. (a) Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to 4 a class D felony or higher level crime shall be barred from acting as a 5 lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction. 6 (b) Upon completion the commission shall re-evaluate the suspension 7 and determine whether or not such suspension should be extended for an 8 additional period of time. In no event shall such extension be for more 9 than two more years. Any lobbyist wishing to re-register with the 10 commission and re-commence his or her practice of lobbying shall be 11 entitled to a hearing upon application to determine if the suspension 12 should be extended under this subdivision. 13 (c) (i) Any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 14 wilfully fails to file timely a report or statement required by this 15 section or knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly 16 and wilfully violates section one-m of this article shall be guilty of a 17 class A misdemeanor; and 18 (ii) any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 19 wilfully fails to file timely a report or statement required by this 20 section or knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly 21 and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after having previ- 22 ously been convicted in the preceding five years of the crime described 23 in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of a class E felo- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07230-01-1A. 6029 2 1 ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony under the 2 provisions of this [section] subdivision may be barred from acting as a 3 lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For 4 the purposes of this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of 5 any organization required to file a statement or report shall be the 6 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless 7 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated 8 to make and file such statement or report. 9 [(b)] (d) (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly 10 and wilfully fails to file a statement or report within the time 11 required for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully 12 violates section one-m of this article shall be subject to a civil 13 penalty for each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed 14 the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times the amount 15 the person failed to report properly or unlawfully contributed, 16 expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission. 17 (ii) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 18 wilfully files a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil 19 penalty, in an amount not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand 20 dollars or five times the amount the person failed to report properly, 21 to be assessed by the commission. 22 (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates the 23 provisions of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be 24 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for an 25 initial violation. 26 (B) If, after a lobbyist or client has been found to have violated 27 subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist or client 28 knowingly and wilfully violates the provisions of subdivision one of 29 section one-n of this article within four years of such finding, the 30 lobbyist or client shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed 31 twenty-five thousand dollars. 32 (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to file 33 a statement or report within the time required for the filing of such 34 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false statement or report, or 35 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after 36 having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit- 37 ted such conduct or violation in the preceding five years, may be 38 subject to a determination that the lobbyist or client is prohibited 39 from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term is defined in para- 40 graph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this article, for a 41 period of one year. 42 (v) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully engages in 43 lobbying activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdi- 44 vision (c) of section one-c of this article, during the period in which 45 they are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term 46 is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this 47 article pursuant to this subdivision, may be subject to a determination 48 that the lobbyist or client is prohibited from engaging in lobbying 49 activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) 50 of section one-c of this article, for a period of up to four years, and 51 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand 52 dollars, plus a civil penalty in an amount equal to five times the value 53 of any gift, compensation or benefit received as a result of the 54 violation. 55 (vi) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 56 wilfully fails to retain their records pursuant to paragraph three ofA. 6029 3 1 subdivision (c) of section one-e of this article, subparagraph (v) of 2 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-h of this article, or 3 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-j of this article shall 4 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of two thousand dollars per 5 violation to be assessed by the commission. 6 [(c)] (e) (i) Any assessment or order to debar shall be determined 7 only after a hearing at which the party shall be entitled to appear, 8 present evidence and be heard. Any assessment or order to debar pursuant 9 to this section may only be imposed after the commission sends by certi- 10 fied and first-class mail written notice of intent to assess a penalty 11 or order to debar and the basis for the penalty or order to debar. Any 12 assessment may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney gener- 13 al. 14 (ii) In assessing any fine or penalty pursuant to this section, the 15 commission shall consider: (A) as a mitigating factor that the lobbyist, 16 public corporation or client has not previously been required to regis- 17 ter, and (B) as an aggravating factor that the lobbyist, public corpo- 18 ration or client has had fines or penalties assessed against it in the 19 past. The amount of compensation expended, incurred or received shall be 20 a factor to consider in determining a proportionate penalty. 21 (iii) Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who receives a notice 22 of intent to assess a penalty for knowingly and wilfully failing to file 23 a report or statement pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section 24 and who has never previously received a notice of intent to assess a 25 penalty for failing to file a report or statement required under this 26 section shall be granted fifteen days within which to file the statement 27 of registration or report without being subject to the fine or penalty 28 set forth in subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section. Upon the failure of 29 such lobbyist, public corporation or client to file within such fifteen 30 day period, such lobbyist, public corporation or client shall be subject 31 to a fine or penalty pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section. 32 [(d)] (f) All moneys recovered by the attorney general or received by 33 the commission from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this 34 section shall be deposited to the general fund. 35 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 36 have become a law.
