Bill Text: NY A09550 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended
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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-20 - print number 9550a [A09550 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A09550-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9550--A
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 13, 2012
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JEFFRIES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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 S 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-
24 ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony under the
25 provisions of this [section] SUBDIVISION may be barred from acting as a
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14724-03-2
A. 9550--A 2
1 lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For
2 the purposes of this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of
3 any organization required to file a statement or report shall be the
4 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless
5 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated
6 to make and file such statement or report.
7 [(b)] (D) (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly
8 and wilfully fails to file a statement or report within the time
9 required for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully
10 violates section one-m of this article shall be subject to a civil
11 penalty for each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed
12 the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times the amount
13 the person failed to report properly or unlawfully contributed,
14 expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission.
15 (ii) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
16 wilfully files a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil
17 penalty, in an amount not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand
18 dollars or five times the amount the person failed to report properly,
19 to be assessed by the commission.
20 (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates the
21 provisions of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be
22 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for an
23 initial violation.
24 (B) If, after a lobbyist or client has been found to have violated
25 subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist or client
26 knowingly and wilfully violates the provisions of subdivision one of
27 section one-n of this article within four years of such finding, the
28 lobbyist or client shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
29 twenty-five thousand dollars.
30 (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to file
31 a statement or report within the time required for the filing of such
32 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false statement or report, or
33 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after
34 having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit-
35 ted such conduct or violation in the preceding five years, may be
36 subject to a determination that the lobbyist or client is prohibited
37 from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term is defined in para-
38 graph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this article, for a
39 period of one year.
40 (v) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully engages in
41 lobbying activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdi-
42 vision (c) of section one-c of this article, during the period in which
43 they are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term
44 is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this
45 article pursuant to this subdivision, may be subject to a determination
46 that the lobbyist or client is prohibited from engaging in lobbying
47 activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c)
48 of section one-c of this article, for a period of up to four years, and
49 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand
50 dollars, plus a civil penalty in an amount equal to five times the value
51 of any gift, compensation or benefit received as a result of the
52 violation.
53 (vi) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
54 wilfully fails to retain their records pursuant to paragraph three of
55 subdivision (c) of section one-e of this article, subparagraph (v) of
56 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-h of this article, or
A. 9550--A 3
1 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-j of this article shall
2 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of two thousand dollars per
3 violation to be assessed by the commission.
4 [(c)] (E) (i) Any assessment or order to debar shall be determined
5 only after a hearing at which the party shall be entitled to appear,
6 present evidence and be heard. Any assessment or order to debar pursuant
7 to this section may only be imposed after the commission sends by certi-
8 fied and first-class mail written notice of intent to assess a penalty
9 or order to debar and the basis for the penalty or order to debar. Any
10 assessment may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney gener-
11 al.
12 (ii) In assessing any fine or penalty pursuant to this section, the
13 commission shall consider: (A) as a mitigating factor that the lobbyist,
14 public corporation or client has not previously been required to regis-
15 ter, and (B) as an aggravating factor that the lobbyist, public corpo-
16 ration or client has had fines or penalties assessed against it in the
17 past. The amount of compensation expended, incurred or received shall be
18 a factor to consider in determining a proportionate penalty.
19 (iii) Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who receives a notice
20 of intent to assess a penalty for knowingly and wilfully failing to file
21 a report or statement pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section
22 and who has never previously received a notice of intent to assess a
23 penalty for failing to file a report or statement required under this
24 section shall be granted fifteen days within which to file the statement
25 of registration or report without being subject to the fine or penalty
26 set forth in subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section. Upon the failure of
27 such lobbyist, public corporation or client to file within such fifteen
28 day period, such lobbyist, public corporation or client shall be subject
29 to a fine or penalty pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section.
30 [(d)] (F) All moneys recovered by the attorney general or received by
31 the commission from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this
32 section shall be deposited to the general fund.
33 S 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
34 have become a law.
