Bill Text: NY S00483 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to government vendor contributions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-24 - referred to election law [S00483 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S00483-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         483--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MYRIE,  BIAGGI,  BROUK, KAPLAN, KRUEGER, SALAZAR,
          SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
          committed  to the Committee on Elections -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law, in relation to government vendor
          contributions

          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 14-131
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 14-131. Government vendor contributions. 1. For the purpose of  this
     4  section,  "state  governmental  entity" shall mean any public authority,
     5  public benefit corporation or not-for-profit corporation,  the  majority
     6  of  whose  board  members are officials of the state or are appointed by
     7  such officials.
     8    2. (a) It shall be unlawful during the restricted vendor  contribution
     9  period for any person, organization, group of persons, or business enti-
    10  ty  that  submits a bid, quotation, offer or response to a state govern-
    11  mental entity posting or  solicitation  for  a  procurement  opportunity
    12  subject  to  comptroller approval pursuant to section one hundred twelve
    13  of the state finance law and/or subject to  the  provisions  of  section
    14  twenty-eight  hundred  seventy-nine  and  section  twenty-eight  hundred
    15  seventy-nine-a of the public authorities law, to make a contribution  to
    16  any officeholder of or with authority over the state governmental entity
    17  or  entities  responsible for issuing such procurement posting or solic-
    18  itation, evaluating responses to the procurement posting or solicitation
    19  for purposes of determining an award, or approving the selection  of  an
    20  awardee,  or  awarding  the  final  contract, or to any candidate for an
    21  office of such governmental entity, including to such officeholder's  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02547-02-1

        S. 483--A                           2

     1  candidate's  authorized political committees or political committees the
     2  officeholder or candidate exerts  operational  control  over.  It  shall
     3  further be unlawful, pursuant to section 14-120 of this article, to make
     4  contributions  to  political  committees not authorized or operationally
     5  controlled by the officeholder or candidate for the  purpose  of  trans-
     6  ferring  a  contribution to the officeholder's or candidate's authorized
     7  political committees or  political  committees  they  exert  operational
     8  control over.
     9    (b)  The  state  governmental  entity directly responsible for issuing
    10  such posting or solicitation for procurement shall include a  notice  of
    11  the  prohibition  established by this section and the state governmental
    12  entity responsible for evaluating responses to such posting or solicita-
    13  tion shall provide to any person, organization,  group  of  persons,  or
    14  business  entity  that submits a proposal in response to such posting or
    15  solicitation a notice of the prohibition established by this section and
    16  the restricted vendor contribution period commencement date.
    17    3. As used in this section "business entity" means a  business  corpo-
    18  ration,  professional  services  corporation, limited liability company,
    19  partnership, limited partnership, business  trust,  association  or  any
    20  other  legal commercial entity organized under the laws of this state or
    21  any other  state  or  foreign  jurisdiction,  including  any  subsidiary
    22  directly  or indirectly controlled by the business entity, and any poli-
    23  tical organization, including but not limited to any political organiza-
    24  tion organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code,  that  is
    25  directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity.
    26    4. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    27  shall  commence,  with respect to a specific person, organization, group
    28  of persons, or business entity when it files a statement of registration
    29  pursuant to section one-e of the legislative law, or  engages  lobbying,
    30  as  defined  by subdivision (c) of section one-c of the legislative law,
    31  to generate a procurement opportunity or pilot program or submits a bid,
    32  quotation, offer or response to the state governmental entity posting or
    33  solicitation, at the earliest posting, on a state governmental  entity's
    34  website,  in  a  newspaper  of general circulation or in the procurement
    35  opportunities newsletter  in  accordance  with  article  four-C  of  the
    36  economic  development  law of written notice, advertisement or solicita-
    37  tion of a request for proposal, invitation for bids, or solicitations of
    38  proposals, or any other method provided for by  law  or  regulation  for
    39  soliciting a response from offerers intending to result in a procurement
    40  contract with a state governmental entity that is subject to comptroller
    41  approval pursuant to section one hundred twelve of the state finance law
    42  and/or  subject to the provisions of section twenty-eight hundred seven-
    43  ty-nine and section twenty-eight hundred seventy-nine-a  of  the  public
    44  authorities  law.    The  restricted vendor contribution period does not
    45  apply to a person, organization, group of  persons  or  business  entity
    46  that is responding to a state governmental entity's request for informa-
    47  tion  or  other  informational exchanges occurring prior to such govern-
    48  mental entity's posting or solicitation for procurement provided it  has
    49  not  filed  a statement of registration pursuant to section one-e of the
    50  legislative law or engaged in lobbying, as defined by subdivision (c) of
    51  section one-c of the legislative law, to generate a procurement opportu-
    52  nity or pilot program.
    53    5. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    54  shall end with respect to a  specific  person,  organization,  group  of
    55  persons, or business entity if:

        S. 483--A                           3

     1    (a)  the person, organization, group of persons, or business entity is
     2  the recipient  of  the  final  contract  award,  the  restricted  vendor
     3  contribution  period shall end six months after the final contract award
     4  and approval by the state governmental entity and, where applicable, the
     5  state  comptroller  and if the person, organization, group of persons or
     6  business entity does not lobby on the execution of  the  contract  after
     7  its award; or
     8    (b)  the person, organization, group of persons, or business entity is
     9  not the recipient of the final contract  award,  the  restricted  vendor
    10  contribution period shall end with the final contract award and approval
    11  by  the state governmental entity and, where applicable, the state comp-
    12  troller.
    13    6. The restricted vendor contribution period  shall  recommence  if  a
    14  person,  organization,  group  of  persons or business entity engages in
    15  activity pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
    16    § 2. Section 14-126 of the election law is amended  by  adding  a  new
    17  subdivision 8 to read as follows:
    18    8.  (a) Any person, organization, group of persons, or business entity
    19  as that term is used in section  14-131  of  this  article,  who,  under
    20  circumstances  evincing  an intent to violate such law, makes a contrib-
    21  ution in contravention of  section  14-131  of  this  article  shall  be
    22  subject  to  a  civil  penalty not to exceed the greater of ten thousand
    23  dollars or an amount equal to two hundred percent of  the  contribution,
    24  to  be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be brought
    25  by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel.
    26    (b) Any person who, acting as or on behalf of an officeholder,  candi-
    27  date,  or  political  committee,  accepts  a  contribution or receives a
    28  transfer in contravention of section 14-131 of  this  article  shall  be
    29  required to refund such contribution.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    31  it shall have become a law.
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