Bill Text: NY A03745 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that contributions made by any person, firm, association or corporation to a member of the state legislature which are intended to be used by such member or on behalf of such member for the payment of legal services and other charges in connection with the legal defense of such member in any past or pending civil or criminal action shall be subject to similar monetary limitations and disclosure requirements set forth in the election law pertaining to campaign contributions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-30 - referred to governmental operations [A03745 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A03745-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3745

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 30, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. GRAY -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public officers law  and  the  legislative  law,  in
          relation  to  the  receipt of monies by members of the legislature for
          purposes of legal defense

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

     1    Section  1. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section
     2  77-b to read as follows:
     3    § 77-b. Disclosure of special defense funds received by members of the
     4  legislature. 1. Contributions made by any person, firm,  association  or
     5  corporation  to  a member of the state legislature which are intended to
     6  be used by such member, or on behalf of such member, for the payment  of
     7  legal services and other charges in connection with the legal defense of
     8  such  member  in  any  past or pending civil or criminal action shall be
     9  subject to the monetary limitations set  forth  in  subdivision  one  of
    10  section  14-114  of  the  election  law.  Such  contributions  shall  be
    11  disclosed annually to the legislative ethics commission on sworn  state-
    12  ments  setting forth the dollar amount of any receipt or contribution or
    13  the fair market value of any receipt or contribution which is other than
    14  of money, the name and address of the contributor or  person  from  whom
    15  received.  Any  statement  reporting  a loan shall have attached to it a
    16  copy of the evidence of indebtedness. The legislative ethics  commission
    17  shall provide forms suitable for such statements.
    18    2.  For  the  purposes of this section, "contribution" means any gift,
    19  subscription, advance, or deposit of money or any thing of  value,  made
    20  in  connection  with the legal defense of a member of the legislature in
    21  connection with a civil or criminal action against such member,  includ-
    22  ing  but  not  limited  to compensation for the personal services of any
    23  individual which are rendered in  connection  with  such  legal  defense
    24  without  charge.  A  loan  made  to  a  member of the legislature by any

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06273-01-5
        A. 3745                             2

     1  person, firm, association or  corporation  other  than  in  the  regular
     2  course  of  the lender's business shall be deemed a contribution for the
     3  purposes of this section.  The provisions of this section shall apply to
     4  contributions made on and after January first, two thousand twenty-five.
     5    3. Any anonymous contributions received by a member of the legislature
     6  for  the legal defense of such member shall not be used or expended, but
     7  the same shall be paid over to the comptroller of the state of New  York
     8  for deposit in the general treasury of the state unless, before the date
     9  for  filing  statements  and reports as herein provided, the identity of
    10  such anonymous contributor shall become known, and, in  such  event  the
    11  anonymous contribution shall be returned to such contributor or retained
    12  and properly reported as a contribution from such contributor.
    13    § 2. Paragraph (vii) of subdivision (j) of section 1-c of the legisla-
    14  tive  law,  as amended by section 1 of part D of chapter 399 of the laws
    15  of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
    16    (vii) gifts from a family member, member of  the  same  household,  or
    17  person  with a personal relationship with the public official, including
    18  invitations to attend personal or family social events, when the circum-
    19  stances  establish  that  it  is  the  family,  household,  or  personal
    20  relationship that is the primary motivating factor; in determining moti-
    21  vation,  the  following factors shall be among those considered: (A) the
    22  history and nature of the relationship between the donor and the recipi-
    23  ent, including whether or not items have previously been exchanged;  (B)
    24  whether  the item was purchased by the donor; and (C) whether or not the
    25  donor at the same time gave similar items to other public officials; the
    26  transfer shall not be considered to be motivated by a family, household,
    27  or personal relationship if the donor seeks  to  charge  or  deduct  the
    28  value  of  such item as a business expense or seeks reimbursement from a
    29  client. Contributions made by any individual or entity  required  to  be
    30  listed  on  a  statement  of  registration pursuant to this article to a
    31  member of the state legislature which are intended to be  used  by  such
    32  member or on behalf of such member for the payment of legal services and
    33  other charges in connection with the legal defense of such member in any
    34  past or pending civil or criminal action shall be considered gifts under
    35  this article;
    36    §  3.  Subdivision 13 of section 80 of the legislative law, as amended
    37  by section 4 of part QQ of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
    38  read as follows:
    39    13. Within one hundred twenty days  of  the  effective  date  of  this
    40  subdivision,  the  commission  shall  create  and  thereafter maintain a
    41  publicly accessible website which shall  set  forth  the  procedure  for
    42  filing a complaint with the commission on ethics and lobbying in govern-
    43  ment, and which shall contain disclosure forms filed pursuant to section
    44  seventy-seven-b  of the   public   officers law and any other records or
    45  information which the commission determines to be appropriate.
    46    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately provided that section  one
    47  of this act shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and
    48  after January 1, 2025.