Bill Text: NY A05491 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits members of the legislature from obtaining funding through state grants or member items and subsequently providing such funding to any business entities or not-for-profit entities in which such officials, members, domestic partners or certain relatives hold official or legal positions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A05491 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05491-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5491

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 13, 2023
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the public officers  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
          members  of  the legislature from obtaining funding and providing such
          funds to any business entity or not-for-profit entities in which  such
          officials,  members, domestic partners or certain relatives hold offi-
          cial or legal positions

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 18 of section 73 of the public officers law, as
     2  amended  by  section  5 of part CC of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is
     3  amended and renumbered subdivision 19 and a new subdivision 18 is  added
     4  to read as follows:
     5    18.  No  statewide elected official or member of the legislature shall
     6  obtain any funding through state grants or member items, and subsequent-
     7  ly provide such funds to any corporation, partnership, limited liability
     8  corporation, other business entity or  not-for-profit  entity  in  which
     9  such  official, member or any relative by blood, marriage or adoption of
    10  such official or member, domestic partner or a  person  working  in  the
    11  employ of such member holds an official or legal position, including but
    12  not limited to working on an unpaid, volunteer basis.
    13    19.  In  addition  to  any penalty contained in any other provision of
    14  law, any person who knowingly and intentionally violates the  provisions
    15  of subdivisions two through five, seven, seven-a, eight, twelve or four-
    16  teen  through [seventeen] eighteen of this section shall be subject to a
    17  civil penalty in an amount not to exceed forty thousand dollars and  the
    18  value  of  any gift, compensation or benefit received in connection with
    19  such violation. Assessment of a civil penalty hereunder shall be made by
    20  the state oversight body with jurisdiction over  such  person.  A  state
    21  oversight  body  acting  pursuant to its jurisdiction, may, in lieu of a
    22  civil penalty, with respect to a violation of subdivisions  two  through

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07651-01-3
        A. 5491                             2

     1  five,  seven  or  eight  of  this section, refer a violation of any such
     2  subdivision to the appropriate prosecutor and upon such conviction  such
     3  violation shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor.
     4    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.