Bill Text: NY A05839 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to government vendor contributions.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-14)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to election law [A05839 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05839-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5839

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 26, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. GALEF, ABINANTI, PAULIN, J. RIVERA, GOTTFRIED,
          MAGNARELLI, ENGLEBRIGHT, COLTON, HEVESI, SANTABARBARA, LAVINE, CAHILL,
          JACOBSON, STECK, ASHBY, GOODELL, TAGUE, B. MILLER,  FERNANDEZ,  REYES,
          RA,  MONTESANO, MORINELLO, J. M. GIGLIO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
          A.  DAVILA, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, SIMON -- read once and  referred  to
          the Committee on Election Law

        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 procurement to make a contrib-
    12  ution  to  any  officeholder  of  or  with  authority  over  the   state
    13  governmental entity or entities responsible for issuing such procurement
    14  posting or solicitation, evaluating responses to the procurement posting
    15  or  solicitation  for purposes of determining an award, or approving the
    16  selection of an awardee, or awarding  the  final  contract,  or  to  any
    17  candidate  for  an office of such governmental entity, including to such
    18  officeholder's or candidate's authorized political committees  or  poli-
    19  tical  committees  the  officeholder  or  candidate  exerts  operational
    20  control over. It shall further be unlawful, pursuant to  section  14-120
    21  of  this  article,  to  make  contributions  to political committees not

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02547-01-1
        A. 5839                             2

     1  authorized or operationally controlled by the officeholder or  candidate
     2  for  the purpose of transferring a contribution to the officeholder's or
     3  candidate's authorized political committees or political committees they
     4  exert operational control over.
     5    (b)  For  purposes  of  this  section the assembly and senate shall be
     6  separate and distinct governmental entities when a particular posting or
     7  solicitation for procurement is issued by only one respective house.
     8    (c) The state governmental entity  directly  responsible  for  issuing
     9  such  posting  or solicitation for procurement shall include a notice of
    10  the prohibition established by this section and the  state  governmental
    11  entity responsible for evaluating responses to such posting or solicita-
    12  tion  shall  provide  to  any person, organization, group of persons, or
    13  business entity that submits a proposal in response to such  posting  or
    14  solicitation a notice of the prohibition established by this section and
    15  the restricted vendor contribution period commencement date.
    16    3.  As  used in this section "business entity" means a business corpo-
    17  ration, professional services corporation,  limited  liability  company,
    18  partnership,  limited  partnership,  business  trust, association or any
    19  other legal commercial entity organized under the laws of this state  or
    20  any  other  state  or  foreign  jurisdiction,  including  any subsidiary
    21  directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity, and any  poli-
    22  tical organization, including but not limited to any political organiza-
    23  tion  organized  under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, that is
    24  directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity.
    25    4. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    26  shall commence, with respect to a specific person,  organization,  group
    27  of persons, or business entity when it files a statement of registration
    28  pursuant  to  section one-e of the legislative law, or engages lobbying,
    29  as defined by subdivision (c) of section one-c of the  legislative  law,
    30  to generate a procurement opportunity or pilot program or submits a bid,
    31  quotation, offer or response to the state governmental entity posting or
    32  solicitation,  at the earliest posting, on a state governmental entity's
    33  website, in a newspaper of general circulation  or  in  the  procurement
    34  opportunities  newsletter  in  accordance  with  article  four-C  of the
    35  economic development law of written notice, advertisement  or  solicita-
    36  tion of a request for proposal, invitation for bids, or solicitations of
    37  proposals,  or  any  other  method provided for by law or regulation for
    38  soliciting a response from offerers intending to result in a procurement
    39  contract  with  a  state  governmental  entity.  The  restricted  vendor
    40  contribution  period  does not apply to a person, organization, group of
    41  persons or business entity that is responding to  a  state  governmental
    42  entity's request for information or other informational exchanges occur-
    43  ring  prior  to  such  governmental entity's posting or solicitation for
    44  procurement provided it has not filed a statement of registration pursu-
    45  ant to section one-e of the legislative law or engaged in  lobbying,  as
    46  defined  by  subdivision (c) of section one-c of the legislative law, to
    47  generate a procurement opportunity or pilot program.
    48    5. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    49  shall end with respect to a  specific  person,  organization,  group  of
    50  persons, or business entity if:
    51    (a)  the person, organization, group of persons, or business entity is
    52  the recipient  of  the  final  contract  award,  the  restricted  vendor
    53  contribution  period shall end six months after the final contract award
    54  and approval by the state governmental entity and, where applicable, the
    55  state comptroller and if the person, organization, group of  persons  or
        A. 5839                             3

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