STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7477
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 6, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, D'URSO, GALEF, GOTTFRIED, MAGNARELLI,
McDONALD, ROMEO, ZEBROWSKI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD
-- (at request of the State Comptroller) -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to conflicts of
interest of municipal officers and employees, codes of ethics and
boards of ethics; and to amend chapter 946 of the laws of 1964, amend-
ing the general municipal law and other laws relating to conflicts of
interest of municipal officers and employees, in relation to permit-
ting local codes of ethics to prohibit activities expressly permitted
by article 18 of the general municipal law
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 800 of the general municipal law,
2 as amended by chapter 1043 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. "Interest" means a direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit
5 accruing to a municipal officer or employee, or his or her spouse, as
6 the result of a contract with the municipality which such officer or
7 employee serves. For the purposes of this article a municipal officer or
8 employee shall be deemed to have an interest in the contract of (a) his
9 or her spouse, minor children and dependents, except a contract of
10 employment with the municipality which such officer or employee serves,
11 (b) a firm, partnership or association of which such officer or
12 employee, or his or her spouse, is a member or employee, (c) a corpo-
13 ration of which such officer or employee, or his or her spouse, is an
14 officer, director or employee and (d) a corporation any stock of which
15 is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by such officer or employ-
16 ee, or his or her spouse.
17 § 2. Section 801 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter
18 1043 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08964-01-9
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1 § 801. Conflicts of interest prohibited. Except as provided in section
2 eight hundred two of this [chapter] article, (1) no municipal officer or
3 employee shall have an interest in any contract with the municipality of
4 which he or she is an officer or employee, when such officer or employ-
5 ee, individually or as a member of a board, has the power or duty to (a)
6 negotiate, prepare, authorize or approve the contract or authorize or
7 approve payment thereunder, (b) audit bills or claims under the
8 contract, or (c) appoint an officer or employee who has any of the
9 powers or duties set forth above and (2) no chief fiscal officer, treas-
10 urer, or his or her deputy or employee, shall have an interest in a bank
11 or trust company designated as a depository, paying agent, registration
12 agent or for investment of funds of the municipality of which he or she
13 is an officer or employee. The provisions of this section shall in no
14 event be construed to preclude the payment of lawful compensation and
15 necessary expenses of any municipal officer or employee in one or more
16 positions of public employment, the holding of which is not prohibited
17 by law.
18 § 3. Paragraphs b and j of subdivision 1 of section 802 of the general
19 municipal law, paragraph b as amended by chapter 1043 of the laws of
20 1965 and paragraph j as added by chapter 364 of the laws of 1996, are
21 amended to read as follows:
22 b. A contract with a person, firm, corporation or association in which
23 a municipal officer or employee has an interest which is prohibited
24 solely by reason of his or her employment, or his or her spouse's
25 employment, as an officer or employee thereof, if the remuneration of
26 such employment will not be directly affected as a result of such
27 contract and the duties of such employment do not directly involve the
28 procurement, preparation or performance of any part of such contract;
29 j. Purchases or public work by a municipality, other than a county,
30 located wholly or partly within a county with a population of two
31 hundred thousand or less pursuant to a contract in which a member of the
32 governing body or board has a prohibited interest, where:
33 (1) the member of the governing body or board is elected or appointed
34 and serves with or without salary or other compensation;
35 (2) the purchases or public work, in the aggregate, are less than
36 [five] fifteen thousand dollars in one fiscal year and:
37 (i) the governing body or board has followed its procurement policies
38 and procedures adopted in accordance with the provisions of section one
39 hundred four-b of this chapter and the procurement process indicates
40 that the contract is with the lowest dollar offer[;], or
41 (ii) the purchases, in the aggregate, are less than fifteen thousand
42 dollars in one fiscal year, cannot be procured from another supplier
43 located within the municipality, and the next closest supplier is
44 located more than twenty-five miles driving distance from the border of
45 the municipality by way of the most direct route using public highways,
46 roads or streets; and
47 (3) the contract for the purchases or public work is approved by
48 resolution of the body or board by the affirmative vote of each member
49 of the body or board except the interested member who shall abstain.
50 § 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 802 of the general munic-
51 ipal law, as amended by chapter 1019 of the laws of 1970, is amended to
52 read as follows:
53 a. A contract with a corporation in which a municipal officer or
54 employee has an interest by reason of stockholdings when less than five
55 per centum of the outstanding stock of the corporation is owned or
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1 controlled directly or indirectly by such officer or employee or his or
2 her spouse either jointly or severally;
3 § 5. Section 805-a of the general municipal law, as added by chapter
4 1019 of the laws of 1970 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 813 of
5 the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
6 § 805-a. [Certain action prohibited] Additional statewide standards of
7 ethical conduct. 1. No municipal officer or employee shall: a. directly
8 or indirectly, solicit any gift, or accept or receive any gift having a
9 value of seventy-five dollars or more, whether in the form of money,
10 service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or
11 in any other form, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be
12 inferred that the gift was intended to influence [him], or could reason-
13 ably be expected to influence [him, in] the performance of [his] offi-
14 cial duties or was intended as a reward for any official action [on his
15 part];
16 b. disclose confidential information acquired by him or her in the
17 course of his or her official duties or use such information to further
18 his or her personal interests;
19 c. receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for
20 compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter
21 before any municipal agency of which he or she is an officer, member or
22 employee or of any municipal agency over which he or she has jurisdic-
23 tion or to which he or she has the power to appoint any member, officer
24 or employee; or
25 d. receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for
26 compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter
27 before any agency of his or her municipality, whereby his or her compen-
28 sation is to be dependent or contingent upon any action by such agency
29 with respect to such matter, provided that this paragraph shall not
30 prohibit the fixing at any time of fees based upon the reasonable value
31 of the services rendered.
32 2. a. Except as provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, no munic-
33 ipal officer or employee shall participate in any official decision or
34 take any official action with respect to any matter requiring the exer-
35 cise of discretion, including participating in official discussions and
36 voting on the matter, when he or she knows or has reason to believe that
37 action or inaction on the matter will confer a financial or material
38 benefit on himself or herself, a relative, or any private organization
39 in which the municipal officer or employee is deemed to have an inter-
40 est.
41 b. This subdivision shall not be construed as prohibiting:
42 i. performance of a ministerial act, which for the purposes of this
43 section, shall mean an administrative act carried out in a prescribed
44 manner not allowing for substantial personal discretion;
45 ii. participation in any official decision or official action taken by
46 a board or similar body when paragraph a of this subdivision would
47 prohibit one or more members of the board or body from participating and
48 the remaining members of the board or body are insufficient in number or
49 lack sufficient voting strength to make such decision or take such
50 action; or
51 iii. participation in any official decision or official action taken
52 by a municipal officer or employee, individually, when the matter cannot
53 be lawfully delegated or assigned to another person.
54 c. Whenever paragraph a of this subdivision prohibits a municipal
55 officer or employee from participating in an official decision or taking
56 official action, such municipal officer or employee shall disclose in
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1 writing to the governing board the facts and circumstances requiring
2 recusal and such disclosure shall be made a part of and set forth in the
3 official record of the proceedings of such board. Whenever the prohibi-
4 tion in paragraph a of this subdivision does not apply because of the
5 applicability of subparagraph ii or subparagraph iii of paragraph b of
6 this subdivision, the municipal officer or employee shall disclose in
7 writing to the governing board the facts and circumstances that would
8 otherwise require recusal under paragraph a of this subdivision and such
9 disclosure shall be made a part of and set forth in the official record
10 of the proceedings of such board.
11 d. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "relative" shall mean
12 any person living in the same household as the municipal officer or
13 employee and any person who is a direct descendant of that individual's
14 grandparents or the spouse of such descendant.
15 e. Compliance with this subdivision shall not constitute an exception
16 to section eight hundred one of this article, nor be construed as curing
17 a violation of that section.
18 3. a. Except as provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, no munic-
19 ipal officer or employee shall use or permit the use of municipal prop-
20 erty or resources for personal or private purposes.
21 b. This subdivision shall not be construed as prohibiting:
22 i. any use of municipal property or resources authorized by law or
23 municipal policy consistent with law;
24 ii. the use of municipal property or resources for personal or private
25 purposes when provided to a municipal officer or employee as part of his
26 or her compensation; or
27 iii. the occasional, minimal, non-business and non-partisan use of
28 municipal office equipment and supplies, such as telephones, computers,
29 copiers, paper and pens, for personal matters at no or nominal cost to
30 the municipality.
31 c. For purposes of this subdivision, "property or resources" shall
32 include, but not be limited to, money, facilities, furnishings, machin-
33 ery, apparatus, equipment, supplies and letterhead.
34 4. In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision of law,
35 any person who shall knowingly and intentionally violate this section
36 may be fined, suspended or removed from office or employment in the
37 manner provided by law.
38 § 6. The section heading of section 806 of the general municipal law,
39 as amended by chapter 1019 of the laws of 1970, is amended to read as
40 follows:
41 [Code] Municipal codes of ethics.
42 § 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 806 of the general
43 municipal law, as amended by chapter 238 of the laws of 2006, is amended
44 to read as follows:
45 (a) The governing body of each county, city, town, village, school
46 district [and], fire district and improvement district governed by arti-
47 cle thirteen of the town law shall, and the governing body of any other
48 municipality may, by local law, ordinance or resolution, adopt a code of
49 ethics setting forth for the guidance of its officers and employees the
50 standards of conduct reasonably expected of them. Notwithstanding any
51 other provision of this article to the contrary, a fire district code of
52 ethics shall also apply to the volunteer members of the fire district
53 fire department. Codes of ethics shall provide standards for officers
54 and employees with respect to disclosure of interest in legislation
55 before the local governing body, holding of investments in conflict with
56 official duties, private employment in conflict with official duties,
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1 future employment, nepotism, and such other standards relating to the
2 conduct of officers and employees as may be deemed advisable. Such codes
3 may: (i) regulate or prescribe conduct which is not expressly prohibited
4 by this article but may not authorize conduct otherwise prohibited [.
5 Such codes may provide for the prohibition of]; (ii) prohibit contracts
6 or conduct [or] that is either expressly or by implication permitted by
7 section eight hundred two or section eight hundred five-a of this arti-
8 cle; and (iii) provide for the disclosure of information and the classi-
9 fication of employees or officers. Every five years, the governing body
10 of each municipality that adopts a code of ethics shall review and, when
11 deemed necessary, update its code of ethics.
12 § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 806 of the general municipal law, as
13 amended by chapter 238 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
14 follows:
15 2. [The] Upon the adoption or amendment of a code of ethics by a muni-
16 cipality, the chief executive officer of [a] the municipality [adopting
17 a code of ethics] shall cause a paper or electronic copy [thereof] of
18 such code or amendment to be distributed promptly to every officer and
19 employee of his or her municipality and to the board of ethics for the
20 municipality. In addition, such chief executive officer shall cause a
21 complete and current copy of the municipality's code of ethics to be
22 posted on the municipality's website, if the municipality maintains a
23 website, and distributed (a) to every person who is elected or appointed
24 to serve as an officer or employee of the municipality promptly follow-
25 ing such person's election or appointment, and (b) to all the officers
26 and employees of the municipality at least once every five years. Every
27 municipal officer and employee receiving a copy of a code of ethics or
28 amendment thereto shall acknowledge promptly in writing that he or she
29 has received and read the code of ethics or amendment and such acknowl-
30 edgement shall be filed with the clerk or secretary of the municipality.
31 The board of fire [district] commissioners of a fire district shall also
32 cause a copy of the fire district's code of ethics, including any amend-
33 ments thereto, to be posted publicly and conspicuously in each building
34 under such district's control. Failure to distribute any such copy or
35 failure of any officer or employee to receive such copy shall have no
36 effect on the duty of compliance with such code, nor the enforcement of
37 provisions thereof.
38 § 9. Section 806 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a
39 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
40 3. The clerk of each municipality and of each political subdivision,
41 as defined in section eight hundred ten of this article, shall maintain
42 as a record subject to public inspection:
43 (a) a copy of the municipality's or political subdivision's code of
44 ethics and any amendments to any code of ethics;
45 (b) a statement that such municipality or political subdivision has
46 established a board of ethics, in accordance with section eight hundred
47 eight of this article and/or pursuant to other law, charter, code, local
48 law, ordinance or resolution, and the names of the members of such
49 board; and
50 (c) a copy of the form of annual statement of financial disclosure
51 described in subdivision one of section eight hundred eleven of this
52 article and either a statement of the date such annual statement form
53 was promulgated by local law, ordinance or resolution of the governing
54 body, if adopted pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdi-
55 vision one of section eight hundred eleven of this article, or a state-
56 ment that the governing body has, by local law, ordinance or resolution,
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1 resolved to continue the use of an authorized form of annual statement
2 of financial disclosure in use on the date such local law, ordinance or
3 resolution is adopted, if adopted pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of para-
4 graph (a) of subdivision one of section eight hundred eleven of this
5 article, and if as of January first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, no
6 such form was promulgated and no such resolve was made to continue using
7 an existing annual statement form, a statement that the provisions of
8 section eight hundred twelve of this article apply or that it is a muni-
9 cipality which is not subject to the provisions of section eight hundred
10 twelve of this article because it is not a political subdivision as
11 defined in section eight hundred ten of this article.
12 § 10. Section 808 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter
13 1019 of the laws of 1970 and subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 490 of
14 the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 808. Boards of ethics. 1. [The governing body of any county may
16 establish a county board of ethics and appropriate moneys for mainte-
17 nance and personal services in connection therewith. The members of such
18 board of ethics shall be appointed by such governing body except in the
19 case of a county operating under an optional or alternative form of
20 county government or county charter, in which case the members shall be
21 appointed by the county executive or county manager, as the case may be,
22 subject to confirmation by such governing body. Such board of ethics
23 shall consist of at least three members, a majority of whom shall not be
24 officers or employees of such county or municipalities wholly or
25 partially located in such county and at least one of whom shall be an
26 elected or appointed officer or employee of the county or a municipality
27 located within such county. The members of such board shall receive no
28 salary or compensation for their services as members of such board and
29 shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority] (a) The govern-
30 ing body of (i) every county, (ii) every city, town and village having a
31 population of twenty-five thousand or more, and (iii) every board of
32 cooperative educational services (BOCES) shall establish a board of
33 ethics. Thereafter, the governing body shall appropriate annually such
34 moneys as may be necessary for the board's contractual and personal
35 service expenditures. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this
36 subdivision, such board shall have jurisdiction to act only in relation
37 to the officers and employees of the county, city, town, village or
38 BOCES that established the board.
39 (b) The governing body of every municipality not described in para-
40 graph (a) of this subdivision is authorized, but not required, to estab-
41 lish a board of ethics. If such governing body establishes a board of
42 ethics, the governing body shall appropriate annually such moneys as may
43 be necessary for the board's contractual and personal service expendi-
44 tures. Such board shall have jurisdiction to act only in relation to the
45 officers and employees of the municipality that established the board.
46 (c) Two or more municipalities not described in paragraph (a) of this
47 subdivision may enter into, amend, cancel, and terminate agreements for
48 the establishment of a cooperative board of ethics. Such agreements
49 shall be consistent with the requirements of article five-G of this
50 chapter, except as otherwise provided in this section, including that
51 (i) the power to enter into such agreements shall extend to all munici-
52 palities as defined in this article, and shall not be limited to munici-
53 pal corporations and districts as defined in article five-G of this
54 chapter, and (ii) the duration of such agreements shall not be limited
55 to a maximum term of five years. Following the establishment of a coop-
56 erative board of ethics, the governing bodies of the municipalities that
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1 are parties to the agreement establishing the board shall appropriate
2 annually such moneys as may be necessary for the board's contractual and
3 personal service expenditures, in such amounts or proportion as may be
4 provided in the agreement. A cooperative board of ethics shall be the
5 board of ethics of each municipality that is a party to the agreement
6 establishing the board, and shall have jurisdiction to act only in
7 relation to the officers or employees of such municipalities.
8 (d) In the event that a municipality described in paragraph (b) of
9 this subdivision does not establish a board of ethics and is not a party
10 to an agreement establishing a cooperative board of ethics:
11 (i) in the case of a municipality other than a school district, the
12 board of ethics of the county in which the municipality is located shall
13 serve as the board of ethics of such municipality and have jurisdiction
14 to act in relation to the officers and employees of that municipality,
15 provided that if such a municipality is located in more than one county,
16 the governing board of the municipality by resolution shall designate
17 the board of ethics of one of the counties to serve as the board of
18 ethics of the municipality;
19 (ii) in the case of a school district, other than the city school
20 district of a city having a population of one hundred twenty-five thou-
21 sand or more, the board of ethics established by the BOCES of the super-
22 visory district in which the school district is located shall serve as
23 the board of ethics of such school district and have jurisdiction to act
24 in relation to the officers and employees of such school district; and
25 (iii) in the case of a city school district of a city having a popu-
26 lation of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more, the board of ethics
27 established by the city in which the school district is located shall
28 serve as the board of ethics of such school district and have jurisdic-
29 tion to act in relation to the officers and employees of such school
30 district.
31 (e) In the case of a municipality that has not established a board of
32 ethics and is not a party to an agreement establishing a cooperative
33 board of ethics:
34 (i) The chief executive officer of the municipality, annually, within
35 thirty days following the start of the municipality's fiscal year, shall
36 notify the appropriate county, BOCES or city board of ethics that such
37 board shall serve as the board of ethics for the municipality. Such
38 notice shall be accompanied by a complete and current copy of the
39 municipality's code of ethics. At the time such notice is given, the
40 chief executive officer shall also cause a copy of the notice to be
41 posted on the municipality's website, if the municipality maintains a
42 website, and in each public building under the jurisdiction of the muni-
43 cipality in a place conspicuous to its officers and employees.
44 (ii) If officers and employees of the municipality are subject to
45 annual financial disclosure requirements imposed in accordance with this
46 article, such notice shall also be accompanied by a complete and current
47 copy of all local laws, ordinances, resolutions and regulations adopted
48 by the municipality relating to the imposition, administration and
49 enforcement of the filing requirement.
50 (iii) The governing body of the municipality, annually, within thirty
51 days following the start of the municipality's fiscal year, shall
52 appoint a municipal representative to the appropriate county, BOCES or
53 city board of ethics. The person appointed as municipal representative
54 shall be a resident of the municipality, and shall be knowledgeable with
55 respect to the municipality's code of ethics and the municipality's
56 annual financial disclosure requirements, if any. The municipal repre-
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1 sentative shall receive notice of, and be entitled to participate, as a
2 non-voting member, in all meetings, proceedings, deliberations and other
3 activities of the board that pertain to an officer or employee of the
4 municipality. A municipal representative shall receive no salary or
5 compensation for his or her services, but within amounts appropriated
6 shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
7 performance of his or her official duties.
8 (f) In the event that a board of ethics established by a county, BOCES
9 or city serves as the board of ethics for another municipality, and such
10 municipality shall either establish a board of ethics or become a party
11 to an agreement establishing a cooperative board of ethics, the chief
12 executive officer of the municipality shall notify the county, BOCES or
13 city board of ethics of the date as of which such board shall no longer
14 serve as the board of ethics of the municipality. Such notice shall
15 either state that the municipality has established its own board of
16 ethics or identify such cooperative board of ethics. At the time such
17 notice is given, the chief executive officer shall also cause a copy of
18 the notice to be posted on the municipality's website, if the munici-
19 pality maintains a website, and in each public building under the juris-
20 diction of the municipality in a place conspicuous to its officers and
21 employees. Promptly after the date specified in such notice, the coun-
22 ty, BOCES or city board of ethics shall transfer to the municipal or
23 cooperative board of ethics all pending matters and records relating to
24 the officers and employees of the municipality; provided, however, that
25 such county, BOCES, or city board of ethics shall have the discretion to
26 retain any pending matter and records relating thereto until such time
27 as the matter is resolved.
28 (g) Every board of ethics shall consist of at least three members, a
29 majority of whom shall not be municipal officers or employees. The
30 members of every board of ethics shall serve for a fixed term of office,
31 not to exceed five years. The length of such term of office shall be
32 determined by the municipal governing body that establishes the board of
33 ethics or specified in the agreement establishing a cooperative board of
34 ethics, provided that such governing body or agreement may provide for
35 the initial appointments to the board to be made for staggered terms.
36 Appointments to the board shall be made as follows:
37 (i) The members of a county board of ethics shall be appointed by the
38 governing body of the county except in the case of a county operating
39 under an optional or alternative form of county government or county
40 charter, in which case the members shall be appointed by the county
41 executive, county manager or county administrator, as the case may be,
42 subject to confirmation by such governing body.
43 (ii) The members of a board of ethics established by a municipality
44 other than a county shall be appointed by the governing body of the
45 municipality or by such person or body as may be designated by the
46 governing body of the municipality.
47 (iii) The members of a cooperative board of ethics shall be appointed
48 in the manner provided in the agreement establishing the board.
49 2. [The] Every board of ethics shall render advisory opinions to the
50 officers and employees [of municipalities wholly or partly within the
51 county] under the board's jurisdiction with respect to this article and
52 any code of ethics adopted pursuant hereto. Such advisory opinions shall
53 be rendered pursuant to the written request of any such officer or
54 employee under such rules and regulations as the board may prescribe
55 [and shall have the advice of counsel employed by the board, or if none,
56 the county attorney]. In addition, [it] the board may make recommenda-
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1 tions with respect to the drafting and adoption of a code of ethics or
2 amendments thereto upon the request of the governing body of any munici-
3 pality [in the county] for which the board serves as the municipality's
4 board of ethics, and perform such other functions relating to the admin-
5 istration of this article as may be authorized by the governing body or
6 agreement establishing the board including, but not limited to, provid-
7 ing ethics training to the officers and employees under the board's
8 jurisdiction.
9 3. [The governing body of any municipality other than a county may
10 establish a local board of ethics and, where such governing body is so
11 authorized, appropriate moneys for maintenance and personal services in
12 connection therewith. A local board shall have all the powers and duties
13 of and shall be governed by the same conditions as a county board of
14 ethics, except that it shall act only with respect to officers and
15 employees of the municipality that has established such board or of its
16 agencies. The members of a local board shall be appointed by such person
17 or body as may be designated by the governing body of the municipality
18 to serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and such board
19 shall consist of at least three members, a majority of whom are not
20 otherwise officers or employees of such municipality. Such board shall
21 include at least one member who is an elected or appointed municipal
22 officer or employee.
23 4. The county board of ethics shall not act with respect to the offi-
24 cers and employees of any municipality located within such county or
25 agency thereof, where such municipality has established its own board of
26 ethics, except that the local board may at its option refer matters to
27 the county board.
28 5.] A board of ethics shall have the advice of counsel employed by the
29 board or, if none, the attorney for the municipality that established
30 the board or, in the case of a cooperative board of ethics, such munici-
31 pal attorney as may be designated in the agreement establishing the
32 cooperative board of ethics.
33 4. The board of ethics of a political subdivision (as defined in
34 section eight hundred ten of this article) and the board of ethics of
35 any other municipality[,] which [is required by local law, ordinance or
36 resolution to be, or which pursuant to legal authority, in practice is,
37 the repository for completed annual statements of financial disclosure
38 shall file a statement with the clerk of its municipality, that it is
39 the authorized repository for completed annual statements of financial
40 disclosure] requires filing of annual statements of financial disclosure
41 pursuant to this article, shall receive, review for completeness, and
42 serve as repository for such annual statements and enforce such filing
43 requirement.
44 5. Each member of every board of ethics shall attend and successfully
45 complete a training course the contents of which shall be approved by
46 the state comptroller within two hundred seventy days of his or her
47 appointment or reappointment to the board; provided, however, that noth-
48 ing in this subdivision shall be deemed to require a member of a board
49 of ethics to successfully complete such training course more than once.
50 The course shall contain training related to the provisions of this
51 article, codes of ethics, annual financial disclosure and decisional law
52 relating to conflicts of interest and ethics and such other topics as
53 the comptroller deems advisable. When approved in advance of attendance
54 by the governing body of the municipality establishing the board or in
55 the manner provided in an agreement establishing a cooperative board of
56 ethics, the actual and necessary expenses incurred by a board member in
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1 successfully completing the training required by this section shall be a
2 charge against the municipality or the municipalities participating in
3 the cooperative board of ethics as provided in such agreement.
4 6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a city having a
5 population of one million or more or to a county, school district, or
6 other public agency or facility therein.
7 § 11. Subdivision 9 of section 810 of the general municipal law, as
8 amended by chapter 490 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as
9 follows:
10 9. The term "appropriate body" or "appropriate bodies" shall mean the
11 board of ethics [for the] of any political subdivision or municipality.
12 § 12. Section 13 of chapter 946 of the laws of 1964, amending the
13 general municipal law and other laws relating to conflicts of interest
14 of municipal officers and employees, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 13. Laws superseded. The provisions of article [eighteen] 18 of the
16 general municipal law, as added by this act, shall supersede any local
17 law, charter, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation of any munici-
18 pality to the extent that such local law, charter, ordinance, resol-
19 ution, rule or regulation is inconsistent with the provisions thereof.
20 No local law, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation shall modify or
21 dispense with any provision of article [eighteen] 18 of the general
22 municipal law, as added by this act; provided, however, that nothing
23 [herein] contained in this section shall prohibit a code of ethics
24 adopted pursuant thereto from supplementing the provisions of this act
25 or from being more stringent than article 18 of the general municipal
26 law.
27 § 13. Notwithstanding any general, special or local law to the contra-
28 ry, the governing body of any municipality which has prior to the effec-
29 tive date of this act: (a) established a board of ethics pursuant to
30 section 808 of the general municipal law; and (b) not established a term
31 of office for the members of such board; such governing body shall
32 establish terms of office for the members of such board pursuant to
33 paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 808 of the general municipal
34 law as added by section ten of this act to begin on a date no later than
35 the first day of the municipality's fiscal year commencing in 2018 and
36 on such date the positions on such board of ethics shall be deemed
37 vacant, provided that nothing in this section shall be construed to
38 prohibit the reappointment of an incumbent board member for such term of
39 office.
40 § 14. Notwithstanding any general, special or local law to the contra-
41 ry, any person serving as a member of a board of ethics established
42 pursuant to section 808 of the general municipal law on the effective
43 date of this act shall successfully complete the training course
44 required by subdivision 5 of section 808 of such law as added by section
45 ten of this act within one year of the effective date of this act.
46 § 15. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
47 ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however,
48 that paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 808 of the general munic-
49 ipal law, as added by section ten of this act, shall take effect January
50 1, 2021.