Bill Text: NY S00485 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits lobbyists who are convicted of or plead guilty to class D felonies or higher level crimes from acting as a lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction; provides the authority to extend suspensions; entitles such lobbyist to a hearing upon application for suspension extension.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO ETHICS AND INTERNAL GOVERNANCE [S00485 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S00485-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 485 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to prohibiting lobby- ists who are convicted of or plead guilty to class D felonies or high- er level crimes from acting as a lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1-o of the legislative law, as added by chapter 14 2 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1-o. Penalties. (a) Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to 4 a class D felony or higher level crime shall be barred from acting as a 5 lobbyist for a period of three years from the date of the conviction. 6 (b) Upon completion the commission shall re-evaluate the suspension 7 and determine whether or not such suspension should be extended for an 8 additional period of time. In no event shall such extension be for more 9 than two more years. Any lobbyist wishing to re-register with the 10 commission and re-commence his or her practice of lobbying shall be 11 entitled to a hearing upon application to determine if the suspension 12 should be extended under this subdivision. 13 (c) (i) Any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 14 wilfully fails to file timely a report or statement required by this 15 section or knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly 16 and wilfully violates section one-m of this article shall be guilty of a 17 class A misdemeanor; and 18 (ii) any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 19 wilfully fails to file timely a report or statement required by this 20 section or knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly 21 and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after having previ- 22 ously been convicted in the preceding five years of the crime described EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05463-01-9S. 485 2 1 in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of a class E felo- 2 ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony under the 3 provisions of this [section] subdivision may be barred from acting as a 4 lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For 5 the purposes of this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of 6 any organization required to file a statement or report shall be the 7 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless 8 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated 9 to make and file such statement or report. 10 [(b)] (d) (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly 11 and wilfully fails to file a statement or report within the time 12 required for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully 13 violates section one-m of this article shall be subject to a civil 14 penalty for each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed 15 the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times the amount 16 the person failed to report properly or unlawfully contributed, 17 expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission. 18 (ii) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 19 wilfully files a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil 20 penalty, in an amount not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand 21 dollars or five times the amount the person failed to report properly, 22 to be assessed by the commission. 23 (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates the 24 provisions of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be 25 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for an 26 initial violation. 27 (B) If, after a lobbyist or client has been found to have violated 28 subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist or client 29 knowingly and wilfully violates the provisions of subdivision one of 30 section one-n of this article within four years of such finding, the 31 lobbyist or client shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed 32 twenty-five thousand dollars. 33 (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to file 34 a statement or report within the time required for the filing of such 35 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false statement or report, or 36 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after 37 having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit- 38 ted such conduct or violation in the preceding five years, may be 39 subject to a determination that the lobbyist or client is prohibited 40 from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term is defined in para- 41 graph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this article, for a 42 period of one year. 43 (v) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully engages in 44 lobbying activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdi- 45 vision (c) of section one-c of this article, during the period in which 46 they are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term 47 is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this 48 article pursuant to this subdivision, may be subject to a determination 49 that the lobbyist or client is prohibited from engaging in lobbying 50 activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) 51 of section one-c of this article, for a period of up to four years, and 52 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand 53 dollars, plus a civil penalty in an amount equal to five times the value 54 of any gift, compensation or benefit received as a result of the 55 violation.S. 485 3 1 (vi) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and 2 wilfully fails to retain their records pursuant to paragraph three of 3 subdivision (c) of section one-e of this article, subparagraph (v) of 4 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-h of this article, or 5 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-j of this article shall 6 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of two thousand dollars per 7 violation to be assessed by the commission. 8 [(c)] (e) (i) Any assessment or order to debar shall be determined 9 only after a hearing at which the party shall be entitled to appear, 10 present evidence and be heard. Any assessment or order to debar pursuant 11 to this section may only be imposed after the commission sends by certi- 12 fied and first-class mail written notice of intent to assess a penalty 13 or order to debar and the basis for the penalty or order to debar. Any 14 assessment may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney gener- 15 al. 16 (ii) In assessing any fine or penalty pursuant to this section, the 17 commission shall consider: (A) as a mitigating factor that the lobbyist, 18 public corporation or client has not previously been required to regis- 19 ter, and (B) as an aggravating factor that the lobbyist, public corpo- 20 ration or client has had fines or penalties assessed against it in the 21 past. The amount of compensation expended, incurred or received shall be 22 a factor to consider in determining a proportionate penalty. 23 (iii) Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who receives a notice 24 of intent to assess a penalty for knowingly and wilfully failing to file 25 a report or statement pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section 26 and who has never previously received a notice of intent to assess a 27 penalty for failing to file a report or statement required under this 28 section shall be granted fifteen days within which to file the statement 29 of registration or report without being subject to the fine or penalty 30 set forth in subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section. Upon the failure of 31 such lobbyist, public corporation or client to file within such fifteen 32 day period, such lobbyist, public corporation or client shall be subject 33 to a fine or penalty pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section. 34 [(d)] (f) All moneys recovered by the attorney general or received by 35 the commission from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this 36 section shall be deposited to the general fund. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 38 have become a law.
