Bill Text: NY S00855 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to state government integrity including the creation of a New York state government integrity commission.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 37-4)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-01 - OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S00855 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00855-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 855 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BIAGGI, JACKSON, GAUGHRAN, MAYER, MAY, SKOUFIS, RAMOS, MYRIE, LIU, KAPLAN, KAMINSKY, BROOKS, SAVINO, HOYLMAN, KENNEDY, JORDAN, BOYLE, ADDABBO, AKSHAR, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, KAVANAGH, O'MARA, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SERRANO, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing that the constitution be amended by adding a new article V-A; in relation to state government integrity 1 Section 1. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the constitution be 2 amended by adding a new article V-A to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE V-A 4 STATE GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY 5 Section 1. a. The people of New York expect officers and employees of 6 the state to observe laws, rules and regulations that specify high stan- 7 dards of ethical conduct designed to avoid the reality and appearance of 8 corruption, conflict of interest, self-dealing and breach of the public 9 trust. Equally they expect that candidates for state office and others 10 seeking to influence state elections to observe laws, rules and regu- 11 lations designed to regulate actual and potential corruption and 12 conflicts of interest by regulating the influence of money in politics 13 and making transparent the financing and expenditures of efforts to 14 influence voters. To protect the integrity and freedom from corruption 15 of the use of state power to enact laws, establish rules and regu- 16 lations, and contract for goods and services funded in whole or in part 17 with state taxes and other revenues, the people of New York expect 18 observance of laws, rules and regulations that regulate lobbying, lobby- 19 ists and government procurement. To ensure the appropriate workplace 20 conduct of state officers and employees and those who interact with such 21 officers and employees while dealing with the state and its instrumen- 22 talities, the people of New York expect that all such persons will EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD89032-01-1S. 855 2 1 observe laws, rules and regulations setting standards of appropriate and 2 non-discriminatory workplace behavior. 3 b. Achieving this goal requires an independent and non-partisan agency 4 with jurisdiction over matters pertaining to both the legislative and 5 executive branches of government and that has the needed powers to 6 train, advise, interpret, adopt rules and regulations, investigate, 7 conduct fair hearings that afford due process and impose appropriate 8 sanctions on a consistent basis so that, with fair and equal application 9 of the law, no person or entity, no matter what their status, influence 10 or role in government, can place themselves above the law or suffer 11 detriment due to any lack of such status, influence or role. 12 § 2. a. There shall be a New York state government integrity commis- 13 sion. The commission shall, on an independent and non-partisan basis: 14 (i) receive, initiate, investigate and determine complaints with respect 15 to laws, rules and regulations prohibiting unethical behavior, includ- 16 ing, conflict of interest, self-dealing and breach of the public trust; 17 (ii) administer and enforce laws, rules and regulations providing for 18 the disclosure of financial and other interests by state government 19 officers and employees; (iii) administer and enforce laws, rules and 20 regulations relating to abuse of official position, including through 21 discrimination and discriminatory and retaliatory harassment, by state 22 government officers and employees; (iv) administer and enforce laws, 23 rules and regulations regulating the influence of money in politics 24 including those providing for the disclosure of receipts and expendi- 25 tures by candidates and political parties; (v) administer and enforce 26 laws, rules and regulations relating to public financing of political 27 campaigns; (vi) administer and enforce laws, rules and regulations that 28 regulate lobbying and lobbyists; and (vii) receive, initiate, investi- 29 gate and determine complaints that laws, rules and regulations related 30 to government procurement are not being faithfully executed. This 31 jurisdiction shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the inves- 32 tigatory, disciplinary, vendor qualification or law enforcement authori- 33 ty of any other person or entity and of the right of an aggrieved person 34 to seek civil redress in accordance with law. The commission may in its 35 discretion decline to initiate, or suspend initiation of proceedings, or 36 otherwise adjust its procedures, in view of such other proceedings 37 undertaken or able to be undertaken by such other person or entity. 38 b. When, after hearing, the commission has determined that the 39 respondent has violated a law, rule or regulation within the commis- 40 sion's jurisdiction to enforce, the commission may impose any civil 41 sanction authorized by law and/or refer the matter for criminal prose- 42 cution. The commission may also caution, admonish or censure such 43 respondent or, in the case of a non-elected state officer or employee, 44 suspend, demote or remove such respondent from office or employment 45 after such adjudicatory process that substantially complies with the 46 terms of any relevant collective bargaining agreement. In deciding the 47 severity of the sanction, the commission shall consider to what extent 48 the violation is inadvertent, isolated and/or of insubstantial conse- 49 quence on the one hand or willful, repeated, causing actual public harm 50 or risk of public harm and/or otherwise egregious on the other. Determi- 51 nations, other than a determination to refer for criminal prosecution, 52 shall be subject to judicial review in accordance with law. If it finds 53 such a violation it may also issue a cease and desist order and seek 54 judicial enforcement of that order in accordance with law. 55 c. The commission shall consist of thirteen members, appointed as 56 follows: (i) two shall be appointed by the governor, at least one ofS. 855 3 1 whom shall be, or within the prior five years shall have been, enrolled 2 in a different major political party than the governor; (ii) one shall 3 be appointed by each of the leaders in each house of the legislature of 4 the party conferences whose candidate for governor in the most recent 5 gubernatorial election received the largest and second largest number of 6 votes; and (iii) seven jointly by the chief judge of the state of New 7 York and the presiding justices of each of the appellate divisions, 8 three of whom shall be, and within the prior five years shall have been, 9 enrolled in each of the two majority political parties and one of whom 10 shall not be, and shall not within the past five years have been 11 enrolled in any political party. The chief judge shall request the pres- 12 ident and immediate past president of the state bar jointly to propose 13 seven persons for each of two appointments to the commission who as a 14 group of seven would be eligible for such appointment and two of those 15 appointed jointly by the chief judge and the presiding justices shall be 16 drawn from these two lists. No member of the commission shall have held 17 office in any political party organization, have been a state officer or 18 employee or have been engaged as a lobbyist within three years of 19 appointment or at any time during their term. The chair shall be elected 20 by the commission members from among its members. Commission members 21 shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses and paid a per diem salary 22 to be fixed by law but at least a per diem amount equal to the annual 23 salary paid to a justice of the supreme court divided by two hundred 24 twenty. A member may be removed for cause on application to the court of 25 appeals made by a majority vote of the full membership of the commis- 26 sion. 27 d. The persons first appointed by the governor shall have respectively 28 three and four-year terms as the governor shall designate. The persons 29 first appointed jointly by the chief judge of the state of New York and 30 the presiding justices of the appellate divisions shall have respective- 31 ly one, two, two, three, three, four, and four-year terms as that judge 32 and those justices shall designate. The person first appointed by the 33 legislative leaders in each house of the legislature of the party 34 conferences whose candidate for governor received the largest number of 35 votes shall have a four-year term in the case of the Senate and a three- 36 year term in the case of the Assembly. The person first appointed by the 37 legislative leaders in each house of the legislature of the party 38 conferences whose candidate for governor received the second largest 39 number of votes shall have a two-year term in the case of the Senate and 40 a one-year term in the case of the Assembly. Each member of the commis- 41 sion shall be appointed thereafter for a term of four years and shall be 42 appointed in the same manner with a person of the same political affil- 43 iation as his or her predecessor. 44 e. The organization and procedure of the commission shall be as 45 provided by law provided that the commission shall act by majority vote 46 of its membership and determine violations based on a preponderance of 47 the evidence except that any order of censure or removal shall be based 48 on clear and convincing evidence. The commission may establish its own 49 rules and procedures not inconsistent with law and due process. Those 50 rules shall bar ex parte communications regarding a potential or ongoing 51 investigation or other matter before the commission, direct or indirect, 52 between members of the commission and their appointing authority and 53 such rule shall bind both the member, the commission staff, the appoint- 54 ing authority and the staff, agents and representatives of the appoint- 55 ing authority. The commission shall be empowered to designate one orS. 855 4 1 more of its members or any other persons as hearing officers to hear and 2 report concerning any matter before the commission. 3 § 3. a. The commission many appoint an executive director, who may 4 appoint staff, and one or more deputy directors with such duties and 5 powers as the commission may fix. No person who would be disqualified 6 from being a member of the commission may be appointed as executive 7 director except that a person employed at the commission shall not be 8 disqualified by reason of that employment. 9 b. The commission and its designated hearing officers shall have the 10 power to administer oaths, compel the attendance of witnesses and issue 11 subpoenas. 12 c. The commission, shall have the duty to train all persons within the 13 commission's jurisdiction in compliance with the laws, rules and regu- 14 lations with respect to which the commission has jurisdiction and to 15 otherwise encourage persons subject to the commission's jurisdiction to 16 fulfill their duties under such laws and shall have the power to issue 17 and interpret rules and regulations subject to judiciary review for 18 conformance with law. 19 d. The commission may make a criminal prosecution referral to a 20 district attorney, the attorney general or a United States attorney. 21 e. The commission, after notice and opportunity for public comment, 22 may issue advisory opinions or bulletins which will have such protective 23 effect on those who act in compliance therewith as is specified in the 24 opinion or bulletin. It shall also establish an office of ethics and 25 lobbying guidance to give prompt, non-precedental informal advice to 26 persons whose conduct it oversees. Persons receiving such informal 27 advice may rely on that advice absent misrepresentation of material 28 facts to the office of ethics and lobbying guidance and such communi- 29 cations with the office of ethics and lobbying shall be treated as 30 confidential except as disclosure is needed to prevent or rectify a 31 crime or fraud or prevent a substantial threat to public safety. 32 § 4. The commission shall annually submit a budget which the governor 33 shall include in his executive budget and financial plan without 34 revision. The legislature may reduce the commission's budget and the 35 governor may veto that reduction and replace it with an amount not less 36 than that determined by the legislature. If such veto shall be overrid- 37 den by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature, the amount 38 determined by the legislature shall become binding. 39 § 5. a. The commission shall administer and enforce the state code of 40 ethics established by law. The state code of ethics shall be construed, 41 and any revision or amendment thereto, shall be drafted and construed to 42 proscribe conduct that creates in the mind of a reasonable person an 43 appearance of corruption, conflicts of interest that materially impair 44 the performance of official duties and breaches of the public trust 45 including the misuse of official position or the abuse of official 46 authority for personal gain. The commission shall periodically review 47 the state code of ethics and may propose to the legislature revisions 48 and amendments to the code. 49 b. The state code of ethics shall, by virtue of this provision, 50 provide that it shall be the ethical duty of any person or entity within 51 the jurisdiction of the commission to promptly report to the commission 52 information not protected by the attorney-client or prosecutorial inves- 53 tigative privilege about activity known to be in violation of the state 54 code of ethics or other law which any person or entity has engaged in 55 with respect to activity that is within the jurisdiction of the commis- 56 sion. There shall be no retaliation against a person or entity makingS. 855 5 1 such a report in good faith on information and belief, and any person 2 aggrieved by such retaliation may bring a civil action for compensatory 3 and exemplary damages. 4 c. The state code of ethics shall, by virtue of this provision, 5 provide that no person within the jurisdiction of the commission shall 6 commit an act of discriminatory or retaliatory harassment while serving 7 in his or her official capacity and no such person serving in a supervi- 8 sory capacity shall suffer an act of such harassment to occur without 9 taking care that there be due consequences in accordance with law. The 10 commission may by rule define the conduct that constitutes an act of 11 discriminatory or retaliatory harassment and shall establish a unit 12 responsible for harassment complaints and investigations. 13 § 6. The commission may recommend to the legislature limits for all 14 categories of campaign contributions to candidates and political organ- 15 izations that in its judgment are low enough to prevent an elected offi- 16 cial from being so beholden to a campaign contributor as to materially 17 impair such official's exercise of independent policy judgment in the 18 interests of the public and his or her constituents. 19 § 7. The commission shall be subject to all transparency and public 20 access laws subject to such reasonable exceptions for pending confiden- 21 tial investigations as shall be provided by law. The legislative branch 22 shall be subject to laws providing for transparency to the same extent 23 as is the executive branch. 24 § 8. Any commission appointment not made within sixty days following 25 the effective date of this article, or within sixty days of the occur- 26 rence of any vacancy, shall be filled by the president and president-e- 27 lect of the state bar acting jointly. For no more than ninety days 28 following the initial appointment all the members of the commission 29 shall prepare to commence operation, including the hiring of an execu- 30 tive director and managerial staff, and on such ninetieth day the joint 31 commission on public ethics and the legislative ethics commission shall 32 no longer exist, and the authority of the board of elections over 33 campaign finance shall cease all their powers, duties, non-managerial 34 employees and matters having been transferred to the commission. 35 § 2. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendment 36 be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the 37 next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in 38 conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be 39 published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.
