Bill Text: NY S08742 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "New York Stock Act"; prohibits public officers and employees from using nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-03 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S08742 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S08742-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8742

                    IN SENATE

                                      April 6, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. REICHLIN-MELNICK -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Inter-
          nal Governance

        AN ACT to amend the public officers  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
          public officers and employees from using nonpublic information derived
          from their official positions for personal benefit

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

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
     2  Stock Act".
     3    § 2. The public officers law is amended by adding a new article 7-A to
     4  read as follows:
     5                                 ARTICLE 7-A
     6                      USE OF NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION FOR
     7                         PERSONAL BENEFIT PROHIBITED
     8  Section 112.   Definitions.
     9          112-a. Prohibition  of  the  use  of  nonpublic  information for
    10                   private profit.
    11          112-b. Prohibition of insider trading.
    12          112-c. Other state officials.
    13          112-d. Participation in initial public offerings.
    14          112-e. Rule of construction.
    15    § 112. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the following  terms
    16  shall have the following meanings:
    17    1.  "member  of  the legislature" means a member of the New York state
    18  senate or New York state assembly.
    19    2. "employee of the legislature" means any officer or employee of  the
    20  legislature but it shall not include members of the legislature.
    21    3. "executive branch employee" means:
    22    a. any person employed in the civil service of this state;
    23    b. the governor;
    24    c. the lieutenant governor;
    25    d. the comptroller; and
    26    e. the attorney general.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08976-01-1
        S. 8742                             2

     1    4.  "judicial  officer"  means  any judge or other judicial officer of
     2  this state.
     3    5.  "judicial employee" means any officer or employee of the judiciary
     4  but it shall not include judicial officers.
     5    § 112-a. Prohibition of the use of nonpublic information  for  private
     6  profit. The legislative ethics commission shall issue interpretive guid-
     7  ance of the relevant rules of each chamber, including rules on conflicts
     8  of  interest  and gifts, clarifying that a member of the legislature and
     9  an employee of the legislature may not use nonpublic information derived
    10  from such person's position as a member of the legislature  or  employee
    11  of the legislature or gained from the performance of such person's offi-
    12  cial responsibilities as a means for making a private profit.
    13    §  112-b.  Prohibition  of  insider  trading.  Subject  to the rule of
    14  construction under section one hundred  twelve-e  of  this  article  and
    15  solely  for  the  purposes of insider trading prohibitions arising under
    16  the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each member of the  legislature  or
    17  employee  of  the legislature owes a duty arising from a relationship of
    18  trust and confidence to the legislature, the state, and the citizens  of
    19  this  state with respect to material, nonpublic information derived from
    20  such person's position as a member of the legislature or employee of the
    21  legislature or gained from the performance  of  such  person's  official
    22  responsibilities.
    23    §  112-c.  Other state officials. 1. a. The joint commission on public
    24  ethics shall issue such interpretive  guidance  of  the  relevant  state
    25  ethics  statutes  and  regulations,  including  the standards of ethical
    26  conduct for executive branch employees,  related  to  use  of  nonpublic
    27  information,  as  necessary to clarify that no executive branch employee
    28  may use nonpublic information derived from such person's position as  an
    29  executive  branch  employee  or  gained  from  the  performance  of such
    30  person's official responsibilities as  a  means  for  making  a  private
    31  profit.
    32    b.  The  advisory committee on judicial ethics shall issue such inter-
    33  pretive guidance of the relevant ethics  rules  applicable  to  judicial
    34  officers,  as  necessary  to  clarify  that  no judicial officer may use
    35  nonpublic information derived from such person's position as a  judicial
    36  officer or gained from the performance of such person's official respon-
    37  sibilities as a means for making a private profit.
    38    c.  The  advisory committee on judicial ethics shall issue such inter-
    39  pretive guidance of the relevant ethics  rules  applicable  to  judicial
    40  employees  as  necessary  to  clarify  that no judicial employee may use
    41  nonpublic information derived from such person's position as a  judicial
    42  employee  or  gained  from  the  performance  of  such person's official
    43  responsibilities as a means for making a private profit.
    44    2. Subject to the rule  of  construction  under  section  one  hundred
    45  twelve-e  of  this  article  and solely for the purposes insider trading
    46  prohibitions arising under the Securities Exchange  Act  of  1934,  each
    47  executive  branch  employee,  each  judicial  officer, and each judicial
    48  employee owes a duty arising from a relationship of trust and confidence
    49  to this state and the citizens of this state with respect  to  material,
    50  nonpublic  information  derived from such person's position as an execu-
    51  tive branch employee, judicial officer, or judicial employee  or  gained
    52  from the performance of such person's official responsibilities.
    53    §  112-d.  Participation  in  initial  public offerings. No person set
    54  forth in section one hundred twelve of this article may purchase securi-
    55  ties that are the subject of an initial public offering  in  any  manner
    56  other than is available to members of the public generally.
        S. 8742                             3

     1    §  112-e.  Rule of construction. Nothing in this article or the inter-
     2  pretive guidance  to  be  issued  pursuant  to  this  article  shall  be
     3  construed to:
     4    1. impair or limit the construction of the antifraud provisions of the
     5  securities  laws  or  the Commodity Exchange Act or the authority of the
     6  Securities and Exchange Commission  or  the  Commodity  Futures  Trading
     7  Commission under those provisions;
     8    2.  be  in  derogation  of the obligations, duties, and functions of a
     9  member of the legislature, an employee of the legislature, an  executive
    10  branch  employee,  a  judicial  officer, or a judicial employee, arising
    11  from such person's official position; or
    12    3. be in derogation of existing laws, regulations,  or  ethical  obli-
    13  gations  governing members of the legislature, employees of the legisla-
    14  ture, executive branch employees, judicial officers, or judicial employ-
    15  ees.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.