Requires statewide elected officials and state officers to submit an application for approval by the joint commission on public ethics for outside compensation from advance payments from book deals or contracts in excess of fifteen percent of such official or officer's base salary.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8139
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 16, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NIOU -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law and the executive law, in
relation to requiring certain state officials and officers to submit
an application for approval by the joint commission on public ethics
for compensation from advance payments from book deals or contracts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 73 of the public officers law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 7-b to read as follows:
3 7-b. Application for approval of compensation. No statewide elected
4 official or state officer shall accept any compensation from an advanced
5 payment from any deal or contract such individual is a party to pertain-
6 ing to the writing or publishing of any book in excess of fifteen
7 percent of such elected official or officer's annual base salary prior
8 to submitting an application to the joint commission on public ethics.
9 For purposes of this subdivision, "state officer" shall mean (a) heads
10 of state departments and their deputies other than members of the board
11 of regents of the university of the state of New York who receive no
12 compensation or are compensated on a per diem basis, (b) officers of
13 statewide elected officials, officers of state departments, boards,
14 bureaus, divisions, commissions, councils or other state agencies other
15 than officers of such boards, commissions or councils who receive no
16 compensation or are compensated on a per diem basis, and (c) directors
17 of public authorities, other than multi-state authorities, public bene-
18 fit corporations and commissions at least one of whose members is
19 appointed by the governor, who receive compensation other than on a per
20 diem basis. No such elected official or state officer shall accept such
21 compensation unless such application is unanimously approved by each
22 commissioner of the joint commission on public ethics.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10786-02-1
A. 8139 2
1 § 2. Paragraphs (m) and (n) of subdivision 9 of section 94 of the
2 executive law, paragraph (m) as amended and paragraph (n) as added by
3 section 6 of part A of chapter 399 of the laws of 2011, are amended and
4 two new paragraphs (o) and (p) are added to read as follows:
5 (m) Determine a question common to a class or defined category of
6 persons or items of information required to be disclosed, where determi-
7 nation of the question will prevent undue repetition of requests for
8 exemption or deletion or prevent undue complication in complying with
9 the requirements of such section; [and]
10 (n) Promulgate guidelines for the commission to conduct a program of
11 random reviews, to be carried out in the following manner: (i) annual
12 statements of financial disclosure shall be selected for review in a
13 manner pursuant to which the identity of any particular person whose
14 statement is selected is unknown to the commission and its staff prior
15 to its selection; (ii) such review shall include a preliminary examina-
16 tion of the selected statement for internal consistency, a comparison
17 with other records maintained by the commission, including previously
18 filed statements and requests for advisory opinions, and examination of
19 relevant public information; (iii) upon completion of the preliminary
20 examination, the commission shall determine whether further inquiry is
21 warranted, whereupon it shall notify the reporting individual in writing
22 that the statement is under review, advise the reporting individual of
23 the specific areas of inquiry, and provide the reporting individual with
24 the opportunity to provide any relevant information related to the
25 specific areas of inquiry, and the opportunity to file amendments to the
26 selected statement on forms provided by the commission; and (iv) if
27 thereafter sufficient cause exists, the commission shall take additional
28 actions, as appropriate and consistent with law[.];
29 (o) Develop an application for use by statewide elected officials and
30 state officers, as such term is defined by subdivision seven-b of
31 section seventy-three of the public officers law, to apply for approval
32 to receive compensation from an advanced payment from any deal or
33 contract such individual is a party to pertaining to the writing or
34 publishing of any book in excess of fifteen percent of such elected
35 official or state officer's salary. Such application shall include, but
36 not be limited to the terms of, the parties to, and the dollar amount of
37 the advanced payment of such deal or contract; and
38 (p) Review applications for approval to receive compensation from an
39 advanced payment from any deal or contract such individual is a party to
40 pertaining to the writing or publishing of any book in excess of fifteen
41 percent submitted by statewide elected officials and state officers;
42 provided, however that such review shall be completed by the commission-
43 ers. Approval of any such application shall be unanimous.
44 § 3. Subparagraphs 5 and 6 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 19 of
45 section 94 of the executive law, as amended by section 6 of part A of
46 chapter 399 of the laws of 2011, are amended and a new subparagraph 7 is
47 added to read as follows:
48 (5) those required to be held or maintained publicly available pursu-
49 ant to article one-A of the legislative law; [and]
50 (6) substantial basis investigation reports issued by the commission
51 pursuant to subdivision fourteen-a or fourteen-b of this section. With
52 respect to reports concerning members of the legislature or legislative
53 employees or candidates for member of the legislature, the joint commis-
54 sion shall not publicly disclose or otherwise disseminate such reports
55 except in conformance with the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivi-
56 sion nine of section eighty of the legislative law[.]; and
A. 8139 3
1 (7) approved applications to receive compensation from an advanced
2 payment from any deal or contract such individual is a party to pertain-
3 ing to the writing or publishing of any book in excess of fifteen
4 percent submitted by statewide elected officials and state officers,
5 including the terms of, the parties to, and the dollar amount of the
6 advanced payment of such deal or contract and an affirmative statement
7 that no public resources or public employee shall be used by statewide
8 elected officials or state officers for such compensation.
9 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
10 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
11 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
12 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
13 completed on or before such effective date.
