Prohibits public officials from using or soliciting or permitting the use of, the name, voice, picture or other likeness of a candidate or a member of a candidate's family in publicly funded disseminations of material or information.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9615
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting
public officials from using, or soliciting or permitting the use of,
the name, voice, picture or other likeness of a candidate or a member
of a candidate's family in publicly funded disseminations of material
or information
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section
2 73-c to read as follows:
3 § 73-c. Use of candidates' name, voice, picture or likeness in certain
4 publicly-funded advertisements and announcements prohibited. 1. As used
5 in this section the term:
6 (a) "Public official" shall mean:
7 (i) the governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller or attorney gener-
8 al;
9 (ii) members of the state legislature;
10 (iii) state officers and employees including:
11 (A) heads of state agencies and their deputies and assistants other
12 than members of the board of regents of the university of the state of
13 New York who receive no compensation or are compensated on a per diem
14 basis,
15 (B) officers and employees of statewide elected officials,
16 (C) officers and employees of state agencies other than officers of
17 boards, commissions or councils who receive no compensation or are
18 compensated on a per diem basis,
19 (D) members or directors of public authorities, other than multi-state
20 authorities, public benefit corporations and commissions at least one of
21 whose members is appointed by the governor, who receive compensation
22 other than on a per diem basis, and employees of such authorities,
23 corporations and commissions;
24 (iv) officers and employees of the legislature; and
25 (v) municipal officers and employees including an officer or employee
26 of a municipal entity, whether paid or unpaid, including members of any
27 administrative board, commission or other agency thereof and in the case
28 of a county, shall be deemed to also include any officer or employee
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14298-01-8
A. 9615 2
1 paid from county funds. No person shall be deemed to be a municipal
2 officer or employee solely by reason of being a volunteer fireman or
3 civil defense volunteer, except a fire chief or assistant fire chief.
4 (b) "State agency" shall mean any department, board, bureau, commis-
5 sion, division, office, council, committee or officer of the state,
6 whether permanent or temporary, or a public benefit corporation or
7 public authority at least one of whose members is appointed by the
8 governor, authorized by law to make rules or to make final decisions in
9 adjudicatory proceedings but shall not include the judicial branch or
10 agencies created by interstate compact or international agreement.
11 (c) "Municipality" shall mean any jurisdictional subdivision of the
12 state, including but not limited to counties, cities, towns, villages,
13 improvement districts and special districts, with a population of more
14 than fifty thousand; and public authorities, and public corporations,
15 but shall not include school districts.
16 (d) "Public funds" shall mean all moneys in the possession, custody,
17 control or under the authority of: the comptroller; the commissioner of
18 tax and finance; any other state agency; a municipality; or any public
19 official.
20 (e) "Candidate" shall mean an individual who seeks nomination for
21 election, or election, to any public office to be voted for at a prima-
22 ry, general, local or special election.
23 (f) "Disseminate" shall include, but not be limited to, advertise,
24 announce, broadcast (via television, radio, the internet or via any
25 electronic or other means), communicate, distribute, fax, give out,
26 issue, mail, post, publish, release, telephone, or transmit.
27 2. No public official shall use, or solicit or permit the use of, the
28 name, voice, picture or other likeness of a candidate, or any member of
29 a candidate's family, in the dissemination of any material or informa-
30 tion where such dissemination is supported in whole or in part, directly
31 or indirectly, by public funds.
32 3. The prohibitions set forth in the provisions of subdivision two of
33 this section apply: during the thirty day period immediately preceding
34 any primary, local or special election; and during the sixty day period
35 immediately preceding any general election.
36 4. Upon receipt of notice of the failure of any public officer to
37 comply with the provisions of this section, the attorney general or
38 other appropriate authority shall take such action as he or she deems
39 appropriate to secure compliance with the provisions of this section.
40 5. The provisions of this section shall not require the removal of any
41 material disseminated prior to the applicable thirty or sixty day peri-
42 od, as the case may be, set forth in subdivision three of this section.
43 § 2. If any item, clause, sentence, subparagraph, subdivision, section
44 or other part of this act, or the application thereof to any person or
45 circumstances shall be held to be invalid, such holding shall not
46 affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act, or the applica-
47 tion of such section or part of a section held invalid, to any other
48 person or circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the
49 item, clause, sentence, subparagraph, subdivision, section or other part
50 of this act directly involved in such holding, or to the person and
51 circumstances therein involved.
52 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
53 have become a law.