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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6533
IN SENATE
February 23, 2012
___________
Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, KRUEGER -- 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
23 in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of a class E felo-
24 ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony under the
25 provisions of this [section] subdivision may be barred from acting as a
26 lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14724-02-2
S. 6533 2
1 the purposes of this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of
2 any organization required to file a statement or report shall be the
3 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless
4 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated
5 to make and file such statement or report.
6 [(b)] (d) (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly
7 and wilfully fails to file a statement or report within the time
8 required for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully
9 violates section one-m of this article shall be subject to a civil
10 penalty for each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed
11 the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times the amount
12 the person failed to report properly or unlawfully contributed,
13 expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission.
14 (ii) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
15 wilfully files a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil
16 penalty, in an amount not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand
17 dollars or five times the amount the person failed to report properly,
18 to be assessed by the commission.
19 (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates the
20 provisions of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be
21 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for an
22 initial violation.
23 (B) If, after a lobbyist or client has been found to have violated
24 subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist or client
25 knowingly and wilfully violates the provisions of subdivision one of
26 section one-n of this article within four years of such finding, the
27 lobbyist or client shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
28 twenty-five thousand dollars.
29 (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to file
30 a statement or report within the time required for the filing of such
31 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false statement or report, or
32 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after
33 having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit-
34 ted such conduct or violation in the preceding five years, may be
35 subject to a determination that the lobbyist or client is prohibited
36 from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term is defined in para-
37 graph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this article, for a
38 period of one year.
39 (v) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully engages in
40 lobbying activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdi-
41 vision (c) of section one-c of this article, during the period in which
42 they are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term
43 is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this
44 article pursuant to this subdivision, may be subject to a determination
45 that the lobbyist or client is prohibited from engaging in lobbying
46 activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c)
47 of section one-c of this article, for a period of up to four years, and
48 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand
49 dollars, plus a civil penalty in an amount equal to five times the value
50 of any gift, compensation or benefit received as a result of the
51 violation.
52 (vi) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
53 wilfully fails to retain their records pursuant to paragraph three of
54 subdivision (c) of section one-e of this article, subparagraph (v) of
55 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-h of this article, or
56 paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-j of this article shall
S. 6533 3
1 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of two thousand dollars per
2 violation to be assessed by the commission.
3 [(c)] (e) (i) Any assessment or order to debar shall be determined
4 only after a hearing at which the party shall be entitled to appear,
5 present evidence and be heard. Any assessment or order to debar pursuant
6 to this section may only be imposed after the commission sends by certi-
7 fied and first-class mail written notice of intent to assess a penalty
8 or order to debar and the basis for the penalty or order to debar. Any
9 assessment may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney gener-
10 al.
11 (ii) In assessing any fine or penalty pursuant to this section, the
12 commission shall consider: (A) as a mitigating factor that the lobbyist,
13 public corporation or client has not previously been required to regis-
14 ter, and (B) as an aggravating factor that the lobbyist, public corpo-
15 ration or client has had fines or penalties assessed against it in the
16 past. The amount of compensation expended, incurred or received shall be
17 a factor to consider in determining a proportionate penalty.
18 (iii) Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who receives a notice
19 of intent to assess a penalty for knowingly and wilfully failing to file
20 a report or statement pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section
21 and who has never previously received a notice of intent to assess a
22 penalty for failing to file a report or statement required under this
23 section shall be granted fifteen days within which to file the statement
24 of registration or report without being subject to the fine or penalty
25 set forth in subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section. Upon the failure of
26 such lobbyist, public corporation or client to file within such fifteen
27 day period, such lobbyist, public corporation or client shall be subject
28 to a fine or penalty pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (d) of this section.
29 [(d)] (f) All moneys recovered by the attorney general or received by
30 the commission from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this
31 section shall be deposited to the general fund.
32 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
33 have become a law.
