New York S 3452: 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

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3452
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, SERRANO -- 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 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 (i) Any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and(c)
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07028-01-3

S. 3452 2
1 in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of a class E felo-
2 ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony under the
3 provisions of this [ ] may be barred from acting as asection subdivision
4 lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For
5 the purposes of this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of
6 any organization required to file a statement or report shall be the
7 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless
8 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated
9 to make and file such statement or report.
10 [ ] (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly(b) (d)
11 and wilfully fails to file a statement or report within the time
12 required for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully
13 violates section one-m of this article shall be subject to a civil
14 penalty for each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed
15 the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times the amount
16 the person failed to report properly or unlawfully contributed,
17 expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission.
18 (ii) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
19 wilfully files a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil
20 penalty, in an amount not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand
21 dollars or five times the amount the person failed to report properly,
22 to be assessed by the commission.
23 (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates the
24 provisions of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be
25 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for an
26 initial violation.
27 (B) If, after a lobbyist or client has been found to have violated
28 subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist or client
29 knowingly and wilfully violates the provisions of subdivision one of
30 section one-n of this article within four years of such finding, the
31 lobbyist or client shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
32 twenty-five thousand dollars.
33 (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to file
34 a statement or report within the time required for the filing of such
35 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false statement or report, or
36 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after
37 having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit-
38 ted such conduct or violation in the preceding five years, may be
39 subject to a determination that the lobbyist or client is prohibited
40 from engaging in lobbying activities, as that t