NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5131
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to filing require-
ments for the annual statement of financial disclosure
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to require the filing of financial
disclosure statements.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 73-a of the Public Officers Law is
amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall apply to
every statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of
the legislature, legislative employee and political party chairman and
every candidate for statewide elected office or for member of the legis-
lature:
(i) who was such a statewide elected official, state officer or employ-
ee, member of the legislature, legislative employee, political party
chairman or candidate for statewide elected office or for member of the
legislature for any portion of the calendar year; and
(ii) whether or not such statewide elected official, state officer or
employee, member of the legislature, legislative employee, political
party chairman or candidate for statewide elected office or member of
the legislature is in office, is employed, is a candidate or is other-
wise serving in any capacity on the 15th day of May following the year
for which an annual statement of financial disclosure is required to be
filed.
Section 2. Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, members of the New York State Legislature are required to
file under both the Legislative Ethics Law and the Public Officers Law.
By May 15th of each year a completed financial disclosure statement is
received by the Legislative Ethics Commission, which then files the same
information with the NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government
(CELG). That form requires the disclosure of activities, finances and
assets that may indicate financial improprieties or conflicts of inter-
est.
The current law has been interpreted to not require disclosure by indi-
viduals no longer serving in the legislature on May 15th of the follow-
ing year. This allows members of the legislature to serve an entire year
or more without the accountability required by the disclosure law. For
example, a review of the CELG filings indicated that no member of the
state legislature who retired in 2012, or lost running for re-election,
or ran for another office and lost, completed 2013 financial disclosures
by May 15, 2013.
In early 2014, there were 11 vacancies in the state legislature that
occurred on or before December 31, 2013, and another who left service
prior to the May 5, 2014 deadline. Several of them left due to criminal,
or other ethical charges having been brought, and none of the individ-
uals who occupied those seats are required to disclose their potential
improprieties and conflicts of interest while in office.
Therefore, the current state of the law is such that an elected official
can decide early in the last year of their term to retire, knowing that
they will not have to complete the ethical obligation of CELG and the
Legislative Commission on Ethics when they are finished. This legis-
lation would close that loophole in the law and require completed
ethical disclosure forms for each and every day that a statewide elected
official or a member of the state legislature serves in that office.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.6691 of 2021/2022
A. 6534 of 2019/2020
A.1115 and S. 1080 of 2017/2018
A. 1080 and S. 4684 of 2015/2016
A. 9588 and S. 7135 of 2013/2014
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5131
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to filing require-
ments for the annual statement of financial disclosure
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 73-a of the public officers law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
3 (a-1) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall apply
4 to every statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member
5 of the legislature, legislative employee and political party chairman
6 and every candidate for statewide elected office or for member of the
7 legislature:
8 (i) who was such a statewide elected official, state officer or
9 employee, member of the legislature, legislative employee, political
10 party chairman or candidate for statewide elected office or for member
11 of the legislature for any portion of the calendar year; and
12 (ii) whether or not such statewide elected official, state officer or
13 employee, member of the legislature, legislative employee, political
14 party chairman or candidate for statewide elected office or member of
15 the legislature is in office, is employed, is a candidate or is other-
16 wise serving in any such capacity on the fifteenth day of May following
17 the year for which an annual statement of financial disclosure is
18 required to be filed.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09654-01-3
