Relates to electronic financial disclosures of members and candidates of the legislature; requires creation of electronic version of disclosure statement; directs the commission on ethics and lobbying in government shall make available an editable, electronic, readable and searchable version of the annual statement of financial disclosure by January 1, 2026.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2467
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to electronic
financial disclosures of members and candidates of the legislature
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to increase transparency and accessi-
bility of financial disclosure statements for constituents and the elec-
torate to easily access them and search their contents.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends Section 73-a (2) of the Public Officers Law
Section 2 of the bill adds a paragraph (b) that requires the Commission
on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) to make available an edit-
able, electronic, readable, and searchable version of the annual state-
ment of financial disclosure to anyone required to submit such forms.
Section 3 of the bill establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 required New York State govern-
ment officials and State legislative candidates to file financial
disclosure statements to the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying
(COELIG)on an annual basis. The financial disclosure statements must be
submitted to COELIG by May 15 of each calendar year, where they are
thoroughly reviewed by the commission. After the commission approves the
statements for public posting, COELIG is required to post such state-
ments on their website by June 30 of each calendar year. The intent of
the act was to comprehensively reform both the requirements and enforce-
ment of public ethics in the state.
The act intends to restore public confidence in our government by
requiring the disclosure of outside income sources of elected officials.
Posting the statements on COELIG's website is a step in the right direc-
tion; however, providing the statements in a searchable format allows
the public to access the information with ease and furthering the goal
of transparency.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: A.6222/5.5477
2019-2020: A.3841/S.979
2021-2022: A.3334/S.1473
2023-2024: A.1560
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately. However, section one shall take
effect on January 1, 2027.
