S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7337

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               May 6, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. PICHARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Governmental Operations

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:

  Section 1. Section 1-o of the legislative law, as added by chapter  14
of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
  S  1-o. Penalties. (a) ANY LOBBYIST CONVICTED OF OR PLEADING GUILTY TO
A CLASS D FELONY OR HIGHER LEVEL CRIME SHALL BE BARRED FROM ACTING AS  A
LOBBYIST FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF THE CONVICTION.
  (B)  UPON  COMPLETION  THE COMMISSION SHALL RE-EVALUATE THE SUSPENSION
AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT SUCH SUSPENSION SHOULD BE EXTENDED  FOR  AN
ADDITIONAL  PERIOD OF TIME. IN NO EVENT SHALL SUCH EXTENSION BE FOR MORE
THAN TWO MORE YEARS.  ANY  LOBBYIST  WISHING  TO  RE-REGISTER  WITH  THE
COMMISSION  AND  RE-COMMENCE  HIS  OR  HER PRACTICE OF LOBBYING SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO A HEARING UPON APPLICATION TO DETERMINE  IF  THE  SUSPENSION
SHOULD BE EXTENDED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION.
  (C)  (i) Any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
wilfully fails to file timely a report or  statement  required  by  this
section  or  knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly
and wilfully violates section one-m of this article shall be guilty of a
class A misdemeanor; and
  (ii) any lobbyist, public corporation, or  client  who  knowingly  and
wilfully  fails  to  file  timely a report or statement required by this
section or knowingly and wilfully files false information  or  knowingly
and wilfully violates section one-m of this article, after having previ-
ously  been convicted in the preceding five years of the crime described
in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of a class E felo-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05810-01-5
              

A. 7337                             2

ny. Any lobbyist convicted of or pleading guilty to a felony  under  the
provisions  of this [section] SUBDIVISION may be barred from acting as a
lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the  conviction.  For
the  purposes  of  this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of
any organization required to file a statement or  report  shall  be  the
person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless
some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated
to make and file such statement or report.
  [(b)]  (D) (i) A lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly
and wilfully fails to  file  a  statement  or  report  within  the  time
required  for  the  filing  of  such  report  or  knowingly and wilfully
violates section one-m of this article  shall  be  subject  to  a  civil
penalty  for  each such failure or violation, in an amount not to exceed
the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three  times  the  amount
the   person  failed  to  report  properly  or  unlawfully  contributed,
expended, gave or received, to be assessed by the commission.
  (ii) A lobbyist, public  corporation,  or  client  who  knowingly  and
wilfully  files  a false statement or report shall be subject to a civil
penalty, in an amount not  to  exceed  the  greater  of  fifty  thousand
dollars  or  five times the amount the person failed to report properly,
to be assessed by the commission.
  (iii)(A) A lobbyist or client who knowingly and wilfully violates  the
provisions  of subdivision one of section one-n of this article shall be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten  thousand  dollars  for  an
initial violation.
  (B)  If,  after  a  lobbyist or client has been found to have violated
subdivision one of section one-n of this article, a lobbyist  or  client
knowingly  and  wilfully  violates  the provisions of subdivision one of
section one-n of this article within four years  of  such  finding,  the
lobbyist  or  client  shall  be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars.
  (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to  file
a  statement  or  report within the time required for the filing of such
report, knowingly and wilfully files a false  statement  or  report,  or
knowingly  and  wilfully  violates  section one-m of this article, after
having been found by the commission to have knowing and wilfully commit-
ted such conduct or violation  in  the  preceding  five  years,  may  be
subject  to  a  determination  that the lobbyist or client is prohibited
from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term is defined  in  para-
graph  (v)  of  subdivision  (c) of section one-c of this article, for a
period of one year.
  (v) Any lobbyist or client that  knowingly  and  wilfully  engages  in
lobbying  activities, as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdi-
vision (c) of section one-c of this article, during the period in  which
they  are  prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that term
is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of  this
article  pursuant to this subdivision, may be subject to a determination
that the lobbyist or client is  prohibited  from  engaging  in  lobbying
activities,  as that term is defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c)
of section one-c of this article, for a period of up to four years,  and
shall  be  subject  to  a  civil  penalty  not  to exceed fifty thousand
dollars, plus a civil penalty in an amount equal to five times the value
of any gift, compensation  or  benefit  received  as  a  result  of  the
violation.
  (vi)  A  lobbyist,  public  corporation,  or  client who knowingly and
wilfully fails to retain their records pursuant to  paragraph  three  of

A. 7337                             3

subdivision  (c)  of  section one-e of this article, subparagraph (v) of
paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-h of this  article,  or
paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section one-j of this article shall
be  subject  to a civil penalty in an amount of two thousand dollars per
violation to be assessed by the commission.
  [(c)] (E) (i) Any assessment or order to  debar  shall  be  determined
only  after  a  hearing  at which the party shall be entitled to appear,
present evidence and be heard. Any assessment or order to debar pursuant
to this section may only be imposed after the commission sends by certi-
fied and first-class mail written notice of intent to assess  a  penalty
or  order  to debar and the basis for the penalty or order to debar. Any
assessment may be recovered in an action brought by the attorney  gener-
al.
  (ii)  In  assessing  any fine or penalty pursuant to this section, the
commission shall consider: (A) as a mitigating factor that the lobbyist,
public corporation or client has not previously been required to  regis-
ter,  and  (B) as an aggravating factor that the lobbyist, public corpo-
ration or client has had fines or penalties assessed against it  in  the
past. The amount of compensation expended, incurred or received shall be
a factor to consider in determining a proportionate penalty.
  (iii) Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who receives a notice
of intent to assess a penalty for knowingly and wilfully failing to file
a  report or statement pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section
and who has never previously received a notice of  intent  to  assess  a
penalty  for  failing  to file a report or statement required under this
section shall be granted fifteen days within which to file the statement
of registration or report without being subject to the fine  or  penalty
set  forth in subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section. Upon the failure of
such lobbyist, public corporation or client to file within such  fifteen
day period, such lobbyist, public corporation or client shall be subject
to a fine or penalty pursuant to subdivision [(b)] (D) of this section.
  [(d)]  (F) All moneys recovered by the attorney general or received by
the commission from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this
section shall be deposited to the general fund.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
have become a law.