S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6029
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. PICHARDO, TAYLOR, ASHBY, GALEF, GRIFFIN -- read
   once and referred to the Committee 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:
   § 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.
              

                                                            LBD07230-01-1

 A. 6029                             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. 6029                             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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.