S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7085
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 21, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. LAWLER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Operations
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  officers law, the executive law and the
   legislative law, in relation to requiring the disclosure  of  informa-
   tion pertaining to book deals or contracts

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 73 of the public officers law is amended by  adding
 a new subdivision 7-b to read as follows:
   7-B.  NO  MEMBER  OF  THE LEGISLATURE, LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEE, STATEWIDE
 ELECTED OFFICIAL, OR STATE OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE SHALL ENTER INTO ANY DEAL
 OR CONTRACT PERTAINING TO THE WRITING OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK PRIOR TO
 SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION TO THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC  ETHICS  AND
 RECEIVING  UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF SUCH APPLICATION FROM EACH COMMISSIONER
 OF THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS.
   § 2. Paragraphs (m) and (n) of subdivision 9  of  section  94  of  the
 executive  law,  paragraph  (m) as amended and paragraph (n) as added by
 section 6 of part A of chapter 399 of the laws of 2011, are amended  and
 two new paragraphs (o) and (p) are added to read as follows:
   (m)  Determine  a  question  common  to a class or defined category of
 persons or items of information required to be disclosed, where determi-
 nation of the question will prevent undue  repetition  of  requests  for
 exemption  or  deletion  or prevent undue complication in complying with
 the requirements of such section; [and]
   (n) Promulgate guidelines for the commission to conduct a  program  of
 random  reviews,  to  be carried out in the following manner: (i) annual
 statements of financial disclosure shall be selected  for  review  in  a
 manner  pursuant  to  which  the identity of any particular person whose
 statement is selected is unknown to the commission and its  staff  prior
 to  its selection; (ii) such review shall include a preliminary examina-
 tion of the selected statement for internal  consistency,  a  comparison
 with  other  records  maintained by the commission, including previously
 filed statements and requests for advisory opinions, and examination  of
 relevant  public  information;  (iii) upon completion of the preliminary
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10864-01-1

 A. 7085                             2
 
 examination, the commission shall determine whether further  inquiry  is
 warranted, whereupon it shall notify the reporting individual in writing
 that  the  statement is under review, advise the reporting individual of
 the specific areas of inquiry, and provide the reporting individual with
 the  opportunity  to  provide  any  relevant  information related to the
 specific areas of inquiry, and the opportunity to file amendments to the
 selected statement on forms provided by  the  commission;  and  (iv)  if
 thereafter sufficient cause exists, the commission shall take additional
 actions, as appropriate and consistent with law[.];
   (O)  DEVELOP  AN  APPLICATION  FOR  USE BY MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE,
 LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEES, STATEWIDE ELECTED OFFICIALS, OR STATE OFFICERS OR
 EMPLOYEES, TO APPLY FOR APPROVAL TO ENTER  INTO  ANY  DEAL  OR  CONTRACT
 PERTAINING  TO  THE WRITING OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK.  SUCH APPLICATION
 SHALL REQUIRE THE DEAL OR CONTRACT BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION IN ITS
 ENTIRETY; AND
   (P) REVIEW APPLICATIONS  FOR  APPROVAL  TO  ENTER  INTO  ANY  DEAL  OR
 CONTRACT  PERTAINING  TO THE WRITING OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK SUBMITTED
 BY MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE, LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEES, STATEWIDE  ELECTED
 OFFICIALS,  OR  STATE  OFFICERS  OR EMPLOYEES AND THE DEALS OR CONTRACTS
 SUBMITTED THEREWITH PURSUANT  TO  PARAGRAPH  (O)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION;
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER THAT SUCH REVIEW SHALL BE COMPLETED BY THE COMMISSION-
 ERS. APPROVAL OF ANY SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE UNANIMOUS.
   §  3.  Subparagraphs  5  and  6  of paragraph (a) of subdivision 19 of
 section 94 of the executive law, as amended by section 6 of  part  A  of
 chapter 399 of the laws of 2011, are amended and a new subparagraph 7 is
 added to read as follows:
   (5)  those required to be held or maintained publicly available pursu-
 ant to article one-A of the legislative law; [and]
   (6) substantial basis investigation reports issued by  the  commission
 pursuant  to  subdivision fourteen-a or fourteen-b of this section. With
 respect to reports concerning members of the legislature or  legislative
 employees or candidates for member of the legislature, the joint commis-
 sion  shall  not publicly disclose or otherwise disseminate such reports
 except in conformance with the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivi-
 sion nine of section eighty of the legislative law[.]; AND
   (7) APPROVED APPLICATIONS TO ENTER INTO ANY DEAL OR CONTRACT  PERTAIN-
 ING  TO  THE  WRITING  OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK, INCLUDING SUCH DEAL OR
 CONTRACT IN ITS ENTIRETY.
   § 4. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 9 of section  94  of  the  executive
 law,  as  amended  by  section 6 of part A of chapter 399 of the laws of
 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   (h) Permit any person who is required to file a  financial  disclosure
 statement with the joint commission on public ethics to request that the
 commission  delete  from  the  copy  thereof  made  available for public
 inspection and copying one or more items of  information  which  may  be
 deleted  by  the  commission  upon  a finding by the commission that the
 information which would otherwise be required to be made  available  for
 public  inspection  and  copying  will  have  no material bearing on the
 discharge of the reporting person's official duties.  SUCH REQUEST SHALL
 NOT BE GRANTED FOR ANY PERSON SEEKING TO DELETE  INFORMATION  PERTAINING
 TO  THE TERMS OF ANY DEAL OR CONTRACT SUCH PERSON IS A PARTY TO PERTAIN-
 ING TO THE WRITING OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK, INCLUDING ANY  REQUEST  TO
 DELETE  THE  DEAL  OR  CONTRACT IN ITS ENTIRETY. If [such] A request for
 deletion OF ANY OTHER INFORMATION is  denied,  the  commission,  in  its
 notification  of  denial, shall inform the person of his or her right to
 appeal the commission's determination pursuant to  its  rules  governing

 A. 7085                             3
 
 adjudicatory  proceedings  and  appeals  adopted pursuant to subdivision
 fourteen of this section;
   § 5. Paragraph 13 of subdivision 3 of section 73-a of the public offi-
 cers  law,  as amended by section 1 of part CC of chapter 56 of the laws
 of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
 13. List below the nature and amount of any income in EXCESS  of  $1,000
     from  EACH SOURCE for the reporting individual and such individual's
     spouse for the taxable year last occurring  prior  to  the  date  of
     filing.    Each  such  source  must be described with particularity.
     Nature of income includes, but is not limited to, all income  (other
     than  that  received  from the employment listed under Item 2 above)
     from compensated employment whether public or private, directorships
     and other fiduciary positions,  contractual  arrangements,  teaching
     income,  partnerships,  honorariums,  lecture fees, consultant fees,
     bank and bond interest, dividends, income derived from a trust, real
     estate rents, and recognized gains from the sale or exchange of real
     or other property. IF SUCH INCOME  IS  FROM  ANY  DEAL  OR  CONTRACT
     PERTAINING  TO  THE  WRITING OR PUBLISHING OF ANY BOOK, SUCH DEAL OR
     CONTRACT SHALL BE ATTACHED TO THIS FORM AND SUBMITTED IN ITS ENTIRE-
     TY. Income from a business or profession and real estate rents shall
     be reported with the source identified by the  building  address  in
     the case of real estate rents and otherwise by the name of the enti-
     ty  and  not  by  the  name  of the individual customers, clients or
     tenants, with the aggregate net income before taxes for each  build-
     ing  address  or  entity.    The  receipt of maintenance received in
     connection with a matrimonial  action,  alimony  and  child  support
     payments shall not be listed.
 
     Self/                                                       Category
     Spouse          Source                   Nature            of Amount
                                                             (In Table I)
 
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   §  6.  Subdivision 13 of section 80 of the legislative law, as amended
 by section 9 of part A of chapter 399 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
 read as follows:
   13. Within one hundred twenty days  of  the  effective  date  of  this
 subdivision,  the  commission  shall  create  and  thereafter maintain a
 publicly accessible website which shall  set  forth  the  procedure  for
 filing a complaint with the joint commission on public ethics, and which
 shall  contain  ALL  INFORMATION  PERTAINING  TO A BOOK DEAL OR CONTRACT
 DISCLOSED BY A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE  IN  THE  ANNUAL  STATEMENT  OF
 FINANCIAL  DISCLOSURE  REQUIRED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE-A OF THE PUBLIC
 OFFICERS LAW, INCLUDING THE DEAL OR CONTRACT IN ITS  ENTIRETY,  AND  any
 other  records  or  information  which  the  commission determines to be
 appropriate.
   § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
 completed on or before such effective date.