The Assembly is negotiating language for a proposed state constitutional amendment to strip corrupt lawmakers of their pensions. If approved by voters, the amendment would enable judges to revoke lawmakers’ pensions when they are convicted of corruption charges. The measure would need to be approved again next year to appear on the ballot.

Although numerous, broader bills seeking ethics and campaign finance reforms have been introduced this session, they are not expected to pass before the session ends in June.

The Elections Committee approved a bill to reduce the corporate contribution limit from $5,000 to $1,000 per year and to close a loophole permitting political contributions from limited liability companies. Senate Bill 60, introduced by Sen. Daniel Squadron in 2015, passed the committee this week, while a parallel bill was being passed in the Assembly.

In response to recent political scandals across the state, those supporting the bill are calling for an up-or-down Senate vote by the end of the legislative session.

Rep. Steve McLaughlin is seeking bipartisan support for a package of ethics reform bills. The bills seek reform on multiple fronts by lowering the permissible amount individuals, unions, corporations, lobby groups, or businesses can donate to a PAC; increasing disclosure requirements for pay-to-play lobbying; placing eight-year term limits on legislative leaders; and stripping pensions from those convicted of public corruption offenses.

The proposed bills come in response to former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s recent 12-year prison sentence for conviction on multiple corruption charges.

Photo of Rep. Steve McLaughlin courtesy of the New York State Assembly website.

Vendors and lobbyists are now required to disclose campaign contributions and affirm the disclosed contributions were made without the expectation of a governmental benefit in return. The late-2015 amendment requires disclosure of contributions to county officials and county-level candidates if made on or after April 1, 2016.

While the amendment aims at promoting greater transparency of the procurement process, some have argued contributions to political parties and noncandidate committees allow contributors to remain out of public view.

State Sen. Terrence Murphy introduced a bill aiming to better prohibit unlawful campaign contributions and increase penalties for state election law violations. Senate Bill 7381 forbids any person acting on behalf of a public officer, candidate, or political committee from soliciting a contribution to a county or town committee for the benefit of the candidate when a direct contribution to the candidate or committee is unlawful.

The bill also increases the penalty for violations to a felony punishable by one to seven years of incarceration. The legislation responds to public concern following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2014 fundraising activities.

If the bill is adopted, it will become effective immediately.

The New York City Council is scheduled to review a package of eight campaign finance reform bills on May 2, 2016. The bills seek to increase transparency and prevent lobbyists from bundling contributions to candidates.

The bills are based on recommendations made by the New York City Campaign Finance Board in their 2013 post-election report. The legislation package was introduced with the goal of having reforms made prior to the 2017 municipal election cycle.

Photo of the New York City Hall by Momos on Wikipedia.

New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has confirmed that two commissioners have resigned from their positions. The resignations of commissioners David Arroyo and Joseph Covello were not announced publicly, but their names did not appear on JCOPE’s annual report that was recently released.

The news of these departures comes just weeks after Seth Agata was selected as the new executive director of JCOPE.

After nine months of searching and receiving over 200 resumes, the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics has finally found a new executive director.

Seth H. Agata, a former top aide to Gov. Cuomo, was named as the new Executive Director of the Commission. His prior experience includes being the Chair of the New York Public Employment Relations Board, Acting Counsel and First Assistant Counsel to the Governor, as well as a former Assistant District Attorney in Columbia County.

A lawsuit seeking to eliminate the “LLC loophole” for political contributions was dismissed this week. The loophole, which allows large contributions by organizations controlling many limited liability companies, treats each limited liability company as a separate entity capable of contributing the maximum amount an individual may give.

Gov. Cuomo and Assembly Democrats support closure of the loophole, and the decision is expected to be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Third Judicial District of New York.

An advisory opinion by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has been challenged in federal court. Five public relations firms have brought a suit seeking to block the enforcement of Advisory Opinion 16-01, as they argue the legality of the opinion’s definition of what constitutes lobbying.

Under the opinion, the firms claim private conversations with editors and reporters would be required to be disclosed, an act they say would have a chilling effect on the way they do business. Additionally, the firms argue the opinion’s definition of lobbying to be unconstitutionally vague, claiming it fails to give citizens reasonable notice of what is and is not considered lobbying activity.

Lobbying

New Mexico: “Senators Credit KOB As They Pass Campaign Finance System Reform” by Ryan Luby for KOB

Campaign Finance

New Mexico: “‘Dark Money’ Disclosure Bill Dies in Final Days of Session” by Trip Jennings for New Mexico In Depth

Washington: “State: Food industry lobby engaged in ‘egregious’ money laundering in 2013 vote” by Joel Connelly for Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Ethics

Alaska: “Former Juneau Lawmaker Fined $18K for Allegedly Helping Oil Companies While Seeking Oil Jobs” by Matt Miller for KTOO

Missouri: “Gutting of Lobbying Bill Clouds Ethics Agenda’s Future” by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Missouri: “Missouri Rep. Don Gosen Abruptly Resigns under Cloud of Suspicion” by Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

New York: “Former Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak Accused of Sexually Harassing Staffers Is Fined $100G by Legislative Ethics Commission” by Kenneth Lovett for New York Daily News

Ohio: “Ginther’s Ethics Proposals Get Public Hearing” by Mike Foley for WCBE

Texas: “Reports: Indicted Crystal City mayor jailed after disrupted council meeting” by Claire Cardona for Dallas Morning News

Virginia: “Virginia Taxpayers Pick Up $2,435 Food and Beer Bill for Mystery Guests in Redskins Suite” by Graham Moomaw for Richmond Times-Dispatch

Elections

“Fall of the House of Bush: How last name and Donald Trump doomed Jeb” by Ed O’Keefe, Dan Balz and Matea Gold for the Washington Post

“Sanders Supporters Like Chipotle, While Trump Fans Prefer Sonic” by Tim Higgins for Bloomberg.com

“Bernie’s Army of Coders” by Darren Samuelsohn for Politico

“Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’” by Jim Yardley for The New York Times

Nevada: “Hillary Clinton Beats Bernie Sanders in Nevada Caucuses” by Amy Chozick and Patrick Healy for The New York Times

South Carolina “The More Donald Trump Defies His Party, the More His Supporters Cheer” by Trip Gabriel for The New York Times

South Carolina: “Donald Trump’s South Carolina Victory Spurs New G.O.P. Jostling” by Maggie Haberman and Alan Rappeport for The New York Times

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has released an advisory opinion addressing whether an elected official can solicit and accept campaign contributions or other forms of support for his campaign from a subject of the official’s enforcement powers. In the opinion, JCOPE determined an elected official running for election may not directly solicit or accept monetary or in-kind campaign contributions from any person or entity which is the active subject of an ongoing exercise of enforcement powers of the elected official or the office of the elected official.

Additionally, other, non-monetary forms of political support will be determined on a case-by-case basis as to whether a conflict of interest exists. The public official would be required to recuse himself from an exercise of enforcement powers against a party from whom he accepted a contribution in the prior 12 months.

The Legislative Ethics Commission has fined former Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak $100,000 after the Joint Commission on Public Ethics formally accused him of violating Public Officers Law. Gabryszak’s fine is made up of $30,000 for using his office resources, including phones, computers, and printers to aid his political campaigns, and $70,000 for sexually harassing seven female staff members while in office.

Gabryszak resigned in January 2014. The $100,000 fine is the second largest civil fine ever handed out by the New York Legislative Ethics Commission.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will be hosting a roundtable discussion on February 12^th on proposed guidance on the topic of social media activities and whether certain activities are considered lobbying under the New York Lobbying Act. JCOPE has extended the comment period through February 19^th.

The original comment period ran through January 11^th, and involved input regarding when social media activity constitutes reportable lobbying activity in terms of direct lobbying, grassroots lobbying, and linking to a lobbying website.

The commission is also seeking input on whether expenditures made in connection with social media activity could be considered “expenses” under the Lobbying Act.