January 13, 2017 •
NY A.G. Schneiderman to Hold Off Enforcing Donor Disclosure Requirements
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) and New York Civil Liberties Union (N.Y.C.L.U.), Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will not enforce certain provisions of the ethics law passed in 2016. Specifically, Schneiderman is holding off on enforcing provisions of […]
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) and New York Civil Liberties Union (N.Y.C.L.U.), Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will not enforce certain provisions of the ethics law passed in 2016.
Specifically, Schneiderman is holding off on enforcing provisions of the New York Executive Law related to charitable lobbying donations (N.Y.E.L §172-e, f) until a federal lawsuit is decided. Schneiderman and officials from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics are both listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed by the A.C.L.U. and N.Y.C.L.U.
Plaintiffs contend the law requiring 501(c)(3) charities to disclose all their donors who contributed more than $2,500 to a substantial lobbying campaign run by an issue-oriented 501(c)(4) is unconstitutional and they are seeking an injunction prohibiting enforcement the ethics law.
December 12, 2012 •
New York Attorney General Proposes Expanded Campaign Finance Disclosure
Proposal focuses on money spent by tax-exempt groups.
New York Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, issued a draft regulation that could lead to massive changes in the way political spending is disclosed. The proposed regulation would require any tax-exempt group that does business in the state to disclose what percentage of its total spending went to political activities.
This means that any group who spends money in New York in support or opposition of a candidate would be forced to disclose its spending. Further, once the group has spent over $10,000 for state elections, it will have to disclose each individual donor who gave $100 or more.
The proposed regulation does allow for a waiver to be granted if the group feels that disclosure of names could lead to serious threats or harassment. The proposal calls for disclosure during the six months before any Election Day in the state.
Public hearings must be heard on the proposed regulation, but the attorney general may unilaterally approve the final regulation. If approved by the attorney general, the rules could be placed into effect in time for the upcoming New York City mayoral election.
December 19, 2011 •
New York A.G. Increasing Involvement in Local Ethics
Office to Review Local Gift and Conflict of Interest Regulations
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has requested the state’s 932 towns show his office their ethics regulations in an effort to bolster ethics in local government.
The Office of the Attorney General has begun reviewing local ethics measures addressing issues like gifts and conflicts of interest.
The goal is to gather the ethics information to make it public and provide the office with referral information for citizen calls and complaints.
The Attorney General has also has assigned public integrity prosecutors in all 13 regional offices to deal with investigations.
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