The Center for Judicial Accountability filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the New York Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022.

The act was passed as part of the state’s budget bill and would replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics with a new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government on July 8.

The suit, filed with the Albany County Supreme Court, argues the act is unconstitutional and requests it be invalidated.

Petitioner requested an opportunity to be heard on an application for a temporary restraining order and a hearing has been scheduled for June 17.

A malicious cyberattack targeted the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) last week, resulting in an outage of the Lobbying Application, the online filing portal for lobbyists.

The online system will remain down until JCOPE is confident it can be restored safely.

Extensions will automatically be granted for any filings that were due and could not be submitted due to the outage.

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics appointed Sanford Berland as the new executive director.

Berland previously served as state judge in both the Court of Claims and Supreme Court of New York.

Before his appointment, the position had been vacant for two years.

Berland becomes the fourth executive director in the ethics agency’s history.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed attorney Camille Joseph Varlack as the new chair of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

The appointment comes after the former chairman, Michael Rozen, resigned on February 10.

Ms. Varlack is a partner at the Manhattan law firm Bradford, Edwards, & Varlack, and previously served in Gov. Cuomo’s administration as an aide, deputy director of state operations, chief risk officer, and special counsel.

The appointment of Ms. Varlack takes effect immediately.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) announced additional time to file registrations and reports due in January 2021.

Any filing due in January will be considered timely filed if submitted by January 29, 2021.

The extension is in response to the breadth of changes to the lobbying regulations taking effect January 1, 2021, and the corresponding changes to the online filing system.

Additional guidance relating to upcoming registrations and verification of user profiles is expected soon.

The 2021-2022 Statement of Registration is expected to launch on December 16, 2020.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) published the second draft of proposed revisions to state lobbying regulations.

JCOPE adopted the revisions on an emergency basis and submitted Notices of Emergency Adoption for each.

The revisions will be effective January 1, 2021; cover lobbying activity in the 2021-22 biennial lobbying period; and be applicable to registrations, bi-monthly reports due March 15, 2021, and client semi-annual reports due July 15, 2021.

Key revisions include changes to the definition of designated lobbyist, direct lobbying activities by volunteers, grassroots lobbying, coalitions, and prohibitions relating to the receipt of stock options as compensation.

Revisions to the source of funding regulations address segregated funds for out-of-state activities and reporting of anonymous contributions.

JCOPE is requesting comments on the revised regulations as soon as possible.

The 45-day comment period runs until December 28, 2020.

On December 19, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics launched the system-generated Client Semiannual Report (CSA) feature on the state’s online Lobbying Application system.

Contractual clients who lobby on their own behalf and do not utilize the services of any retained lobbyists are not required to file CSA reports.

Instead, system-generated CSA reports will be created with information directly imported from filed lobbyist bimonthly reports covering the applicable reporting period.

The system will not create a system-generated CSA if an Employed Principal Lobbyist has submitted a CSA report for the January to June reporting period.

Also, contractual clients are still required to disclose sources of funding or indicate source of funding reporting is not required.

No filing fee is required for system-generated CSA reports except to add retained lobbyist information.

Adding retained lobbyists requires a $50 filing fee and filing CSA reports going forward.

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) announced the commission will require 2019 bimonthly reports due in September and later to include the level of specificity required by lobbying regulations.

The commission will require lobbying activity information to correctly disclose the focus type, focus (including the specific bill, resolution, or executive order), the identifying number, description of the focus, type of lobbying communication, and names of the party lobbied.

Lobbyists may be required to amend previously filed reports in September and November to comply with the specificity requirements.

JCOPE has produced a guideline, “How to Properly Disclose Lobbying Activities” on their website outlining the required information required for proper disclosure.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) sent out a statement clarifying an earlier email reminder regarding lobbyist bimonthly filings due this week.

The previous email reminder was sent out to JCOPE’s distribution list containing clients, lobbyists, and other entities no longer registered in New York.

The email reminder was only relevant for lobbyists filing bimonthly reports covering the period of September through October.

Client filings are not due again until January 15, 2020.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) launched new search function capabilities from its lobbying application.

JCOPE website users can now choose “Lobbying Focus” to search for recorded lobbying on specific bills, resolutions, and regulations at both the state and municipal levels.

The new “Parties Lobbied” tool allows users to see which specific agencies or lawmakers were lobbied and on what subject.

The public search is available at https://jcope.ny.gov/lobby-data-demand.

On November 28, 2018, a lawsuit had been filed against the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to stop the commission’s Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations from going into effect on January 1, 2019.

David Grandeau, a former lobbying enforcement official and one of three petitioners in the lawsuit, argued the commission lacks the authority to create regulations that expand and amend New York’s Lobbying Act.

On December 19, a settlement was reached between the two parties. As a result, the comprehensive regulations are defined as a “statement’’ for how the commission plans to administer and enforce state lobbying law.

The New York Joint Commission On Public Ethics (JCOPE) has launched the registration and related reportable business relationship filing section of the new lobbying reporting system.

Each Statement of Registration must be accompanied by a copy of an executed contract or Lobbying Agreement form (if a contract exists), or a signed, written lobbying authorization to lobby from the Client (if a contract does not exist).

The option to submit a Lobbying Agreement form is a new option for filers with an existing contract.

Additional information related to the new reporting system is available on the JCOPE website.

A lawsuit has been filed against the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to stop the commission’s Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations from going into effect on January 1, 2019.

David Grandeau, a former lobbying enforcement official and one of three petitioners in the lawsuit, argue the commission lacks the authority to create regulations that expand and amend New York’s Lobbying Act.

The lawsuit, York Group Associates LLC v. Joint Commission on Public Ethics was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany on November 28, 2018.

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics has launched a new lobbyist reporting system. The Organization Profile section has gone live.

All Organization Profiles from the previous system have been transferred to the new lobbying application and require an update to ensure all the information is correct.

The Commission has created an informational page to help users navigate the new system.