The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will be launching a new online lobbying reporting system to coincide with the new lobbying regulations, effective January 1, 2019. The new system is expected to launch in November.

Reports covering 2018 must be submitted though the current system.

All filings covering 2019 activity, including registration and reportable business relationship forms, must be submitted through the new system.

Registrations for the 2019-20 biennial period may be submitted through the new system in early December.

The Commission will inform users when the registration function becomes available.

On April 24, the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics adopted Part 943, commonly referred to as the Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations. The rules were originally introduced in October 2016 and have gone through several revisions.

The adopted regulations compile existing guidelines and advisory opinions regarding rules and requirements related to lobbying. For example, the adopted revised rules include an online ethics training requirement for lobbyists and provide further clarification regarding reportable expenses attributable to social media activities and grassroots lobbying.

The adopted rules will become effective January 1, 2019, and are available at the JCOPE website.

James Yates and Marvin Ray Raskin have been appointed to the Joint Commission of Public Ethics (JCOPE).

Yates previously served the state Supreme Court and served as counsel to ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Raskin has served as the president of the Bronx County Bar Association and is a former assistant district attorney.

There are 14 members of JCOPE and each member serves a five-year term.

On November 29, 2016, Daniel Horwitz’s departure as the chairman of the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) was announced at a panel meeting.

Horwitz has been a member of JCOPE since 2011 and the chairman since 2013. A replacement for Horwitz has not been appointed, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo is currently vetting candidates for the position.

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) released a set of proposed lobbying regulations on October 13, 2016. The comprehensive regulations expand the definition of lobbying to include indirect lobbying, like setting up a meeting between a legislator and a lobbyist.

According to JCOPE, the purpose of the proposed regulations is to fully incorporate existing guidelines and decades of advisory opinions.

JCOPE is seeking public comment on the staff proposed regulations until November 21, 2016. Drafts of the rules may be found at http://www.jcope.ny.gov/advice/staffproposal.html.

Earlier this year, the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) made a regulatory change requiring public relations professionals to document outreach to editorial boards and report their activity to the state as lobbying.

The regulation is now being contested by public relations firms who have joined in a federal suit challenging the reporting requirement under free speech provisions of the First Amendment. In response, the commission has budgeted $300,000 annually to a legal defense fund to support this measure.

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.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has released an Advisory Opinion regarding what constitutes lobbying activity when it comes to political consultants and grassroots communications. Advisory Opinion 16-01 requires public relations consultants to register their efforts to influence government through public campaigns, which includes any contact with editorial boards aimed at publishing communications involving a political issue.

The Advisory Opinion is meant to encompass grassroots communications, an action the public relations community is calling an unconstitutional restraint on free speech. With the Opinion taking effect, grassroots communication is considered lobbying if it references, suggests, or otherwise implicates activity covered by the Lobbying act; takes a clear position on the issue in question; or is an attempt to influence a public official through a call to action. If a consultant had control over the delivery of the message and had input into its content, registration and reporting will now be required.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced the release of a new website which will contain information regarding lobbyist disclosures, and will match them up with specific pieces of proposed and passed legislation. The website, designed to promote the public’s right to know about decision making within the state government, will also link with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics lobbyist filings.

Data included on the website will relate to campaign financing, lobbying, charities, state contracts, legislator grants, corporate registrations, and elected officials. The website is available at http://www.NYOpenGovernment.com.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is seeking public comment on a proposed advisory opinion. The advisory opinion is in regards to the applicability of New York’s Lobbying Act to the activities of consultants when they are taking part in direct and grassroots lobbying, and whether they are subject to registration and reporting requirements.

The advisory opinion seeks to articulate when the Lobbying Act covers the services of consultants, and to clarify the test used to determine when grassroots advocacy constitutes reportable activity.

Comments will be taken by the Committee until December 4, 2015.

Executive Director of New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics Letizia Tagliafierro is resigning, effective July 31, 2015.

Tagliafierro has served as the executive director since October of 2013. She is moving to the state Department of Taxation and Finance where she will be a deputy commissioner, leading the criminal investigations division.

The next meeting of the JCOPE is scheduled for August 4 and the commissioners are expected to begin a national search for a replacement for Tagliafierro.

As part of the 2015-2016 state budget, the New York State Assembly passed a bill vastly expanding the application of the state’s legislative law. Senate Bill 2006-B amends the definition of municipality to include all jurisdictional subdivisions of the state with a population of more than 5,000, including school districts.

Jurisdictional subdivisions meeting this population threshold are now encompassed by lobbyist registration and reporting at the state level. As a result, communications with local officials once exempt from consideration as lobbying will now require disclosure to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

This provision of law takes effect immediately upon the governor’s formal approval, which is expected in the coming days.

Under New York ethics regulations, a registered lobbyist, under certain circumstances, must report the names of each source of funding of more than $5,000 from a single source used to fund the lobbying activity reported and the amounts received from each identified source. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) can grant an exemption to this disclosure requirement if such disclosure would put contributors at risk of harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals.

Recently, the JCOPE denied an exemption to Family Planning Advocates, the New York Women’s Equality Coalition, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, and the New York Civil Liberties Union. The groups appealed the ruling to an independent judicial hearing officer who must determine whether the denial of an exemption was clearly erroneous in view of the evidence of record.

On July 11, 2014, George C. Pratt, the presiding judicial hearing officer, reversed the JCOPE’s denial of the exemption, finding the commission’s decision to be clearly erroneous in light of the specific evidence presented. In his decision, Pratt stated the advocacy groups had experienced several incidents over a period of years showing a pattern of threats and manifestations of public hostility. As a result of Pratt’s ruling, all four groups will be granted an exemption from the donor disclosure requirement.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has created a tip line and website allowing the public to report alleged ethical violations by state officials and lobbyists, including improper gifts, conflicts of interest, nepotism, abuse of power, and sexual harassment.

To report violations, call 1-800-87-ETHICS or visit http://reportmisconduct.ny.gov.