State Rep. Sheldon Silver will no longer be speaker of the New York State Assembly beginning Monday, February 2, 2015. Silver was arrested on federal corruption and bribery charges earlier this month. It is not clear whether Silver is resigning voluntarily or being forced out by a vote.

Silver said, “I won’t hinder any succession process . . . [but] I will be a member of this house. I was elected by my constituents and I do not intend to resign my seat in this house.”

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle will serve as the acting speaker until an election for a new speaker is held on February 10, 2015.

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, speaker of the New York State Assembly, was arrested on federal corruption charges. He is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes. Mr. Silver, a Democrat, has served as speaker for more than 20 years.

According to the New York Times, the corruption charges stem from accusations of using his position to obtain corrupt payments misrepresented as referral fees from a law firm; funneling state research funds and other benefits to a doctor who in return referred asbestos claims to the law firm where the speaker worked; and secretly helping real estate developers win tax breaks.

In New York, state legislators who are charged with crimes can continue to serve unless and until convicted of a felony, at which point the legislator must leave office.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has developed online ethics training, as required by the New York Legislative Law. Enrollment in the online training is available here.

All registered lobbyists, including principals, must complete the online training.

All lobbyists registered for both the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 biennia must complete the online training by December 31, 2014. Beginning in 2015, all registered lobbyists will be required to complete the training once every three years.

The Suffolk County Legislature introduced an ordinance amending the county’s lobbying law. Resolution No. 1658-2014 expands the definition of lobbying to include attempts to influence county agencies with respect to the procurement of goods, services, or public works. The ordinance also changes the overseeing body of lobbyist filings from the Clerk of the Legislature to the Board of Ethics.

The ordinance would further require the Board to develop a protocol to review sources of information that may assist the Board in identifying non-complying lobbyists. This provision is similar to a recent change made to New York City’s lobbying law aimed at identifying non-complying lobbyists.

If passed, the ordinance will take effect January 1, 2015.

The New York Times Editorial Board has declined to endorse Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial primary election. Citing Cuomo’s failure to eliminate political corruption in Albany and throughout the state, despite campaign promises to do so, the editorial board wrote, “The state government remains as subservient to big money as ever.”

The board further declined to endorse any candidate in the Democratic primary, because the other candidate, Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, “does not have the breadth of interests and experience needed to govern a big and diverse state.”

Cuomo is heavily favored in the primary as he is the incumbent and has amassed vastly greater resources than his opponent. The New York state primary election will take place on September 9, 2014.

Photo of Gov. Andrew Cuomo by Diana Robinson on Wikimedia Commons.

The New York City Council is considering a measure increasing disclosure requirements for those making independent expenditures to influence city elections. Introduction 148 will require individuals and entities making independent expenditures totaling $5,000 or more to disclose the owners, partners, board members, or their equivalents of any entity reporting the expenditure. The measure further requires an individual or entity who transfers $1,000 or more to another individual or entity for the purpose of such other individual or entity making independent expenditures to report the transfer of money as if the transferor has directly made the independent expenditure.

Another provision of the measure requires individuals or entities to disclose detailed information on any electioneering communications, such as the top five donors to the entity responsible for the communication, and names of the owner and CEO of the entity.

Amy Loprest, the executive director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, applauded the new disclosure requirements, saying, “This legislation will give voters a more complete view of who is paying for the campaign ads that fill their mailboxes and airwaves.”

If passed, Introduction 148 will take effect one year after its enactment.

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.

The New York State Board of Elections will no longer enforce the $150,000 yearly aggregate limit on political contributions from individuals. In its May 2014 meeting, the board determined the limit can no longer be enforced in light of recent federal court decisions.

New York campaign finance law imposes a similar aggregate limit of $5,000 on a corporation’s yearly contributions. The board made no ruling with regard to the corporate limit; however that limit is currently being challenged in federal court.

In late 2013, the New York City Council passed Local Law 129 of 2013, making many changes to current lobbying law in the city and surrounding boroughs. Many of the new law’s provisions are effective today, May 16, 2014.

The definition of lobbying is revised to include attempts to influence legislation not yet introduced, legislation at the state and federal level, and mayoral executive vetoes. It is also revised to include attempts to influence the agenda or calendaring of a meeting of a board or commission. The revised definition excludes architects and engineers as lobbyists under certain parameters, and the law now imposes a $10,000 registration threshold for such individuals should they undertake lobbying activities. The registration threshold for all other lobbyists is $5,000.

Local Law 129 of 2013 requires more detailed disclosure on the statement of registration and on periodic reports. The new law further establishes a first-of-its-kind amnesty program, allowing noncomplying lobbyists to enroll in the program and be exonerated of late filing fees and applicable civil and criminal penalties dating back to December 10, 2006.

Provisions taking effect in the future include a mandatory lobbyist training program and the practice of the city clerk reviewing sources of information such as state lobbyist filings and the Doing Business Database to identify lobbyists required to register who have not done so.

Photo of the New York City Hall courtesy of Momos on Wikimedia Commons.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) rejected a request made by several activist groups to grant an exemption from the donor disclosure requirement provided by New York law. Under the ethics law, a registered lobbyist, under certain circumstances, must report the names of each source of funding over $5,000 from a single source used to fund the lobbying activity reported and the amounts received from each identified source.

Under the same law, the JCOPE can grant an exemption to the donor disclosure requirement if that disclosure would put contributors at risk. The party requesting the exemption must demonstrate that the disclosure of their donors would cause harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals.

The JCOPE denied the exemption requested by Family Planning Advocates, the New York Women’s Equality Coalition, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and the New York Civil Liberties Union. The groups can appeal the decision to an independent judicial hearing officer within 15 days of the JCOPE’s written ruling, which has not yet been completed.

At the same meeting, the commission also limited one exemption that it had already granted to NARAL Pro-Choice NY by scheduling the donor disclosure exemption to expire with the group’s next filing.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is performing maintenance on its Lobbying Online Filing System beginning today.

The system will not be accessible starting Friday at 4 p.m. through Monday until 8:00 a.m.

Filers will be unable to log into the system and no electronic filings or amendments will be accepted while the system is down.

Also, the data contained in the system will not be accessible by the public during the shutdown.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a District Court ruling, denying a preliminary injunction on campaign contributions to independent-expenditure PACs. The lawsuit was filed by New York Progress and Protection PAC, who alleged that a wealthy donor, Shaun McCutcheon, pledged to donate $200,000 to the PAC in support of Joseph J. Lhota, a NYC mayoral candidate. McCutcheon’s donation, however, would exceed the contribution limit of $150,000 to independent-expenditure committees set by New York law.

The Circuit Court granted the injunction, stating the contribution limits are “likely unconstitutional” and the claim has a substantial likelihood of success. The Court further noted the plaintiffs would face irreparable harm if the injunction was not granted.

The donor in question, Shaun McCutcheon, is also embroiled in a similar suit before the Supreme Court of the United States, challenging the federal limits to campaign contributions.

First there was Arthur Branch. Then came Jack McCoy. Now it’s Charles Hynes’ turn to star as a New York City district attorney on the small screen. Only Hynes is not an actor or a character, he is an actual district attorney who is in the middle of a fierce campaign to keep his job. And his main opponent for the Democratic nomination is crying foul.

Abe George is suing Hynes, his committee, and CBS in New York over what he calls illegal campaign contributions. CBS is producing and has aired the first episode in a six-part reality series titled Brooklyn D.A. This reality series will follow Hynes and the rest of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office as they do their job for the cameras.

George is not pleased with the free publicity Hynes will be receiving since they are in a heated campaign to garner the Democratic nomination for the position. He believes the air time should be considered a campaign contribution, and with the series’ value over the $5,000 limit, he believes it is an illegal contribution.

Hynes has been the district attorney in the county since 1989, and George believes he is willing to do anything to stay in power. “[He] has been the Brooklyn district attorney since 1989 and has operated under a mounting public perception that he will do anything, including misusing his broad prosecutorial powers, to achieve political gain for himself.”

CBS disagrees with George’s assertion and refuses to stop airing the show.

Sonya McNair, spokeswoman for CBS News, said, “We are surprised that this candidate would not know about the First Amendment. This is obviously a publicity push by a politician.”

For what it’s worth, Hynes believes this show will guarantee a victory for his campaign. He said, “If they couldn’t take me out then, boy, you’ll never be able to take me out now.”

The next episode of Brooklyn D.A. airs Tuesday, May 28, at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.

Photo of Charles Hynes courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York on Wikipedia.