Senate Bill S4807A

                                BILL NUMBER:S4807A

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An act to amend the retirement and social security
law,  in  relation  to  clarifying  the  identity  of  courts   having
jurisdiction  relating  to  a  conviction  of  a felony as grounds for
forfeiture of a public officer's New York state pension benefits

PURPOSE:

This  legislation,  the  Federal  Corruption  Loophole  Closure   Act,
clarifies  the  identity  of  courts having jurisdiction relating to a
conviction of a felony as grounds for forfeiture of a public officer's
New York State pension benefits.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section One of the bill amends subdivision 2 of  section  157  of  the
retirement and social security law, as added by section 1 of part c of
chapter  399  of  the  laws of 2001 to be amended to state that in the
case of a public official  who  stands  convicted,  by  plea  of  nolo
contendere  or plea of guilty to, or by conviction after trial, in any
court of competent jurisdiction in this or  any  other  state  or  any
federal  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  of  any crime related to
public office, an action may be commenced  in  supreme  court  of  the
county  in  which  such  public  official was convicted of such felony
crime, by the district attorney having jurisdiction over  such  crime,
              

or  by  the  attorney  general  if  the  attorney  general brought the
criminal charge which resulted in such conviction,  for  an  order  to
reduce  or  revoke  the  pension  of  which  such  public  official is
otherwise entitled for service as a public  official.  Such  complaint
shall  specify with particularity which category of felony pursuant to
subdivision one of section one hundred fifty-six of this  article  the
defendant  has  committed,  and  all  other  facts that are alleged to
qualify such crime as a felony crime related to public office  subject
to  pension reduction or revocation pursuant t o this article, and the
amount of pension reduction or revocation requested. Such action shall
be commenced within six months after such conviction.

EXISTING LAW:

New bill

JUSTIFICATION:

Recent events have once again highlighted the troubling prevalence  of
public  corruption  in  New  York State government and have revealed a
loophole in the Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011.  Under  the  Act,
any  New  York  State public official who stands convicted, by plea of
nolo contendere or plea of guilty to, or by conviction after trial, in
any court of New York State jurisdiction may lose all or a portion  of
his  or  her  New York State and Local Retirement System pension. If a
New York State official is  convicted  solely  on  federal  corruption
charges,  however,  this  pension  ban does not apply. Thus, currently
under the Act, a New York public official convicted solely on  federal
corruption  charges  would  continue  to receive the benefits of a New
York State public pension for life. This legislation will  close  this
unacceptable loophole.


In  2011,  the  Public  Integrity  Reform  Act of 2011 was enacted and
signed into law. (Chapter 399 of the laws of 2011). Specifically,  the
law  was  designed  to  address  the  continuing  series of crimes and
corrupt acts perpetrated by a surprising number  of  New  York  public
officials.

The  law  provided  for  a series of comprehensive reforms to both the
requirements and enforcement of  public  ethics  for  New  York  State
government  officials  to restore public confidence in our government.
Among the many reforms, the law established a new Joint Commission  on
Public Ethics to oversee and investigate compliance with the financial
disclosure  and other ethics requirements by executive and legislative
employees and elected officials in both branches of government, and to
oversee the  conduct  of  registered  lobbyists;  expand  and  enhance
financial and client disclosures required of executive and legislative
employees  and  elected  officials,  including  disclosure  of outside
clients  and  customers;  establish  a  new  database   to   aggregate
information  concerning  all  firms  and  individuals that appear in a
representative capacity before any  state  agency,  public  authority,
board,  or  commission  and make such information readily available to
the public;  require  mandatory  ethics  training  for  executive  and
legislative  employees  and  elected officials and lobbyists; increase
penalties for violations of certain provisions of the code  of  ethics
contained  in  the  Public Officers Law § 74; require the reduction or
forfeiture of a public officer's pension
 under certain circumstances where he or she has been convicted  of  a
felony  related  to his office; expand the definition of "lobbying" to
include advocacy related to  the  "introduction"  of  legislation  and
resolutions;  require  lobbyists  that  lobby  on their own behalf and
clients of lobbyists that devote substantial funds to lobbying in  New
York  State  to  disclose  the  sources  of  such funding; and clarify
certain definitions in the existing  gift  ban  to  facilitate  better
compliance  and improve enforcement. The bill would also amend certain
provisions of the election law to enhance penalties for violations  of
the campaign finance laws, and require the State Board of Elections to
enforce requirements that entities and individuals that spend funds on
advertising  and  other  forms of advocacy to influence the outcome of
elections or ballot proposals must disclose such expenditures.

While the Public Integrity Reform Act was hailed as  the  first  major
step  in  fighting  corruption  among New York State public officials,
there are additional steps necessary. One such measure is  the  simple
closure of the federal court conviction loophole in this legislation.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

EFFECTIVE DATE:


This act shall take effect immediately.