NY State Senate Bill 2021-S5540

Senate Bill S5540

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Prohibits state officers and employees from official involvement with a state project where the officer or employee acted as a consultant on such project

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 03, 2022	committed to rules
Jan 31, 2022	advanced to third reading
Jan 26, 2022	2nd report cal.
Jan 25, 2022	1st report cal.341
Jan 05, 2022	referred to ethics and internal governance
Jun 10, 2021	committed to rules
May 24, 2021	advanced to third reading
May 20, 2021	2nd report cal.
May 18, 2021	1st report cal.1147
Mar 10, 2021	referred to ethics and internal governance

Votes

- Jan 25, 2022 - Ethics And Internal Governance Committee Vote
  S5540
  
  6
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Ethics And Internal Governance Committee Vote: Jan 25, 2022
      
      aye (6)
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Palumbo
      
      Stavisky
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Lanza
  May 18, 2021 - Ethics And Internal Governance Committee Vote
  S5540
  
  6
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Ethics And Internal Governance Committee Vote: May 18, 2021
      
      aye (6)
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Palumbo
      
      Stavisky
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Lanza

2021-S5540 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6596
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Public Officers Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §74, Pub Off L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S2010

2021-S5540 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits state officers and employees from official involvement with a state project where the officer or employee acted as a consultant on such project.

2021-S5540 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5540

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting
state officers and employees from official involvement with a state
project where the officer or employee acted as a consultant on such
project

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prevent state officers and employees from participating in state
projects' where they acted as consultant

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

No officer or employee of a state agency will perform any official duty
or function in a project funded by the state, where such officer or
employee has previously entered into a contract for consulting services
prior to employment with the state agency.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Prior to the pandemic, St. John's Episcopal Hospital (SJEH) was working
with an independent consulting firm, hired by the State Department of
Health to analyze the hospital's operations. One of these consultants
who became intimately aware of the accounting, personnel, and workings
of SJEH was then appointed as Deputy Secretary for Health and Human
Services for the NYS Department of Health. In this role, this individual
had jurisdiction over the review of SJEH and created proposals that
would have drastically altered services at SJEH. After working as an
independent consultant, this conflict of interest should have made this
person unable to work on this project, as they were acutely aware of
their operations.  Consultants play an important role in assisting agen-
cies in New York State. However, a distinction must be made when a
consultant becomes a government employee. These employees should not be
able to work on projects with parties on which they have previously
consulted.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S5540 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5540
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 10, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Internal Gover-
   nance
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
   state  officers  and  employees from official involvement with a state
   project where the officer or employee acted as a  consultant  on  such
   project
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 74 of the public officers  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph j to read as follows:
   J. NO OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF A STATE AGENCY SHALL PERFORM ANY OFFICIAL
 DUTY  OR  FUNCTION,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO  THE  EXERCISE  OF
 DISCRETION OR OTHER DECISION MAKING NORMALLY ATTENDANT  TO  HIS  OR  HER
 OFFICE,  OR  OTHERWISE  ACT  IN  ANY  OFFICIAL CAPACITY OR DISCHARGE ANY
 DUTIES WITH RESPECT TO A PROJECT FUNDED BY THE STATE WHERE SUCH  OFFICER
 OR  EMPLOYEE  HAS  PREVIOUSLY  ENTERED  INTO  A  CONTRACT FOR CONSULTING
 SERVICES INVOLVING SUCH PROJECT PRIOR TO HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT WITH SUCH
 STATE AGENCY. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, A "CONTRACT FOR CONSULT-
 ING SERVICES" SHALL MEAN ANY CONTRACT ENTERED INTO BY A STATE AGENCY FOR
 ANALYSIS, EVALUATION,  RESEARCH,  TRAINING,  DATA  PROCESSING,  COMPUTER
 PROGRAMMING,   ENGINEERING,   ENVIRONMENTAL  HEALTH  AND  MENTAL  HEALTH
 SERVICES, ACCOUNTING, AUDITING, PARALEGAL, LEGAL, OR SIMILAR SERVICES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10367-01-1

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