Senate Bill S1699

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1699
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  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 legislative law and the election law, in relation to
   prohibiting certain functions whenever the legislature is in session

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  legislative  law  is amended by adding a new section
 1-m-1 to read as follows:
   § 1-M-1. CERTAIN FUNCTIONS PROHIBITED WITHIN A FIFTEEN MILE RADIUS  OF
 THE NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE
 CONTRARY,  NO  PERSON  OR ENTITY SHALL HOLD, PARTICIPATE IN, OR ATTEND A
 FUNCTION DESIGNED TO SOLICIT FUNDS THAT ARE  SUBJECT  TO  THE  REPORTING
 REQUIREMENTS  OF  ARTICLE  FOURTEEN OF THE ELECTION LAW WITHIN A FIFTEEN
 MILE RADIUS OF THE NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL WHENEVER THE LEGISLATURE IS IN
 SESSION.
   § 2. Subdivision (a) and paragraphs (i) and (iv) of subdivision (b) of
 section 1-o of the legislative law, as added by chapter 14 of  the  laws
 of 2007, are amended to read as follows:
   (a)  (i) Any lobbyist, public corporation, or client who knowingly and
 wilfully fails to file timely a report or  statement  required  by  this
 section  or  knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly
 and wilfully violates section one-m OR ONE-M-ONE of this  article  shall
 be guilty of a class A misdemeanor; and
   (ii)  any  lobbyist,  public  corporation, or client who knowingly and
 wilfully fails to file timely a report or  statement  required  by  this
 section  or  knowingly and wilfully files false information or knowingly
 and wilfully violates section one-m OR ONE-M-ONE of this article,  after
 having  previously  been  convicted  in  the preceding five years of the
 crime described in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, shall be guilty of
 a class E felony. Any lobbyist convicted of  or  pleading  guilty  to  a
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04944-01-5
              

 S. 1699                             2
 
 felony under the provisions of this section may be barred from acting as
 a lobbyist for a period of one year from the date of the conviction. For
 the  purposes  of  this subdivision, the chief administrative officer of
 any  organization  required  to  file a statement or report shall be the
 person responsible for making and filing such statement or report unless
 some other person prior to the due date thereof has been duly designated
 to make and file such statement or report.
   (i) A lobbyist,  public  corporation,  or  client  who  knowingly  and
 wilfully  fails  to  file a statement or report within the time required
 for the filing of such report or knowingly and wilfully violates section
 one-m OR ONE-M-ONE of this article shall be subject to a  civil  penalty
 for  each  such  failure  or  violation,  in an amount not to exceed the
 greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or three times  the  amount  the
 person  failed  to  report properly or unlawfully contributed, expended,
 gave or received, to be assessed by the commission.
   (iv) Any lobbyist or client that knowingly and wilfully fails to  file
 a  statement  or  report within the time required for the filing of such
 report, knowingly and wilfully files a false  statement  or  report,  or
 knowingly and wilfully violates section one-m OR ONE-M-ONE of this arti-
 cle,  after  having been found by the commission to have [knowing] KNOW-
 INGLY and wilfully committed such conduct or violation in the  preceding
 five  years,  may  be  subject  to  a determination that the lobbyist or
 client is prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities, as that  term
 is  defined in paragraph (v) of subdivision (c) of section one-c of this
 article, for a period of one year.
   § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 14-126 of the election law,  as  amended
 by  section  6 of subpart C of part H of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014,
 is amended to read as follows:
   4. Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to  file  a  statement
 required  to  be  filed  by  this article within ten days after the date
 provided for filing such statement or any person who knowingly and will-
 fully violates any other provision of this article OR WHO KNOWINGLY  AND
 WILLFULLY  VIOLATES  THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION ONE-M-ONE OF THE LEGISLA-
 TIVE LAW shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.