2023 New York Laws › LEG - Legislative › Article 1-A - Lobbying Act › 1-H - Bi-Monthly Reports of Certain Lobbyists.

§  1-h.  Bi-monthly  reports  of  certain  lobbyists. (a) Any lobbyist
required to file a statement of registration pursuant to  section  one-e
of  this  article  who  in any lobbying year reasonably anticipates that
during the year such lobbyist will expend,  incur  or  receive  combined
reportable  compensation  and  expenses  in  an amount in excess of five
thousand dollars, as provided in paragraph five of  subdivision  (b)  of
this  section,  for  the  purpose  of  lobbying,  shall  file  with  the
commission a  bi-monthly  written  report,  on  forms  supplied  by  the
commission,  by  the  fifteenth  day  next  succeeding  the  end  of the
reporting period in which the lobbyist was  first  required  to  file  a
statement of registration. Such reporting periods shall be the period of
January  first  to  the  last  day  of  February,  March  first to April
thirtieth,  May  first  to  June  thirtieth,  July   first   to   August
thirty-first, September first to October thirty-first and November first
to December thirty-first.
(b) Such bi-monthly report shall contain:
(1) the name, address and telephone number of the lobbyist;
(2) the name, address and telephone number of the client by whom or on
whose behalf the lobbyist is retained, employed or designated;
(3) the following information on which the lobbyist has lobbied: (i) a
description  of  the  general  subject or subjects, (ii) the legislative
bill numbers of any bills, (iii) the numbers or subject matter (if there
are no numbers) of gubernatorial executive orders  or  executive  orders
issued  by  the  chief  executive  officer  of  a municipality, (iv) the
subject  matter  of  and  tribes  involved  in  tribal-state   compacts,
memoranda of understanding, or any other state-tribal agreements and any
state  actions  related  to  class III gaming as provided in 25 U.S.C. §
2701, (v) the rule, regulation, and ratemaking or municipal ordinance or
resolution numbers of any rules, regulations, or rates or  ordinance  or
proposed  rules,  regulations,  or  rates  or  municipal  ordinances  or
resolutions, and (vi) the titles and  any  identifying  numbers  of  any
procurement  contracts  and  other  documents  disseminated  by  a state
agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system,
municipal  agency  or  local  legislative  body  in  connection  with  a
governmental procurement;
(4)  the  name of the person, organization, or legislative body before
which the lobbyist has lobbied;
(5) (i) the compensation  paid  or  owed  to  the  lobbyist,  and  any
expenses  expended, received or incurred by the lobbyist for the purpose
of lobbying.
(ii) expenses required to be reported pursuant to subparagraph (i)  of
this  paragraph shall be listed in the aggregate if seventy-five dollars
or less and if more than seventy-five dollars  such  expenses  shall  be
detailed  as  to  amount,  to whom paid, and for what purpose; and where
such expense is more than seventy-five dollars  on  behalf  of  any  one
person, the name of such person shall be listed.
(iii) for the purposes of this paragraph, expenses shall not include:
(A)  personal  sustenance,  lodging  and  travel disbursements of such
lobbyist;
(B) expenses, not in  excess  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  any  one
calendar  year,  directly  incurred  for  the printing or other means of
reproduction  or  mailing  of  letters,  memoranda  or   other   written
communications.
(iv)  expenses  paid  or  incurred for salaries other than that of the
lobbyist shall be listed in the aggregate.
(v) expenses of more than fifty dollars shall  be  paid  by  check  or
substantiated  by receipts and such checks and receipts shall be kept on
file by the lobbyist for a period of three years.
(c) (1) All such bi-monthly reports shall be subject to review by  the
commission.
(2)  Such bi-monthly reports shall be kept on file for three years and
shall be open to public inspection during such time.
(3) In addition to the filing fees authorized  by  this  article,  the
commission  may  impose  a  fee  for  late filing of a bi-monthly report
required by this section not to exceed twenty-five dollars for each  day
that  the  report  required  to  be  filed  is  late, except that if the
lobbyist making a late  filing  has  not  previously  been  required  by
statute  to file such a report, the fee for late filing shall not exceed
ten dollars for each day that the report required to be filed is late.
(4) Any lobbyist registered pursuant to section one-e of this  article
whose  lobbying activity is performed on its own behalf and not pursuant
to retention by a client:
(i) that has spent over fifteen thousand dollars in the aggregate  for
reportable  compensation  and  expenses  for lobbying, either during the
calendar year, or during the twelve-month period, prior to the  date  of
this bi-monthly report, and
(ii)  at  least  three  percent of whose total expenditures during the
same period were devoted to lobbying in New York  shall  report  to  the
commission the names of each source of funding that has contributed over
two thousand five hundred dollars from a single source that were used to
fund   the   lobbying   activities  reported  and  the  amount  of  each
contribution received from each identified source of funding;  provided,
however,  that  amounts  received from each identified source of funding
shall not be  required  to  be  disclosed  if  such  amounts  constitute
membership dues, fees, or assessments charged by the reporting entity to
enable an individual or entity to be a member of the reporting entity.
This disclosure shall not require disclosure of the sources of funding
whose  disclosure,  in  the determination of the commission based upon a
review of the relevant facts presented by the  reporting  lobbyist,  may
cause  harm,  threats,  harassment,  or  reprisals  to  the source or to
individuals or  property  affiliated  with  the  source.  The  reporting
lobbyist may appeal the commission's determination and such appeal shall
be  heard  by  a  judicial  hearing  officer  who is independent and not
affiliated with or employed by the commission, pursuant  to  regulations
promulgated  by  the  commission.  The  reporting  lobbyist shall not be
required to disclose the sources of funding that are the subject of such
appeal pending final judgment on appeal.
The disclosure shall not apply to:
(i) any corporation registered pursuant  to  article  seven-A  of  the
executive  law that is qualified as an exempt organization by the United
States Department of the Treasury under I.R.C.  §  501(c)(3);  provided,
however,  that  this  disclosure shall apply to any in-kind donations of
staff,  staff  time,  personnel,  offices,  office  supplies,  financial
support  of any kind or any other resources to any corporation or entity
that is qualified  as  an  exempt  organization  by  the  United  States
Department  of  the  Treasury  under  I.R.C. 501(c)(4) when such in-kind
donations are over two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  and  from  any
corporation or entity that is qualified as an exempt organization by the
United States Department of the Treasury under I.R.C. 501(c)(3). In such
case the entity receiving such in-kind donations shall disclose the fair
market  value  and  identify  the I.R.C. 501(c)(3) entity providing such
in-kind donations and give  notice  within  a  reasonable  time  to  the
501(c)(3)  entity  that  it  shall be required to file a report with the
department of law pursuant to section one hundred seventy-two-e  of  the
executive law;
(ii)  any  corporation  registered  pursuant to article seven-A of the
executive law that is qualified as an exempt organization by the  United
States  Department  of  the  Treasury under I.R.C. § 501(c)(4) and whose
primary activities concern any area of public concern determined by  the
commission  to  create a substantial likelihood that application of this
disclosure requirement would  lead  to  harm,  threats,  harassment,  or
reprisals  to  a  source  of  funding  or  to  individuals  or  property
affiliated with such source, including but not limited to  the  area  of
civil  rights  and  civil liberties and any other area of public concern
determined pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commission to form
a proper  basis  for  exemption  on  this  basis  from  this  disclosure
requirement; or
(iii) any governmental entity.
The  commission  on ethics and lobbying in government shall promulgate
regulations to implement these requirements.