2023 New York Laws › LEG - Legislative › Article 1-A - Lobbying Act › 1-D - Lobby-Related Powers of the Commission.

§  1-d.  Lobby-related  powers  of  the commission. In addition to any
other powers and duties provided by section ninety-four of the executive
law,  the  commission  shall,  with  respect  to  its   lobbying-related
functions only, have the power and duty to:
(a) administer and enforce all the provisions of this article;
(b)  conduct  a  program  of  random  audits  subject to the terms and
conditions of this section. Any such program shall be carried out in the
following manner:
(i)  The  commission  may  randomly  select  reports  or  registration
statements required to be filed by lobbyists or clients pursuant to this
article for audit. Any such selection shall be done in a manner pursuant
to  which  the  identity  of  any  particular  lobbyist  or client whose
statement or report is selected for audit is unknown to the  commission,
its staff or any of their agents prior to selection.
(ii)  The  commission  shall develop protocols for the conduct of such
random audits. Such random audits may require the production  of  books,
papers, records or memoranda relevant and material to the preparation of
the  selected  statements or reports, for examination by the commission.
Any such protocols shall ensure that similarly  situated  statements  or
reports are audited in a uniform manner.
(iii) The commission shall contract with an outside accounting entity,
which shall monitor the process pursuant to which the commission selects
statements  or  reports  for  audit  and  carries  out the provisions of
paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this  subdivision  and  certifies  that  such
process complies with the provisions of such paragraphs.
(iv)  Upon  completion  of a random audit conducted in accordance with
the provisions of paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii)  of  this  subdivision,
the  commission  shall  determine  whether  there is reasonable cause to
believe that any such statement or report is inaccurate  or  incomplete.
Upon  a  determination that such reasonable cause exists, the commission
may require the production  of  further  books,  records  or  memoranda,
subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and testimony and administer
oaths  or  affirmations,  to  the  extent the commission determines such
actions are necessary to obtain information  relevant  and  material  to
investigating such inaccuracies or omissions;
(c)  conduct hearings pursuant to article seven of the public officers
law. Any hearing may be conducted as a video  conference  in  accordance
with  the  provisions of subdivision four of section one hundred four of
the public officers law;
(d) prepare uniform forms for the statements and reports  required  by
this article;
(e)  meet at least once during each bi-monthly reporting period of the
year as established by subdivision (a) of section one-h of this  article
and  may  meet  at  such other times as the commission, or the chair and
vice-chair jointly, shall determine;
(f) issue advisory opinions to  those  under  its  jurisdiction.  Such
advisory  opinions,  which  shall be published and made available to the
public, shall not be binding upon such commission except with respect to
the person to whom such opinion is rendered, provided, however,  that  a
subsequent  modification  by such commission of such an advisory opinion
shall operate prospectively only; and
(g) submit by the first day of March next following the year for which
such report is made to the governor and the members of  the  legislature
an   annual  report  summarizing  the  commission's  work,  listing  the
lobbyists and clients required to register pursuant to this article  and
the  expenses  and  compensation  reported  pursuant to this article and
making recommendations with respect  to  this  article.  The  commission
shall make this report available free of charge to the public.
(h)   provide   an  online  ethics  training  course  for  individuals
registered as lobbyists pursuant to section one-e of this  article.  The
curriculum  for  the  course  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited to,
explanations and discussions of the statutes and regulations of New York
concerning  ethics  in  the  public  officers law, the election law, the
legislative law, summaries of advisory opinions, underlying purposes and
principles of the relevant laws, and examples of  practical  application
of these laws and principles. The commission shall prepare those methods
and  materials  necessary  to  implement the curriculum. Each individual
registered as a lobbyist pursuant to section one-e of this article shall
complete such training course at least once  in  any  three-year  period
during which he or she is registered as a lobbyist.