N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 19 § 943.11

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024

Section 943.11 - [Effective until 1/1/2025] Lobbyist Bi-Monthly Reports

(a) Purpose. Lobbyist Bi-Monthly Reports record all actual Lobbying Activity during the relevant filing period.

(b) Any Lobbyist required to file a Statement of Registration for a Client for any biennial period must also file Bi-Monthly Reports in accordance with this section, regardless of Compensation, Expenses, or Lobbying Activity.

(c) Due date.

(1) Lobbyists must file a Bi-Monthly Report by the 15th of the month following the end of the bi-monthly reporting period in which the Lobbyist was first required to register. A schedule of the bi-monthly reporting periods is set forth below:

(i) January/February, Due March 15th

(ii) March/April, Due May 15th

(iii) May/June, Due July 15th

(iv) July/August, Due September 15th

(v) September/October, Due November 15th

(vi) November/December, Due January 15th

(2) All reports must be received by the Commission on or before the due date.

(3) If a report is due on a weekend or a State holiday, it must be received by the Commission on the first business day following the weekend or State holiday.

(d) Any Bi-Monthly Report that is not timely filed will be subject to the late fee schedule set forth below:

Days Late	Action
	First-Time Filer	All Other Filers
1 - 7 days	Grace Period/No Late Fee
8 - 14 days	$75 flat late fee	$150 flat late fee
15 - 30 days	$150 flat late fee	$300 flat late fee
31 - 90 days	$300 flat late fee	$500 flat late fee
91 - 180 days	$500 flat late fee	$1,000 flat late fee
181 days and more	$1,000 flat late fee	$2,000 flat late fee

A Lobbyist is considered a First-Time Filer only when the Lobbyist is required to file a BiMonthly Report for the first time. First-Time Filer status applies to the first Bi-Monthly Report received by the Commission from such Lobbyist and any other Reports received from such Lobbyist on that same day.

(e) Filing Fee. There is no filing fee for a Lobbyist Bi-Monthly Report.

(f) Contents. All Bi-Monthly Reports must include the following information to the maximum extent practicable:

(1) The name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the Principal Lobbyist;

(2) The names of all Individual Lobbyists who personally engaged in Lobbying Activity during the filing period;

(3) The name, address, e-mail address, and contact information of all Contractual and Beneficial Clients

(i) If the Report relates to Lobbying on behalf of a Structured Coalition or a Member of an Unstructured Coalition, the Client information for Contractual and Beneficial Clients shall be governed by the rules set forth in Section 943.9(h)(3)(iv) and (v);

(4) The identities of any Co-Lobbyists or Sub-Lobbyists, as described in subsection 943.9(h), if applicable;

(5) The subject matter(s) on which Lobbying occurred; and

(6) The governmental action that the Lobbyist Attempted to Influence which shall include the following, as applicable:

(i) The bill, rule, regulation, or rate number, if available, on which Lobbying occurred;

(ii) The title and identifying numbers of Procurement Contracts/documents on which Lobbying occurred;

(iii) The number or subject matter of an Executive Order of the Governor or Municipality on which Lobbying occurred;

(iv) The subject matter of and tribes involved in tribal-state compacts on which Lobbying occurred; and/or

(v) In the event Lobbying is conducted in order to influence the introduction, intended introduction, or issuance of State legislation or a State resolution, a brief description of such activity.

(7) The name of the person, organization, or legislative body before which the Lobbyist has lobbied:

(i) In the case of Direct Lobbying, the name of the Public Official or Public Official's office or the legislative committee, as applicable, with whom the Lobbyist engaged in direct communication;

For example, if a Lobbyist lobbies a Senator on one occasion and also sends out memos in support of a bill to all members of a legislative committee of which the Senator is a part, such Lobbyist would disclose the Senator's name and the name of the legislative committee.

If a Lobbyist meets with the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance as well as a staff member of the Office of Real Property Tax Services, such Lobbyist would disclose the Commissioner's title and agency and disclose that they met with a staff member of the named unit or department within the agency (the Office of Real Property Tax Services).

(ii) In the case of Grassroots Lobbying, the intended target of the Lobbying Activity, which may be a person, State Agency, Municipality or legislative body.

(8) All reportable Lobbying Compensation and Expenses (as defined in section 943.9) paid or owed by the Client for the current period only.

(i) Any reportable Compensation and Expenses incurred by a Lobbying Organization must be included in the Bi-Monthly Report, regardless of whether the Lobbying Organization also files a Client Semi-Annual Report.

(g) If the first required Bi-Monthly Report filed by a Lobbyist for a calendar year is not the Report covering the January-February period (due March 15), the Report should disclose all Lobbying Activities engaged in, Compensation received, and expenditures incurred during the year up to and including the period covered by the Report.

For example: if a Lobbyist does not anticipate receiving $5,000 in Compensation and Expenses before the start of the calendar year, but does exceed $5,000 on April 15, the first required Bi-Monthly Report is the Report due May 15, covering the March-April Bi-Monthly Period. The March-April Report should thus include all Lobbying Activity, Compensation, and Expenses for the calendar year, from January 1 until the end of the March-April Bi-Monthly Period, i.e., April 30.

(h) Public Corporations. Notwithstanding the provisions in this section, a Public Corporation that is required to file a Statement of Registration under section 1-e of the Lobbying Act must also include information pertaining to the Activity, Compensation and Expenses for any Retained Lobbyists in the Bi-Monthly Report.

(i) Withdrawals.

(1) A Lobbyist may request that a Bi-monthly Report be withdrawn, provided the request is made consistent with and meets the criteria set forth in procedures implemented by the Commission.

(2) A Bi-monthly Report that has been withdrawn pursuant to this subpart is not considered information provided by a Lobbyist under Section 1-s of the Lobbying Act.

(j) A Lobbyist has a duty to amend a Bi-Monthly Report after a change to the information filed, including when a previously reported payment is written down, written off, or otherwise modified for bookkeeping purpose. However, after the termination of the Agreement, any decision by a Lobbyist to write down, write off, or otherwise modify a previously reported payment does not require an Amended Bi-Monthly Report.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 19 § 943.11

Adopted New York State Register May 9, 2018/Volume XL, Issue 19, eff. 1/1/2019

Amended New York State Register February 10, 2021/Volume XLIII, Issue 06, eff. 2/10/2021