Section 1-J - Semi-annual reports(a) Semi-annual reports shall be filed by any client retaining, employing or designating a lobbyist or lobbyists, whether or not any such lobbyist was required to file a bi-monthly report, if such client reasonably anticipates that during the year such client will expend or incur an amount in excess of five thousand dollars of combined reportable compensation and expenses, as provided in paragraph five of subdivision (c) of this section, for the purposes of lobbying.(b) Such report shall be filed with the commission, on forms supplied by the commission, by the fifteenth day of July of the year and by the fifteenth day of January next following the year for which such report is made and shall contain: (1) the name, address and telephone number of the client;(2) the name, address and telephone number of each lobbyist retained, employed or designated by such client;(3) the following information on which each lobbyist retained, employed or designated by such client has lobbied, and on which such client 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 resolution or ordinance numbers of any rules, regulations, or rates, or municipal resolutions or ordinances 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 such client has lobbied;(5)(i) the compensation paid or owed to each such lobbyist, and any other expenses paid or incurred by such client for the purpose of lobbying.(ii) any 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 expenses are 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 and client;(B) expenses, not in excess of five hundred dollars, 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 must be paid by check or substantiated by receipts and such checks and receipts shall be kept on file by such client for a period of three years.(6)(i) the name and public office address of any statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of the legislature or legislative employee and entity with whom the client of a lobbyist has a reportable business relationship;(ii) a description of the general subject or subjects of the transactions between the client of a lobbyist and the statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of the legislature or legislative employee and entity; and(iii) the compensation, including expenses, to be paid and paid by virtue of the business relationship.(c)(1) All such semi-annual reports shall be subject to review by the commission.(2) Such semi-annual reports shall be kept on file for a period of three years and shall be open to public inspection during such period.(3) Each semi-annual report filed by a client pursuant to this section shall be accompanied by a filing fee of fifty dollars. In addition to the filing fees authorized by this article, the commission may impose a fee for late filing of a semi-annual 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 client making a late filing has not previously been required by statute to file an annual or semi-annual 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 client of a lobbyist that is required to file a semi-annual report and: (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 semi-annual 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 client or 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.
Amended by New York Laws 2022, ch. 56,Sec. QQ-12, eff. 7/8/2022.Amended by New York Laws 2016, ch. 286,Sec. D-2, eff. 9/23/2016.