COELIG'S Lobbying Lens Newsletter

Bringing the state's lobbying rules into focus

Sanford N. Berland		February 2024		Frederick A. Davie
Executive Director		Edition 2		Chair

LOBBYING REGISTRATION TERMINATION UPDATES

ENHANCED LOBBYING REGISTRATION AND TERMINATION DOCKET AVAILABLE

In the new year, COELIG launched an enhanced Lobbying Registration and Termination Docket that provides more information including level of government, description of agreement, compensation, expense information, and more helpful material! Users can filter results by ‘active’ or ‘terminated’ contracts and focus search results to contain original or amended Statements of Registrations. Lobbying relationships that have terminated can be found on our website.

UPDATES TO REGISTRATION TERMINATIONS

In Fall 2023, COELIG launched two new functions in the online Lobbying Application (‘LA’) related to Registration Terminations. First, a Public Corporation or Lobbyist who wants to terminate a lobbying relationship earlier than the end date specified in the lobbying agreement is now able to terminate the entire lobbying relationship within LA.

Second, the Lobbying Application now will automatically terminate: (1) a registration when the end dates specified in the lobbying agreement is reached, and (2) all other unterminated registrations on December 31 of the second year of a biennial period – with no action required by the Lobbyist or Client. This feature applies to all filers, including PDF ‘paper filers’.

Information for PDF ‘Paper Filers’

PDF ‘paper filers’ who want to terminate the lobbying relationship earlier than the end date specified in the lobbying agreement must notify the Commission within 30 days after the termination date.

Procedure for Client Terminations and Paper Filers

Client Terminations are not yet available through the Lobbying Application (‘LA’), but this is something we are diligently working toward! For now, terminating a relationship early in the Lobbying Application is only available for lobbyists and public corporations.

Clients who end the lobbying relationship earlier than the original end date are required to notify the Commission within 30 days after the termination date.

Notification of an early termination must be submitted by an authorized person and provide the required information. Details may be found in the Client Termination Sample Letter.

An authorized person can be any of the following individuals:

· Chief Administrative Officer (or designee)

· Delegated Administrator

· Preparer

Commission staff will inform you as soon as your termination has been processed.

Early termination notifications should be submitted via email (preferably) to Registrations@ethics.ny.gov or may be submitted by regular mail to:

NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government

Attn: Registration Unit – Client Terminations

540 Broadway

Albany, NY 12207

Learn More About Terminations

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

2024 January/February

Bi-Monthly Reports

March 15, 2024

View All Lobbying Deadlines

LOBBYING LATEST

Your 'need to know' lobbying updates

LA BASICS: CLIENT SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT AND SOURCE OF FUNDING

A recent installment of the ‘LA Basics’ live, instructor-led interactive training series focused on how to prepare and submit the Client Semi-annual Report and Source of Funding disclosure in the Lobbying Application. Stay tuned for upcoming training dates, and view the recorded demonstrations on our website.

View the Full Training Session

2023 COELIG ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In its first full year, the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) and its agency partners achieved the first of the Commission’s targets by providing instructor-led (by videoconference and in-person) comprehensive ethics training to more than half of the state’s 330,000 executive branch officers and employees.

In addition, the Commission provided on-demand ethics training to another 15,736 state employees, through Feb. 1, 2024, and supplied on-demand online lobbying ethics training to more than 80% of state and local lobbyists and clients.

In that same period, COELIG’s ethics and lobbying units responded to 39,000 workforce, user, and public inquiries and requests for guidance and assistance.

Further, as the agency strengthened its investigations and enforcement staff, the unit commenced a significant number of new matters and completed and resolved a substantial number of investigations of pending matters, many of which had carried over from the prior agency.

Read the Full News Release

REPORT MISCONDUCT

Report Misconduct

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Featured News Releases

COELIG SUBMITS WRITTEN BUDGET TESTIMONY

Executive Director Sanford N. Berland submitted written testimony on the 2024-2025 Executive Budget Proposal.

Read the Full Written Testimony

COMMISSIONER CODE OF CONDUCT

At its January 2024 meeting, the Commission adopted Resolution 2024-01, formalizing its Code of Conduct and Recusal Policy.

Read the Code

NYS COELIG APPOINTS KEY STAFF

Earlier this week, the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government announced that it continues to expand with several key appointments who will play critical roles in continuing the Commission's mission to exemplify the highest ethical standards and restore public trust in government through education, compliance, and vigorous enforcement of the state’s ethics and lobbying laws.

Learn About Recent Appointments

THE COMMISSION IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Since the launch of our social media channels, the Commission has gained almost 400 followers collectively! We look forward to continuing our growth across all platforms, providing timely information and updates.

Read Our Social Media Policy

QUICK LINKS

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