State Board of Elections Proposes Rules on Investigations, Enforcement Proceedings

Today’s New York State Register includes two notices of proposed rulemaking from the State Board of Elections (SBOE), and the proposed rules can also be found on the SBOE web site.

The first proposed regulation would add a new Part 6218 (“Civil Enforcement Hearings”) to Title 9 of the NYCRR relating to “to provide a fair and efficient process of civil enforcement that ensures due process of law in all administrative adjudicatory proceedings.”

It provides for the appointment of hearing officers to preside over adjudicatory hearings upon the request of the SBOE’s Chief Enforcement Counsel, for the conduct of such hearings, and authorizes the Chief Enforcement Counsel to enter into settlement agreements where appropriate.

The second proposed regulation, which relates to the administration of oaths and issuance of subpoenas, would repeal the existing 9 NYCRR § 6203.1 and replace it with an update provision that reflects the role of the Chief Enforcement Counsel in the investigatory process. Under the new proposal, the Chief Enforcement Counsel can ask the Commissioners to for the authority to issue subpoenas. The Commissioners must vote on the request within 20 days, or else the authority is deemed granted.

Comments on these proposed regulations can be sent via e-mail to [email protected]; comments will be accepted for 45 days (which, by my count, falls on Saturday, Sept. 26^th).