JCOPE Issues Annual Report, Recommends Changes to the State’s Ethics Laws

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) issued its third annual report yesterday. Under Executive Law § 94(1), JCOPE was required to “undertake a comprehensive review” of regulations and opinions issued by its predecessor agencies, evaluate the effectiveness of the current regulations, and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature.

JCOPE recommends:

• Increasing transparency and disclosure by giving JCOPE the ability to make information public where no legal violation is found, or where JCOPE determines not to investigate a particular matter;
• Requiring lobbyists to disclose political consulting and fundraising activities in their lobbying filings (as New York City currently does);
• Prohibiting lobbying entities and coalitions from creating or participating in shell or pass-through entities to shield the source of their lobbying funding;
• Undertaking a review of the Lobbying Act to determine whether the current disclosure requirements “effectively capture the forms of government advocacy used today, including political and strategic consulting, third-party arrangements, and grassroots efforts; and
• Increasing JCOPE’s enforcement authority in various ways, including authorizing the imposition of penalties for violations of the law where none currently exist (such as failure to cooperate with a JCOPE audit).