JCOPE Issues Reminders, Announces Fines for Failure to File Disclosure Reports

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) sent out a series of reminders last week, and announced that it has imposed $24,000 in fines on two lobbying clients for failure to file their disclosure reports.

The end of 2014 means the beginning of a new biennial registration period for 2015-16. 2015-16 registrations are due by January 1 if the lobbying registration was entered into prior to Dec. 15, 2014. If it was entered into after Dec. 15, then the registration is due within 10 days of it being entered into.

2014 July/December Client Semi-Annual Reports are due January 15; these reports include “Source of Funding” and “Reportable Business Relationship” disclosure requirements, if any.

And 2014 November/December Lobbyist Bi-monthly Reports are also due on January 15^th.

Finally, JCOPE announced that it has imposed fines on two lobbying clients for knowingly and willfully failing to file required disclosure reports. A Bronx-based non-profit was fined $15,000 for failing to file a semi-annual report for the period July-December 2010, and a Washington D.C. based company was fined $9,000 for failure to file disclosure reports covering its lobbying activity for all of 2010.