New Ethics Law Permits Legislative Receptions Once Again

In today’s Times Union, Jimmy Vielkind writes about the Business Council’s upcoming 2012 Legislators’ Reception, which will be held on Jan. 23, 2012.  The event, which was held annually until the last round of ethics revisions in 2007, will be held once again next year.

As I noted in this post from September, the new law makes changes to the exemption for “gifts” to public officers, including legislators.  For purposes of the gift exemption for “widely attended” events, the term is now defined to mean attendance by at least 25 persons who are not from the governmental entity the public official serves, and which is either related to the official’s duties or responsibilities or where the official performs a ceremonial function.

This statutory change brings the Lobbying Act – at least relating to legislative receptions — back to where it was before the 2007 amendments.  In 2009, the Commission on Public Integrity began fining groups that held legislative receptions, even though the Legislative Ethics Commission issued a generic advisory opinion permitting them.

The new law should get everyone “on the same” with respect to receptions.

Vielkind also notes that the members of the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) will be announced today, according to the Governor’s spokesman.   The absence of any news on this has been widely discussed (read about it in the Wall Street Journal and the Gotham Gazette).