Relates to the term "reportable business relationship" as it relates to certain employees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York.
Summary
S02047 amends New York’s Legislative Law definition of “reportable business relationship” for lobbying disclosure purposes. Under current law, a reportable business relationship exists when a lobbyist or a lobbyist’s client pays more than $1,000 annually for goods, services, or anything of value to certain public officials or employees, or to entities they control. This bill creates a specific carve-out for relationships between a lobbyist (or lobbyist client) and an individual employed by a college or university when that person’s only state employment is as a teaching professor, adjunct professor, lecturer, instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or similar teaching role at SUNY or CUNY.
The exemption applies only when the teaching employee does not supervise other state employees and does not manage grant-funded projects or research. In effect, the bill narrows the lobbying-law reporting requirement for a subset of SUNY and CUNY faculty whose outside compensation relationships would otherwise be treated as reportable business relationships. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.
Impact
The bill would amend section 1-c of the Legislative Law, changing how lobbying-related compensation arrangements are treated for certain SUNY and CUNY faculty members. It would remove these teaching-only employees from the definition of “reportable business relationship” when their state role is limited to instruction and does not include supervisory or grant-management duties, thereby reducing disclosure obligations for affected lobbyists and their clients and for the covered faculty members.
Sentiment
The available legislative record shows no recorded votes or committee transcripts, but the bill’s progression through committee and amendment suggests it was treated favorably and without documented opposition in the materials provided. The measure appears aimed at a targeted technical clarification rather than a broad policy shift, which is consistent with a generally neutral-to-supportive posture in the available history.
Contention
The main policy question is whether teaching faculty at SUNY and CUNY should be treated like other state employees for lobbying disclosure purposes when they have no managerial or grant oversight responsibilities. Supporters would likely view the bill as a narrow exemption that avoids overbroad reporting requirements for ordinary academic employment relationships. Potential concerns could come from ethics or good-government advocates who may worry that the carve-out creates a loophole in disclosure rules, but no explicit opposition is reflected in the provided transcripts or voting history.
Same As
Relates to the term "reportable business relationship" as it relates to certain employees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York.
Relates to the term "reportable business relationship" as it relates to certain employees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York.
Modifies the term "reportable business relationship" as it relates to certain employees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York where their only form of state employment is with the state university of New York or city university of New York.
Provides certain members of the optional retirement program with an additional three percent statutory state contribution for the members of the optional retirement program for employees of both the State University of New York and the City University of New York.
Requires the state university of New York and the city university of New York to examine and conduct a study on the availability of campus services, programs and resources for veteran students.
Enacts the "New York saves lives act" to authorize any New York state resident aged sixteen and older to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor through the New York state donate life registry; adds a New York state donate life registry option on admission applications to the state university of New York and the city university of New York.
Prohibits the state university of New York from contracting out to the ground lessee or any subsidiary of the ground lessee or the research foundation for the state university of New York for any services or privatize any services currently being performed by employees in the unclassified service at the state university of New York at Albany.