Bill Text: NY A01244 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits conflicts of interest among board of elections employees; prevents a board of elections employee from remaining on the board of elections payroll while also a candidate for an office who has an election overseen by the board at which they are employed; allows for a member to remain on the board until 90 days before the general election if there is no primary for such office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-30 - reported [A01244 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01244-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1244--D

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, EACHUS, GUNTHER, McDONALD, GIBBS, ARDI-
          LA,  SIMON, DAVILA, SIMONE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LEVENBERG
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law --  commit-
          tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
          mitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Election
          Law   in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Election  Law  in
          accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and
          referred  to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on
          Election Law in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting conflicts
          of interest among board of elections employees

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-304
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 3-304. Board employees;  conflicts  of  interest.  1.  No  board  of
     4  elections  employee shall engage in or participate in any trade or busi-
     5  ness which creates, or may  tend  to  create,  an  actual  or  potential
     6  conflict  of interest.   No board of elections employee shall maintain a
     7  direct financial interest in or be employed by a  vendor  or  a  company
     8  providing  services  to a candidate who has an election overseen by such
     9  employee's office, including but not  limited  to,  printing  companies,
    10  election consulting companies, direct mail companies and digital market-
    11  ing  companies.  No  board of elections employee shall maintain a direct
    12  financial interest in or be employed by a vendor or company  that  sells

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02172-31-4
        A. 1244--D                          2

     1  to  the  board voting machines, electronic poll books, printers or other
     2  technical or electronic equipment. A violation of any of the  provisions
     3  of  this  subdivision  shall  be  cause  for  discipline by the board of
     4  elections, including removal of the board of elections employee.
     5    2.  No  board  of  elections  employee  shall  remain  on the board of
     6  elections payroll while also a  candidate  for  an  office  who  has  an
     7  election  overseen  by  the  board  at  which they are employed. For the
     8  purposes of this article, a board of elections employee shall be  deemed
     9  a  candidate  for  elective  office  upon the filing of a designating or
    10  nominating petition for such  office  or,  where  nominations  for  such
    11  office are made other than by petition, upon acceptance of a nomination.
    12  Such  employee  may remain in "leave without pay" status until such time
    13  as their candidacy shall cease, or upon the day  following  the  certif-
    14  ication  of  election  results  for  such office, whichever comes first.
    15  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, when there are no prima-
    16  ry elections for the office being sought by a candidate that is employed
    17  by the board of elections, that candidate may remain  on  the  board  of
    18  elections  payroll  for  no  more  than  ninety  days prior to a general
    19  election. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply  to  unpaid
    20  party positions.
    21    3.  It  shall  not be considered a conflict of interest for a board of
    22  elections employee who is a member of a county committee as  defined  in
    23  section  2-104 of this chapter, a district leader as outlined in section
    24  2-110 of this chapter, a member of the state committee as  described  in
    25  section  2-102  of  this chapter, a delegate or an alternate delegate to
    26  judicial district nominating conventions as described in  section  6-124
    27  of  this  chapter,  or  a  delegate or an alternate delegate to national
    28  party conventions as described in section 2-122 of this chapter who,  as
    29  part  of  their  duties  in  said party position, endorses or supports a
    30  candidate for a party position or public office.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    32  law.