Bill Text: NY A00586 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a joint commission on public transparency and sexual harassment to adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations defining sexual harassment for state agencies, offices, and branches of government and develop recommendations for the uniform distribution of such definitions and policies, and to receive complaints and referrals alleging violations by certain state officials.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to governmental operations [A00586 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A00586-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 586 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, WILLIAMS, SEAWRIGHT, GUNTHER, ENGLEBRIGHT, CAHILL, HYNDMAN, LAVINE, WEPRIN, DICKENS, MOSLEY, D'URSO, NIOU, BARRON, DE LA ROSA, GIGLIO, RIVERA, LUPARDO, ARROYO, LAWRENCE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, DAVILA, NOLAN, SIMON, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to establishing a joint commission on public transparency and sexual harassment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section 2 75-b to read as follows: 3 § 75-b. Commission on public transparency and sexual harassment. 1. 4 When used in this section the following terms shall have the following 5 meanings: 6 (a) "statewide elected official" shall mean the governor, lieutenant 7 governor, comptroller, or attorney general; 8 (b) "state officer or employee" shall mean: 9 (i) heads of state departments and their deputies and assistants who 10 serve at the discretion of the statewide elected official; and 11 (ii) officers and employees of statewide elected officials who serve 12 at the discretion of the statewide elected official; 13 (c) "legislative employee" shall mean any officer or employee of the 14 legislature; and 15 (d) "legislative member" shall mean a senator or member of the assem- 16 bly. 17 2. There is hereby established within the department of state a 18 commission on public transparency and sexual harassment which shall 19 consist of eleven members and shall have and exercise the powers and the 20 duties set forth in this section with respect to statewide elected offi- 21 cials, state officers and employees, legislative employees, and legisla- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01315-01-9A. 586 2 1 tive members. This section shall not be deemed to have revoked or 2 rescinded any regulations or advisory opinions issued by the legislative 3 ethics commission, the commission on public integrity, the state ethics 4 commission, or the state office for human rights in effect upon the 5 effective date of this section to the extent that such regulations or 6 opinions are not inconsistent with any law of this state, but such regu- 7 lations and opinions shall apply only to matters over which such commis- 8 sions had jurisdiction at the time such regulations and opinions were 9 promulgated or issued. The commission shall undertake a comprehensive 10 review of the current sexual harassment policies in the legislature and 11 executive agencies. The commission shall, before February first, two 12 thousand twenty, report to the governor and the legislature regarding 13 this review and recommendations for any regulatory or statutory guidance 14 for consistency and transparency. 15 3. The commission shall consist of eleven members of whom three shall 16 be appointed by the governor, four by the chief judge of the court of 17 appeals, and one each by the speaker of the assembly, the temporary 18 president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, and the 19 minority leader of the assembly. Of the three members appointed by the 20 governor, no more than two shall be enrolled in the same political 21 party, and two shall be attorneys admitted to practice law in this 22 state. Of the four members appointed by the chief judge of the court of 23 appeals, no more than two shall be enrolled in the same political party, 24 two shall be attorneys licensed to practice law in this state, and two 25 shall not be attorneys. No member of the commission shall hold any 26 office in any political party. Members of the commission shall be 27 appointed based on their actual experience in the establishment of 28 institutional policies, sexual harassment claims, and legal matters 29 regarding sexual harassment issues, sex crimes, and reporting. Appoint- 30 ing authorities shall coordinate appointments to include, but not be 31 limited to, an attorney actually employed in the area of sexual harass- 32 ment litigation and similar legal matters who has demonstrated outstand- 33 ing service and contributions to this legal area, a human resources or 34 labor relations representative who has demonstrated actual service in 35 the establishment of effective sexual harassment policies in the work- 36 place, a member of law enforcement who has work experience in relation 37 to sex crimes and harassment, and a member of the judicial branch who 38 has had experience in the consideration of civil claims related to sexu- 39 al harassment and sex discrimination. In the event that a vacancy arises 40 with respect to a member of the commission first appointed pursuant to 41 this section by a legislative leader, the legislative leaders of the 42 same political party in the same house shall appoint a member to fill 43 such vacancy irrespective of whether that legislative leader's political 44 party is in the majority or minority. No individual shall be eligible 45 for appointment as a member of the commission who currently or within 46 the last three years is or has been a member of the New York state 47 legislature or has been a legislative employee, or a statewide officer 48 or elected official or a commissioner of an executive agency appointed 49 by the governor, or has held judicial office. Members of the commission 50 shall be residents of the state. 51 4. Members of the commission shall serve for terms of five years; 52 provided, however, that of the members first appointed by the governor, 53 one shall serve for one year, one shall serve for two years, and one 54 shall serve for three years, as designated by the governor; the members 55 first appointed by the temporary president of the senate and by the 56 speaker of the assembly shall serve for four years and the members firstA. 586 3 1 appointed by the minority leaders of the senate and the assembly shall 2 serve for two years. 3 5. Members of the commission shall designate a chair from the member- 4 ship thereof for a term of two years or until his or her term expires, 5 whichever period is shorter. The chair or a member of the commission may 6 call a meeting. 7 6. Any vacancy occurring on the commission shall be filled within 8 thirty days of its occurrence in the same manner as the member whose 9 vacancy is being filled was appointed. A person appointed to fill a 10 vacancy occurring other than by expiration of a term of office shall be 11 appointed for the unexpired term of the member he or she succeeds. 12 7. Members of the commission may be removed by the appointing authori- 13 ty solely for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, 14 violation of the confidentiality, inability to discharge the powers or 15 duties of office or a violation of this section, after written notice 16 and opportunity for a reply. 17 8. Members of the commission shall be reimbursed for all reasonable 18 expenses actually and necessarily incurred by him or her in the perform- 19 ance of his or her duties under this section. 20 9. Eight members shall constitute a quorum. 21 10. The commission shall: 22 (a) adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations defining sexual 23 harassment for state agencies, offices, and branches of government and 24 develop recommendations for the uniform distribution of the definitions 25 and policies developed pursuant to this section; 26 (b) make available forms for complaints of sexual harassment and sex 27 discrimination involving statewide elected officials, state officers or 28 employees, legislative members and employees; 29 (c) review sexual harassment filing procedures in accordance with the 30 provisions of this section; 31 (d) receive complaints and referrals alleging violations of section 32 two hundred ninety-six of the executive law, or provisions of article 33 one hundred thirty of the penal law by a statewide elected official, a 34 state officer or employee, legislative employee or legislative member; 35 (e) immediately report any allegations that, if true, would constitute 36 a crime, to law enforcement for investigation; 37 (f) for all other matters the commission shall determine whether a 38 complaint is "founded" or "unfounded" and shall issue a recommendation, 39 in accordance with the confidentiality provisions contained in this 40 section and consistent with all other laws, including awards to crime 41 victims under article twenty-two of the executive law, to the appointing 42 authority as to the basis of the claims, recommendations for appropriate 43 resolution, and whether the commission approves of the use of public 44 monies, including funds of the legislature, to resolve specific claims 45 raised by the claimant. The recommendations of the commission shall be 46 fully and properly considered by the appointing authority but shall not 47 be binding. There shall be a rebuttable presumption assumed by the 48 commission that any statewide elected official, state officer or employ- 49 ee, or legislative member or employee who makes a good faith effort at 50 reporting or addressing sexual harassment shall not be held individually 51 liable under any claim or settlement; 52 (g) prepare an annual report to the governor and the legislature 53 summarizing the activities of the commission during the previous year 54 including, but not limited to, (i) an accounting of founded and 55 unfounded claims of sexual harassment organized by legislative branch 56 and executive office or agency, and (ii) where a matter has beenA. 586 4 1 resolved, the date and nature of the disposition and any sanctions or 2 recommendations of the commission, subject to the confidentiality 3 requirements of this section; 4 (h) provide notification to any person who has filed a sexual harass- 5 ment claim of the determination of the commission's review as well as 6 the individual's right to appeal the commission's determination pursuant 7 to subdivision twelve of this section; 8 (i) appoint an executive director who shall act in accordance with the 9 policies of the commission. The appointment and removal of the executive 10 director shall be made solely by a vote of a majority of the commission, 11 which majority shall include at least one member appointed by the gover- 12 nor from each of the two major political parties, and one member 13 appointed by a legislative leader from each of the two major political 14 parties. The commission may delegate authority to the executive director 15 to act in the name of the commission between meetings of the commission 16 provided such delegation is in writing, the specific powers to be deleg- 17 ated are enumerated, and the commission shall not delegate any decisions 18 specified in this section that require a vote of the commission. The 19 executive director shall be appointed without regard to political affil- 20 iation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties assigned 21 by this article, and shall be a qualified, independent professional. The 22 commission may remove the executive director for neglect of duty, 23 misconduct in office, violation of the confidentiality, or inability or 24 failure to discharge the powers or duties of office, including the fail- 25 ure to follow the lawful instructions of the commission; 26 (j) review and approve a staffing plan provided and prepared by the 27 executive director which shall contain, at a minimum, a list of the 28 various units and divisions as well as the number of positions in each 29 unit, titles and their duties, and salaries, as well as the various 30 qualifications for each position including, but not limited to, educa- 31 tion and prior experience for each position; 32 (k) appoint such other staff as are necessary to carry out its duties 33 under this section; and 34 (l) develop and administer an online sexual harassment orientation 35 course to be made available across the legislative and executive branch- 36 es for the purposes of a uniform and consistent policy across govern- 37 ment. 38 11. (a) When an individual becomes a member or staff of the commis- 39 sion, that individual shall be required to sign a non-disclosure state- 40 ment. 41 (b) Except as otherwise required or provided by law, testimony 42 received or any other information obtained by a commissioner or staff of 43 the commission shall not be disclosed by any such individual to any 44 person or entity outside the commission during the pendency of any 45 matter. Any confidential communication to any person or entity outside 46 the commission related to the matters before the commission may occur 47 only as authorized by the commission. 48 (c) The commission shall establish procedures necessary to prevent the 49 unauthorized disclosure of any information received by any member of the 50 commission or staff of the commission. Any breaches of confidentiality 51 shall be investigated by the inspector general and appropriate action 52 shall be taken. Any commissioner or person employed by the commission 53 who intentionally and without authorization releases confidential infor- 54 mation received by the commission shall be guilty of a class A misdemea- 55 nor.A. 586 5 1 12. The commission shall be deemed to be an agency of the state within 2 the meaning of article three of the state administrative procedure act 3 and shall adopt rules governing the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings 4 and appeals taken pursuant to a proceeding commenced under article 5 seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules relating to the 6 assessment of penalties or findings authorized in this section. Such 7 rules, which shall not be subject to the approval requirements of the 8 state administrative procedure act, shall provide for due process proce- 9 dural mechanisms substantially similar to those set forth in article 10 three of the state administrative procedure act but such mechanisms need 11 not be identical in terms of scope. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to settle- 13 ments entered into on and after such date.
