STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3167
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 4, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
        AN ACT to amend the election  law,  in  relation  to  government  vendor
          contributions
          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  14-131
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 14-131. Government vendor contributions. 1. (a) It shall be unlawful
     4  during  the restricted vendor contribution period for any person, organ-
     5  ization, group of persons, or business entity that submits a bid, quota-
     6  tion, offer or response to a state governmental entity posting or solic-
     7  itation for procurement to make a contribution to any officeholder of or
     8  with authority over the state governmental entity or entities  responsi-
     9  ble  for  issuing  such  procurement posting or solicitation, evaluating
    10  responses to the procurement posting or  solicitation  for  purposes  of
    11  determining  an  award,  or  approving  the  selection of an awardee, or
    12  awarding the final contract, or to any candidate for an office  of  such
    13  governmental  entity,  including  to  such officeholder's or candidate's
    14  authorized political committees or political committees the officeholder
    15  or candidate exerts operational control over. It shall further be unlaw-
    16  ful, pursuant to section 14-120 of this article, to  make  contributions
    17  to  political  committees  not authorized or operationally controlled by
    18  the officeholder or candidate for the purpose of transferring a contrib-
    19  ution to the officeholder's or candidate's authorized political  commit-
    20  tees or political committees they exert operational control over.
    21    (b)  For  purposes  of  this  section the assembly and senate shall be
    22  separate and distinct governmental entities when a particular posting or
    23  solicitation for procurement is issued by only one respective house.
    24    (c) The state governmental entity  directly  responsible  for  issuing
    25  such  posting  or solicitation for procurement shall include a notice of
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00939-01-9

        S. 3167                             2
     1  the prohibition established by this section and the  state  governmental
     2  entity responsible for evaluating responses to such posting or solicita-
     3  tion  shall  provide  to  any person, organization, group of persons, or
     4  business  entity  that submits a proposal in response to such posting or
     5  solicitation a notice of the prohibition established by this section and
     6  the restricted vendor contribution period commencement date.
     7    2. As used in this section "business entity" means a  business  corpo-
     8  ration,  professional  services  corporation, limited liability company,
     9  partnership, limited partnership, business  trust,  association  or  any
    10  other  legal commercial entity organized under the laws of this state or
    11  any other  state  or  foreign  jurisdiction,  including  any  subsidiary
    12  directly  or indirectly controlled by the business entity, and any poli-
    13  tical organization, including but not limited to any political organiza-
    14  tion organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code,  that  is
    15  directly or indirectly controlled by the business entity.
    16    3. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    17  shall  commence,  with respect to a specific person, organization, group
    18  of persons, or business entity when it files a statement of registration
    19  pursuant to section one-e of the legislative law, or  engages  lobbying,
    20  as  defined  by subdivision (c) of section one-c of the legislative law,
    21  to generate a procurement opportunity or pilot program or submits a bid,
    22  quotation, offer or response to the state governmental entity posting or
    23  solicitation, at the earliest posting, on a state governmental  entity's
    24  website,  in  a  newspaper  of general circulation or in the procurement
    25  opportunities newsletter  in  accordance  with  article  four-C  of  the
    26  economic  development  law of written notice, advertisement or solicita-
    27  tion of a request for proposal, invitation for bids, or solicitations of
    28  proposals, or any other method provided for by  law  or  regulation  for
    29  soliciting a response from offerers intending to result in a procurement
    30  contract  with  a  state  governmental  entity.  The  restricted  vendor
    31  contribution period does not apply to a person, organization,  group  of
    32  persons  or  business  entity that is responding to a state governmental
    33  entity's request for information or other informational exchanges occur-
    34  ring prior to such governmental entity's  posting  or  solicitation  for
    35  procurement provided it has not filed a statement of registration pursu-
    36  ant  to  section one-e of the legislative law or engaged in lobbying, as
    37  defined by subdivision (c) of section one-c of the legislative  law,  to
    38  generate a procurement opportunity or pilot program.
    39    4. The restricted vendor contribution period described in this section
    40  shall  end  with  respect  to  a specific person, organization, group of
    41  persons, or business entity if:
    42    (a) the person, organization, group of persons, or business entity  is
    43  the  recipient  of  the  final  contract  award,  the  restricted vendor
    44  contribution period shall end six months after the final contract  award
    45  and approval by the state governmental entity and, where applicable, the
    46  state  comptroller  and if the person, organization, group of persons or
    47  business entity does not lobby on the execution of  the  contract  after
    48  its award; or
    49    (b)  the person, organization, group of persons, or business entity is
    50  not the recipient of the final contract  award,  the  restricted  vendor
    51  contribution period shall end with the final contract award and approval
    52  by  the state governmental entity and, where applicable, the state comp-
    53  troller.
    54    5. The restricted vendor contribution period  shall  recommence  if  a
    55  person,  organization,  group  of  persons or business entity engages in
    56  activity pursuant to subdivision three of this section.

        S. 3167                             3
     1    § 2. Section 14-126 of the election law is amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  subdivision 8 to read as follows:
     3    8.  (a) Any person, organization, group of persons, or business entity
     4  as that term is used in section  14-131  of  this  article,  who,  under
     5  circumstances  evincing  an intent to violate such law, makes a contrib-
     6  ution in contravention of  section  14-131  of  this  article  shall  be
     7  subject  to  a  civil  penalty not to exceed the greater of ten thousand
     8  dollars or an amount equal to two hundred percent of  the  contribution,
     9  to  be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be brought
    10  by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel.
    11    (b) Any person who, acting as or on behalf of an officeholder,  candi-
    12  date,  or  political  committee,  accepts  a  contribution or receives a
    13  transfer in contravention of section 14-131 of  this  article  shall  be
    14  required to refund such contribution.
    15    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    16  it shall have become a law.