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Instructions for Lobbyists Filing Online

General Lobbyist Information

The Lobbying Act, as amended by the Public Employee Ethics Reform Act of 2007, mandates that the Commission on Public Integrity provide full and complete disclosure as to the identities, activities, and expenditures of those attempting to influence the governmental decision-making process in New York State on both the state and local government levels. Further, pursuant to the Act's provisions, the Commission prepares forms, as well as instructions for completing these forms. The information contained in these instructions has been provided to assist you in registering and reporting as a lobbyist. It is not intended to supersede the Lobbying Act itself. Public Corporations and Clients should refer to the separate Help Screen available On-Line.

What is a lobbyist? What is lobbying activity?

A lobbyist is a person or organization employed, retained, or designated by another, who attempts to influence:

(i) the passage or defeat of any legislation by either house of the state legislature or approval or disapproval of any legislation by the governor;

(ii) the adoption, issuance, rescission, modification or terms of a gubernatorial executive order;

(iii) the adoption or rejection of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law by a state agency;

(iv) the outcome of any rate making proceeding by a state agency;

(v) any determination:

(A) by a public official, or by a person or entity working in cooperation with a public official related to a governmental procurement, or

(B) by an officer or employee of the unified court system, or by a person or entity working in cooperation with an officer or employee of the unified court system related to a governmental procurement;

(vi) the approval, disapproval, implementation or administration of tribal-state compacts, memoranda of understanding, or any other tribal-state agreements and any other state actions related to Class III gaming as provided in 25 U.S.C. §2701, except to the extent designation of such activities as "lobbying" is barred by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, by a public official or by a person or entity working in cooperation with a public official in relation to such approval, disapproval, implementation or administration;

(vii) the passage or defeat of any local law, ordinance, resolution, or regulation by any municipality or subdivision thereof;

(viii) the adoption, issuance, rescission, modification or terms of an executive order issued by the chief executive officer of a municipality;

(ix) the adoption or rejection of any rule, regulation, or resolution having the force and effect of a local law ordinance, resolution, or regulation; or

(x) the outcome of any rate making proceeding by any municipality or subdivision thereof.

What is a municipality?

The term municipality shall mean any jurisdictional subdivision of the state, including but not limited to counties, cities, towns, villages, improvement districts and special districts, with a population of more than fifty thousand; and industrial development agencies in jurisdictional subdivisions with a population of more than fifty thousand; and public authorities, and public corporations, but shall not include school districts.

To whom does the Act apply?

The Lobbying Act applies to lobbyists, public corporations, and clients of lobbyists, who in any calendar year either reasonably anticipate expending, incurring, or receiving, or actually expends, incur, or receive, more than $5,000 of combined reportable compensation and expenses for lobbying activities.

Beginning December 31, 2007, the Lobbying Act also applies to lobbyists, public corporations, and clients of lobbyists who lobby unpaid or per diem members of state public authorities, public benefit corporations, boards, commissions and councils.

Instructions for Lobbyist User ID Requests

If you will be filing online for the first time, you will need to apply for a User ID before you can file your Lobbyist Registration and Bi-monthly reports online. Go to www.nyintegrity.org and click on the Lobbyist Registration and Reporting button. Select the New Users Click here button and then click on Request New Lobbyist User ID.

If you have registered as a lobbyist using paper forms at any time since 2003, the Commission has already created a User Profile from the principal lobbyist name that was listed on your previous registration. Please scroll through the lobbyist name list first to see if this name is listed. If your name is listed, select this name and continue completing this form to receive your User ID and Password. Otherwise, use the following directions to get your User ID Request.

Principal lobbyist name: If the principal lobbyist is an organization, type in the organization's name. If the principal lobbyist is an individual, type in the format: last name, first name.

PLEASE NOTE: You must report the full legal name of the lobbyist. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms.

Responsible person: The User ID and Password will be issued to the person responsible for filing the Lobbyist Registration and Bimonthly Reports. In the case of an individual principal lobbyist, this person is the individual listed in the principal lobbyist name field. In the case of an organization, this person is the organization's chief administrative officer.

PLEASE NOTE—THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MAY DESIGNATE ANOTHER TO FILE THE REPORTS, BUT THIS DESIGNATION DOES NOT RELIEVE THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF LIABILITY DUE TO A FAILURE TO FILE, LATE FILING OR FALSE FILING OF ANY REPORT(S).

Additional Lobbyists: If the Principal lobbyist is a retained individual or organization, all other lobbyists employed by such retained organization or individual may be listed as additional lobbyists on this request. If the principal lobbyist is an employee of the client, only those lobbyists employed by such client may be listed as additional lobbyists on this request. As an alternative, separate User ID Requests can be filed by each employee lobbyist. Do not list a separately retained lobbyist on an employed lobbyist User ID Request; he/she must file a separate request.

After you have completed and submitted this form, you will be directed to print and sign an application form that must be NOTARIZED and mailed to the Commission before you will receive your User ID and Password.

Your User ID and temporary password will be sent to the e-mail you have provided on your application. Please be sure your e-mail is correct before you hit the submit button.

NEW FOR 2009: For the initial login, current application users will automatically be required to change their password and provide the answers to three security questions. Lobbyist will then be required to login to the system utilizing their new password. This new security feature will be utilized to provide all users with the ability to use the systems forgotten password feature.

PLEASE NOTE: Keep your User ID and Password in a safe place. Do not reveal your Password to anyone, including Commission Staff. Commission Staff do not have knowledge of or access to your Password.

NEW FOR 2009: Forgotten Password

If you don't remember your password, just follow these simple steps.

  1. Type your user ID in the box on the login screen.
  2. Click on the forgotten password link under the username and password.
  3. Provide the correct answers to 3 security questions. When complete hit finish and a temporary password will appear on your screen.
  4. Login with your temporary password and the system will then automatically require you to create a new password.

If you cannot remember the answers to your secret questions please contact the Commission via Phone: (518) 408-3976 or email helpdesk@nyintegrity.org

NEW FOR 2009: Password Change

It is easy to change your password, just follow these simple steps:

  1. Login to the application using your current username (LB#####) and password.
  2. Click on the Change password link located on the right side of the page.
  3. Create your password meeting the password criteria indicated below.
  4. Click finish when completed and a confirmation message that you have successfully changed your password will appear on the screen.

Instructions for Lobbyist Profile Update Form

You must use this form to update the profile information you provided for your User ID request. Upon approval, these changes will automatically be applied to any future registration(s)/bimonthly reports you file. Please be advised that when you submit a profile update you cannot submit any required reports until the profile update has been approved.

NEW FOR 2009:

Principal Lobbyist Name Change:

If you have any changes to make to the principal lobbyist name you must go to the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu. Click on add new profile update and click on name change under the principal lobbyist name field to be forwarded to the next screen. Select from the drop down box which year the change should take effect and enter the new principal lobbyist name. Changes made to the principal lobbyist name will be subject to Commission approval and may need additional documentation. Please be advised that when you submit a profile update you cannot submit any required reports until the profile update has been approved.

Instructions for On-Line Lobbyist Registration

The following are not required to register:

For further details on procurement lobbying exemptions, see §1-c(c)(A-Q).

Principal Lobbyist Information: If any of the principal lobbyist information changes, you must make changes to your Lobbyist Profile through the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Additional Lobbyists: Only names listed on your Lobbyist Profile form will appear in this section of your registration. You should review this list to make sure it is current prior to filling in your registration. Click “remove” to delete any lobbyist(s) who will not be lobbying for this client for this registration period. To add additional lobbyist(s), you must go to the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Client Name: You should review the list of client names in the Commission's database. If you select from a client currently in the database, all client fields will populate. Please review this information to ensure it is accurate and make any changes that are necessary. If your client is not in the Commission's database, you must report the full legal name of the client. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms. In the case of a client that begins with “New York” or “New York State,” list “New York” or “New York State” in parenthesis after the rest of the client name. Examples: “New York Association of Counties” is listed as “Association of Counties (NY)”; “New York State Sheriff's Association” is listed as “Sheriff's Association (NYS)”.

Third Party: The Commission has determined that a lobbyist who is retained by a client on behalf of a third party and meets the registration requirements, must register and disclose the name, address, and phone number in the third party fields of this Lobbyist Registration.

Subject, Person Lobbied, Bill Number, Procurement Contract, Executive Order and Tribal-State Compact fields: In order to expedite data entry of large numbers of data items in these fields, you may choose to copy and paste data from another document into these fields. You should report only those numbers that you anticipate you will lobby on during the registration period. If a bill has not been introduced yet, then there is no number to disclose on the Registration. Bills introduced and lobbied on subsequent to registration must be reported on the appropriate bimonthly reports. When reporting bill numbers, please indicate if the bill number is a Senate or Assembly number by inserting an “S” or an “A” at the beginning of the number.

(See copy and paste directions at the bottom of these Lobbyist Instructions.)

Agreement or written authorizations:

The Lobbying Act requires that a copy of a signed, written lobbying agreement or written authorization be submitted with each registration. Such agreement must specify the period of the year or biennial period covered and must disclose the terms and amount of compensation. If the lobbyist is retained by the organization, the actual compensation must be reported. If the retainer is based on a daily or hourly rate, the fee per day or per hour must be reported. If the lobbyist is a salaried employee of the organization, the lobbyist's prorated salary for lobbying activity must be reported.

Registrations will be considered incomplete without a copy of the agreement or written authorization to lobby from the client.

If you do not have a written lobbying agreement, a written authorization, signed by the chief administrative officer of the client or employer, may be substituted and must be submitted together with a written summary of your oral agreement. The terms and amounts of your compensation or salary must be disclosed. Authorizations that are not signed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the client will not be accepted.

Please note: Any registration submitted to the Commission that is not complete (i.e., no Lobbyist Statement of Registration (Amendment) form, no authorization, no signature, no registration fee) will be returned and will not extend the due date for submission.

A lobbyist may not engage in lobbying activity, or receive compensation, prior to registration, and registration is not complete until an executed copy of the agreement or a written authorization is received by the Commission.

In the event negotiations or other events delay the timely execution of agreement or authorization, the lobbyist should register (or file a registration amendment) and file a memorandum of agreement/authorization to lobby, signed by the client, prior to engaging in lobbying activity. The finalized agreement or authorization should be filed promptly upon its execution.

The agreement or authorization start date is the first date the agreement or authorization is in effect. The end date is the last date the agreement or authorization is in effect. These dates do not have to coincide with the beginning or end of a calendar year, or a biennial registration period. For open-ended agreements, you must show the beginning and end of the calendar year or biennial period for which you are registering.

On-line lobbyists have the option of either mailing in a copy of the signed agreement or authorization or uploading a scanned copy of the signed agreement or authorization to attach to their filing. A mailed-in agreement or authorization must have the registration confirmation number written on the top page. Agreements or authorizations can be uploaded during the completion of the individual registration or through the “Manage Contracts” section of the Lobbyist menu.

This menu can be used to upload signed lobbying agreements or authorizations that have been scanned into your computer as a file. It is suggested, that when scanning, you name the file using the following extension: .tif.

If you will be submitting more than one registration, it is suggested that you use this menu first to upload all of your agreements or authorizations. Then, as you complete each registration on-line, you can select and assign from the previously uploaded and unassigned agreement or authorization files.

Declaration: If the individual responsible for filing the registration and reports on behalf of the principal lobbyist has changed, you must inform the Commission prior to submitting your filing by updating the Lobbyist Profile through the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

REGISTRATION FEE: ALL FEE PAYMENTS ARE NONREFUNDABLE UPON SUBMISSION OF YOUR REGISTRATION FORM

Fee Schedule:

A $200 nonrefundable registration fee is required to be submitted with each Lobbyist Statement of Registration filed for the biennial period if a lobbyist anticipates exceeding $5,000 in compensation and expenses for any year in the biennial period. No registration fee is required to be submitted with a biennial Lobbyist Statement of Registration if the lobbyist will not exceed $5,000 in compensation and expenses. Any biennial Lobbyist Statement of Registration submitted after January 1 of the second calendar year of the biennial period shall be accompanied by a prorated registration fee of $100. Please note: This prorating does not apply to biennial Lobbyist Registrations that are filed late and cover the entire biennial period or a portion of both calendar years within the biennial period. In this case, a $200 fee is due at the time of submission.

PAYMENT MODE: REGISTRATION FEES MAY BE PAID BY CREDIT CARD OR BY CHECK.

Credit Card Payment: You may choose to pay your fee online with Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Please review the rate schedule carefully since all fees are nonrefundable.

Check Payment: You must type in your check or money order number on your registration form. Upon receiving your confirmation number for your registration, you must write this number on your check to facilitate processing. A fee may be charged for a returned check.

Credit Card Payments – For security purposes the application will only permit two attempts at paying for your filing by credit card. After the second failed attempt you will need to pay by check. Make sure you select the pay by check option at the bottom of your form, type in your check or money order number before submitting.

Miscellaneous: Your registration application will not be approved until the Commission receives your registration fee (if applicable) and agreement or authorization.

To facilitate processing and approval time, please write your confirmation number on your check (if not paying by credit card) and agreements or written authorizations(if not uploading) and mail promptly to the New York State Commission on Public Integrity, 540 Broadway, Albany, New York 12207.

Instructions for Lobbyist On-Line Registration Amendment Form

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR 2005-2006 REGISTRATIONS: Prior to 2006, all 2005-2006 Registrations were only required to be filed for non-procurement lobbying activities. Effective in January 2006, the type of lobbying activity has been extended to include procurement lobbying. Consequently, all lobbyists registered prior to 2006 need to review and if necessary amend their Registration to show the type of lobbying in effect for 2006: Non-procurement, Procurement or Both. Similarly, three new fields have been added for 2006 for identifying procurement contracts, executive orders and tribal state-compacts anticipated to be lobbied on. Lobbyists need to change the default from “Check if not known at this time” to “Add new field data” if known at this time. Finally, any contracts covering these new lobbying activities in 2006 must be attached to your Registration Amendment.

If any of the information contained in your registration changes during the biennial period, including the lobbying agreement, a Lobbyist Registration Amendment form must be completed and filed within 10 days of the change.

Please note: Pre-filled information from the lobbyist User ID Request form that makes up the Lobbyist profile, (i.e., lobbyist name, address and responsible person), can only be changed by going to the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Since changes to Type of Lobbying, Level of Government, Type of Lobbyist, Client Name, Third Party Name and Agreement/Authorization fields require Commission approval, you must provide a detailed explanation of changes made to these fields in the Comments box.

Agreement/Authorizations: If your agreement or authorization filed with your registration does not cover the second year of a biennial registration, you must file a registration amendment form and submit any amended agreement or authorization within the 10 day period. You must mail or upload a copy of your signed agreement/authorization if the terms have changed. Your amended registration will not be approved until our office receives the amended agreement/authorization.

Registration Amendment Form Fee Schedule: Please read the following information carefully to determine if you are required to submit a fee with your amendment.

ALL FEE PAYMENTS ARE NONREFUNDABLE UPON SUBMISSION OF YOUR AMENDED REGISTRATION FORM:

In general, no fee is required for an amended biennial Statement of Registration, provided an original is on file for that same biennial period. However, if subsequent to the filing of a biennial Statement of Registration for which no fee was submitted, the lobbyist later exceeds the $5,000 threshold, an amended biennial registration must be filed within 10 days accompanied by a $200 registration fee ($100 in the case where a prorated fee is applicable - See Registration Fee Schedule).

Payment mode: You may pay by check or credit card, if filing online.

Check Payments: You must type in your check number or money order number on your amendment form. Upon receiving your confirmation number for your registration, you must write this number on your check to facilitate processing. A fee may be charged for a returned check.

Credit Card Payments: You may choose to pay online with Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Please review rate schedule and choose amount carefully since fees are NONREFUNDABLE. For security purposes the application will only permit two attempts at paying for your filing by credit card. After the second failed attempt you will need to pay by check. Make sure you select the pay by check option at the bottom of your form, type in your check or money order number before submitting.

Instructions for On-Line Lobbyist Registration Termination Form

If your lobbying contract/authorization is terminated prior to the end of the biennial period for which you are registered and you do not anticipate that it will be extended, you must submit a lobbyist termination form within 30 days of such termination date. (Your client is also required to complete a similar form within 30 days.)

In addition, both parties must still file all required reports, covering all lobbying activity up to the effective date of such termination, by their statutory due dates.

A lobbyist termination form must also be submitted within 30 days of the termination of any additional lobbyist listed on your registration form. This will remove such lobbyist from all new bimonthly reports for this client in the remainder of the registration. In order to terminate an additional lobbyist from all future registration forms, you must remove the additional lobbyist from your profile by completing a Profile Update form in the “Manage Profile” section of the lobbyist menu.

Instructions for On-line Lobbyist Bimonthly Report Form

Any lobbyist, required to file a Statement of Registration for a client for any biennial period, must also file a bimonthly report by the 15th day of the month following the end of the bimonthly reporting period in which the lobbyist was first required to register. Subsequent bimonthly reports must be filed by the 15th day of the month following the end of each subsequent bimonthly period thereafter.

Please note: There is NO minimum threshold requirement for filing any Lobbyist Bimonthly Report. Consequently, all Lobbyist Bimonthly Reports are required to be filed for a registration period.

Bimonthly Reports may be submitted online even though you have not received approval from the Commission for your online registration.

There are twelve reporting periods per biennial reporting period:

Principal Lobbyist Information:

If you have any changes to make to the pre-filled principal lobbyist information, you must go to the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Additional Lobbyists:

All additional lobbyists listed in your Registration Form or amendments will automatically appear in this part of the bimonthly report. You should review this list and delete the names of any individuals who did not actually lobby during this period by clicking on the “remove” button beside their name. This will delete the name for this period only, not permanently. If any of these lobbyists are no longer lobbying for the principal lobbyist, you must permanently remove their name from the Registration by going to the Registration Termination Form in the “Main Menu” section of the Lobbyist Menu.

If after reviewing the list of additional lobbyists, you need to add new additional lobbyists, you will need to amend your registration for this client by going to your “Lobbyist Registration View Menu.”

Client Information:

If you have any changes to make to the client information, you will need to amend your registration for this client by going to your Lobbyist Registration View Menu.

Compensation:

“Reportable Compensation” shall mean and include any salary, fee, gift, payment, benefit, loan, advance, or any other thing of value paid, owed, given, or promised to the lobbyist by the client, or employer, for lobbying. For reporting purposes, “Reportable Compensation” shall include any such compensation paid or owed to the lobbyist for the purpose of lobbying. Such report must include all salaries and other compensation paid to staff such as those of lobbying employees or clerical help. All reportable compensation in any form must be recorded during the calendar year when it was accrued.

Reportable expenses are any expenditure incurred by or reimbursed to the lobbyist for the purpose of lobbying. Reportable expenses may include items which, in and of themselves, do not constitute lobbying, but when used as part of a lobbying effort become reportable expenses. Examples reviewed under the definition are non inclusive and practitioners are encouraged to request Commission clarification prior to completing their reports.

Reportable expenses may include, but are not limited to, the following:

What expenses are not required to be reported?

All expenses must be disclosed in Lobbying Expenses, including expenses that are or will be reimbursed during the period in which they are incurred or expended. In addition, if the lobbyist receives the reimbursement for these expenses during the reporting period, they must also disclose this amount under Reimbursed Expenses.

An expense in excess of $75 must be fully identified and include the name of the person or entity to whom it was paid, as well as the purpose for which it was paid. If any portion of this expense is attributable to one individual in an amount in excess of $75, that individual's identity must be disclosed. Expenses below $75 may be reported in the aggregate.

In cases where it is not possible to determine exact dollar amounts (such as photocopying, phone bills, in-house printing and reproduction expenses), good faith estimates of such costs, based on generally accepted accounting procedures, may be used.

Keeping and Documentation Record of Expenses:

A lobbyist must be able to document any expense of more than fifty dollars by receipt or canceled check for a period of three years from the date of filing. It is important to note that the Commission conducts random audits of filings pursuant to the Act. These audits may require lobbyists to produce books, records, papers or memoranda, and material relevant to the preparation of the selected filing. Failure to retain records as required may subject a lobbyist to a civil penalty of $2,000.

Declaration:

If the individual responsible for filing the report has changed, you must inform the Commission prior to submitting your report by updating the Lobbyist Profile through the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Instructions for On-line Lobbyist Bimonthly Report Amendment

Use this form if any of the information that you provided in your bimonthly reports needs to be amended or changed after it has been submitted.

Since such changes will be reviewed and approved by the Commission, you must provide a detailed explanation of changes in the Comments Box.

Please Note: Pre-filled Principal Lobbyist information can only be changed by updating the Lobbyist Profile through the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu. Similarly, pre-filled Client information can only be changed by amending this registration through the “Main Menu” section of the lobbyist menu.

Additional Lobbyists: Additions and removals of names to this section will affect the bimonthly report and registration being amended by this form.

You must file a bimonthly report for each bimonthly period covered by the contract/authorization you have with your client even if no compensation or expenses have been paid, incurred or received during that period.

PLEASE NOTE:

Bimonthly Reports may be submitted online even though you have not received approval from the Commission for your online registration.

Instructions for On-line Lobbyist Disbursement of Public Monies Bimonthly Report Form

Beginning January 1, 2008, any lobbyist required to file a Statement of Registration with the Commission who in any lobbying year reasonably anticipates that during the year they will expend, incur or receive combined reportable compensation and expenses in an amount in excess of $5,000 in connection with any attempts to influence a determination by a public official, or by a person or entity working in cooperation with a public official, with respect to the solicitation, award or administration of a grant, loan, or agreement involving the disbursement of public monies in excess of $15,000, will be required to file a NYS Lobbyist Disbursement of Public Monies Report. (Lobbying Act Section 1-l)

The reports are to be filed only by registered lobbyists, including public corporations. The threshold relates only to compensation and expenses attributable to the activities described above, and is in addition to and separate from the similar threshold for lobbyist registration.

What are “public monies”?

The Commission's Guidelines state “public monies” are funds that have been appropriated as part of a passed budget, which are designated for programs, grants or are discretionary funds, but which have not been allocated to specific recipients.

What are the reporting periods and when are the reports due?

These separate reports are required to be filed in accordance with the same schedule applicable to the filing of bimonthly reports. Unlike lobbyist and public corporation bimonthly reports required by Sections 1-h and 1-i, the NYS Lobbyist Disbursement of Public Monies Reports are required to be filed only for bimonthly reporting periods during which the lobbyist has made any attempts to influence a public official with respect to disbursement of public monies, or receives compensation or reimbursement of expenses for such activities.

If a report is required to be filed, the schedule for filing reports is as follows:

What are reportable compensation and reportable expenses?

“Reportable Compensation” shall mean and include any salary, fee, gift, payment, benefit, loan, advance, or any other thing of value paid, owed, given, or promised to the lobbyist by the client, or employer, for lobbying. For reporting purposes, “Reportable Compensation” shall include any such compensation paid or owed to the lobbyist for the purpose of lobbying. Such report must include all salaries and other compensation paid to staff such as those of lobbying employees or clerical help. All reportable compensation in any form must be recorded during the calendar year when it was accrued.

“Reportable expenses” are any expenditure incurred by or reimbursed to the lobbyist for the purpose of lobbying. Reportable expenses may include items which, in and of themselves, do not constitute lobbying, but when used as part of a lobbying effort become reportable expenses. Examples reviewed under the definition are non inclusive and practitioners are encouraged to request Commission clarification prior to completing their reports.

“Reportable expenses” may include, but are not limited to, the following:

What expenses are not required to be reported?

How should my expenses be reported?

All expenses must be disclosed in Part VI, including expenses that are or will be reimbursed, during the period in which they are incurred or expended. In addition, if the lobbyist receives the reimbursement for these expenses during the reporting period, they must also disclose this amount in Part V under reimbursed expenses.

Can certain expenses be estimated?

Yes. In cases where it is not possible to determine exact dollar amounts (such as photocopying, phone bills, in-house printing and reproduction expenses), good faith estimates of such costs, based on generally accepted accounting procedures, may be used.

Disbursement or Person Lobbied: In order to expedite data entry of large numbers of data items in these fields, you may choose to copy and paste data from another document into these fields. You should report only the description of the grant, loan, agreement and the person, organization or legislative body you lobbied for this period.

If I have been retained or employed to lobby on both a state and local level, how should expenses and compensation be reported?

Compensation and expenses for local and state level lobbying must be reported on the same form. At this time, the Commission is not requiring that local compensation or expenses be reported separately from state compensation and expenses.

Does a Lobbyist Disbursement of Public Monies Report have to be filed if a registered lobbyist does not have any compensation or expenses for the reporting period?

Unlike lobbyist and public corporation bimonthly reports required by sections 1-h and 1-i, the NYS Lobbyist Disbursement of Public Monies Reports are required to be filed only for bimonthly reporting periods during which the lobbyist has made any attempts to influence a public official with respect to disbursement of public monies, or receives compensation or reimbursement of expenses for such activities.

Reports are required regardless of whether the grant, loan or agreement payment is received.

No corresponding client reports are required to be filed.

Principal Lobbyist Information:

If you have any changes to make to the pre-filled principal lobbyist information, you must go to the "Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu.

Additional Lobbyists:

List each individual associated with the principal lobbyist who engaged in public monies lobbying activities for this client during this period.

Client Information:

You should review the list of client names in the Commission's database. If you select from a client currently in the database, all client fields will populate. Please review this information to ensure it is accurate and make any changes that are necessary. If your client is not in the Commission's database, you must report the full legal name of the client. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms. In the case of a client that begins with "New York" or "New York State" list "New York" or "New York State" in parenthesis after the rest of the client name. Examples: "New York Association of Counties" is listed as "Association of Counties (NY)"; "New York State Sheriff's Association" is listed as "Sheriff's Association (NYS)"

MISCELLANEOUS LOBBYIST INFORMATION

There are two prohibitions in the Lobbying Act:

The Lobbying Act prohibits retaining or employing any lobbyist and the acceptance of any such retainer or employment by any lobbyist where the compensation is contingent on the outcome of such lobbying activity. “Compensation” includes any fee, bonus, stock option, equity inducement or other form of remuneration. This is a Class A misdemeanor.

The Lobbying Act also prohibits an individual or entity required to be listed on a Statement of Registration pursuant to Article 1-A of the Legislative Law from offering or giving a gift to a Public Official. (Definitions of "gift" and "Public Official" can be found in the Lobbying Act). Any lobbyist, public corporation or client who violates this prohibition shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor for a first violation and a class E felony for a second violation within five years of the first. Further, such lobbyist, public corporation or client is also subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of $25,000 or three times the amount of the gift.

Effective January 2006, the Lobbying Act prohibits a person or organization required to file a statement or report pursuant to this article from engaging in lobbying activities concerning a governmental procurement during the restricted period as defined in §1-c(m) of the Act by contacting:

any other person within the procuring entity other than the designated contact; or

any person in a state agency other than the state agency conducting the governmental procurement.

A first-time violation of this provision may subject the person or organization to a civil penalty of up to $10,000. Subsequent violations of this provision within four years of the initial violation may subject the person or organization to a civil penalty fine of up to $25,000.

Late Filings:

First time filers will be charged a late filing fee of no more than $10 per day for each day the required filing is late. All others may be charged a late filing fee of $25 per day for each day the required filing is late.

Penalties for Non Filers:

Failure to file a statement or report may subject the lobbyist to a civil penalty fine not to exceed the greater of $25,000 or three times the amount the person failed to report properly. In addition, a lobbyist may be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first time failure and a Class E felony for subsequent failures within five years of the first.

Retention Requirements for Filings:

All biennial Statements of Registration must be retained by the lobbyist for three biennial filing periods (six years). All Lobbyist Bimonthly Reports filed with the Commission should be retained by the lobbyist for three biennial filing periods (six years).

MISCELLANEOUS FILING INFORMATION

Copy and Paste directions for Subject, Person Lobbied and Bill Number, Procurement Contract, Executive Order and Tribal-State Compact Fields:

Full Page:

  1. Open up document from which you would like to extract data.
  2. From the Menu at the top of the screen select Edit and then hit the Select All button. This will capture all the data on the document page.
  3. Select Edit Copy and this will copy all the contents in the document.
  4. Minimize document and go to on-line application. Go to appropriate section on the form (Add New Subject, Add New Person or Add New Bill) and click to open this text box. Make sure the mouse cursor is in this section and select Edit Paste. All data that you just copied from the document is pasted in the exact same format into this form's text box.

Portion of Page:

If you only want to copy a certain portion of text on a page, do the following:

  1. Open Up document from which you would like to extract data.
  2. Highlight with mouse only the portion of text that you want to copy.
  3. Select Edit Copy and this will copy all the text content that you highlighted.
  4. Minimize document and go to on-line application. Go to appropriate section on the form (Add New Subject, Add New Person or Add New Bill) and click to open this text box. Make sure the mouse cursor is in this section and select Edit Paste. All data that you just copied from the document is pasted in the exact same format into this form's text box.

Credit Card Payments — For security purposes the application will only permit two attempts at paying for your filing by credit card. After the second failed attempt you will need to pay by check. Make sure you select the pay by check option at the bottom of your form, type in your check or money order number before submitting.

Saving your forms to work on later:

Beginning in November 2004, you may choose to save your partially completed registration or report to finish at a later time rather than submit immediately. It is important to note that a saved form cannot be counted as a submission for filing purposes or to meet filing deadlines. Nor can the Commission staff retrieve or submit a report you have chosen to save. Please be sure to review your saved form queue found on the Lobbyist Menu page on a regular basis to finish and submit all of your saved reports by their filing deadlines to avoid late fees or civil penalty fines.

Please Note: If you do not save your form and there is no activity for 30 minutes while logged on to this application, the application will automatically log you off and your data will be lost.

NEW SYSTEM FEATURES!

2009

New Look:

The application's new look involves separating each section of all forms into different tabs, making it easier and quicker than ever to complete and submit your filings.

New Menu buttons at the top of the screen allow the user to submit forms and profile updates, manage contracts and view help files.

Quick Help on Demand:

The Commission has developed a new feature of our On-Line Registration application called Quick “Help On Demand”. The links provided are short “Help” tutorials that were created to assist the user on how to utilize the application and navigate through commonly asked filing questions.

All “Help” tutorials are in Adobe Flash format and require version 7 or later of Adobe Flash Player, which is a free download from the Adobe website.

What if I forget my password?

If you don't remember your password, just follow these simple steps.

  1. Type your user ID in the box on the login screen.
  2. Click on the forgotten password link under the username and password
  3. Provide the correct answers to 3 security questions. When complete hit finish and a temporary password will appear on your screen
  4. Login with your temporary password and the system will then automatically require you to create a new password.

If you cannot remember the correct answers to your security questions please contact the help desk via: Phone: (518) 474-3973 or email your questions to helpdesk@nyintegrity.org.

How do I change my password?

It is easy to change your password, just follow these simple steps:

  1. Login to the application using your current username (LB#####) and password.
  2. Click on the Change password link located on the right side of the page.
  3. Create your password meeting the password criteria indicated below.
  4. Click finish when completed and a confirmation message that you have successfully changed your password will appear on the screen.

Password Requirements:

Remember that the password you submit must meet the following criteria:

E-Mail Confirmation for Approved and Rejected Forms:

All lobbyists who file on-line will receive an e-mail confirmation when their on-line filings have been approved or rejected by Commission Staff.

Principal Lobbyist Name Change:

If you have any changes to make to the principal lobbyist name you must go to the “Manage Profile” section of the Lobbyist menu. Click on add new profile update and click on name change under the principal lobbyist name field to be forwarded to the next screen. Select from the drop down box which year the change should take effect and enter the new principal lobbyist name. Changes made to the principal lobbyist name will be subject to Commission approval and may need additional documentation. Please be advised that when you submit a profile update you cannot submit any required reports until the profile update has been approved.

Application Security

The New York State Commission on Public Integrity (hereinafter "CPI") takes confidentiality and computer security very seriously. CPI's Website uses industry standard security measures. We also employ the use of digital certificates on our Website (from VeriSign) to provide a secure, encrypted connection between capable Web browsers and our Web servers. This secure, encrypted connection is required by our servers whenever and wherever you are asked to enter information that may be considered confidential.

All information sent over the Internet during your visit is encrypted. The messages are changed by using security technology called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) so that only the intended recipient can read them.