Public service is a public trust. These prohibitions on the conduct of public servants are enacted to preserve the trust placed in the public servants of the city, to promote public confidence in government, to protect the integrity of government decision-making and to enhance government efficiency.
As used in this chapter:
1. "Advisory committee" means a committee, council, board or similar entity constituted to provide advice or recommendations to the city and having no authority to take a final action on behalf of the city or take any action which would have the effect of conditioning, limiting or requiring any final action by any other agency, or to take any action which is authorized by law.
2. "Agency" means a city, county, borough or other office, position, administration, department, division, bureau, board, commission, authority, corporation, advisory committee or other agency of government, the expenses of which are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury, and shall include but not be limited to the council, the offices of each elected official, the board of education, community school boards, community boards, the financial services corporation, the health and hospitals corporation, the public development corporation, and the New York city housing authority, but shall not include any court or any corporation or institution maintaining or operating a public library, museum, botanical garden, arboretum, tomb, memorial building, aquarium, zoological garden or similar facility.
3. "Agency served by a public servant" means (a) in the case of a paid public servant, the agency employing such public servant or (b) in the case of an unpaid public servant, the agency employing the official who has appointed such unpaid public servant unless the body to which the unpaid public servant has been appointed does not report to, or is not under the control of, the official or the agency of the official that has appointed the unpaid public servant, in which case the agency served by the unpaid public servant is the body to which the unpaid public servant has been appointed.
4. "Appear" means to make any communication, for compensation, other than those involving ministerial matters.
5. A person or firm "associated" with a public servant includes a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent or sibling; a person with whom the public servant has a business or other financial relationship; and each firm in which the public servant has a present or potential interest.
6. "Blind trust" means a trust in which a public servant, or the public servant's spouse, domestic partner, or unemancipated child, has a beneficial interest, the holdings and sources of income of which the public servant, the public servant's spouse, domestic partner, and unemancipated child have no knowledge, and which meets requirements established by rules of the board, which shall include provisions regarding the independent authority and discretion of the trustee, and the trustee's confidential treatment of information regarding the holdings and sources of income of the trust.
7. "Board" means the conflicts of interest board established by this chapter.
8. "Business dealings with the city" means any transaction with the city involving the sale, purchase, rental, disposition or exchange of any goods, services, or property, any license, permit, grant or benefit, and any performance of or litigation with respect to any of the foregoing, but shall not include any transaction involving a public servant's residence or any ministerial matter.
9. "City" means the city of New York and includes an agency of the city.
10. "Elected official" means a person holding office as mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president or member of the council.
11. "Firm" means sole proprietorship, joint venture, partnership, corporation and any other form of enterprise, but shall not include a public benefit corporation, local development corporation or other similar entity as defined by rule of the board.
12. "Interest" means an ownership interest in a firm or a position with a firm.
13. "Law" means state and local law, this charter, and rules issued pursuant thereto.
14. "Member" means a member of the board.
15. "Ministerial matter" means an administrative act, including the issuance of a license, permit or other permission by the city, which is carried out in a prescribed manner and which does not involve substantial personal discretion.
16. "Ownership interest" means an interest in a firm held by a public servant, or the public servant's spouse, domestic partner, or unemancipated child, which exceeds five percent of the firm or an investment of twenty-five thousand dollars in cash or other form of commitment, whichever is less, or five percent or twenty-five thousand dollars of the firm's indebtedness, whichever is less, and any lesser interest in a firm when the public servant, or the public servant's spouse, domestic partner, or unemancipated child exercises managerial control or responsibility regarding any such firm, but shall not include interests held in any pension plan, deferred compensation plan or mutual fund, the investments of which are not controlled by the public servant, the public servant's spouse, domestic partner, or unemancipated child, or in any blind trust which holds or acquires an ownership interest. The amount of twenty-five thousand dollars specified herein shall be modified by the board pursuant to subdivision a of section twenty-six hundred three.
17. "Particular matter" means any case, proceeding, application, request for a ruling or benefit, determination, contract limited to the duration of the contract as specified therein, investigation, charge, accusation, arrest, or other similar action which involves a specific party or parties, including actions leading up to the particular matter; provided that a particular matter shall not be construed to include the proposal, consideration, or enactment of local laws or resolutions by the council, or any action on the budget or text of the zoning resolution.
18. "Position" means a position in a firm, such as an officer, director, trustee, employee, or any management position, or as an attorney, agent, broker, or consultant to the firm, which does not constitute an ownership interest in the firm.
19. "Public servant" means all officials, officers and employees of the city, including members of community boards and members of advisory committees, except unpaid members of advisory committees shall not be public servants.
20. "Regular employee" means all elected officials and public servants whose primary employment, as defined by rule of the board, is with the city, but shall not include members of advisory committees or community boards.
21. a. "Spouse" means a husband or wife of a public servant who is not legally separated from such public servant.
b. "Domestic partner" means persons who have a registered domestic partnership pursuant to section 3-240 of the administrative code, a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 123, dated August 7, 1989, or a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 48, dated January 7, 1993.
22. "Supervisory official" means any person having the authority to control or direct the work of a public servant.
23. "Unemancipated child" means any son, daughter, step-son or step-daughter who is under the age of eighteen, unmarried and living in the household of the public servant.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1998/027.
a. There shall be a conflicts of interest board consisting of five members. Three members shall be appointed by the mayor, one member shall be appointed by the public advocate, and one member shall be appointed by the comptroller. All members shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the council. The mayor shall designate a chair.
b. Members shall be chosen for their independence, integrity, civic commitment and high ethical standards. No person while a member shall hold any public office, seek election to any public office, be a public employee in any jurisdiction, hold any political party office, be a lobbyist as that term is defined in section 3-211 of the administrative code or participate in any capacity in a campaign by a candidate for nomination for election, or election, to the office of mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president or member of the city council. The restrictions on contributions by natural persons who have business dealings with the city set forth in subdivision 1-a of section 3-703 of the administrative code, or a successor law, shall apply to contributions by members. Each member shall agree not to make contributions in excess of such restrictions.
c. Each member shall serve for a term of six years. Provided, however, that one member appointed by the mayor shall be appointed for a term to expire on March 31, 2020; two members appointed by the mayor shall be appointed for terms to expire on March 31, 2024; and the members first appointed by the public advocate and comptroller shall be appointed for terms to expire on March 31, 2028, replacing two mayoral appointees whose terms expire on March 31, 2022. For all members, if the appointing authority has not submitted to the council a nomination for appointment of a successor at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the term of the member whose term is expiring, the term of the member in office shall be extended for an additional year and the term of the successor to such member shall be shortened by an equal amount of time. If the council fails to act within 45 days of receipt of such nomination from the appointing authority, the nomination shall be deemed to be confirmed. No member shall serve for more than two consecutive six-year terms.
d. Members shall receive a per diem compensation, no less than the highest amount paid to an official appointed to a board or commission with the advice and consent of the council and compensated on a per diem basis, for each calendar day when performing the work of the board.
e. Members of the board shall serve until their successors have been confirmed. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled by nomination by the appropriate appointing authority made to the council within 60 days of the creation of the vacancy, for the unexpired portion of the term of the member succeeded. If the council fails to act within 45 days of receipt of such nomination from the appointing authority, the nomination shall be deemed to be confirmed.
f. Members may be removed by their respective appointing authority for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers or duties of office or violation of this section, after written notice and opportunity for a reply.
g. The board shall appoint a counsel to serve at its pleasure and shall employ or retain such other officers, employees and consultants as are necessary to exercise its powers and fulfill its obligations. The authority of the counsel shall be defined in writing, provided that neither the counsel, nor any other officer, employee or consultant of the board shall be authorized to issue advisory opinions, promulgate rules, issue subpoenas, issue final determinations of violations of this chapter, or make final recommendations of or impose penalties. The board may delegate its authority to issue advisory opinions to the chair.
h. The board shall meet at least once a month and at such other times as the chair may deem necessary. Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum and all acts of the board shall be by the affirmative vote of at least three members of the board.
(Am. L.L. 2019/215, 12/11/2019, eff. 12/11/2019)
a. Rules. The board shall promulgate rules as are necessary to implement and interpret the provisions of this chapter, consistent with the goal of providing clear guidance regarding prohibited conduct. The board, by rule, shall once every four years adjust the dollar amount established in subdivision sixteen of section twenty-six hundred one of this chapter to reflect changes in the consumer price index for the metropolitan New York-New Jersey region published by the United States bureau of labor statistics.
b. Training and education.
1. The board shall have the responsibility of informing public servants and assisting their understanding of the conflicts of interest provisions of this chapter. In fulfilling this responsibility, the board shall develop educational materials regarding the conflicts of interest provisions and related interpretive rules and shall develop and administer an on-going program for the education of public servants regarding the provisions of this chapter.
2. (a) The board shall make information concerning this chapter available and known to all public servants. On or before the tenth day after an individual becomes a public servant, such public servant shall be provided with a copy of this chapter and shall sign a written statement, which shall be maintained in his or her personnel file, that such public servant has received and read and shall conform with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Each public servant shall undergo training provided by the board in the provisions of this chapter on or before the sixtieth day after he or she becomes a public servant, and periodically as appropriate during the course of his or her city service. Every two years, each agency shall develop and implement an appropriate agency training plan in consultation with the board and the mayor's office of operations. Each agency shall cooperate with the board in order to ensure that all public servants in the agency receive the training required by this subdivision and shall maintain records documenting such training and the dates thereof. The training required by this subdivision may be in person, provided either by the board itself or by agency personnel working in conjunction with the board, or through an automated or online training program developed by the board.
(c) The failure of a public servant to receive the training required by this paragraph, to receive a copy of this chapter, or to sign the statement required by this paragraph, or the failure of the agency to maintain the required statement on file or record of training completed, shall have no effect on the duty of such public servant to comply with this chapter or on the enforcement of the provisions thereof.
c. Advisory opinions.
1. The board shall render advisory opinions with respect to all matters covered by this chapter. An advisory opinion shall be rendered on the request of a public servant or a supervisory official of a public servant and shall apply only to such public servant. The request shall be in such form as the board may require and shall be signed by the person making the request. The opinion of the board shall be based on such facts as are presented in the request or subsequently submitted in a written, signed document.
2. Advisory opinions shall be issued only with respect to proposed future conduct or action by a public servant. A public servant whose conduct or action is the subject of an advisory opinion shall not be subject to penalties or sanctions by virtue of acting or failing to act due to a reasonable reliance on the opinion, unless material facts were omitted or misstated in the request for an opinion. The board may amend a previously issued advisory opinion after giving reasonable notice to the public servant that it is reconsidering its opinion; provided that such amended advisory opinion shall apply only to future conduct or action of the public servant.
3. The board shall make public its advisory opinions with such deletions as may be necessary to prevent disclosure of the identity of any public servant or other involved party. The advisory opinions of the board shall be indexed by subject matter and cross-indexed by charter section and rule number and such index shall be maintained on an annual and cumulative basis.
4. All advisory opinions of the board shall include a statement that the opinion applies only to the requesting public servant or public servants, and any citation to a previously issued advisory opinion shall be accompanied by a statement that such previously issued advisory opinion applies only to the public servant or public servants on whose request it was originally rendered. Not later than the first day of May annually, the board shall determine whether any advisory opinion issued in the prior calendar year has interpretive value in construing the provisions of this chapter and either (a) establishes a test, standard or criterion; or (b) the board anticipates will be the subject of future advisory opinion requests from multiple persons. The board shall make that determination public in its annual report that is required pursuant to subdivision i of section 2603 of this chapter, The board shall initiate a rulemaking to adopt any such opinion, or part of an opinion, so determined.
5. For the purposes of this subdivision, public servant includes a prospective and former public servant, and a supervisory official includes a supervisory official who shall supervise a prospective public servant and a supervisory official who supervised a former public servant.
d. Financial disclosure.
1. All financial disclosure statements required to be completed and filed by public servants pursuant to state or local law shall be filed by such public servants with the board.
2. The board shall cause each statement filed with it to be examined to determine if there has been compliance with the applicable law concerning financial disclosure and to determine if there has been compliance with or violations of the provisions of this chapter.
3. The board shall issue rules concerning the filing of financial disclosure statements for the purpose of ensuring compliance by the city and all public servants with the applicable provisions of financial disclosure law.
e. Complaints.
1. The board shall receive complaints alleging violations of this chapter.
2. Whenever a written complaint is received by the board, it shall:
(a) dismiss the complaint if it determines that no further action is required by the board; or
(b) refer the complaint to the commissioner of investigation if further investigation is required for the board to determine what action is appropriate; or
(c) make an initial determination that there is probable cause to believe that a public servant has violated a provision of this chapter; or
(d) refer an alleged violation of this chapter to the head of the agency served by the public servant, if the board deems the violation to be minor or if related disciplinary charges are pending against the public servant.
3. For the purposes of this subdivision, a public servant includes a former public servant.
f. Investigations.
1. The board shall have the power to direct the department of investigation to conduct an investigation of any matter related to the board's responsibilities under this chapter. The commissioner of investigation shall, within a reasonable time, investigate any such matter and submit a confidential written report of factual findings to the board.
2. The commissioner of investigation shall make a confidential report to the board concerning the results of all investigations which involve or may involve violations of the provisions of this chapter, whether or not such investigations were made at the request of the board.
g. Referral of matters within the board's jurisdiction.
1. A public servant or supervisory official of such public servant may request the board to review and make a determination regarding a past or ongoing action of such public servant. Such request shall be reviewed and acted upon by the board in the same manner as a complaint received by the board under subdivision e of this section.
2. Whenever an agency receives a complaint alleging a violation of this chapter or determines that a violation of this chapter may have occurred, it shall refer such matter to the board. Such referral shall be reviewed and acted upon by the board in the same manner as a complaint received by the board under subdivision e of this section.
3. For the purposes of this subdivision, public servant includes a former public servant, and a supervisory official includes a supervisory official who supervised a former public servant.
h. Hearings.
1. If the board makes an initial determination, based on a complaint, investigation or other information available to the board, that there is probable cause to believe that the public servant has violated a provision of this chapter, the board shall notify the public servant of its determination in writing. The notice shall contain a statement of the facts upon which the board relied for its determination of probable cause and a statement of the provisions of law allegedly violated. The board shall also inform the public servant of the board's procedural rules. Such public servant shall have a reasonable time to respond, either orally or in writing, and shall have the right to be represented by counsel or any other person.
2. If, after receipt of the public servant's response, the board determines that there is no probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the board shall dismiss the matter and inform the public servant in writing of its decision. If, after the consideration of the response by the public servant, the board determines there remains probable cause to believe that a violation of the provisions of this chapter has occurred, the board shall hold or direct a hearing to be held on the record to determine whether such violation has occurred, or shall refer the matter to the appropriate agency if the public servant is subject to the jurisdiction of any state law or collective bargaining agreement which provides for the conduct of disciplinary proceedings, provided that when such a matter is referred to an agency, the agency shall consult with the board before issuing a final decision.
3. If the board determines, after a hearing or the opportunity for a hearing, that a public servant has violated provisions of this chapter, it shall, after consultation with the head of the agency served or formerly served by the public servant, or in the case of an agency head, with the mayor, issue an order either imposing such penalties provided for by this chapter as it deems appropriate, or recommending such penalties to the head of the agency served or formerly served by the public servant, or in the case of an agency head, to the mayor; provided, however, that the board shall not impose penalties against members of the council, or public servants employed by the council or by members of the council, but may recommend to the council such penalties as it deems appropriate. The order shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law. When a penalty is recommended, the head of the agency or the council shall report to the board what action was taken.
4. Hearings of the board shall not be public unless requested by the public servant. The order and the board's findings and conclusions shall be made public.
5. The board shall maintain an index of all persons found to be in violation of this chapter, by name, office and date of order. The index and the determinations of probable cause and orders in such cases shall be made available for public inspection and copying.
6. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the appointing officer of a public servant from terminating or otherwise disciplining such public servant, where such appointing officer is otherwise authorized to do so; provided, however, that such action by the appointing officer shall not preclude the board from exercising its powers and duties under this chapter with respect to the actions of any such public servant.
7. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term public servant shall include a former public servant.
i. Annual report. The board shall submit an annual report to the mayor and the council in accordance with section eleven hundred and six of this charter. The report shall include a summary of the proceedings and activities of the board, a description of the education and training conducted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter, a statistical summary and evaluation of complaints and referrals received and their disposition, such legislative and administrative recommendations as the board deems appropriate, the rules of the board, and the index of opinions and orders of that year. The report, which shall be made available to the public, shall not contain information, which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of a public servant.
j. Revision. The board shall review the provisions of this chapter and shall recommend to the council from time to time such changes or additions as it may consider appropriate or desirable. Such review and recommendation shall be made at least once every five years.
k. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the records, reports, memoranda and files of the board shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public scrutiny.
(Am. L.L. 2018/177, 10/27/2018, eff. 10/27/2018)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1998/027 and L.L. 2018/177.
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