NEW YORK STATE OINT OMMISSION ON UBLIC THICS J C P E 2015 ANNUAL REPORT JCOPE.NY.GOV DANIEL J. HORWITZ CHAIR MARVIN E. JACOB SEYMOUR KNOX, IV HON. EILEEN KORETZ GARY J. LAVINE NEW YORK STATE PHONE: (518) 408-3976 HON. MARY LOU RATH JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS FAX: (518) 408-3975 DAVID A. RENZI MICHAEL A. ROMEO, SR. 540 BROADWAY HON. RENEE R. ROTH MICHAEL K. ROZEN ALBANY, NEW YORK 12207 DAWN L. SMALLS www.jcope.ny.gov GEORGE H. WEISSMAN MEMBERS April 7, 2016 The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York The Honorable John J. Flanagan The Honorable Carl E. Heastie Temporary President and Majority Leader of the Senate Speaker of the Assembly The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins The Honorable Brian M. Kolb Senate Democratic Conference Leader Minority Leader of the Assembly The Honorable Jeffrey D. Klein Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader To the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo and Members of the Legislature: On behalf of the Commissioners and staff of the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, I am pleased to present you with the enclosed 2015 Annual Report. Respectfully, Daniel J. Horwitz Chair TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 7 THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS 9 THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY REFORM ACT OF 2011 9 COMMISSIONERS 9 STRUCTURE AND STAFFING OF THE AGENCY 15 GUIDANCE AND OUTREACH 17 ADVISORY OPINIONS 17 DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES 19 TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 20 WEBSITE 22 LOBBYING OVERVIEW 25 OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN 2015 25 2015 LOBBYING DATA 26 2015 LOBBYING DATA HIGHLIGHTS 2 8 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS 39 ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS 39 INVESTIGATIONS AND ENFORCEMENTS 43 OVERVIEW 43 2015 REVIEW AND DISPOSITION OF INVESTIGATIVE MATTERS 44 2015 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS 47 APPENDIX A: EXECUTIVE LAW §94 49 APPENDIX B: 2015 LISTING OF LOBBYISTS AND PUBLIC CORPORATIONS 65 INTRODUCTION The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (the “Commission”) was established by the Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 (PIRA)¹ to oversee and regulate ethics and lobbying in New York State and began operation on December 14, 2011. (See Executive Law §94 attached hereto as Appendix A). The Commission has broad regulatory authority and oversight over officers and employees at State agencies and departments including commissions, boards, State public benefit corporations, public authorities, SUNY, CUNY, and the statutory closely- affiliated corporations; the four statewide elected officials and members of the Legislature (and candidates for those offices); employees of the Legislature; certain political party chairpersons; and registered lobbyists and their clients. The Commission provides information, education, and advice regarding current ethics and lobbying laws, and promotes compliance with these laws through audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings. Additionally, the Commission fosters transparency by making publicly available required disclosures filed by the people and entities under its oversight. These disclosures include, but are not limited to, the annual financial disclosure statements filed by thousands of individuals subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction and the activity and expense reports filed by thousands of lobbyists and their clients. Pursuant to §94(9)(l) of the Executive Law and §1-d(g) of Legislative Law 1-A (the “Lobbying Act”), this annual report summarizes the activities of the Commission in 2015 and includes data relating to ethics and lobbying regulation. With respect to lobbying data, spending reached record highs in 2015. Total spending by lobbying entities - $243.1 million – eclipsed the record set in 2014 by over $17 million. Compensation paid to retained and employed in-house lobbyists also hit an all-time high of $206.7 million. The list of top spending entities was dominated by groups involved in education and education tax credit issues, led by the Invest in Education Coalition (previously reporting as Coalition for Opportunity in Education), which spent $5.1 million on lobbying activities, over 90 percent of which went to advertisements, events, and other non-compensation expenses. Also among the top ten spenders were education-centered groups New York State United Teachers, StudentsFirst New York Advocacy, Inc., Families for Excellent 2015 ANNUAL REPORT NEW YORK STATE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS 7 INTRODUCTION Schools, Inc., and Families for Excellent Schools Advocacy, Inc. In other sectors, issues such as rent control, prevailing wage, and affordable housing laws generated substantial spending by lobbying entities. Separately, in conjunction with this annual report, the Commission will publish the complete data filed by lobbyists and their clients for 2015 in spreadsheet format on its website, jcope.ny.gov. Additional summaries of lobbying data are included in this report. The full 2015 listing of lobbyists and public corporations and their financial data is attached hereto as Appendix B. The report also highlights some of the Commission's achievements during the year, which include issuing a substantial basis investigation report against a former Assemblymember, resolving a Lobbying Act violation by a state contractor with the Commission’s highest penalty to date, developing new guidance that resulted in two significant Advisory Opinions that address issues relating to influences in government decision making, and making substantial investments in information technology to improve public access to information and to streamline compliance measures. The Commission made substantial legislative recommendations last year, many of which are being considered by the Legislature at this time. As such, the Commission has not included recommendations with this report. In 2016, the Commission will continue its efforts to provide new guidance on recent reforms and plans to develop new comprehensive regulations on the Lobbying Act. 8 THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 The Commission was formally constituted in December 2011 pursuant to PIRA. The Commission continued the lobbying and ethics oversight functions of its predecessor agencies with regulatory authority over the four statewide elected officials, candidates for those offices, executive branch employees, State legislators, candidates for the Legislature and legislative branch employees, as well as certain political party chairs, and lobbyists and their clients. The Commission is made up of 14 commissioners; three appointed by the Temporary President of the Senate, three appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Assembly, and six appointed by the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. The Commission chairperson is selected by the Governor. Terms for commissioners vary and are set forth in Executive Law §94. The Commission meets, at a minimum, bimonthly and appoints an executive director to run the functions and administration of the agency. Commissioners Daniel J. Horwitz, Chair Mr. Horwitz is currently a partner at McLaughlin & Stern, LLP, a mid-size law firm in New York City. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Horwitz was a partner in an AmLaw 100 law firm. He previously served as a New York County assistant district attorney for nearly a decade, where he investigated and prosecuted complex business crimes in the Frauds Bureau. Mr. Horwitz was recognized in the 2009-2013 editions of New York Super Lawyers and in The Best Lawyers in America, 19th and 20th Editions, in the area of White-Collar Criminal Defense: White Collar and Business Litigation. In 2012 and 2013, Super Lawyers 2015 ANNUAL REPORT NEW YORK STATE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS 9 THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS recognized Mr. Horwitz as a Top 100 New York Metro Attorney. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Horwitz served as legislative director to Congressman Thomas J. Downey. Mr. Horwitz received his J.D. cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law and his B.A. from Columbia University. Mr. Horwitz was appointed to the Commission by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Marvin E. Jacob Mr. Jacob is a recently retired partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he focused primarily on corporate financial restructurings. Prior to joining Weil in 1979 as a partner, he served as the associate regional administrator of the New York office of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. During his tenures at the SEC and Weil, he taught bankruptcy reorganization and securities regulation at New York Law School as an adjunct professor of law and published and lectured extensively. Since his retirement from Weil, Mr. Jacob's practice has focused primarily on mediations, arbitrations, public service and pro bono matters. From 2006-2009, Mr. Jacob served as a member of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and in 2010 was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Public Authority Reform. Mr. Jacob was first appointed to the Commission by former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and was subsequently reappointed by Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie. Seymour Knox, IV Mr. Knox is the CEO of Knox International, LLC, a New York-based marketing and consulting group. For twenty years, Mr. Knox served as vice president of corporate relations for the Buffalo Sabres. He has served on various boards including the Albright- Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, Parks and Trails New York, Artpark in Lewiston, and the George Eastman House in Rochester. He graduated from Lake Forest College with a B.A. in American Studies and Art History. Mr. Knox was appointed to the Commission by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. 10 THE JOINT COMMISSION ON PUBLIC ETHICS Hon. Eileen Koretz Judge Koretz was an Administrative Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney before being appointed to the bench. Judge Koretz presided in the New York County Criminal Court and the Midtown Community Court from 1997 to 2006 and was then designated as Supervising Judge of the New York County Criminal Court. Since retiring in 2008, Judge Koretz has served as a Judicial Hearing Officer and is currently presiding over trial cases in the misdemeanor part in the Kings County Criminal Court.