Terms Used In New York Laws > Legislative > Article 1-A - Lobbying Act

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• article of procurement: shall mean a commodity, service, technology, public work, construction, revenue contract, the purchase, sale or lease of real property or an acquisition or granting of other interest in real property, that is the subject of a governmental procurement. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• client: shall mean every person or organization who retains, employs or designates any person or organization to carry on lobbying activities on behalf of such client. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• commission: shall mean the commission on ethics and lobbying in government created by § 94 of the executive law. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• commission salesperson: shall mean any person the primary purpose of whose employment is to cause or promote the sale of, or to influence or induce another to make a purchase of an article of procurement, whether such person is an employee (as that term is defined for tax purposes) of or an independent contractor for a vendor, provided that an independent contractor shall have a written contract for a term of not less than six months or for an indefinite term, and which person shall be compensated, in whole or in part, by the payment of a percentage amount of all or a substantial part of the sales which such person has caused, promoted, influenced or induced, provided, however, that no person shall be considered a commission salesperson with respect to any sale to or purchase by a state agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system, a municipal agency or local legislative body if the percentage amount of any commission payable with respect to such sale or purchase is substantially in excess of any commission payable with respect to any comparable sale to a purchaser that is not a state agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system, a municipal agency or local legislative body; further, provided, however, that any person that is required to file a statement or report pursuant to this article by virtue of engaging in lobbying activities as defined in paragraphs (i) through (iv) and (vi) through (x) of subdivision (c) of this section shall not be deemed to be a "commission salesperson" for purposes of this article. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• compensation: shall mean 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 for lobbying but shall not include contributions reportable pursuant to Article 14 of the election law. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• expenses: shall mean any expenditures incurred by or reimbursed to the lobbyist for lobbying but shall not include contributions reportable pursuant to Article 14 of the election law. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• gift: shall mean anything of more than nominal value given to a public official in any form including, but not limited to money, service, loan, travel, lodging, meals, refreshments, entertainment, discount, forbearance, or promise, having a monetary value. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• governmental procurement: shall mean : (i) the public announcement, public notice, or public communication to any potential vendor of a determination of need for a procurement, which shall include, but not be limited to, the public notification of the specifications, bid documents, request for proposals, or evaluation criteria for a procurement contract, (ii) solicitation for a procurement contract, (iii) evaluation of a procurement contract, (iv) award, approval, denial or disapproval of a procurement contract, or (v) approval or denial of an assignment, amendment (other than amendments that are authorized and payable under the terms of the procurement contract as it was finally awarded or approved by the comptroller, as applicable), renewal or extension of a procurement contract, or any other material change in the procurement contract resulting in a financial benefit to the offerer. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Instrument: means a negotiable instrument. See N.Y. Uniform Commercial Code 3-102
• Issue: means the first delivery of an instrument to a holder
  
  or a remitter. See N.Y. Uniform Commercial Code 3-102
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• lobbying activities: shall mean and include any attempt to influence:
  
  (i) the passage or defeat of any legislation or resolution by either house of the state legislature including but not limited to the introduction or intended introduction of such legislation or resolution 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. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• lobbyist: shall mean every person or organization retained, employed or designated by any client to engage in lobbying. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• local legislative body: shall mean the board of supervisors, board of aldermen, common council, council, commission, town board, board of trustees or other elective governing board or body of a municipality now or hereafter vested by state statute, charter or other law with jurisdiction to initiate and adopt local laws, ordinances and budgets, whether or not such local laws, ordinances or budgets require approval of the elective chief executive officer or other official or body to become effective. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• municipal agency: shall mean : (i) any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council, committee or officer of a municipality, whether permanent or temporary; or (ii) an industrial development agency, located in a jurisdictional subdivision of the state with a population of more than fifty thousand, or local public benefit corporation, as that term is defined in § 66 of the general construction law. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• 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 five thousand, and industrial development agencies in jurisdictional subdivisions with a population of more than five thousand; and public authorities, and public corporations. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• offerer: shall mean the individual or entity, or any employee, agent or consultant of such individual or entity, that contacts a state agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system, a municipal agency or local legislative body about a governmental procurement provided, however, that a governmental agency or its employees that communicate with the procuring agency regarding a governmental procurement in the exercise of its oversight duties shall not be considered an offerer. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• order: is a direction to pay and must be more than an
  
  authorization or request. See N.Y. Uniform Commercial Code 3-102
• organization: shall mean any corporation, company, foundation, association, college as defined by § 2 of the education law, labor organization, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, state agency or public corporation. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• procurement contract: shall mean any contract or other agreement, including an amendment, extension, renewal, or change order to an existing contract (other than amendments, extensions, renewals, or change orders that are authorized and payable under the terms of the contract as it was finally awarded or approved by the comptroller, as applicable), for an article of procurement involving an estimated annualized expenditure in excess of fifteen thousand dollars. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• promise: is a n undertaking to pay and must be more than an
  
  acknowledgment of an obligation. See N.Y. Uniform Commercial Code 3-102
• public corporation: shall mean a municipal corporation, a district corporation, or a public benefit corporation as defined in § 66 of the general construction law. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• public official: shall mean :
  
  (i) the governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller or attorney general;
  
  (ii) members of the state legislature;
  
  (iii) state officers and employees including:
  
  (A) heads of state departments and their deputies and assistants other than members of the board of regents of the university of the state of New York who receive no compensation or are compensated on a per diem basis,
  
  (B) officers and employees of statewide elected officials,
  
  (C) officers and employees of state departments, boards, bureaus, divisions, commissions, councils or other state agencies,
  
  (D) members or directors of public authorities, other than multi-state authorities, public benefit corporations and commissions at least one of whose members is appointed by the governor, and employees of such authorities, corporations and commissions;
  
  (iv) officers and employees of the legislature; and
  
  (v) municipal officers and employees including an officer or employee of a municipality, whether paid or unpaid, including members of any administrative board, commission or other agency thereof and in the case of a county, shall be deemed to also include any officer or employee paid from county funds. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• reportable business relationship: shall mean a relationship in which compensation is paid by a lobbyist or by a client of a lobbyist, in exchange for any goods, services or anything of value, the total value of which is in excess of one thousand dollars annually, to be performed or provided by or intended to be performed or provided by (i) any statewide elected official, state officer, state employee, member of the legislature or legislative employee, or (ii) any entity in which the lobbyist or the client of a lobbyist knows or has reason to know the statewide elected official, state officer, state employee, member of the legislature or legislative employee is a proprietor, partner, director, officer or manager, or owns or controls ten percent or more of the stock of such entity (or one percent in the case of a corporation whose stock is regularly traded on an established securities exchange). See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• restricted period: shall mean the period of time commencing with the earliest written notice, advertisement or solicitation of a request for proposal, invitation for bids, or solicitation of proposals, or any other method for soliciting a response from offerers intending to result in a procurement contract with a state agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system, or a municipal agency, as that term is defined by paragraph (ii) of subdivision (s) of this section, and ending with the final contract award and approval by the state agency, either house of the state legislature, the unified court system, or a municipal agency, as that term is defined by paragraph (ii) of subdivision (s) of this section, and, where applicable, the state comptroller. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• revenue contract: shall mean any written agreement between a state or municipal agency or a local legislative body and an offerer whereby the state or municipal agency or local legislative body gives or grants a concession or a franchise. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• state agency: shall mean any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council, committee or officer of the state, whether permanent or temporary, or a public benefit corporation or public authority at least one of whose members is appointed by the governor, authorized by law to make rules or to make final decisions in adjudicatory proceedings but shall not include the judicial branch or agencies created by interstate compact or international agreement. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• widely attended event: shall mean an event: (A) which at least twenty-five individuals other than members, officers, or employees from the governmental entity in which the public official serves attend or were, in good faith, invited to attend, and (B) which is related to the attendee's duties or responsibilities or which allows the public official to perform a ceremonial function appropriate to his or her position. See N.Y. Legislative Law 1-C