NNY 360 | January 15, 2020 | Randy Pellis
Almost a year-and-a-half after first requesting electronic documents from the town under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), Oswego County Supreme Court Judge Norman W. Seiter granted Soderlund’s Article 78 petition Dec. 13 compelling Boylston to provide electronic versions of the town’s 2017 checkbook register and highway and general accounts spending reports.
Times Union | December 4, 2019 | Chris Bragg
ALBANY — New York’s ethics watchdog agency has dropped its investigation into whether an alleged rape victim violated lobbying laws as she pushed for passage of the Child Victims Act.
Spectrum News | December 4, 2019 | Nick Reisman
The state’s top ethics regulator on Wednesday dropped its unregistered lobbying investigation against a rape survivor who had advocated for the Child Victims Act.
NY Law Journal | December 3, 2019 | Dan Clark
“This is essentially a piece of legislation that was never on the legislator’s desks,” Macdonald said. That litigation is focused on whether the commission itself was lawfully created by the Legislature earlier this year when it delegated its lawmaking powers to the panel, and whether fusion voting—candidates running on more than on party line—is constitutional.
NNY360 | November 21, 2019 | Debra Groom
In January 2019, Soderlund paid Boylston the $13.50 and her lawyer provided the town with step-by-step instructions on how to generate the check register report from the QuickBooks software. On Feb. 2, 2019, the town again denied Soderlund’s Freedom of Information Law request.
Associated Press | November 16, 2019 | Marina Villeneuve
Critics argue the nine-member Public Campaign Financing Commission is the latest example of lawmakers and the governor failing to pass laws themselves and unconstitutionally shoving off responsibility to a state commission that lacks expertise, staffing and a budget for legal battles.
Spectrum News | October 24, 2019 | Nick Reisman
It can be hard to make a difference in Albany, but what happens when the state pursues a rape victim to register as a lobbyist? Advocates say it’s a violation of her First Amendment rights.
Associated Press | October 24, 2019 | Marina Villeneuve
A Florida woman has sued New York’s ethics commission over its demand that she register as a lobbyist because she paid for billboards to criticize the state’s molestation laws.
Paulick Report | July 14, 2019
Lori Smith, a certified equine sports massage therapist in New York, has been ordered to close her business or face potential criminal and civil penalties. The cease and desist order was filed against Five Feathers Equine Massage citing that Smith is not a licensed veterinarian.
Newsday | June 11, 2019 | Celeste Hadrick
Nassau has dropped its claim that the computer formula used to develop new home values for the county’s reassessment is exempt from disclosure because it is a “trade secret,” court records show.