US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
    § 2601. Definitions. 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.