Camarda on Intro 951 - alignment with existing law
Camarda urges the council to rework Intro 951 to align with Chapter 68 of the City Charter rather than creating a diverging enforcement regime with different definitions of policymaker and relative. He notes the bill's $50 reporting threshold is far below the current $1,000 income reporting threshold.
Regarding Intro 951, we support the intent of this bill to clarify that public officials may not use confidential insider knowledge gained from public employment to profit in prediction markets.
Governor Hochul recently enacted Executive Order 60 that prohibits state employees from profiting from inside information that they learn while working as public servants.
We support that ban because it clarifies the state code of ethics, public officers law section 74, and provides clear guidance to public servants serving under the governor.
Intro 951 in its current form would create a diverging regime outside of Chapter 68 of the City Charter, the City Ethics Code, which, as referenced, already prohibits
using confidential information for personal gain under Section 2604.
We urge the City Council to rework this legislation to ensure that it does not create a different enforcement regime from other prohibited conduct.
Chapter 68 already prohibits profiting from confidential information in Section 2604B4.
If the City Council wishes to explicitly include prediction marks in this prohibition, it should amend this section rather than include a new section of law in the Administrative Code with different definitions and covered individuals.
Specifically, 2604B4 provides that public servants cannot disclose confidential information that is, quote, obtained as a result of the official duties of such public servant and which are
which is not otherwise available to the public, and they cannot, quote, use any such information to advance any direct or indirect financial or other private interest of the public servant or of any other person or firm associated with the public servant.
Intro 951 would create a new Chapter 12 in Title III of the Administrative Code that diverges from some of the standards in Chapter 68 of the City Charter and Section 12-110 of the Administrative Code, the Annual Disclosure Law.
Specifically, it creates new definitions of policymaker and relative.
Chapter 68 applies to all public servants and defines those associated with public servants, including children, spouses, domestic partners, and persons with whom the public servant has business or financial relationships.
Intro 951 only includes policymakers and their relatives.
Relatives under this bill include all those listed in Chapter 68 under associated, but add step-parents.
It would impose fines upon the relatives of policymakers who profit from inside information and prediction markets.
Chapter 68, in contrast, only provides penalties for public servants.
And the bill adds new reporting requirements for financial disclosure statements requiring a listing of all transactions of $50 or more for prediction market transactions, event contracts.
Currently, the thresholds for reporting income start at $1,000.
We also note that the bill excludes event contracts issued on platforms regulated by the New York State Gaming Commission.
While this is likely an attempt to differentiate,
between sports betting authorized by New York State and betting related to city government or political actions that are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
We caution that New York should decide at some point to regulate these markets.