New York Appellate Court Upholds State’s Expansive Lobby Disclosure Regulations

A New York appellate court upheld key aspects of a lower court opinion that ruled New York’s regulations governing state lobbyists were legal. In 2019, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) adopted the lobbying regulations, which sought to expand the types of activities that must be publicly disclosed. JCOPE, whose enforcement of ethics laws was often criticized over a decade of existence, also significantly expanded the amount of lobbying data available. Beyond requiring the disclosure of traditional lobbying, the regulations sought to cover other types of efforts that have become widespread.