Chapter 299 of the Laws of 1995 gave the Lobbying Commission oversight authority for the provisions of 166 of the Executive Law, which relates to the form and filing of a record of appearances by attorneys, agents and representatives before regulatory agencies. The Lobbying Commission also was given the power to promulgate rules and regulations and to adopt any procedures, forms, or instructions necessary to effectuate the law's reporting requirements concerning appearances before regulatory agencies; the Department of Public Service and the Public Service Commission are specifically included as such in the statute.
In furtherance of its new responsibilities, the Lobbying Commission requires the completion of a Notice of Appearance form by any person who is compensated to appear before a regulatory agency as an attorney, agent, representative or for lobbying purposes, viz.: a lobbyist. The Lobbying Commission has defined a lobbyist as a person or organization, other than a New York State government employee acting in an official capacity, who appears for the purposes of influencing the adoption or rejection of proposed rules, regulations, rates, or legislation, including the State budget. An appearance, for lobbying purposes, can be a personal visit, letter, conversation at a meeting, or any other type of contact, but does not include on the record proceedings or hearings. The Notice of Appearance form must be completed by the person making the appearance; however, the law imposes the obligation on the regulatory agency to submit the record of appearances with the Lobbying Commission.
If you are being compensated to appear for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a Commission proceeding please submit a Notice of Appearance by providing the requested information on the form.
Section 166 of the Executive Law requires a regulatory agency to maintain for public inspection, a record of who appears before it, for a fee as a third party (i.e., an attorney, an agent, lobbyist or representative) on behalf of a person or organization subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the agency.