S 4197 NY
Relates to the ethical duty of public officers not to engage in or permit behavior which violates the human rights law
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Summary
This bill amends ethics laws for state officials and employees to add specific prohibitions against discrimination and sexual harassment. Public officers, state agency employees, and members of the legislature are prohibited from engaging in or permitting acts of discrimination, including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile or offensive workplace. The law expands existing ethics provisions that already prohibited officials from using their positions for personal gain to specifically address behavior that violates the human rights law. The bill also allows flexibility in ethics training requirements so that agencies do not have to duplicate training that is already mandatory for public officials on these topics. The law takes effect thirty days after enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Official abstract
Relates to the ethical standards of officers or employees of a state agency, members of the legislature and legislative employees with regard to engaging in acts of discrimination, sexual harassment or creating a hostile workplace.
Sponsor (1)
- Andrew Gounardes Democratic · primary
1 coauthor / cosponsor
- Liz Krueger Democratic · cosponsor
Action history (4)
- Feb 3, 2025 REFERRED TO ETHICS AND INTERNAL GOVERNANCE · upper
- Jan 7, 2026 REFERRED TO ETHICS AND INTERNAL GOVERNANCE · upper
- May 19, 2026 AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO ETHICS AND INTERNAL GOVERNANCE · upper
- May 19, 2026 PRINT NUMBER 4197A · upper
Text versions (3)
Full text
Full text imported from assembly.state.ny.us
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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee Votes Floor Votes Memo Text LFIN Chamber Video/Transcript S04197 Summary: BILL NO S04197A   SAME AS SAME AS A06201-A
  SPONSOR GOUNARDES   COSPNSR KRUEGER   MLTSPNSR   Amd §74, Pub Off L; amd §94, Exec L   Relates to the ethical standards of officers or employees of a state agency, members of the legislature and legislative employees with regard to engaging in acts of discrimination, sexual harassment or creating a hostile workplace.
Go to top S04197 Text:
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________
4197--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 3, 2025 ___________
Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance -- recommitted to the Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public officers law and the executive law, in relation to standards for ethics for certain public officers and employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph d of subdivision 3 of section 74 of the public 2 officers law, as amended by section 7 of part K of chapter 286 of the 3 laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 4 d. No officer or employee of a state agency, member of the legislature 5 or legislative employee should use or attempt to use [ his or her ] their 6 official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for 7 [ himself or herself ] themself or others, including but not limited to, 8 the misappropriation to [ himself, herself ] themself or to others of the 9 property, services or other resources of the state for private business 10 or other compensated non-governmental purposes , or engaging in acts of 11 unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, making unwelcome 12 sexual advances, or requests for sexual favors, or engaging in any 13 verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature or that 14 creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive workplace or suffering or 15 permitting others to do so in the workplace or at workplace-related 16 events . 17 § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 94 of the executive law is amended by 18 adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows: 19 (g) In the discretion of the commission, the training developed and 20 administered in accordance with this subdivision shall not be required
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07290-02-6
S. 4197--A 2
1 to include or cover material that is the subject of other mandatory 2 training administered regularly to the individuals subject to the 3 provisions of this section. 4 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 5 have become a law.
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