Information on the Mandated Ethics Training Requirement for Lobbyists and Clients

As part of the Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022, the mandated ethics training requirement for Lobbyists (Principal, Individual, and In-House Lobbyists) has been expanded to include Contractual Clients and Beneficial Clients. 

The Commission has developed a online ‘Ethical Standards for Lobbyists and Clients’ training course that is available on the COELIG website.   Filers may access the course by utilizing the hyperlink located on the top-right hand corner of this page.

All Lobbyists and Clients are required to take this training in 2023 and certify completion of the training requirement.

Legislative Mandates requiring Ethics Training:

Executive Law § 94 (8)(d)

The Commission shall develop and administer training courses for lobbyists and clients of lobbyists.

Lobbying Act § 1-d(h)

The Commission shall have the power and duty to provide an online ethics training course for individuals registered as lobbyists pursuant to section one-e of the Lobbying Act. The curriculum for the course shall include, but not be limited to, explanations and discussions of the statutes and regulations of New York concerning ethics in the public officers law, the election law, the legislative law, summaries of advisory opinions, underlying purposes and principles of the relevant laws, and examples of practical application of these laws and principles. The Commission shall prepare those methods and materials necessary to implement the curriculum.

Each individual registered as a lobbyist pursuant to section one-e of the Lobbying Act shall complete such training course at least once in any three-year period during which he or she is registered as a lobbyist.

All Lobbyists (Principal, Individual, and In-House Lobbyists), Contractual Clients and Beneficial Clients listed on a submitted Lobbyist or Public Corporation Statement of Registration are required to take the Ethics Training course.

The Training requirement is triggered by and applicable to those individuals and entities listed as a Lobbyist or Client on a Statement of Registration once a Registration is submitted.  See ‘Training Required Roles’.

Training Required Roles

For purposes of Training compliance by organizations listed as a Lobbyist or Client, the Responsible Party of the organization is required to complete the online training.

The following individuals, when listed on a submitted Statement of Registration, are considered to be in a Training Required Role:

• Principal Lobbyist (includes Retained and Employed Lobbyists, and Public Corporations)
  • If an organization = the Responsible Party listed in the Lobbyist’s Organization Profile
  • If a person = the individual listed as the Principal Lobbyist
• All Individual Lobbyists listed on a submitted Registration (including "In-House" Lobbyists)
• Contractual Client
  • If an organization = the Responsible Party listed in the Contractual Client's Organization Profile
  • If a person = the individual listed as the Contractual Client.
• Beneficial Client
  • If an organization = the Responsible Party listed in the Beneficial Client's Organization Profile
  • If a person = the individual listed as the Beneficial Client.

• Individuals required to complete the training must do so within 60 days of the submission of the initial Statement of Registration beginning with the 2023-2024 biennial period.
• The training must be completed again within three years of the date the Lobbyist or Client first or subsequently completed the training, if the Lobbyist or Client is still listed on an active Statement of Registration.
• If there is a lapse in a Lobbyist or Client being listed on an active Statement of Registration, the Lobbyist or Client must complete the training again within 60 days of either being listed on a Statement of Registration or three years from the date the Lobbyist or Client last completed the training, whichever is later.

Notifications to Lobbyists and Clients listed on a Statement of Registration will go out nightly relating to Statements of Registrations submitted each day.

Notifications are triggered by the submission of a Statement of Registration. (NOTE: the system is designed to notify each person once based upon the earliest submission of a Registration listing the Lobbyist or Client.)

The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government will be reporting quarterly statistics to the Governor and the Legislature on the compliance metrics related to the mandated Ethics Training Initiative for Lobbyists and Clients.

Upon completion of the course, the lobbying organization’s Responsible Party will certify training completion on behalf of all Individual Lobbyists at their organization. Additionally, the Responsible Party will certify their own completion of the ethics training course in the Lobbying Application.

An instructional step-by-step video on how a Responsible Party certifies training completion in the Lobbying Application is available. 

After the Individual Lobbyist completes the “Online Ethics Training Course for Lobbyists and Clients,” they must complete the Commission’s LOBBYIST TRAINING CERTIFICATION FORM and send it to the Responsible Party for their organization.  This form must be retained by the Responsible Party for a period of 3 years.  Either form below is sufficient for the Responsible Party to keep as a record.

Principal Lobbyists that may create profiles on behalf of new Clients and Beneficial Clients that do not already have an Organization Profile established in the online Lobbying Application (‘LA’) must include a valid email address (preferably the email address of the Responsible Party, if known) when creating an orphan and/or placeholder profile for the purpose of submitting a Registration.

The Commission STRONGLY advises Principal Lobbyists to message their Clients (Contractual and Beneficial) that they need to actively verify their User and Organization Profiles to receive notifications regarding the training requirement to ensure timely compliance of the training mandate.

As best practice, to ensure timely compliance with the mandated training requirement, the Commission requests that Lobbyists:

1. Notify your Clients (Contractual and Beneficial) that they will be subject to the ethics training requirement and encourage Client Filers to actively verify their associated User and Organization Profiles to avoid late compliance;
2. Verify that the name and email addresses of all Individual Lobbyists or In-House Lobbyists listed in their Organization Profiles are correct to ensure these individuals will receive notification of how to comply with the training requirement.  Please note that if, while reviewing the accuracy of the names and email addresses of those Individual and In-house Lobbyists listed on your Organization Profile, you notice any duplicate names, contact the lobbying helpdesk at [email protected] for assistance; and
3. Verify that the Responsible Party listed in the Lobbyists’ Organization Profile is still accurate given that the Responsible Party is required to complete the mandatory ethics training for the Organization.

The ‘Ethical Standards for Lobbyists and Clients’ training was built using ‘responsive technology’ that allows users to view the online training utilizing a variety of devices such as a desktop computer, tablet or mobile device.  

The online training course contains several interactions that filers are required to click through, in order to continue moving through the training.