Under a 2013 law, construction and design professionals who have informal discussions with city officials are required to register as lobbyists. Thanks to a temporary amnesty program, architects can avoid filing fees and fines if they register by June 30. The city wants those who register to disclose meetings, income and clients going back to January 1, 2015.
“If you have an innovative design but it is not precisely defined by the fire code, for instance, all of the meetings [to discuss it] could be deemed lobbying,” Michael De Chiara, an attorney at Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, told the New York Post.
To complicate matters, city and state rules on what constitutes lobbying differ. A state amnesty program to register with New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics was extended Tuesday. [NYP, 2nd] – Konrad Putzier
Correction: A quote was misattributed to another partner in Zetlin & De Chiara LLP