NY S07400

Expands the definition of "interest" to include conflicts involving spouses of municipal officers and employees in contracts, firms, corporations, and stock ownership.

Creates new recusal requirements prohibiting municipal officers and employees from participating in official decisions on matters where they or their spouses have financial interests, with limited exceptions for ministerial acts and situations where a majority of board members would otherwise be unable to act.

Requires all counties, cities, towns, and villages with 50,000+ population to establish boards of ethics; allows smaller municipalities to establish boards or participate in cooperative arrangements; designates county or BOCES boards to serve municipalities that fail to establish their own boards.

Grants boards of ethics investigatory and enforcement powers including ability to issue reprimands, assess civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation, recommend disciplinary action, and refer matters to law enforcement; requires boards to provide due process protections and mandates board member training within 270 days of appointment.

Repeals the temporary state commission on local government ethics and transfers its functions to local boards of ethics; permits local codes of ethics to impose stricter standards than state law on activities expressly permitted by the General Municipal Law.