NY A08505

Expands the definition of "interest" in conflicts of interest law to explicitly include the spouse of a municipal officer or employee in determining prohibited contracts and financial benefits.

Requires municipalities to establish boards of ethics: mandatory for every county, city, town, and village with 25,000+ population and every BOCES; optional for smaller municipalities, which may share cooperative boards with other municipalities.

Permits local codes of ethics to prohibit contracts and conduct that are expressly or implicitly permitted by state law (Article 18), allowing municipalities to set stricter ethical standards than the state minimum.

Adds statewide ethical conduct standards prohibiting municipal officers and employees from participating in official decisions where they have financial interests, disclosing conflicts in writing, and misusing municipal property or resources for personal purposes.

Requires municipalities to adopt codes of ethics every five years, distribute copies to all officers and employees, post codes on websites, and obtain written acknowledgment of receipt; mandates boards of ethics members receive comptroller-approved ethics training within 270 days of appointment.