§ 107 — Conflicts prohibited

§ 107. Conflicts prohibited. 1. No person shall be appointed to or\nemployed by the commission if, during the period commencing three years\nprior to appointment or employment, such person held any direct or\nindirect interest in, or employment by, any corporation, association or\nperson engaged in gaming activity within the state. Prior to appointment\nor employment, each member, officer or employee of the commission shall\nswear or affirm that he or she possesses no interest in any corporation\nor association holding a franchise, license, registration, certificate\nor permit issued by the commission. Thereafter, no member or officer of\nthe commission shall hold any direct interest in or be employed by any\napplicant for or by any corporation, association or person holding a\nlicense, registration, franchise, certificate or permit issued by the\ncommission for a period of four years commencing on the date his or her\nmembership with the commission terminates. Further, no employee of the\ncommission may acquire any direct or indirect interest in, or accept\nemployment with, any applicant for or any person holding a license,\nregistration, franchise, certificate or permit issued by the commission\nfor a period of two years commencing at the termination of employment\nwith the commission. The commission may, by resolution adopted by\nunanimous vote at a properly noticed public meeting, waive for good\ncause the pre-employment restrictions enumerated in this subdivision for\na prospective employee whose duties and responsibilities are primarily\non racetrack grounds. Such adopted resolution shall state the reasons\nfor waiving the pre-employment conditions for the prospective employee,\nincluding a finding that there were no other qualified candidates with\nthe desired experience for the specified position.\n 2. No member, officer, official or employee of the commission shall\nparticipate as an owner of a horse or otherwise as a contestant in any\nhorse race at a race meeting which is under the jurisdiction or\nsupervision of the commission, or have any pecuniary interest, direct or\nindirect, in the purse, prize, premium or stake contested for at any\nsuch horse race or in the operations of any licensee of the commission\nor state racing franchisee. Participation as an owner of a horse or\notherwise as a contestant in any such horse race by a member, officer,\nother official or employee of the commission in violation of this\nprohibition shall terminate the term of his or her office as a member,\nor his or her services as an officer or official or employee of the\ncommission.\n 3. No member, officer or employee of the commission shall wager upon\ngaming or horse racing activity conducted within the state.\n 4. No individual employed by an off-track betting corporation or race\ntrack licensed pursuant to this chapter as a pari-mutuel clerk, cashier\nor seller shall be permitted to wager upon gaming activity during any\nperiod of a day on which such person is employed in such capacity.\n 5. No public officer or party officer shall hold any racing or video\nlottery gaming license from the commission.\n 6. The following public employees are prohibited from holding any\nlicense from the commission:\n (a) an employee of the commission; any director or employee of a\nregional off-track betting corporation employed in a management,\nconfidential or supervisory capacity for purposes of their position with\noff-track betting; or\n (b) an employee of the state legislature; provided, however, that an\nemployee of the state legislature whose duties in such position do not\nrelate to gaming activities shall not be subject to the prohibitions of\nthis section if he or she held a license from the former state racing\nand wagering board while employed by the state legislature prior to July\nfirst, nineteen hundred eighty; or\n (c) an employee of any local legislative body whose duties involve\ngaming activities; or\n (d) an employee of any state or local board, agency, authority or\nother state or local governmental body, the duties of which relate to\ngaming activities or the taxation thereof.\n 7. No public officer, public employee or party officer shall:\n (a) own or hold, directly or indirectly, any proprietary interest,\nstock or obligation of any firm, association or corporation (i) which is\nlicensed by the commission to conduct video lottery gaming or horse\nracing activities, or (ii) which conducts its occupation, trade, or\nbusiness at a racetrack at which pari-mutuel race meets are conducted or\nfacility where video lottery gaming activity is conducted whether or not\na license is required, or (iii) which owns or leases to any enfranchised\nor licensed association or corporation a racetrack at which pari-mutuel\nracing is conducted or facility where video lottery gaming activity is\nconducted, or (iv) which participates in the management of any franchise\nholder or licensee conducting video lottery gaming or horse racing\nactivities; or\n (b) hold any office or employment with any firm, association or\ncorporation specified in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, except as\nprovided in subdivision eight of this section; or\n (c) sell, or be a member of a firm, or own ten per centum or more of\nthe stock of any corporation, which sells any goods or services to any\nfirm, association or corporation specified in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision. For purposes of this subdivision, a direct or indirect\ninterest shall not include an interest in a mutual fund or any other\ndiversified investments over which the recipient does not know the\nidentity of the primary source of income.\n 8. The provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision seven of this\nsection shall not apply to a public employee other than an employee of\nthe commission, a police officer or a peace officer employed by a\nsheriff's office, district attorney's office or other state or local law\nenforcement agency, or those employees classified as management\nconfidential employees pursuant to section two hundred fourteen of the\ncivil service law who are employed by a state or local law enforcement\nagency or regional off-track betting corporation; provided, however,\nthat employment of employees of a political subdivision may be\nprohibited by ordinance, resolution or local law adopted by the local\nlegislative body or other governing board of such political subdivision.\n 9. The commission shall have the power to refuse to grant or to revoke\nor suspend a license of any person, association or corporation that aids\nor knowingly permits or conspires to permit any public officer, public\nemployee or party officer to acquire or retain any interest prohibited\nby this section and shall have the power to exclude from the grounds of\nany racing association any such person, association or corporation.\n 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in addition to any\nother cause of removal provided by law, an intentional violation of this\nsection shall be cause for removal from public office, public employment\nor party office. In any such case, such public officer, public employee\nor party officer violating this section shall be removed from office by\nthe appropriate authority having the power of removal or at the suit of\nthe attorney general. Further, such public officer, public employee or\nparty officer shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than ten\nthousand dollars.\n