Ethics Commission Subpoenaed Hochul Administration Over Bills Box Seats

Now, the state ethics commission is investigating the complaint. In response to a Freedom of Information Law request, the Hochul administration’s economic development arm told New York Focus that it could not provide a subpoena related to the game because the “responsive records” were “compiled for law enforcement purposes,” and “disclosure would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.”

COELIG only regulates potential violations of civil laws. Still, state agencies in the past have considered civil investigations, not just criminal ones, to trigger the FOIL “law enforcement” exemption, which allows them to withhold records that are part of an inquiry.

New York Focus had requested a copy of any subpoena the ethics commission had sent to Empire State Development concerning use of the luxury suite during the Cowboys-Bills game since March, when Grandeau submitted his complaint.

“None of the attendees had a valid governmental reason for attending the game,” Grandeau wrote in the complaint. “Instead, they clearly abused their power to generate a valuable perk for themselves and the lobbyists that accompanied that was not available to everyday New York citizens and taxpayers.”

Avi Small, a spokesperson for Hochul, told New York Focus on Friday that neither the governor’s office nor Hochul personally had been subpoenaed in the matter.

A spokesperson for Heastie did not answer a question on Thursday about whether the Assembly had been subpoenaed.

The investigation is a notable step for COELIG, which has been quiet during its nearly two years of existence, and has yet to finalize an enforcement case. And it comes at a time of legal peril for the commission, which may ultimately need help from top state politicians — including Hochul and Heastie — to avoid extinction.

The ethics commission is under threat thanks to a lawsuit filed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, whom it had been pursuing over a potential violation of state ethics law concerning his use of state employees to help produce his pandemic-era memoir.

A state supreme court judge, followed by a mid-level appellate court, agreed with Cuomo’s argument that the 2022 law creating the body was unconstitutional. The ethics commission is now hoping that the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, will overrule the lower court decisions.

If Cuomo prevails in the legal battle, top state politicians may face the choice of whether to save the ethics commission. Lawmakers could choose to pass a law revamping COELIG’s appointment structure to address the constitutional concerns Cuomo raised. Or they could replace the ethics commission altogether.

A COELIG spokesperson declined to comment.

Beyond the subpoena, New York Focus requested other documents from ESD related to the December 17 game. One sought a receipt showing the 16 attendees’ food and drink expenditures during the game; the other sought any document the governor’s office or Assembly submitted to ESD describing why various attendees’ presence at the game had met state criteria for receiving a ticket.

In both cases, the agency cited the same law enforcement exemption, which allows an agency to withhold a record when it’s been provided in response to an investigation.