

On Friday July 8, 2022, the new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government will take the place of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, and the JCOPE website will transition into the new Commission’s website, at ethics.ny.gov.
Information for Online Lobbying Filers:
Information for PDF ‘Paper’ Filers:
Payments to the Commission
Contacting Commission Staff
Filers may continue to utilize existing JCOPE email addresses and phone numbers to contact staff with any filing-related questions or concerns.
Website and Online Systems Briefly Offline for Transition
The JCOPE website and its affiliated online applications are all scheduled to transition during the early hours of July 8th; as such, filers should refrain from utilizing the online systems from July 7th at midnight to July 8th at 10 a.m.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (“JCOPE”) today announced that it has provided required notice to the people whose emails/usernames and passwords were contained in a file that was improperly accessed in the February cyber security incident that led to the temporary shutdown of JCOPE’s Lobbying Application (“LA”) and Online Financial Disclosure Statement (“FDS”) systems. The body of that notice letter follows.
We are writing to inform you that we have identified a security incident in which information technology systems at the Joint Commission on Public Ethics were breached. As a result, we have reason to believe that a file containing your email/username and password for the JCOPE Legacy (pre-2015) Financial Disclosure System was improperly accessed. The Legacy FDS filing system was in place to maintain annual Financial Disclosure Statements made by state employees and officials until its replacement in 2015. Once evidence of possible file access of usernames and passwords used in the Legacy system was discovered, all passwords for the current FDS filing system were reset as a precautionary measure. Nevertheless, we understand that it is common practice for individuals to use the same password across multiple websites and applications. As a result, we urge you to immediately change your password on any other sites on which this password may have been reused and to always utilize complex passwords that do not repeat across different platforms.
In addition, we strongly encourage you to examine the resources available through a number of governmental entities. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website (www.identitytheft.gov) includes comprehensive information concerning precautionary measures that may be taken to minimize risks, including contact information for major credit reporting bureaus. You may also contact the FTC by calling (202) 326-2222 or toll-free at (877) 438-4338. The New York State Attorney General’s office can also provide important information about monitoring your accounts for fraudulent activity (www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/identity-theft) and can be reached at 1-(800)-771-7755.
We understand the importance of safeguarding your information and are taking steps to minimize the future likelihood of a security incident, including ongoing system vulnerability testing, security logging and preventative measures, continued information technology systems monitoring, and other appropriate safeguards.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
On December 1, 2021, New York State will upgrade security protections to our websites and applications. Access to government websites and applications will now require the use of up-to-date and secure web browsers. If you are using an older web browser, you will need to upgrade to a current web browser prior to December 1. To verify that your browser meets the new requirements, visit https://encryption.ny.gov.
The following popular web browsers are among many capable of supporting up-to-date security protocols:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 |
Microsoft Edge version 12 and above |
Google Chrome version 30 and above |
Mozilla Firefox 27 and above |
Opera 17 and above |
Apple Safari 7 and above |
At its July 2021 meeting, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (“Commission”) approved a new communications policy to authorize the release of information about the status of investigations in limited circumstances. The policy was set as part of an effort to improve public awareness of Commission activities and address or correct inaccuracies in the public arena about those activities.
Under this new policy, the Commission has authorized staff, when the existence of a complaint or matter is already public and certain other conditions are met, to:
The Commission must still rigorously adhere to the confidentiality provisions in Executive Law, but it hopes that this will improve understand of its process and activities.