Member: Ethics panel acting illegally

ALBANY -- The state lobbying board appears to have acted illegally to shield donors to wealthy lobbying groups, including one that promotes Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a board member said Thursday.

Board member Ravi Batra said the Joint Commission on Public Ethics was wrong this week when it set July 1 to start identifying donors to lobbying groups. He said the panel acted against the greater disclosure sought by Cuomo, who proposed the law, and the legislature, which passed it last August.

Batra noted the 2011 lobbying law states: "Effective date June 1, 2012." Batra said that would trigger disclosure of donations over the previous 12 months by lobbying groups such as the Committee to Save New York, which promotes Cuomo, instead of requiring only donors after July 1 to be identified. The committee has amassed $17 million from business and gambling interests.

Ethics commission spokesman John Milgrim said the board's action conforms to law and the legislature's intent, and he said the legal analysis by Batra, a lawyer, is incorrect.

"This analysis is reasonable, fair and consistent with the language of the statute, the legislative intent and basic principles of statutory interpretation," Milgrim said.

He said Batra's legal analysis was discussed with the board and rejected. He didn't respond to a request to explain the commission's view of the reference to "June 1, 2012," in the law.

Russ Haven, legal counsel for the New York Public Interest Group research and advocacy organization, said starting to report donors July 1 is "reasonable and defensible" under the law.