"The final bill before me is Introductory Number 485, sponsored in conjunction with our Administration by Speaker Quinn and Council Members Felder, Nelson, Fidler and Gennaro. This legislation amends Local Law Number 15 of 2006, which amended New York City's lobbying law.

"Under local Law 15 of 2006, lobbyists are mandated to file any statements and reports required by the City's lobbying law by electronic transmission.  The effective date of this requirement is one year after enactment of the law, or June 13, 2007.  However, the e-filing system mandated by Local Law Number 15 has been put into place earlier than anticipated.

"Introductory Number 485 amends the effective date of Local Law Number 15, requiring that as of the 180th day after enactment, or December 10, 2006, all lobbyist filings related to lobbying activities for 2007 and thereafter, must be electronically transmitted to the City Clerk using the Clerk's new e-Lobbyist program.  However, it should be noted that lobbyists would still be required to file all statements and reports pertaining to lobbyist activities for 2006 either by hand or in person to the Clerk's office.

"Lobbyists register and file statements and reports on a calendar year basis.  Rather than maintaining simultaneous, inconvenient and possibly confusing paper and electronic filing systems, the City Clerk, with this amendment, will be able to make a smooth transition to an e-filing system for all calendar year 2007 statements and reports.

"I would like to thank the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, as well as the City Council and City Clerk, for their hard work in enabling us to complete this project ahead of schedule. I would also like to thank Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo and the Law Department staff who worked on this bill, as well as the Council for approving this bill."