Ethics in Government

The Ethics in Government Act was passed and signed into law to restore the public’s trust and confidence in government through the prevention of corruption, favoritism, undue influence and abuses of official position. As part of the Act, the ethics law was amended to establish standards of conduct for state officers and employees. It restricts certain business and professional activities, both while in state service and after separation. The governing provisions are set forth in §73, §73-a and §74 of the Public Officers Law.

The New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) oversees ethics within New York State Agencies, including SUNY State-operated campuses. There are many compliance mandates and JCOPE is the body charged with overseeing the administration of those mandates. All SUNY employees should understand the ethics laws that apply to them, and the potential outside activities and conflicts of interest that they may have to disclose to their employer and manage appropriately in accordance with the laws. Useful resources can be found below:

• JCOPE Reports and Publications
• JCOPE Training Slides (pdf)
• JCOPE Training Participant Materials (pdf)