BILL NUMBER: S9892
SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to limitations on
false claims actions involving resolved matters and disclosure require-
ments for persons initiating such actions
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to prevent duplicative private litigation
under the False Claims Act where the State or its agencies are already
investigating or have resolved the matter, and to require transparency
from persons bringing such actions.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill removes a requirement that the Attorney General
must approve any dismissal of a qui tam action and authorizes a qui tam
action to be dismissed if the case was brought on during or following an
audit or action by the state.
Section two of the bill clarifies that in the case an LLC or corporation
brings on a qui tam action, all partial or full controlling persons must
be identified. Section three of the bill establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The False Claims Act is intended to assist government enforcement by
allowing private parties to bring actions on behalf of the State.
However, recent cases have demonstrated that the statute may be used to
initiate duplicative litigation involving matters that have already been
reviewed or resolved by government agencies
Allowing such actions to proceed undermines the finality of audits and
administrative processes, creates parallel and duplicative litigation
and diverts resources away from genuine enforcement priorities.
This bill addresses those concerns by clarifying that private actions
may not proceed where the State or its agencies have already undertaken
or completed review of the same allegations, and by ensuring transparen-
cy regarding the identity and basis of claims brought by relators.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill will have no fiscal impact on the State or local government.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to actions
commenced or maintained on or after such effective date.

Statutes affected:
S9892: 190 state finance law, 190(9) state finance law