(i) The commission shall:

1. (1) appoint an executive director who shall act in accordance with the policies of the commission and the provisions of this rule. The commission may delegate authority to the executive director to act in the name of the commission between meetings of the commission provided such delegation is in writing and the specific powers to be delegated are enumerated;
2. (2) appoint such other staff, within appropriations made available therefor by the Chief Administrator of the Courts, as are necessary to carry out its duties under this rule;
3. (3) adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations to govern procedures of the commission, which shall be consistent with the provisions of this rule and which shall include, but not be limited to, a procedure for such adjudicatory proceedings as are authorized by this rule and the procedure whereby a person who is required to file an annual financial disclosure statement with the commission may request an additional period of time within which to file such statement, due to justifiable cause or undue hardship; such rules or regulations shall provide for a date beyond which in all cases of justifiable cause or undue hardship no further extension of time will be granted;
4. (4) make available forms for annual statements of financial disclosure required to be filed pursuant to law;
5. (5) review financial disclosure statements in accordance with the provisions of this rule; provided, however, that the commission may delegate all or part of this review function to the executive director, who shall be responsible for completing staff review of such statements in a manner consistent with the terms of the commission's delegation;
6. (6) permit any person required to file a financial disclosure statement to request the commission to delete from the copy thereof made available for public inspection one or more items of information, which may be deleted by the commission upon a finding by a majority of the total number of its members without vacancy that the information which would otherwise be required to be made available for public inspection will have no material bearing on the discharge of the reporting person's official duties;
7. (7) permit any person required to file a financial disclosure statement to request an exemption from any requirement to report one or more items of information which pertain to such person's spouse or unemancipated children, which item or items may be exempted by the commission upon a finding by a majority of the total number of its members without vacancy that the reporting individual's spouse, on his or her own behalf or on behalf of an unemancipated child, or the reporting person on behalf of an unemancipated child, objects to providing the information necessary to make such disclosure and that the information which would otherwise be required to be reported will have no material bearing on the discharge of the reporting person's official duties;

8. (8) permit any person who is required to file a financial disclosure statement, but who has not been determined pursuant to section 40.2(b) of this Part to hold a policy-making position, to request an exemption from such requirement in accordance with rules and regulations governing such exemptions. Such rules and regulations shall provide for exemptions to be granted either on the application of an individual or on behalf of persons who share the same job title or employment classification which the commission deems to be comparable for purposes of this section. Such rules and regulations may permit the granting of an exemption where, in the discretion of the commission, the public interest does not require disclosure and the applicant's duties do not involve the negotiation, authorization or approval of:

   1. (i) contracts, leases, franchises, revocable consents, concessions, variances, special permits, or licenses as defined in section 73 of the Public Officers Law;
   2. (ii) the purchase, sale, rental or lease of real property, goods or services, or a contract therefor;
   3. (iii) the obtaining of grants of money or loans; or
   4. (iv) the adoption or repeal of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law;
9. (9) exemptions granted hereunder shall be for such duration as the commission shall determine;
10. (10) prepare an annual report to the Chief Judge and the Administrative Board of the Courts summarizing the activities of the commission; and
11. (11) in such cases as it shall deem appropriate, the commission may determine a question common to a class or defined category of persons or items of information required to be disclosed, where determination of the question will prevent undue repetition of requests for exemption or deletion or prevent undue complication in complying with the requirements of this rule.

(k) If a person required to file a financial disclosure statement with the commission has failed to file a disclosure statement or has filed a deficient statement, the commission shall notify the reporting person in writing, state the failure to file or detail the deficiency, provide the person with a 15-day period to cure the deficiency, and advise the person of the penalties for failure to comply with the reporting requirements. Such notice shall be confidential. If the person fails to make such filing or fails to cure the deficiency within the specified time period, the commission shall send a notice of delinquency:

1. (1) to the reporting person;
2. (2) in the case of a judge or justice of the Unified Court System, to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; and
3. (3) in the case of a nonjudicial officer or employee, to the Chief Administrator of the Courts.

(o) In addition to the other powers and duties specified herein, the commission shall have the power and duty to:

1. (1) administer and enforce all the provisions of this section;
2. (2) conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Pursuant to this power and duty, the commission may administer oaths or affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and require the production of any books or records which it may deem relevant or material; and

3. (3) establish an adjudicatory procedure pursuant to which requests for certain deletions or exemptions to be made from a financial disclosure statement as authorized in paragraphs (i)(6), (7) and (8) of this section may be heard.

   (p)

4. (1) Notwithstanding the provision of article 6 of the Public Officers Law, the only records of the commission which shall be available for public inspection are:

   1. (i) the information set forth in an annual statement of financial disclosure filed pursuant to law and maintained by the commission, except the following items which shall remain confidential:

      1. (a) the categories of value or amount in statements pertaining to calendar years prior to 2014;
      2. (b) the names of unemancipated children; and
      3. (c) and any other item of information deleted pursuant to paragraph (i)(6) of this section; and
   2. (ii) notices of delinquency sent under subdivision (k) of this section.
5. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 7 of the Public Officers Law, no meeting or proceeding, including any such proceeding contemplated under paragraph (i)(6), (7) or (8) of this section, of the commission shall be open to the public, except if expressly provided otherwise by the commission.