NY Commission Drops Investigation Into Advocate’s Billboards

ALBANY — A New York ethics commission is dropping its investigation of a woman who paid for billboards criticizing the state’s molestation laws.

The state Joint Commission on Public Ethics in a Wednesday letter says it won’t take further action against Kat Sullivan.

Commission lawyers said the billboards amounted to lobbying and threatened thousands of dollars in fines if Sullivan refused to pay a lobbyist registration fee of $200. But the commission’s counsel says it’s instead issuing guidance and will review regulations.

Sullivan called the commission’s investigation “abusive” in a lawsuit.

Sullivan says she was assaulted by a private school teacher two decades ago. She was among hundreds who successfully pressured lawmakers this year to pass a law making it easier for abuse victims to seek justice.