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S04431 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4431
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 8, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election law, in relation to the disposition of
          campaign funds raised by an elected official who has been convicted of
          a crime committed while in public office or  has  been  impeached  and
          convicted or has resigned
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 14-132 of the election law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
     3    1-a.  No  elected official who has been convicted of a crime committed
     4  while in public office, or who has been impeached and convicted, or  who
     5  resigned  his  or  her  public  office  following findings by either the
     6  attorney general or a committee of the legislature that the official has
     7  violated the law, shall expend any campaign funds raised while he or she
     8  held such same public office in support  of  any  candidate  for  public
     9  office  or  any  issue  in any campaign for public office in this state.
    10  Provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit  such
    11  former  officeholder from raising and spending money in support of poli-
    12  tical activities in an account that did not exist at the time he or  she
    13  held  office, unless barred from doing so by any sentence for a crime or
    14  impeachable offense. Where such elected official or  elected  official's
    15  authorized  committee  received  campaign  contributions, all such funds
    16  shall be disposed of by any of the following means, or  any  combination
    17  thereof, within two years of conviction or resignation:
    18    (a)  returning,  pro rata, to each contributor the funds that have not
    19  been spent or obligated;
    20    (b) donating the funds to a charitable organization  or  organizations
    21  that meet the qualifications of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Reven-
    22  ue Code;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06052-01-3

        S. 4431                             2
 
     1    (c) donating the funds to the state university of New York or the city
     2  university of New York; or
     3    (d) donating the funds to the state's general fund.
     4    §  2. Subdivision 2 of section 14-132 of the election law, as added by
     5  section 2 of part C of chapter 286 of the laws of 2016,  is  amended  to
     6  read as follows:
     7    2. No [such candidate's] authorized political committee on behalf of a
     8  candidate  as  described  by  subdivision one of this section or elected
     9  official described by subdivision one-a of this section shall dispose of
    10  campaign funds by making expenditures for personal  use  as  defined  in
    11  section 14-130 of this article.
    12    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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