NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9932
SPONSOR: Rules (Kavanagh) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to
requiring additional transferor and contributor identification informa-
tion in campaign receipt and expenditure statements; to amend the
election law, in relation to the manner of filing of campaign financial
disclosure statements; and to amend the election law, in relation to
prohibiting candidates for election to a public office from accepting
contributions from charitable organizations
PURPOSE:
In order to provide greater transparency, accountability, and oversight
of political contributions and expenditures, this bill would require:
that a political committee disclose a contributor's full name, address,
occupation, and employer; that campaign expenditures in excess of $5,000
made during the 10 days prior to an election be disclosed to the Board
of Elections within 24 hours; that any statements filed in the final 15
days preceding an election day be done in person or by express mail;
and, that a candidate for election to public office include express
language on contribution forms prohibiting contributions from charitable
organizations or not-for-profit entities.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 14-102 of the
election law, as amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 1978 and as redes-
ignated by chapter 9 of the laws of 1978, to require a political commit-
tee to disclose additional information regarding contributors who give
more than $99 in the aggregate, to a political committee. For individ-
ual contributors giving more than $99 in the aggregate, the contribu-
tor's occupation, employer, and employer's address would be required.
For organizational contributors, the additional information includes the
full name and address of the organization.
Section 2 of the bill amends subdivision 2 of section 14-108 of the
election law, as amended by chapter 109 of the laws of 1997, to require
that all candidates and campaign committees report campaign expenditures
or liabilities in excess of $5,000 incurred in the final 10 days preced-
ing an election, to the Board of Elections within 24 hours. Under
current law, only contributions in excess of $1,000 are subject to a 24
hour reporting requirement in the final 10 days preceding an election.
Section 3: Amends subdivision 6 of section 14-108 of the election law,
as amended by chapter 323 of the laws of 1977, to require that all
campaign financial disclosure filings made during the final 15 day peri-
od prior to an election, be filed in person, by express mail, or by
electronic mail, to assure prompt delivery and dissemination.
Section 4: Amends Section 3-102 of the election law by adding a new
subdivision 9-B stating that all candidates for election to any public
office or for nomination for any such office, or for election to any
party position, or a treasurer of a campaign committee shall cause all
contribution forms to contain the following language: "contributions
from charities or 501 (c) corporations are expressly forbidden."
Section 5: Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The cumulative impact of certain campaign fundraising practices provides
a significant threat to the public's confidence in the integrity of the
electoral process and ultimately, in government itself.
A fundamental component of campaign finance laws is that campaign
committees must disclose the identity of contributors. Transparency
regarding who has contributed reduces the potential for elected offi-
cials to favor contributors without public scrutiny. Requiring that
significant contributors disclose their occupations and employers is
necessary to ensure that contributors are adequately identified and to
provide the public with additional information that may be useful in
assessing where a contributor's interests may lie, and how an elected
official might favor that contributor. The additional identification
information required by section one of this bill bill brings New York
law into parity with FEC reporting requirements for contributions to
federal political committees.
In addition, in the days prior to an election, the public trust is
enhanced by the current 24 hour reporting requirement for contributions
in excess of $1,000. Without such a timely reporting obligation, signif-
icant fundraising activities and potential campaign finance violations
could go undiscovered until long after the election. However, at present
there is no corresponding requirement that campaign committees timely
report significant expenditures authorized during that period. To close
this gap in public oversight, section two of the bill provides transpar-
ency by requiring committees to report expenditures or liabilities in
excess of $5,000 incurred in the final 10 days preceding an election.
Such a requirement increases a committee's accountability for expendi-
tures made in the final days prior to an election, and thus may deter
unethical or egregious conduct.
In order to logistically ensure the timely disclosure of campaign
contributions and expenditures, current state regulations require the
final pre-election campaign financial disclosure statement to be filed
11 days prior to election day (9 NYCRR Sec. 6200.2). However, many
candidates file their statements using first-class mail and deem it
filed when it is postmarked. Depending on where the candidates are
filing from, the statement may take one or more days to reach the State
Board of Elections in Albany. While the statement makes its way through
the mail, important contributor and campaign expenditure information is
unavailable to the public. Section three of the bill requires that
filings in the closing days before an election be made in person or by
express or electronic mail. This reform will ensure prompt public
disclosure and access to this important campaign fund information.
Finally, in March 2009, an analysis by the New York Times revealed that
although charities have been barred by federal law from making contrib-
utions to political campaigns for over 50 years, the practice continues
today (See Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters, Charities Give to State
Campaigns, Despite Law, N.Y. Times, Mar. 17, 2009.). A review of
campaign finance and federal tax records showed that at least 81 tax-ex-
empt charities had given contributions to legislative candidates since
2005. Some officeholders reportedly believed that it was legal to accept
the contributions. This legislation explicitly requires that all office-
holders, candidates for public office, campaign treasurers, and campaign
committees cause all contribution forms to contain the following
language: "contributions from charities or 501 (c) corporations are
expressly forbidden."
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill combining elements of the following bills.
2013: A2009 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2012: A05857 (Kavanagh) - Rules
2011: A05857 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2010: A04012A (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2009: A04012 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2013: A1850 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2012: A05875 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2011: A05875 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2010: A00504 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2009: A00504 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2013: A00230 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2012: A04934A (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2011: A04934 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2010: A07986 (Benjamin) - Election Law
2009: A07986 (Benjamin) - Election Law
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.
