Prohibits campaign contributions by business entities other than a political committee; limits contributions by persons other than political parties and candidates in excess of $25,000 annually; limits contributions to political committees in excess of $2,500 annually; authorizes adjustments every two years based on the consumer price index.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
11638
IN ASSEMBLY
July 29, 2026
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Rosenthal)
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to campaign contribution
and expenditure limitations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 14 of the election law is amended by adding a new
2 title III to read as follows:
3 TITLE III
4 CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS
5 Section 14-300. Legislative findings and intent.
6 14-301. Definitions.
7 14-302. Prohibition on contributions or expenditures by business
8 entities.
9 14-303. Aggregate contribution and expenditure limits.
10 14-304. Contribution limits to political committees.
11 14-305. Indexing limits.
12 § 14-300. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that
13 the Supreme Court's decisions in Citizens United v. FEC, 558 US. 310
14 (2010), McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. 185 (2014), Buckley v. Valeo, 424
15 U.S. 1 (1976), and other campaign finance cases are wrongly decided. The
16 legislature finds that the U.S. Constitution embodies the principle of
17 democracy, the idea that all citizens are entitled to participate in
18 self-government as political equals and that, with Citizens United and
19 the other cases, the Court contravened this fundamental constitutional
20 guarantee. The legislature finds that Citizens United and the other
21 cases empower wealthy special interests to monopolize political
22 discourse at the expense of the public; unconstitutionally disable the
23 legislature from taking common-sense steps to reduce the appearance and
24 reality of corruption, which includes undue access to and influence over
25 government officials; and give rise to a distrust in government and
26 citizen apathy that undermines the democratic operation of the political
27 process.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16142-01-6
A. 11638 2
1 The legislature amends this article creating a new title to this arti-
2 cle to enable the public at large to participate in the political proc-
3 ess by reducing the undemocratic influence of special interests; to
4 eliminate the appearance and reality of political corruption that inevi-
5 tably arises when unlimited money is allowed to influence political
6 outcomes; to restore public faith and participation in democracy; and to
7 vindicate the U.S. Constitution's fundamental principle of democracy,
8 which has been so callously disregarded by the Supreme Court.
9 Therefore, the legislature declares that these amendments further the
10 important and valid government interests of ensuring the constitu-
11 tionally guaranteed political equality of all citizens, reducing the
12 appearance and reality of political corruption, encouraging broad based
13 public participation in democracy, and encouraging qualified candidates
14 to run for office, while reducing candidates' and officeholders'
15 fundraising burdens.
16 § 14-301. Definitions. For the purposes of this title, the following
17 terms shall have the following meanings:
18 1. "business entity" means any for-profit or nonprofit entity, includ-
19 ing any firm, partnership, corporation, incorporated association, labor
20 organization, or other organization.
21 2. "candidate" shall have the same meaning as subdivision seven of
22 section 14-100 of this article.
23 3. "constituted committee" shall have the same meaning as subdivision
24 three of section 14-100 of this article.
25 4. "contribution" shall have the same meaning as subdivision nine of
26 section 14-100 of this article.
27 5. "expenditure" means any purchase, payment, distribution, loan,
28 advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, made by any
29 person in connection with any election, advocating a position on a
30 public question, or supporting or opposing a candidate.
31 6. "party committee" shall have the same meaning as subdivision two of
32 section 14-100 of this article.
33 7. "person" means any natural person or business entity.
34 8. "political committee" shall have the same meaning as subdivision
35 one of section 14-100 of this article.
36 9. "political party" shall have the same meaning as subdivision three
37 of section 1-104 of this chapter.
38 § 14-302. Prohibition on contributions or expenditures by business
39 entities. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it is
40 unlawful for any business entity other than a political committee to
41 make any contribution or expenditure, or for any candidate, constituted
42 committee, political committee, party committee or other person to know-
43 ingly accept or receive any contribution prohibited by this section.
44 § 14-303. Aggregate contribution and expenditure limits. Notwithstand-
45 ing any other provision of this article, no person other than political
46 parties and candidates may make contributions or expenditures in excess
47 of twenty-five thousand dollars in the aggregate annually.
48 § 14-304. Contribution limits to political committees. Notwithstanding
49 any other provision of this article, no person may make contributions in
50 excess of two thousand five hundred dollars in the aggregate annually to
51 a political committee, regardless of whether the committee is formed for
52 the exclusive purpose of making independent expenditures as defined in
53 subdivision one of section 14-107 of this article.
54 § 14-305. Indexing limits. Beginning December first, two thousand
55 twenty-six, contribution and expenditure limits in accordance with this
56 article shall be adjusted every two years based on the consumer price
A. 11638 3
1 index as reported by the United States department of labor, bureau of
2 labor statistics and rounded to the nearest amount divisible by twenty-
3 five dollars.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after the Attor-
5 ney General of the state of New York certifies that it is reasonably
6 probable to be upheld as constitutional due to (a) an opinion by the
7 Supreme Court; (b) the adoption of an amendment to the U.S. Constitu-
8 tion; or (c) any other reason, to be specified in the certification.
