Requires a candidate for office to file additional information about the candidate's educational background, military service history, and employment history; provides penalties for violations.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5496
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- 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 requiring a candidate
for office to file additional information about the candidate's educa-
tional background, military service, and employment history and
providing penalties for violations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Candidate Truth in Background Disclosures Act".
3 § 2. The section heading and subdivision 1 of section 14-104 of the
4 election law, the section heading as amended by chapter 430 of the laws
5 of 1997, and subdivision 1 as amended by section 1 of part C of chapter
6 286 of the laws of 2016, are amended to read as follows:
7 Statements of campaign receipts, contributions, transfers and expendi-
8 tures by and to candidates and of educational background, military
9 service history and employment history. 1. (a) Any candidate for
10 election to public office, or for nomination for public office at a
11 contested primary election or convention, or for election to a party
12 position at a primary election, shall file statements sworn, or
13 subscribed and bearing a form notice that false statements made therein
14 are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to section 210.45 of
15 the penal law, at the times prescribed by this article setting forth the
16 particulars specified by section 14-102 of this article, as to all
17 moneys or other valuable things, paid, given, expended or promised by
18 [him or her] such candidate to aid [his or her] their own nomination or
19 election, or to promote the success or defeat of a political party, or
20 to aid or influence the nomination or election or the defeat of any
21 other candidate to be voted for at the election or primary election or
22 at a convention, including contributions to political committees, offi-
23 cers, members or agents thereof, and transfers, receipts and contrib-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10095-01-5
S. 5496 2
1 utions to [him or her] such candidate to be used for any of the purposes
2 above specified, or in lieu thereof, any such candidate may file such a
3 sworn statement at the first filing period, on a form prescribed by the
4 state board of elections that such candidate has made no such expendi-
5 tures and does not intend to make any such expenditures, except through
6 a political committee authorized by such candidate pursuant to this
7 article. Such candidate may designate a committee of no less than three
8 persons who shall be authorized to appoint and remove the treasurer of
9 any authorized committee of the candidate. The designation or revocation
10 of the committee shall be evidenced in a writing filed with the state
11 board of elections by the candidate authorizing the committee. The
12 candidate may revoke such designation at any time. A committee author-
13 ized by such a candidate may fulfill all of the filing requirements of
14 this act on behalf of such candidate.
15 (b) Any candidate for election to public office, or for nomination for
16 public office at a contested primary election or convention, or for
17 election to a party position at a primary election, shall file state-
18 ments sworn, or subscribed and bearing a form notice that false state-
19 ments made therein are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to
20 section 210.45 of the penal law at the times prescribed by this article
21 setting forth the particulars of the candidate's educational background,
22 military service history and employment history. A statement or state-
23 ments filed pursuant to this paragraph must be filed by the candidate; a
24 statement filed by a designee, including a committee, shall be held to
25 be invalid. As used in this paragraph:
26 (i) "educational background" means all secondary schools and insti-
27 tutions of higher education attended by the candidate, the years of
28 attendance at such schools, and, if applicable, the year of such gradu-
29 ation;
30 (ii) "military service history" means military service of the state or
31 military service of the United States, as defined in section one of the
32 military law, service as a member of military reserves, and military
33 service for any other country or territory or subdivision thereof, the
34 number of years served by the candidate, the year the candidate finished
35 their military service and the rank with which the candidate left mili-
36 tary service with; and
37 (iii) "employment history" means each position of employment held by
38 the candidate since the age of twenty-one or for the past twenty years,
39 whichever period is shorter, whether as an employee or an independent
40 contractor, that exceeded three months, and the name of the employer.
41 § 3. The section heading and subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 16-114 of
42 the election law, subdivisions 1 and 2 as redesignated by chapter 9 of
43 the laws of 1978, are amended to read as follows:
44 Proceedings to compel filing of statements or corrected statements of
45 campaign receipts, expenditures and contributions or of educational
46 background, military service history and employment history. 1. The
47 supreme court or a justice thereof, in a proceeding instituted by any
48 candidate voted for at the election or primary or by any five qualified
49 voters or by the state or other board of elections may compel by order,
50 any person required to file a statement of receipts, expenditures or
51 contributions for campaign purposes or a statement of educational back-
52 ground, military service history and employment history, who has not
53 filed any such statement within the time prescribed by this chapter, to
54 file such statement within five days after notice of the order.
55 2. The supreme court or a justice thereof, in a proceeding instituted
56 by any candidate voted for at the election or primary or by any five
S. 5496 3
1 qualified voters, or by the state or other board of elections in accord-
2 ance with the provision of this chapter may compel by order any person
3 required under the provisions of this chapter to file a statement of
4 receipts, expenditures or contributions for campaign purposes or a
5 statement of educational background, military service history and
6 employment history, who has filed a statement which does not conform to
7 the requirements of this chapter in respect to its truth, sufficiency in
8 detail or otherwise, to file a new or supplemental statement which shall
9 make the statement or statements true and complete within five days
10 after notice of the order. The state board of elections shall be a
11 necessary party in any such proceeding.
12 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 9-A of section 3-102 of the election
13 law, as amended by section 8 of part ZZZ of chapter 58 of the laws of
14 2020, is amended to read as follows:
15 (a) develop an electronic reporting system to process the statements
16 of campaign receipts, contributions, transfers and expenditures required
17 to be filed with any board of elections pursuant to the provisions of
18 sections 14-102, 14-104 and 14-201 of this chapter and statements of
19 educational background, military service history and employment history
20 required to be filed with any board of elections pursuant to the
21 provisions of section 14-104 of this chapter;
22 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 14-126 of the election law is amended by
23 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
24 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
25 sion, any person who knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of
26 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 14-104 of this title,
27 including an individual who knowingly and willfully provides false
28 information described in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section
29 14-104 of this title, shall be fined one thousand dollars or shall be
30 imprisoned for one year, or both. Such fine shall be recoverable in a
31 special proceeding or civil action to be brought by the chief enforce-
32 ment counsel pursuant to section 16-114 of this chapter. Any person who,
33 three or more times within a given election cycle for such term of
34 office, knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of paragraph (b)
35 of subdivision one of section 14-104 of this title, including an indi-
36 vidual who knowingly and willfully provides false information of educa-
37 tional background, military service history and employment history of
38 this article, shall be subject to a civil penalty, not in excess of
39 ten thousand dollars, to be recoverable as provided for in this
40 subdivision.
41 § 6. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
42 law and shall apply to candidates running for office in elections
43 commencing on and after such effective date.
