Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake) announced that legislation she co-sponsored closing the limited liability company (LLC) loophole has passed the Assembly. The bill is part of Woerner’s continued effort to improve the ethical climate in Albany, and is designed to reduce the influence of wealthy campaign contributors and increase transparency in elections (A.1926).

“Our communities deserve fair elections, not ones that can be bought and subjected to the ulterior motives of extremely wealthy special interests,” said Woerner. “Campaign finance reform helps ensure that every person has an equal stake in our elections.”

Current law allows a single individual to make multiple contributions to the same candidate, political party or campaign committee through separate LLCs, avoiding campaign donation limits. The law treats LLCs as individual donors, even if multiple are controlled by the same individual, bolstered by a 2014 Supreme Court ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC that removed limits on individual donations.

The Assembly legislation limits LLCs to the same $5,000 aggregate contribution limit that exists for corporations. Additionally, the measure requires that LLC owners clearly identify themselves and their contributions and ownership interests in order to increase transparency.

In addition to this effort, Woerner helped pass legislation earlier this year stripping taxpayer-funded pensions from officials convicted of corruption (A.1749), as well as a joint resolution requiring lawmakers who earn outside income to submit additional information to the independent Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC) (B.404/C.25).

“Closing the loophole is a critical step in taking influence out of the hands of special interests and giving it back to hardworking New Yorkers,” said Woerner. “I’ll continue advocating so that the voices of middle-class families are heard.”