Amd Art 14 head, desig SS14-100 - 14-130 to be Title I, add Title II Art 14 SS14-200 - 14-204, ElL
Enacts the campaign finance reform act of 2001; defines terms; limits monies that state legislature campaign committees can dispense and details for what purposes; makes certain kind of campaign contributions unlawful; transfers any surplus campaign funds to a general fund which shall be controlled by the state board of elections and to be distributed in the next election year, equally to all candidates for election to the state legislature.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2766
SPONSOR: Dinga TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to
limiting the financial influence of statewide organizations in political
races
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: An act to amend the election law in
relation to severely limiting the financial influence of statewide
organizations in a local race. No longer will Political Action Commit-
tees (PAC's) be able to have an affect on the outcome of an election.
Candidates ability to attain funds will be limited to the whole portions
of the county or counties in which they represent.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
*Limits the ability of a candidate to attract funds outside of the whole
portions of the counties they represent.
*Places a $500,000 per year limit for both Assembly and Senate Campaign
Committees on funds that can be expended as soft money contributions
such as polling, artwork design, legal aid, personnel and general house-
keeping.
*Makes illegal direct funding by Assembly and Senate Campaign Committees
of individual State candidates, including contributions for literature,
publications, mailing costs, or radio, television, and print media.
*Limits labor union contributions to individuals members to candidates
from the district in which the member resides.
*Makes unlawful the direct deduction of fees from an employees' paycheck
by an employer or any other organization for purposes of campaign
contributions.
*Encompasses statewide, state, county and local elections.
*Distributes surplus campaign funds back to all members of the Legisla-
ture and any potential opponents in a subsequent election year.
*Creates $100,000 limit on funds that can be legally transferred upward
or downward from Assembly or Senate Campaign Committees to national,
state or local committees in any year.
*Makes illegal "funneling" of any monies through a citizen from state-
wide organization.
JUSTIFICATION: What currently corrupts the political process is the
ability of a candidate to attract funds from outside of the counties in
which they represent. The best campaigns are the ones in which the
candidates raise funds and gain support from the people that they repre-
sent. My proposal reestablishes the grassroots nature of local candi-
dates and campaigns. Our State Senate and Assembly Campaign Committees,
Republican and Democratic, receive millions of dollars from outside
influences, PAC's, special interests and labor union. Subsequently, the
outside funding is then spent in legislative districts against those who
dare to speak out independently.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Yet to be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2766
2001-2002 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2001
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINGA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to limiting the financial
influence of statewide organizations in political races
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Campaign
2 finance reform act of 2001".
3 § 2. The article heading of article 14 of the election law is amended
4 to read as follows:
5 CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES;
6 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
7 § 3. Section 14-100 through 14-130 of the election law are designated
8 title I and a new title heading is added to read as follows:
9 CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES
10 § 4. Article 14 of the election law is amended by adding a new title
11 II to read as follows:
12 TITLE II
13 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
14 Section 14-200. Definitions.
15 14-202. Unlawful contributions.
16 14-204. Contribution limits for state legislature campaign
17 committees.
18 § 14-200. Definitions. As used in this title:
19 1. "campaign donor organization" shall mean a political committee
20 which only accepts contributions from individuals.
21 2. "political party" shall have the same meaning as such term is given
22 by subdivision three of section 1-104 of this chapter.
23 3. "state legislature campaign committees" shall mean the majority and
24 minority assembly and senate campaign committees.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06197-01-1
A. 2766 2
1 § 14-202. Unlawful contributions. The following limitations shall
2 apply to political contributions made to candidates for public office in
3 any election within the state. In an election for public office or for
4 nomination to such office:
5 1. An individual may only contribute to a candidate running for
6 election for which the individual is eligible to vote for, a political
7 party, a campaign committee or a campaign donor organization.
8 2. A labor union may not contribute to a candidate or a political
9 party and shall not be a campaign donor organization.
10 3. Individuals shall not directly have money deducted from their pay
11 check by an employer or any other organization for the purpose of making
12 a campaign contribution.
13 § 14-204. Contribution limits for state legislature campaign commit-
14 tees. 1. The state legislature campaign committees shall only be
15 allowed to dispense a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars per year
16 each.
17 2. The state legislature campaign committees may only transfer one
18 hundred thousand dollars of the five hundred thousand dollars per year
19 they are allowed pursuant to this section to any other campaign commit-
20 tee, either on the national, state or local level.
21 3. The state legislature campaign committees shall not directly fund
22 the costs of literature, publications, mailings, radio advertisements,
23 television advertisements or newspaper advertisements of any individual
24 candidate. The monies a candidate receives from a state legislature
25 campaign committee shall be used for polling, artwork design, legal aid,
26 personnel and general housekeeping.
27 4. The state legislature campaign committees shall not give any monies
28 to an individual to use to make a political contribution to a candidate
29 for any national, state or local political office.
30 5. Any surplus campaign funds shall be transferred to a general fund,
31 which shall be established and controlled by the state board of
32 elections, to be distributed in the next election year, equally to all
33 candidates for election to the state legislature.
34 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
35 have become a law.
