Regulates political contribution activities by intermediaries; requires disclosure of certain identifying information when certain contributions are made by an intermediary to a candidate or a committee.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3254
SPONSOR: Rozic TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to contribution activities
by an intermediary
PURPOSE:
This bill provides for the disclosure of political fundraising interme-
diaries (also known as bundlers or conduits) by candidates, authorized
committees or party committees, as well as the source and amount of the
contributions they deliver, for contributors of $500 or more.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill provides the short title "campaign finance
intermediary disclosure act."
Section two of the bill amends section 14-100 of the election law by
adding three new subdivisions 1-a, 17, and 17-a. Subdivision 1-a defines
"authorized committee." Subdivision 17 defines "intermediary" to mean an
individual or entity that either delivers contributions from another
person or entity to a candidate, authorized committee or party commit-
tee, or solicits contributions to a candidate, authorized committee or
party committee. Subdivision 17-a excludes certain persons or entities
from the definition of "intermediary."
Section three of the bill adds a new section 14-105 to the election law
to regulate intermediary disclosure. Subdivision 1 of the new section
14-105 requires intermediaries to report to a recipient candidate,
authorized committee or party committee the name and mailing address of
each contributor, the amount of the contribution, and the date the
contribution was received by the intermediary.
Subdivision 2 of the new section 14-105 requires recipient candidates,
authorized committees, or party committees to identify and report inter-
mediaries who deliver or solicit contributions that in the aggregate
equal or exceed $500 to the state board of elections. This report must
include any contributions required to be itemized under section 14-102
of the election law that are delivered or solicited by the intermediary
and the total monetary value of contributions delivered or solicited.
Subdivision 3 of the new section 14-105 clarifies that contributions
delivered by intermediaries to such recipients will be deemed to be
contributions from the contributor only, and not deemed to be contrib-
utions from the intermediary.
Section four of the bill sets forth the effective date. The date corre-
sponds with the beginning of the period for disclosure reports set by
the Board of Elections.
JUSTIFICATION:
In the wake of Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United v. Federal
Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and its progeny, a sophisti-
cated and robust system of campaign finance disclosure is the most reli-
able method for providing the public with the opportunity to follow the
money that funds political campaigns and committees. Chief Justice
Roberts, writing for the Court in McCutcheon, recognized the great value
of campaign contribution disclosure requirements. The Court endorsed
transparency as a powerful disinfectant, explaining that "disclosure of
contributions minimizes the potential for abuse of the campaign finance
system.
Disclosure requirements are in part justified based on a governmental
interest in providing the electorate with information about the sources
of election-related spending." (McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n,
572 U.S., Slip. Op. No. 12-536 at 35-36 (Apr. 2, 2014), citing Citizens
United, 558 U.S., at 367, quoting Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 66
(1976)). Reaching back to its landmark decision in Buckley v. Valeo, the
Court recognized that disclosure may also "deter actual corruption and
avoid the appearance of corruption by exposing large contributions and
expenditures to the ligh t of publicity." (McCutcheon, Slip. Op. No.
12-536 at 35, quoting Buckley, 424 U.S., at 67).
Currently, New York's election law does not require the disclosure of
political fundraising intermediaries or bundlers who deliver or solicit
contributions for candidates, authorized committees or party committees.
While New York law requires the disclosure of anyone who contributes
$500 or more of their own funds, intermediaries may solicit and deliver
much larger sums to candidates, often from many contributors, without
any disclosure of their role. Such intermediaries may include lobbyists
or others with interests in the official actions of the elected offi-
cials who receive the contributions, but their activities may be entire-
ly invisible to the public. This lack of transparency departs from the
intermediary disclosure requirements found in federal law, in New York
City law, and in other states (including California, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Missouri, and Washington).
This legislation incorporates intermediary disclosure into the existing
reporting requirements for candidates, authorized committees, and party
committees by requiring the disclosure of intermediaries who deliver or
solicit contributions that in the aggregate equal or exceed $500 along
with any contribution for which the contributor is already required to
be itemized under existing law. To facilitate this, intermediaries are
required to identify each contributor to the recipient.
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
Very minor one-time costs associated with adjustments to the campaign
finance disclosure systems administered by the State Board of Elections.
FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCALITIES:
None.
IMPACT ON REGULATION OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS:
Requires intermediaries to report the name, address, amount, and date
received for all individual contributions they are providing to a candi-
date, authorized committee, or party committee; requires recipients of
such contributions to identify and report intermediaries who deliver or
solicit contributions that in aggregate equal or exceed $500.
IMPACT ON FINES, IMPRISONMENT, FORFEITURE OF RIGHTS, OR OTHER PENAL
SANCTIONS:
None.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: A447 (Rozic) - Election Law
2021: A447 (Rozic) - Election Law
2020: A10238 (Rozic) - Election Law
2017: A2147 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2015: A5728 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2013: A144 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2011: A5879 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2009: A8755 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect January 14, 2025 provided that section three
of this act shall apply to any contribution received on or after January
14, 2025; and; provided further, however, that contributions legally
received prior to the effective date of this act may be retained and
expended for lawful purposes and shall not provide the basis for a
violation of article 14 of the election law, as amended by this act; and
provided, further, that effective immediately the state board of
elections is authorized and directed to promulgate any rules necessary
to implement the provisions of this act and shall notify all candidates
and political committees of the applicable provisions of this act on or
before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3254
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to contribution activities
by an intermediary
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 intermediary disclosure act".
3 § 2. Section 14-100 of the election law is amended by adding three new
4 subdivisions 1-a, 18 and 18-a to read as follows:
5 1-a. "authorized committee" means any political committee designated
6 by a candidate to receive contributions authorized by this article or to
7 aid such candidate or otherwise take part in elections on such candi-
8 date's behalf.
9 18. "intermediary" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
10 political committee, employee organization or other entity which:
11 (a) other than in the regular course of business as a postal, delivery
12 or messenger service, delivers any contribution from another person or
13 entity to a candidate, authorized committee or party committee; or
14 (b) solicits contributions to a candidate, authorized committee or
15 party committee where such solicitation is known to such candidate,
16 authorized committee or party committee. For purposes of this paragraph,
17 only persons clearly identified as the solicitor of a contribution to
18 the candidate, authorized committee or party committee shall be presumed
19 to be known to such candidate, authorized committee or party committee.
20 18-a. "intermediary" shall not include spouses, domestic partners,
21 parents, children or siblings of the person making such contribution, or
22 any employee or full-time volunteer campaign worker or commercial
23 fundraising firm retained by the candidate or the agents thereof.
24 § 3. The election law is amended by adding a new section 14-134 to
25 read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02987-01-3
A. 3254 2
1 § 14-134. Intermediaries. 1. Reports by intermediaries. For each
2 contribution delivered by an intermediary, such intermediary shall indi-
3 cate to the recipient candidate, authorized committee or party committee
4 the name and mailing address of the contributor, amount of the contrib-
5 ution, and the date the contribution was received by the intermediary.
6 2. Reports by recipient candidates, authorized committees or party
7 committees. Any candidate, authorized committee or party committee shall
8 report to the state board of elections any intermediary who delivers or
9 solicits contributions that in the aggregate equal or exceed five
10 hundred dollars. Such report shall include the name, mailing address,
11 occupation, employer and employer's address of such intermediary, which
12 contributions required to be itemized under section 14-102 of this arti-
13 cle the intermediary delivered or solicited, and the total monetary
14 value of contributions delivered or solicited by such intermediary.
15 3. Contributions delivered by an intermediary to a candidate, author-
16 ized committee or party committee in accordance with this section shall
17 be deemed to be contributions from the contributor only and shall not be
18 deemed to be contributions from the intermediary.
19 § 4. This act shall take effect January 14, 2025, provided that
20 section three of this act shall apply to any contribution received on or
21 after January 14, 2025; and provided, further, that contributions legal-
22 ly received prior to the effective date of this act may be retained and
23 expended for lawful purposes and shall not provide the basis for a
24 violation of article 14 of the election law, as amended by this act.
25 Effective immediately, the state board of elections is authorized to
26 promulgate any rules necessary to implement the provisions of this act
27 and shall notify all candidates and political committees of the applica-
28 ble provisions of this act on or before such effective date.
