Requires public-facing websites operated by political committees to contain "paid for by" language; adds such public-facing websites to the list of political communications that qualify as independent expenditures.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7095
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to public-facing websites
operated by political committees
PURPOSE:
To require that public-facing websites paid for, hosted, and/or operated
by political committees feature a disclaimer identifying the political
committee responsible for the website.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 14-106 of the Election Law to include public-
facing , websites in the list of political communications that are
required to feature a disclaimer identifying the political committee
responsible for the communication; specifies that such disclaimer must
be clearly displayed on each navigable page of a website paid for, host-
ed, and/or operated by a political committee.
Section 2 amends section 14-107 of the Election Law to expand the defi-
nition of "independent expenditure" to include public-facing websites.
JUSTIFICATION:
Campaign finance transparency is a central pillar of any healthy democ-
racy. It is widely recognized that individuals and interest groups
commonly seek to influence the policymaking process by sponsoring-either
through direct financial contributions or through independent expendi-
tures-the election bids of candidates whose political dispositions align
with their own policy objectives. Accordingly, for voters to be able to
identify which candidates are most apt to advance their preferences and
interests, it is imperative that they have the tools needed to evaluate
the credibility of the voluminous political messaging they encounter
during each election cycle.
For this reason, the State of New York has afforded voters the opportu-
nity to "peek under the hood"-i.e., to see which donors have left a
footprint in a given political contest-by requiring political commit-
tees, including independent expenditure committees, to disclose the
sources of the donations they receive. Essential to this framework of
transparency is the requirement that political communications feature
"paid for by" disclaimers that allow voters to identify the expenditure
committee responsible for a specific communication.
In 2018, New York responded to the increasing prevalence of intemet-
based political communications by updating the Election Law to require
that most digital advertisements contain a disclaimer; however, the
state neglected to follow federal law in requiring that all public-fac-
ing websites paid for, hosted, and/or operated by political committees
also contain such disclaimers. This bill builds on the 2018 reforms by
adding websites to the list of political communications that must
contain a disclaimer, and by establishing that websites intended to
influence an election qualify as independent expenditures.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
