NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1641
SPONSOR: Seawright TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring campaign
finance information of certain candidates or committees to be filed on
an electronic reporting system
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to require all candidates and committees,
pursuant to Article 14 of the Election Law, to file campaign-financial
disclosure statements with the New York State Board of Elections
(NYSBOE) by removing the $1,000 filing threshold.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one eliminates the one thousand dollar ($1,000) filing threshold
to require all candidates or their authorized committee to electron-
ically file with the NYSBOE. It also removes language requiring local
and County filers to file with County Boards of Elections.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Not applicable.
JUSTIFICATION:
Prior to 2006, only candidates running for Statewide, State Senate,
State Assembly and other State offices filed campaign financial disclo-
sure reports with the New York State Board of Elections. In 2006, a law
was passed to require local filers to file with the State Board of
Elections if they raised or spent (or expected to) $1,000. The majority
of local campaigns meet the $1,000 threshold. County Board of Elections
have a minimal number of filers that still file paper at the local
level. This bill would take managing campaign finance compliance off of
the workload of County and City Boards of Elections.This bill would also
reduce confusion when it appears that a candidate or its authorized
committee may not have filed required disclosure reports. By having one
centralized depository in which all reports must be filed, it provides a
convenience and increased transparency to the public when they look for
campaign financial disclosure reports.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-18: S.5455-A (Hamilton) - Referred to Senate Elections Committee /
A.6732-A (Seawright) - Passed in Assembly
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
There is a cost savings to County Boards of Elections. The State Board
of Elections would have an off-set cost. Local candidates who currently
file a paper CF-05 claim of exemption form with the NYSBOE would now be
registering and filing with the NYSBOE. NYSBOE's intake and processing
unit already has interaction with these filers.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
December 15, 2019.
