NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10097
SPONSOR: Solages TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring disclosure of
major contributors on independent expenditure communications
PURPOSE:
To require that independent expenditures list major contributors on all
communications
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends Election Law § 14-107 by adding a new subdivision 5,
requiring independent expenditure communications to include a disclaimer
identifying the payer of the communication and a list of the top three
contributors who gave over $1,000 in the preceding 12 months.
Section 2. Creates a new § 14-107-a, establishing rules for donor attri-
bution and clarifying how "top contributors" are to be calculated and
reported.
Section 3. Contains severability language.
Section 4. Sets the effective date and directs the State Board of
Elections to adopt rules for implementation.
JUSTIFICATION:
The rise of independent expenditures-often funded by opaque "dark money"
groups-has diminished public trust in the democratic process. Voters
deserve to know who is behind the political ads they see and the mailers
they receive, especially when those communications attempt to influence
elections outside of candidate coordination.
Under current New York State law, independent spenders must disclose
large donors to the State Board of Elections. However, there is no
requirement that those donors be disclosed directly on communications
like mailers, digital ads, or robocalls. This limits the effectiveness
of disclosure laws, as most voters never consult the BOE database.
In contrast, New York City requires IE groups to list their top three
contributors directly on their communications, a simple, commonsense
transparency measure that ensures voters are informed the moment they
are being influenced. This bill would adopt that standard statewide,
ensuring uniformity, fairness, and accountability in political advertis-
ing throughout New York.
EQUITY AND COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Independent expenditure communications increasingly reach voters through
targeted mail, digital advertising, and robocalls, including in communi-
ties of color, immigrant communities, and low-income neighborhoods. When
the financial backers of these communications are not disclosed directly
on the materials themselves, voters lack critical context needed to
evaluate the messages they receive. This legislation promotes transpar-
ency by ensuring that major contributors are clearly identified at the
point of communication, supporting informed participation in the demo-
cratic process and helping to ensure that all voters have meaningful
access to information about who is seeking to influence their vote.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATION:
Minimal. The bill relies on existing BOE disclosure infrastructure, with
modest rulemaking and enforcement updates required.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January following its enact-
ment. The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules and guidelines
within 180 days.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10097
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring disclosure of
major contributors on independent expenditure communications
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 14-107 of the election law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. (a) Any individual, entity, or political committee that makes an
4 independent expenditure for a covered communication shall include on
5 such communication the following disclaimer, prominently displayed and
6 clearly readable or audible, as applicable:
7 "Paid for by (name of person or organization). This expenditure was
8 not made in cooperation with any candidate or candidate's committee."
9 (b) (i) If the independent spender has received aggregate contrib-
10 utions exceeding one thousand dollars from any person or entity during
11 the twelve months preceding the communication, the disclaimer shall also
12 include:
13 "Top contributors: (Name one) (Name two) (Name three)."
14 (ii) The names listed under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall
15 be those contributors who contributed the largest aggregate amounts
16 exceeding one thousand dollars, in descending order.
17 (c) If the independent spender has a treasurer, the disclaimer shall
18 also include:
19 "The treasurer of (name of person or organization) is (name of treas-
20 urer)."
21 (d) The disclosure shall appear in a type size and format that is
22 easily readable or, for audio or video communications, clearly audible
23 and/or visible for at least four seconds. The disclosure shall also
24 include the web address of the state board of elections candidates and
25 campaign disclosures reporting system.
26 (e) Nothing in this section shall be applicable to candidates for
27 public offices under the jurisdiction of the New York city campaign
28 finance board.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13406-01-5
A. 10097 2
1 (f) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "covered communi-
2 cation" shall mean any public communication made via direct mail, print,
3 internet, radio, television, telephone, or other mass distribution meth-
4 od that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly
5 identified candidate or ballot proposal, or refers to such candidate or
6 proposal within sixty days of an election.
7 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 14-107-c to
8 read as follows:
9 § 14-107-c. Donor attribution rules for independent expenditures. 1.
10 For purposes of determining the top contributors required to be
11 disclosed under subdivision nine of section 14-107 of this title, only
12 those contributions that are earmarked, solicited for, or reasonably
13 expected to support independent expenditures shall be considered.
14 2. No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
15 this section, state board of elections shall promulgate any rules or
16 regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section and
17 subdivision nine of section 14-107 of this title, including standardized
18 disclaimer formats, font sizes, and methods for identifying top contrib-
19 utors.
20 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
21 sion or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent
22 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or
23 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
24 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision or section thereof
25 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
26 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
27 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions
28 had not been included herein.
29 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
30 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
31 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
32 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
33 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
