New York, NY – On March 20, 2019, Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright announced that the New York State Assembly passed legislation (A.1740/S.3134), which would allow candidates to satisfy both local and state requirements when running for NYC office by filing with just one entity: The New York City Campaign Finance Board. The bill passed both houses with overwhelming support. It will now be transmitted to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Assembly Member Seawright said, “It is a colossal waste of time, effort and resources to require candidates for public office to file twice, with both the local agency and the State. Let’s stop discouraging candidates from running for office by putting them through two sets of hoops. Twice the filing is one time too many. Once is enough.”

The bill establishes that filing with a local campaign finance board may fulfill both local and state requirements when such filing contains all the information required by state law. Transparency is assured because the NYS Board of Elections website will maintain all necessary public disclosures for NYC filers.

“This proposed law simplifies the current processes by relieving cumbersome and duplicative filing requirements while ensuring full transparency,” said Assembly Member Seawright. “The NYS Board of Elections retains authority to ensure compliance by the local board with state law,” Seawright concluded.