Enlarges the definition of the term election for certain purposes

BILL NUMBER:S5071

Title of bill

An act to amend the election law, in relation to enlarging the definition of the term "election" for certain purposes

Purpose

The purpose of this bill is to require reporting of spending in support of or opposition to certain school district budget proposals.

Summary of provisions

This bill would add school district budget proposal votes conducted pursuant to Education Law sections 2022 (common school districts, union free school district, central school districts and central high school districts) and 2601-a (cites with fewer than 125,000 inhabitants) to those ballot proposals that require campaign receipt and expenditure disclosures under Article 14 of the Election Law.

Justification

For those areas outside of the state's five most populous cities, perhaps no local political unit has a greater impact on the community than the school districts. School districts, led by tireless citizen board members, trustees and volunteers, shape community education policy in the state and have a direct and substantial impact on the property taxes paid by local residents. School board decisions, including budgets submitted to voters for approval, determine the level of local taxpayer resources that will be devoted to public education and concomitantly, how much the community will contribute in resources to underwrite this fundamental public purpose.

Under existing law, taxpayers and voters have no way to obtain information about spending by outside interests to influence the outcome of school district budget proposal votes. As state resources available for school districts diminish, school budget decisions take on greater fiscal significance at the local level, with school elections the subject of greater public interest. This legislation will assure that the public's right to know who is attempting to influence the outcome of these elections will be disclosed.

While current Education Law section 1528 requires candidates for school boards to report locally and to the Commissioner of the Department of Education on their fundraising and spending for local school board races, there is no similar reporting requirement for outside interests attempting to influence the outcome of a school budget vote.

This legislation would remedy a significant transparency gap in current law by requiring reporting to the New York State Board of Elections from those outside interests who raise and spend significant monies to influence the outcome of a school budget vote.

Legislative history

New legislation.

Fiscal implications

Minimal

Effective date

Immediately.