Provides for the itemization of campaign expenditures; repealer

2 Co-sponsors

• Liz Krueger
• Velmanette Montgomery

BILL NUMBER:S1131

Title of bill

An act to amend the election law, in relation to statements of campaign receipts; and to repeal certain provisions of the election law relating thereto

Purpose

To provide in law an explicit requirement for the itemization of items purchased on a campaign credit card for purposes of reporting requirements.

Summary of provisions

Section one. Subdivision 5 of section 14-102 of the election law is REPEALED, subdivision 1, as amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 1978, and as redesignated by chapter 9 of the laws of 1978 is amended to require expenditures to report on an itemized basis those item purchased and the amount said item costs.

Justification

New York State has some of the laxest campaign finance laws in the nation. Moreover, several loopholes exist that are exploited to further reduce the effectiveness of New York's campaign disclosure laws. One particular loophole, which this bill addresses, pertains to the reporting of purchases made with a campaign credit card. Under current law, it is unclear what items purchased with a campaign credit card need to be reported and oftentimes disclosure reports simply state the monthly payment made to Visa or American Express. Reporting in this manner impedes the spirit of the law and prevents the public from seeing all of the itemized purchases made with said card. This would require that individual purchases and suppliers be reported. It will correct this technicality and provide more transparency on campaign finance reports.

Legislative history

2011/2012 - S.3054 Remained in Senate Committee on Elections

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Immediately.