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History
- Referred to rules
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "tax returns uniformly made public act"
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill states that the act shall be known and may be cited as the "tax returns uniformly made public act."
Section 2 of the bill amends the election law by adding a new section 6-170. This new section would require candidates for United States president and vice president to file copies of their last five federal income tax returns with the New York State Board of Elections (BOE) no later than 50 days prior to the general election in which they wish to run.
The BOE would have seven days after receipt of such income tax returns to redact them as deemed appropriate and make them publicly available on the BOE website.
Candidates who fail to comply with these requirements shall not appear on official ballot for the general election.
Section 3 of the bill amends section 12-106 of the election law to state that no elector representing New York State in the Electoral College shall vote for any person subject to the requirements of section 6-170 who fails to comply with such requirements.
Section 4 of the bill is the effective date.
Justification
Until the 2016 presidential election, every president since Jimmy Carter has disclosed at least one year worth of tax returns before taking office. The practice of releasing tax returns has become a political norm over the past four decades for an important reason: American presidential candidates should be held to a higher standard of transparency.
Tax returns give the American people important insight into a candidate's financial standing and shines a light on potential conflicts-of-interest. How much does the candidate earn, and from whom? Are they paying a higher or lower overall tax rate than the average American? To whom do they owe money? Have they utilized loopholes in tax laws to avoid or evade paying taxes?
These are especially important questions for voters to learn before an election, because unlike members of Congress and federal appointees, presidents are largely exempt from conflicts-of-interest laws.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.