What's happening
This bill expands the definition of "election" to include school district budget votes under certain sections of the education law.
Why it matters
Expands regulatory oversight. By including school district budget votes in the definition of "election," these votes will now be subject to the same legal and regulatory requirements as other types of elections, such as campaign finance rules and reporting standards.
Increases transparency and accountability. School district budget votes often involve significant public funds. This change could require candidates, committees, or advocates involved in these votes to disclose contributions and expenditures, providing voters with more information about who is influencing local education funding decisions.
Impacts local participation and advocacy. Groups and individuals campaigning for or against school budget proposals may need to comply with stricter rules, such as registration or disclosure requirements. This could affect how advocacy campaigns are run at the local level and potentially deter or encourage more organized participation.
Aligns education votes with broader election standards. Treating major school district budget votes as formal "elections" puts them on par with other public votes, potentially boosting public trust and emphasizing the importance of these decisions for communities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Election Definition
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to elections
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.681
- Referred to elections
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Include School Budget Votes
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Fred Thiele
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
S. 3915 A. 3723
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2017
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enlarging the definition of the term "election" for certain purposes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 14-100 of the election law, as added by chapter 8 of the laws of 1978 and redesignated by chapter 9 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
11. "election" means all general, special and primary elections, but shall not include elections provided for pursuant to the education law, special district elections, fire district elections or library district elections except that it shall include school district budget votes pursuant to sections two thousand twenty-two and twenty-six hundred one-a of the education law.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04094-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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
2015-16:S.4667/A.6723 2013-14:S.4510/A.9792 2011-12:S.5071/A.7223
Fiscal implications
Minimal
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.