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.