NY State Senate Bill 2017-S15

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to elections
Jan 04, 2017	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§14-114, 14-120 & 14-102, El L
Versions Introduced in 2015-2016 Legislative Session:: S7733

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to contributions made by a limited liability company; requires contributions made by a limited liability company to be attributed to each member in proportion to the member's ownership interest in the limited liability company.

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S15

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to contributions made by
a limited liability company

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This proposal reduces the receipt limit for contributions made to a
party or constituted committee and requires contributions made by a
limited liability company ("LLC") be proportionally attributed
individually based on each member's direct or indirect interest,
respectively. In addition, such information would have to be disclosed
by both the LLC and its members, as well as, by any political
committee that accepts a contribution from an LLC.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill amends subdivision ten of Election Law section
14-114 by lowering the receipt limit for contributions made to a party
or constituted committee from $62,500 to $15,000. The limit would no
longer be subject to increase via changes in the consumer price index,
as it currently is.

The current party or constituted committee contribution limit is

$109,600, since increases in the limit are tied to periodic increases
based on changes in the consumer price index. As such, this change
alone would result in an immediate decrease of $94,600 for
contributions made to party or constituted committees.

Section two of the bill amends section 14-120 of the Election Law by
adding a new subdivision (3). This new subdivision requires all
contributions made by an LLC be attributed to each individual member
in proportion to the member's ownership interest in the company. Such
contributions would count toward the member's individual contribution
limit based on his or her proportional ownership.

The section further requires any LLC that makes contributions to
disclose, on an annual basis, to the State Board of Elections, the
identity of all direct and indirect owners and membership interests,
as well as proportional ownership in the LLC.

Section three of the bill amends Election Law section 14-102 to
require that political committees affirmatively list, for each
contribution received from an LLC: (1) the identity of all direct and
indirect owners and; (2) The amount of the contribution, as attributed
to each member based on the percentage of his or her ownership
interest in the LLC.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This bill addresses some of the core criticisms made over and over
again about New York's lax campaign finance laws. Specifically, the
bill drastically reduces the amount of money that can be solicited or
contributed to constituted or political campaign committees by over
75%. The bill also sets a hard limit for these specific types of
contributions rather than allowing for periodic increases over time as
is currently allowed.

The bill also seeks to provide additional disclosure of who is
specifically behind contributions made by LLC's. Under current law,
only the name of an LLC need be disclosed on campaign filings,
oftentimes making it nearly impossible to trace who, or what interest,
is specifically behind the contribution. This bill seeks to shed
sunlight on this loophole by requiring disclosure of the name of the
LLC and each member's ownership interest. This information would then
have to be affirmatively disclosed on routine campaign finance filings
by candidate and political committees, as well as, annually by each
LLC participating in the political process. The bill also apportions
contributions made by an LLC to each individual member based on his or
her proportional ownership. This amendment to the law would thereby
apply uniform receipt limits to those individuals who contribute
either through an LLC or individually.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.7733 of 2016 - Elections Committee

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    15
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. KAMINSKY, ADDABBO, AVELLA, HOYLMAN, LATIMER, SQUA-
   DRON, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed  to
   be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to contributions made by a
   limited liability company

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 14-114 of the  election  law,  as
 added by chapter 79 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
   10.  [a.] No contributor may make a contribution to a party or consti-
 tuted committee and no such committee may accept a contribution from any
 contributor which, in the aggregate, is greater than [sixty-two thousand
 five hundred] FIFTEEN THOUSAND dollars per annum.
   [b. At the beginning of each fourth calendar year, commencing in nine-
 teen hundred ninety-five, the state board shall determine the percentage
 of the difference between the most  recent  available  monthly  consumer
 price  index  for  all  urban  consumers  published by the United States
 bureau of labor statistics and such consumer price index  published  for
 the  same  month  four years previously. The amount of such contribution
 limit fixed in paragraph a of this subdivision shall be adjusted by  the
 amount  of such percentage difference to the closest one hundred dollars
 by the state board which, not later than the first day  of  February  in
 each  such  year, shall issue a regulation publishing the amount of such
 contribution limit. Such contribution limit as so adjusted shall be  the
 contribution  limit in effect for any election held before the next such
 adjustment.]
   § 2. Section 14-120 of the election law is amended by adding  two  new
 subdivisions 3 and 4 to read as follows:
   3. (A) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS MADE
 TO  A  CAMPAIGN  OR  POLITICAL  COMMITTEE BY A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03970-01-7

 S. 15                               2
 
 SHALL BE ATTRIBUTED TO EACH MEMBER OF THE LIMITED LIABILITY  COMPANY  IN
 PROPORTION  TO  THE MEMBER'S OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN THE LIMITED LIABILITY
 COMPANY. SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS SHALL COUNT TOWARDS THE CONTRIBUTION  LIMITS
 OF  SUCH  PERSONS.  NOTHING  HEREIN  SHALL  PERMIT THE LIMITED LIABILITY
 COMPANY ITSELF FROM CONTRIBUTING MORE THAN AUTHORIZED  PURSUANT  TO  THE
 RECEIPT LIMITATIONS IN SECTION 14-114 OF THIS ARTICLE.
   (B)  IF,  BY  APPLICATION  OF  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF  THIS SUBDIVISION, A
 CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION IS ATTRIBUTED TO A LIMITED  LIABILITY  COMPANY  OR
 THE  OTHER  CORPORATE  ENTITY, THE CONTRIBUTIONS SHALL BE FURTHER ATTRI-
 BUTED TO EACH MEMBER OF THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY OR OTHER CORPORATE
 ENTITY IN PROPORTION TO THE MEMBER'S OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN  THE  LIMITED
 LIABILITY COMPANY.
   (C)  THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL ENACT REGULATIONS THAT PREVENT
 THE AVOIDANCE OF THE RULES SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPHS (A) AND (B)  OF  THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   4.  EACH  LIMITED  LIABILITY  COMPANY  THAT  MAKES  A CONTRIBUTION, OR
 EXPENDITURE FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES SHALL FILE WITH THE  STATE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS, BY DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST OF THE YEAR IN WHICH THE EXPENDITURE
 IS  MADE,  ON  THE  FORM PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, THE
 IDENTITY OF ALL DIRECT AND INDIRECT OWNERS OF THE  MEMBERSHIP  INTERESTS
 IN  THE  LIMITED  LIABILITY COMPANY AND THE PROPORTION OF EACH DIRECT OR
 INDIRECT MEMBER'S OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 14-102 of the election law,  as  amended
 by  chapter  8  and  redesignated  by  chapter 9 of the laws of 1978, is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. The treasurer of every political committee which, or  any  officer,
 member  or  agent  of  any  such  committee  who, in connection with any
 election, receives or expends any  money  or  other  valuable  thing  or
 incurs  any  liability  to pay money or its equivalent shall file state-
 ments sworn, or subscribed and bearing a form notice that  false  state-
 ments  made  therein are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to
 section 210.45 of the penal law, at the times prescribed by this article
 setting forth all the receipts, contributions to and the expenditures by
 and liabilities of the committee,  and  of  its  officers,  members  and
 agents in its behalf. Such statements shall include the dollar amount of
 any  receipt,  contribution or transfer, or the fair market value of any
 receipt, contribution or transfer, which is other  than  of  money,  the
 name  and  address  of  the  transferor, contributor or person from whom
 received, [and] THE IDENTITY OF ALL DIRECT AND INDIRECT OWNERS  AND  ANY
 CONTRIBUTION ATTRIBUTED TO THE MEMBERSHIP INTERESTS IN A LIMITED LIABIL-
 ITY  COMPANY  AND  THE  PROPORTION  OF EACH DIRECT AND INDIRECT MEMBER'S
 OWNERSHIP INTEREST, AND if the transferor, contributor or  person  is  a
 political  committee;  the name of and the political unit represented by
 the committee, the date of its  receipt,  the  dollar  amount  of  every
 expenditure,  the  name and address of the person to whom it was made or
 the name of and the political unit represented by the committee to which
 it was made and the date thereof, and shall state clearly the purpose of
 such expenditure. Any statement reporting a loan shall have attached  to
 it  a  copy  of the evidence of indebtedness. Expenditures in sums under
 fifty dollars need not be specifically accounted for by  separate  items
 in  said statements, and receipts and contributions aggregating not more
 than ninety-nine dollars, from any one contributor need not  be  specif-
 ically  accounted  for  by  separate  items in said statements, provided
 however, that such expenditures, receipts  and  contributions  shall  be
 subject to the other provisions of section 14-118 of this article.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S15

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

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co-Sponsors

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Todd Kaminsky

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.

Tony Avella

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Toby Ann Stavisky

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S15 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments