NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8445

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 23, 2025	referred to rules

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §14-107, add §14-107-c, El L

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires disclosure of major contributors on independent expenditure communications; provides language for such disclaimers.

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8445

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring disclosure of
major contributors on independent expenditure communications

 
PURPOSE:

To require that independent expenditures list major contributors on all
communications

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends Election Law § 14-107 by adding a new subdivision 5,
requiring independent expenditure communications to include a disclaimer
identifying the payer of the communication and a list of the top three
contributors who gave over $1,000 in the preceding 12 months.

Section 2. Creates a new § 14-107-a, establishing rules for donor attri-
bution and clarifying how "top contributors" are to be calculated and

reported.

Section 3. Contains severability language.

Section 4. Sets the effective date and directs the State Board of
Elections to adopt rules for implementation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The rise of independent expenditures-often funded by opaque "dark money"
groups-has diminished public trust in the democratic process.  Voters
deserve to know who is behind the political ads they see and the mailers
they receive, especially when those communications attempt to influence
elections outside of candidate coordination.  Under current New York
State law, independent spenders must disclose large donors to the State
Board of Elections. However, there is no requirement that those donors
be disclosed directly on communications like mailers, digital ads, or
robocalls. This limits the effectiveness of disclosure laws, as most
voters never consult the BOE database.

In contrast, New York City requires IE groups to list their top three
contributors directly on their communications, a simple, commonsense
transparency measure that ensures voters are informed the moment they
are being influenced.

This bill would adopt that standard statewide, ensuring uniformity,
fairness, and accountability in political advertising throughout New
York.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal. The bill relies on existing BOE disclosure infrastructure, with
modest rulemaking and enforcement updates required.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January following its enact-
ment. The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules and guidelines
within 180 days.

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8445
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 23, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring disclosure of
   major contributors on independent expenditure communications
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 14-107 of the election law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
   9. (A) ANY INDIVIDUAL, ENTITY, OR POLITICAL COMMITTEE  THAT  MAKES  AN
 INDEPENDENT  EXPENDITURE  FOR  A  COVERED COMMUNICATION SHALL INCLUDE ON
 SUCH COMMUNICATION THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER, PROMINENTLY  DISPLAYED  AND
 CLEARLY READABLE OR AUDIBLE, AS APPLICABLE:
   "PAID  FOR  BY  (NAME OF PERSON OR ORGANIZATION). THIS EXPENDITURE WAS
 NOT MADE IN COOPERATION WITH ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE."
   (B) (I) IF THE INDEPENDENT SPENDER  HAS  RECEIVED  AGGREGATE  CONTRIB-
 UTIONS  EXCEEDING  ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM ANY PERSON OR ENTITY DURING
 THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE COMMUNICATION, THE DISCLAIMER SHALL ALSO
 INCLUDE:
   "TOP CONTRIBUTORS: (NAME ONE) (NAME TWO) (NAME THREE)."
   (II) THE NAMES LISTED UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS  PARAGRAPH  SHALL
 BE  THOSE  CONTRIBUTORS  WHO  CONTRIBUTED  THE LARGEST AGGREGATE AMOUNTS
 EXCEEDING ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, IN DESCENDING ORDER.
   (C) IF THE INDEPENDENT SPENDER HAS A TREASURER, THE  DISCLAIMER  SHALL
 ALSO INCLUDE:
   "THE  TREASURER OF (NAME OF PERSON OR ORGANIZATION) IS (NAME OF TREAS-
 URER)."
   (D) THE DISCLOSURE SHALL APPEAR IN A TYPE  SIZE  AND  FORMAT  THAT  IS
 EASILY  READABLE  OR, FOR AUDIO OR VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS, CLEARLY AUDIBLE
 AND/OR VISIBLE FOR AT LEAST FOUR  SECONDS.  THE  DISCLOSURE  SHALL  ALSO
 INCLUDE  THE  WEB ADDRESS OF THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS CANDIDATES AND
 CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURES REPORTING SYSTEM.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13406-01-5

 S. 8445                             2
 
   (E) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL  BE  APPLICABLE  TO  CANDIDATES  FOR
 PUBLIC  OFFICES  UNDER  THE  JURISDICTION  OF THE NEW YORK CITY CAMPAIGN
 FINANCE BOARD.
   (F)  FOR  THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "COVERED COMMUNI-
 CATION" SHALL MEAN ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION MADE VIA DIRECT MAIL, PRINT,
 INTERNET, RADIO, TELEVISION, TELEPHONE, OR OTHER MASS DISTRIBUTION METH-
 OD THAT EXPRESSLY ADVOCATES FOR THE ELECTION  OR  DEFEAT  OF  A  CLEARLY
 IDENTIFIED  CANDIDATE OR BALLOT PROPOSAL, OR REFERS TO SUCH CANDIDATE OR
 PROPOSAL WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF AN ELECTION.
   § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section  14-107-c  to
 read as follows:
   §  14-107-C.  DONOR ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES. 1.
 FOR  PURPOSES  OF  DETERMINING  THE  TOP  CONTRIBUTORS  REQUIRED  TO  BE
 DISCLOSED  UNDER  SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION 14-107 OF THIS TITLE, ONLY
 THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT ARE EARMARKED,  SOLICITED  FOR,  OR  REASONABLY
 EXPECTED TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES SHALL BE CONSIDERED.
   2.  NO  LATER THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF
 THIS SECTION, STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL  PROMULGATE  ANY  RULES  OR
 REGULATIONS  NECESSARY  TO  IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION AND
 SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION 14-107 OF THIS TITLE, INCLUDING STANDARDIZED
 DISCLAIMER FORMATS, FONT SIZES, AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING TOP CONTRIB-
 UTORS.
   § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of  competent
 jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or
 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
 to the clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  subdivision  or  section  thereof
 directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
 that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid  provisions
 had not been included herein.
   §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal  of  any  rule  or  regulation
 necessary  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S8445

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8445

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Sponsored By

Patricia Fahy

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8445 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments