BILL NUMBER: S7883
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to political contributions
by certain organizations
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to ban corporations, limited liabil-
ity companies, limited liability partnerships, and partnerships from
making contributions to political campaigns.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 - Amends section 14-116 of the election law to prohibit corpo-
rations, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships,
and partnerships from contributing to a candidate or political commit-
tee. This section also provides a safe harbor for businesses who provide
loans in the normal course of their business. A loan must be repaid by
the date of the election (whether that be the primary, special, or
general elections), otherwise it will be deemed a contribution.
Section 2 - Effective Date
 
EXISTING LAW:
Under existing law, corporations are permitted to make contributions in
the aggregate of $5,000 a year. Limited liability companies are current-
ly treated as individuals and are permitted to contribute more than the
$5,000 limit applicable to corporations. Partnerships are classified as
individual contributions but are not listed as so until the contribution
exceeds $2,500.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's political system is out of balance. Too much time and atten-
tion is paid to campaign donors with the biggest checkbooks and not
enough attention is paid to the average New Yorker. Businesses, no
matter what legal form they take, whether it is in the form of a corpo-
ration, limited liability company or a partnership, have outsized influ-
ence on elections and therefore on the legislation and policies advanced
by elected officials because of the donations that they are able to make
to campaigns. As a result, elected officials are disconnected from the
needs of everyday citizens because of the time they spend courting deep-
pocketed donors including corporations. Banning contributions by these
organizations will limit their influence on New York's politics. With
corporate money out of politics, New Yorkers may begin to regain faith
that their government is working in their best interest and not in the
interest of large campaign contributors.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE:
2023-2024: S983 (Salazar) - Referred to Elections 2021-2022: S4070
(Salazar)- Referred to Elections
2019-2020: S1013A (Metzger)- Referred to Elections, Amend, Recommit to
Elections
ASSEMBLY:
2023-2024: A466 (Carroll) - Referred to Election Law
2021-2022: A7826 (Carroll)- Referred to Election Law
2019-2020: A5488 (Carroll)- Referred to Election Law
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

Statutes affected:
S7883: 14-116 election law, 14-116(2) election law