Bill Text: NY A10539 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to public campaign financing surpluses and when unspent public matching funds must be paid.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - referred to election law [A10539 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10539-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10539

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 3, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Magnarelli)
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to public campaign financ-
          ing surpluses

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Subdivision 19 of section 14-200-a of the election law, as
     2  added by section 4 of part ZZZ of chapter 58 of the  laws  of  2020,  is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    19.  "surplus" means [those funds where the total sum of contributions
     5  received and] the difference between public [matchable]  matching  funds
     6  received  by a participating candidate and [his or her] such candidate's
     7  authorized committee [exceeds the total campaign  expenditures  of  such
     8  candidate  and  authorized  committee] for all covered elections held in
     9  the same calendar year or for a special election to fill a  vacancy  and
    10  the total such candidate and such candidate's authorized committee spent
    11  on  qualified campaign expenditures; provided that in cases where quali-
    12  fied campaign expenditures of  such  candidate  exceed  public  matching
    13  funds received by such candidate and such candidate's authorized commit-
    14  tee  for  all  covered elections held in the same calendar year or for a
    15  special election to fill a vacancy, the surplus is zero.
    16    § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 14-208 of the  election
    17  law,  as  added  by  section  4 of part ZZZ of chapter 58 of the laws of
    18  2020, is amended to read as follows:
    19    (c) If [the total sum of contributions received  and  public  matching
    20  payments  from the fund received by a participating candidate and his or
    21  her authorized committee exceed the total campaign expenditures of  such
    22  candidate and authorized committee for all covered elections held in the
    23  same  calendar year or for a special election to fill a vacancy] unspent
    24  public matching funds remain in a participating  candidate's  authorized
    25  committee  bank  account at the end of an election cycle that exceed the
    26  participating candidate's total qualified  campaign  expenditures,  such
    27  candidate  and  committee shall [use such surplus funds to reimburse the
    28  fund for payments received by such authorized committee  from  the  fund

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15842-01-4
        A. 10539                            2

     1  during such calendar year or for such special election] pay the fund the
     2  amount  of  such  surplus.  Participating  candidates  shall  make  such
     3  payments not later than twenty-seven days after all liabilities for  the
     4  election  have  been  paid  and  in any event, not later than the day on
     5  which the PCFB issues its  final  audit  report  for  the  participating
     6  candidate's  authorized  committee;  provided, however, that all unspent
     7  public campaign funds for a participating candidate shall be immediately
     8  due and payable to the PCFB upon a determination by the  PCFB  that  the
     9  participant  has delayed the post-election audit. A participating candi-
    10  date may make post-election expenditures  with  public  funds  only  for
    11  routine  activities involving nominal [cost] costs associated with wind-
    12  ing up a campaign and responding to the post-election audit. Nothing  in
    13  this  title  shall  be  construed to prevent a candidate or [his or her]
    14  such candidate's authorized committee from using campaign  contributions
    15  received from private contributors for otherwise lawful expenditures.
    16    §  3. This   act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
    17  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
    18  sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
    19  authorized to be made and completed by the public campaign finance board
    20  on or before such effective date.