Governor Cuomo Signs First-in-the-Nation Legislation to Combat Citizens United
Legislation Prohibits Coordination Between Candidates and Independent Expenditure Committees and Strengthens Disclosure Requirements For Political Consultants and Lobbyists
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recenty signed first-in-the-nation legislation
(S.8160/A.10742) to curb the power of independent expenditure campaigns
unleashed by the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Election
Commission. The legislation also takes significant steps to strengthen
disclosure requirements for political consultants and lobbyists who provide
services to sitting elected officials or candidates for elected office
by requiring them to register with the state and reveal their clients.
“New York is taking aggressive action to restore the people’s
faith in government and increase accountability and transparency in the
electoral process,”
Governor Cuomo said. “These actions roll back the disastrous influence of Citizens United
and prohibit coordination between candidates and independent expenditure
committees. Through enhanced enforcement and increased penalties for political
consultants who flout the law, this new legislation will root out bad
actors and shine a spotlight on the sordid influence of dark money in
politics. With this legislation, New York is raising the bar once again
– and now it’s time for the rest of the nation to follow suit.”
In 2010, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision unleashed a
torrent of dark money into electoral politics. By permitting independent
expenditure committees to receive and spend unlimited amounts of funds
on elections, the Court bestowed unlimited power on society’s most
powerful individuals and entities, and revoked what little power ordinary
citizens had left in our electoral process.
This new legislation will work to restore the people’s faith in
government by instituting the strongest anti-coordination law in the country
and explicitly prohibiting coordination in New York State election law
for the first time. The legislation expressly identifies which activities
constitute prohibited coordination, and strictly prohibits coordination
in egregious scenarios, such as the "independent" spender being
an immediate family member of the candidate, as well as in subtle scenarios,
such as the dissemination of a candidate's campaign material by supposedly
"independent" groups. This will allow the state’s electoral
politics to achieve a clear and meaningful demarcation between candidates
and unlimited expenditures and will bring much-needed reforms to New York's
campaign finance system.
Additionally, the legislation increases penalties for lobbying violations,
while providing enhanced due process for individuals under investigation
for potential violations. Political consultants that provide services
to sitting elected officials or candidates and who have clients with business
before the government will also be required to register with the state
and disclose their clients. This prevents organizations from corrupting
the political process and utilizing funds that are not intended for political
purposes. Disclosure of political relationships and funding behaviors
widely recognized to be influential, but which operate in the shadows,
is essential to restoring confidence in the political process.