The Independent View: NY Governor's Version of a Fair Election Bill

This post is from an article by Jimmy Vielkind at TimesUnion.com.

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, will introduce a bill calling for public financing of elections and limits on "soft-money" donations to political parties.

In response to the arrest of several legislators earlier this year, Cuomo threatened to convene a special commission to investigate fraud and corruption in state government. He has proposed changes to the way the state Board of Elections polices violations of election law, as well as increased penalties for officials convicted of public corruption. Cuomo is expected to reiterate his threat of a commission, which he can convene under the Moreland Act.

The bill's public financing system would be modeled after one already in place in New York City. Each donor's dollar would be matched with six dollars of taxpayer money, up to a certain limit. The bill would close a loophole that lets individuals with multiple business interests skirt contribution limits by funneling their money through limited liability corporations. Cuomo would subject LLCs to a corporate limit that currently is $5,000 but will be decreased, before the bill is finalized.

Cuomo's plan would maintain the existence of "housekeeping accounts" attached to party campaign committees, but would limit the amount of money they can accept. Currently, donors can give unlimited amounts to these committees, but by law the money can only be spent on party-building activities. This includes non-specific ads as well as voter registration activity.

Good-government groups have blasted this as soft money that is routinely abused, but Cuomo has shrugged off those criticisms, noting it is currently legal. The housekeeping accounts were untouched in a campaign finance bill advanced by Democrats who dominate the state Assembly, but a measure introduced by senators of the Independent Democratic Conference, which does not have a housekeeping account, would ban it outright. Cuomo, it seems, is trying to occupy the middle ground.

Finally, Cuomo will reprise his proposal to nominate an enforcement counsel at the Board of Elections, a sort of election czar, who has the ability to initiate investigations without the approval of the board's commissioners, which are evenly split along party lines.

With just seven days left in the legislative session, it's unclear if legislators have the time or inclination to amend the governor's proposal into one they might pass, or whether its introduction this late in the session is intended as a step toward declaring a draw.

UPDATE
The Governor's reforms include, among other elements:

Public Trust Act to Fight Corruption

Currently, the laws defining public corruption in New York are obsolete and far less effective than federal statutes for prosecuting individuals who commit public corruption crimes. The Public Trust Act proposed by the Governor will help fight public corruption and restore the trust of the people in government. The Public Trust Act includes:

New Crimes for Violating Public Trust: The new class of Public Corruption Crimes will: make it easier for DAs to convict someone for bribing a public servant, create a new felony of "Corrupting the Government" and create a misdemeanor for failing to report a bribe or attempted bribe:

•Bribery: New York’s bribery laws place an unduly heavy burden of proof on DAs seeking to prosecute corruption. Under the Public Trust Act, DAs will be able to prove that someone intended to bribe a public official by simply establishing that the person offered a bribe to a public official; when the bribe is offered, the person paying the bribe will have committed the crime. No longer will DAs be forced to prove an express understanding between the bribe payer and receiver. This aligns New York law with federal law.

•Corrupting the Government: Under current law, only public officials can be convicted of “defrauding the government” not private individuals. The Public Trust Act will create a new felony crime “Corrupting the Government” that will apply to anyone that defrauds the public. Individuals or entities convicted can face sentences of up to 25 years and will be banned for life from doing business with the state.

•Failure to Report Bribery: Currently, it is not a crime to fail to report bribery. Under the Public Trust Act, it will be a misdemeanor for any public official to fail to report bribery.

Tough New Penalties for Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars: Under the Public Trust Act, individuals who defraud the public will be subject to tough penalties and lifetime bans from government work:

•Increased Penalties: Penalties for crimes involving public property are too low, allowing individuals who defraud the public to receive minimal punishment. The Public Trust Act will increase penalties for crimes such as larceny, money laundering, unauthorized uses of a computer or vehicle when they involve public property. In addition, the Act will increase the penalties for “official misconduct” from misdemeanor to a felony with a sentence of up to 15 years.

•Lifetime Ban from Government: Currently, individuals convicted of corruption crimes can still do business with the state and serve in elected office. Under the Public Trust Act, individuals convicted of public corruption will be banned for life, among other things, receiving state contracts, holding any elected or civil office, registering as a lobbyist or being Medicaid provider.

New Tools for Prosecutors: To better equip district attorneys to crack down on public corruption, the Public Trust Act gives them several new tools:

•“Use Immunity” for Witnesses: Under current law, an individual who testifies before a grand jury investigating public corruption cannot be prosecuted, even if the DA develops evidence independent of the evidence given by the witness. Under the Public Trust Act, a witness will receive only “use” immunity, not “transactional” immunity, so that a DA may prosecute the witness for his or her criminal conduct in public corruption.

•Payback of 3X Amount Defrauded: Individuals that defraud the government are only required to pay back the amount they stole from the public. The Public Trust Act gives DAs the option of requesting payment of up to three times the amount of the profit made from an illegal transaction and seek forfeiture of the accused’s assets.
Fixing the Statute of Limitations: Currently, district attorneys have five years in which to prosecute public officials after they leave office, but much less time in which to prosecute non-officials who collaborate with them to commit the same act of public corruption. Under the Public Trust Act, the same statute of limitations will apply to both public servants and their accomplices in committing acts of misconduct in public office.

Voting Reform

New York's election laws are outdated, inefficient, and limit democracy. The Governor's proposed legislation would reform the state’s election laws to strengthen democracy and bring New Yorkers back into government. The Voting Reforms put forward by the Governor include:

Independent Enforcement Unit at Board of Elections: The State Board of Elections' ineffective structure impedes serious investigations of election law violations. The Governor's electoral reforms will install a new independent Chief Enforcement Counsel at the Board of Elections that would investigate on its own initiative, impose penalties directly, and prosecute election law violations like a DA, even if the Board fails to act or deadlocks.

Pre-Registration of Sixteen and Seventeen Year Olds: New York ranks 47th in the nation in voter registration, with less than 64% of eligible residents registered to vote, and registration among young people much lower than for other age groups. The Governor's reforms will allow 16 and 17 year olds to “pre-register” to vote. Upon turning 18, those who are pre-registered will be automatically registered to vote.

Ballot Simplification: New York’s ballots are overly complicated and hard to understand, leading to voter confusion and long lines on Election Day. The Governor's electoral reforms will improve ballot design to ensure ballots are simple and easy to understand.

Expanded Voter Registration Period to Increase Electoral Participation: In 2012, New York ranked 44th in the nation in voter turnout, with only 54% of those eligible to vote turning out to the polls. Contributing to the low turnout rates is the fact that our voter registration lists close 25 days before elections. The Governor's reforms will close voter registration lists ten days before Election Day rather than 25 days, allowing a greater window of opportunity for voters to register.

Modernizing Affidavit Ballot Process to be More Convenient for Voters: Under current law, if a voter’s name does not appear on the voter list, he or she may vote by affidavit ballot. However, the voter’s ballot is only counted if they are in the correct election district. The Governor's electoral reforms will ensure that voters who cast an affidavit ballot on Election Day have their votes counted for the offices for which they are eligible to vote even if they are not in the right district.

Allow Candidates and Voters to Change Party Enrollment in Timely Manner: Currently, if a voter or candidate decides to register with a political party, their registration is not valid until after the next election. This prevents voters from participating in primaries and bars potential candidates from enrolling in the party whose line they want to run on. The Governor's electoral reforms will end this requirement and instead ensure that a voter’s party registration takes effect three months after the application is received by the Board of Elections.

Campaign Finance Reform:

New York has some of the weakest campaign finance restrictions in the nation and our elections are dominated by large donors and special interests. The Governor proposed legislation would provide comprehensive reform of the state's campaign finance system and reduce the influence of large donors in political elections.

Disclose NY: Nation’s Toughest Disclosure Law: New Yorkers often have no idea who is funding political campaigns or paying for campaign ads on television. This is because under current law, candidates and outside shadow groups are required to disclose only periodically, or never. Under the Governor's reforms, full disclosure will be required for any ad that expressly advocates for election or defeat of a candidate. In addition, all candidates and parties will be required to disclose contributions within 48 hours of receipt.

Public Financing of Political Campaigns: New York ranks last in the nation for percentage of population that contribute to a political campaign. New York's political candidates rely far more upon large donors than do candidates in other states. Under the Governor's reforms, the state will put in place a public financing system modeled on New York City system where contributions up to $175 are matched $6 to $1. Strict limits will be in place to protect taxpayers.

Lower Contribution Limits & Loopholes Closed: NY has some of the highest contribution limits in the nation, allowing a few wealthy donors to drown out any influence of smaller donors. The Governor's reforms will lower contribution limits for all state offices. Contributions to party “housekeeping accounts” will be limited to $25,000 per year, party committees limited to transfers to candidates of only small donations (less than $500 per contributor), corporations limited to $1,000 per year, and the LLC loophole will be closed so that LLCs will be treated as corporations rather than individual contributors.

Personal Use of Campaign Contributions: NY's law regarding how campaign funds can be spent are among the most lax in the nation, allowing candidates and former public officials to spend funds on personal expenses with no real connection to candidacy or public office. Under the Governor's reforms, contributions could be used only for expenses that are directly related to elections or public duties. Expenditures for the exclusive personal benefit of the candidate or office-holder would be prohibited and a long list of expressly prohibited expenditures would be memorialized in statute.