Bill Text: NY A05657 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Enacts the "forfeiture of campaign finance accounts and return of contributions act".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to election law [A05657 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05657-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5657

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 20, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting  the  "forfei-
          ture of campaign finance accounts and return of contributions act"

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

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "forfeiture
     2  of campaign finance accounts and return of contributions act."
     3    § 2. The election law is amended by adding a  new  section  14-134  to
     4  read as follows:
     5    §  14-134.  Forfeiture  of  campaign  finance  accounts  and return of
     6  contributions. 1. The provisions of this  section  shall  apply  to  any
     7  person  who  holds  or  maintains a campaign finance account or accounts
     8  subject to the provisions of this article who:
     9    (a) is indicted or charged with a crime or is charged with a violation
    10  of the state ethics laws and resigns from office  due  to  said  charges
    11  prior  to  conviction  or  adjudication and complete disposition of said
    12  charges; or
    13    (b) is convicted of a felony or crime for which such conviction  would
    14  disqualify  the  person  from  holding  the elected office for which the
    15  campaign funds were raised; or
    16    (c) resigns from office due to formal complaints filed with and charg-
    17  es brought by the legislative ethics commission, established by  section
    18  eighty  of  the legislative law for violation of state ethics laws prior
    19  to complete adjudication and disposition of such complaints or charges.
    20    2. All such campaign finance accounts subject  to  the  provisions  of
    21  this  article and held or maintained by any person described in subdivi-
    22  sion one of this  section  or,  on  behalf  of  such  person,  shall  be
    23  forfeited  to  the custody and the control of the office of the New York
    24  state comptroller within ten days of the effective date  of  resignation
    25  of  said  person's  forfeiture  of  their  office.  The treasurer of the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08136-01-3
        A. 5657                             2

     1  campaign committee and the former office holder for which  the  campaign
     2  finance  account  was  maintained,  shall  be responsible for compliance
     3  within the period set forth in this article  or  said  person  shall  be
     4  subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars per day until compli-
     5  ance is met.
     6    3. The New York state comptroller shall establish a forfeited campaign
     7  finance  funds  account  for  the purpose of the return of said campaign
     8  funds to the original donors and shall establish a  process  to  provide
     9  for  the  most expeditious return of campaign finance funds to donors in
    10  the order of  last  donor  first,  until  such  funds  have  been  fully
    11  expended. To the extent that it is not possible to ascertain the identi-
    12  ty  of  individual  donors,  any  remaining unclaimed forfeited campaign
    13  finance funds may be applied to the New York state comptroller's cost to
    14  administer the forfeited campaign finance fund account.
    15    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    16  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.