STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7095 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 10, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to public-facing websites operated by political committees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 14-106 of the election law, as 2 added by chapter 454 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 3 2. All political committees that make an expenditure for a political 4 communication shall be required to disclose the identity of the poli- 5 tical committee which made the expenditure for such political communi- 6 cation. The disclosure on printed or digital political communications, 7 including but not limited to brochures, flyers, posters, mailings, publ- 8 ic-facing websites, or internet advertising shall be printed or typed in 9 an appropriate legible form to read as follows: "Paid for by:" followed 10 by the name of the political committee making the expenditure. The 11 disclosure on non-printed or digital political communications shall 12 clearly and prominently display and/or speak the following statement: 13 "Paid for by:" followed by the name of the political committee making 14 the expenditure. In the case of a political communication that is not 15 visual, such as radio or automated telephone calls, clearly speaking the 16 statement will satisfy the requirements of this section. In the case of 17 a public-facing website paid for, hosted, and/or operated by a political 18 committee, the disclosure shall be clearly displayed within each naviga- 19 ble webpage of such website. 20 § 2. Paragraph (a) and subparagraph (v) of paragraph (b) of subdivi- 21 sion 1 of section 14-107 of the election law, paragraph (a) as amended 22 by section 4 of part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018 and subpara- 23 graph (v) of paragraph (b) as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 24 286 of the laws of 2016, are amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11089-02-3A. 7095 2 1 (a) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure made by an inde- 2 pendent expenditure committee in the form of (i) an audio or video 3 communication via broadcast, cable or satellite, (ii) a written communi- 4 cation via advertisements, pamphlets, circulars, flyers, brochures, 5 letterheads or (iii) other published statements, where such expenditure 6 is conveyed to five hundred or more members of a general public audi- 7 ence, or in the form of any paid internet or digital advertisement 8 targeted to fifty or more members of a general public audience, or in 9 the form of a public-facing website, which: (i) irrespective of when 10 such communication is made, contains words such as "vote," "oppose," 11 "support," "elect," "defeat," or "reject," which call for the election 12 or defeat of the clearly identified candidate, (ii) refers to and advo- 13 cates for or against a clearly identified candidate or ballot proposal 14 on or after January first of the year of the election in which such 15 candidate is seeking office or such proposal shall appear on the ballot, 16 or (iii) within sixty days before a general or special election for the 17 office sought by the candidate or thirty days before a primary election, 18 includes or references a clearly identified candidate. An independent 19 expenditure shall not include communications where such candidate, the 20 candidate's political committee or its agents, a party committee or its 21 agents, or a constituted committee or its agents or a political commit- 22 tee formed to promote the success or defeat of a ballot proposal or its 23 agents, did authorize, request, suggest, foster or cooperate in such 24 communication. 25 (v) a communication published on the Internet, unless the communi- 26 cation is a paid advertisement or a public-facing website paid for, 27 hosted, and/or operated by a political committee. 28 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 29 have become a law.