NEWS FROM NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MINORITY LEADER JAMES N. TEDISCO

Contact: Phil Oliva, (518) 455-3756
Email: tediscj@assembly.state.ny.us
For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2007

Tedisco Seeks To Limit The "Bagman"
Legislation would restrict bundling, require full disclosure of practice

In politics, "bundling" is the practice of sidestepping individual campaign contribution limits by having an intermediary gather contributions from other individuals and then delivering them all to a candidate in such a way that earns the intermediary the credit for soliciting the funds without counting against his or her personal limit. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady-Saratoga) will introduce legislation that would require both full disclosure of the practice and limit the amount that can be bundled in New York State to $100,000.

Under Tedisco's bill, the following information would be required:

  • Identity of the bundler;

  • For what political or other interests the bundler solicits;

  • A list of names, addresses, occupation, employer and spouse's employer of all individual contributors in the bundle;

  • Details specifying what special "access" the bundler earns for raising certain amounts;

  • The total amount the bundler collects for each candidate.

"If campaign finance reform is defined as an effort to limit the influence that money plays in politics, then the discussion cannot be had without addressing the practice of bundling," said Tedisco. "The 'Bagman' unfortunately has been around a long time in New York State politics. It is the Bagman who collects the checks, lurks in the shadows and has full entrée to the highest levels of decision makers. It is special access that the average citizen simply does not have."



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