NYS Assembly Press Release


	Contact: Charles Carrier (518) 455-3888	For Immediate Release: July 17, 2001

Silver, Former Colgate Basketball Star Adonal Foyle Urge Action On Assembly Campaign Finance Reform Package

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today joined Assembly members, government-reform advocates and former Colgate University basketball star Adonal Foyle, now a player for the Golden State Warriors, to urge the Senate and the governor to act on the Assembly's comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation.

"The people of New York State must be able to have confidence in the political process and to trust that all of their voices will be heard in election campaigns," Silver said. "This legislation will ensure that elections are decided by ideas and issues, not dollars and cents."

The Assembly approved a package of legislation in May of this year that would provide matching public funds to candidates in exchange for tighter controls on campaign spending. It would also expand disclosure requirements and institute other finance regulations for statewide and state legislative campaigns.

Real Audio Clips from Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Clip 1 (14 seconds)

Clip 2 (16 seconds)

Clip 3 (24 seconds)

(View text)

"Private money should not drive our political system. Justice, fairness and equal participation - the hallmarks of our democracy - can best be achieved through public financing of elections," said Foyle, who is a 1998 graduate of Colgate University and founder and president of Democracy Matters, an organization formed to give students a voice in the movement for campaign finance reform and to involve them in government and civic affairs. "I speak on behalf of all the Democracy Matters students mobilizing around this issue when I urge the Senate and the governor to act now on campaign finance reform."

The Assembly's Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2001 (A.8524) would:

Provide optional matching funds to candidates in statewide and state legislative races, with participating candidates required to adhere to campaign spending limits and all candidates required to adhere to newly-established contribution limits;
Limit amounts that can be donated to candidates and political committees;
Ban soft money contributions to political parties' housekeeping accounts;
Ban fundraising events by state legislators and statewide candidates within a 40-mile radius of Albany during the legislative session;
Improve campaign finance reporting procedures;
Close loopholes that allow corporations to avoid campaign contribution limits by funneling donations through subsidiary companies;
Require that clear identification of the funding source for communication materials circulated in support of or against candidates; and
Empower local governments to enact public financing programs for local campaigns.

"The Assembly legislative package addresses all facets of the campaign finance system, at both the state and the local level," said Assembly Election Law Committee Chair David Sidikman (D-Old Bethpage). "Our ban on soft money contributions represents a major change in the way that campaigns operate, and it is an indication of the Assembly's serious commitment to comprehensive campaign finance reform."

Sidikman sponsors legislation (A.1460) that would penalize a corporation that violates annual campaign contribution limits by reducing its contribution limits the following year.

"We have been seeing an alarming decrease in voter turnout in recent years, a symptom of what I believe is increased public cynicism caused by the amount and source of money spent on campaigns," said Assemblyman Alexander B. Grannis (D-Manhattan). "Our system of government benefits from an informed electorate, which is why I sponsored a bill to ensure that New Yorkers receive information about ballot propositions."

Assemblyman Grannis is the sponsor of legislation (A.243-A) that would require the state Board of Elections to provide printed explanatory information regarding ballot propositions for any general election in which such propositions are to be considered. The information would be prepared by a bipartisan committee and mailed to every household in the state with a registered voter.

"Given the public's distaste for the way that campaigns are run now, campaign finance reform should be a slam dunk," said New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) Legislative Director Blair Horner. "Speaker Silver and the Assembly Majority have put forth a sweeping reform plan that drastically limits the influence of powerful special interests and ensures that more New Yorkers of modest means will have a chance to run for political office. NYPIRG strongly urges the governor and the Senate to support this legislation."

The Assembly's campaign finance reform package has also been supported by other government-reform organizations including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters.

For candidates who choose to participate in contribution limits and public funding under the Campaign Finance Reform Act, only the first $500 of a campaign contribution would be eligible for matching funds, at a rate of two dollars for every one dollar contributed. In races in which a participating candidate faces a non-participating opponent who spends either $250,000 or more in personal funds or more than one-third of the limit applicable to the participating candidate, contribution limits are doubled. In these elections, there would also be no expenditure limit and campaign contributions would be eligible for matching funds at a rate of four dollars for every one dollar contributed.

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New York State Assembly
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