Post date:
April 15 2015
A.G. Schneiderman Calls On NYS Board Of Elections To Close Massive Campaign Finance Loophole At Thursday Meeting
In Letter to BOE, Schneiderman Says LLC Loophole “Makes a Mockery” of the Very Same Rules BOE is Charged with Enforcing
NEW YORK - Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a letter to the New York State Board of Elections (“BOE”) today, urging board members to immediately close a loophole in NYS law that allows individuals and corporate interests to contribute virtually unlimited amounts to political campaigns across the state. The letter comes just one day before the BOE is scheduled to consider the loophole at a public meeting in Albany.
Last month, Attorney General Schneiderman called on state lawmakers to close the LLC loophole as part of a comprehensive ethics and campaign finance reform package. However, as the A.G.’s letter today explains, “with the prospects for real reform on hold indefinitely, the BOE must not squander this chance for progress.”
In his letter to the BOE, Attorney General Schneiderman also notes that the LLC loophole allows donors to conceal their identity through multiple business entities and, as a result, “defeats the transparency and accountability that are the bedrock principles of the existing campaign finance system.”
Read the full letter here.