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Groups critical of campaign giving oversight
BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press

    A study conducted by good-government groups says dozens of corporations with business before the Legislature may have exceeded the legal limit in 2007 on how much they can legally contribute to candidates.
    The campaign filings released Thursday identify more than 100 companies that appear to have donated more than the $5,000 limit, which applies to a corporation’s total contributions to all candidates.
    Good government groups say part of the problem in New York is that the election law has a number of loopholes, meaning many of these companies may not have acted illegally. Over-limit contributions break the law only if they’re done “knowingly or willingly,” and if the company, group or organization is actually a corporation — a fact that was difficult to determine through the state filings.
    That means companies that are a “limited liability company” instead of a corporation, or corporations that didn’t know they weren’t allowed to donate $5,000 per candidate instead of $5,000 aggregate each year, could avoid getting in trouble.
    In one example, Riccelli Enterprises Inc. spent $11,600 in 2007 on campaign contributions, according to the study. The trucking company, which hauls bulk commodities and waste, was also identified as one that had overspent in 2006.
    Multiple calls to Riccelli Enterprises were not immediately returned Thursday and it was unclear if the company knowingly donated more than the limit.
    The good government groups also blame the Board of Elections for a lack of oversight.
    “We’re coming close to completing the 2006 [campaign filings] and I know we’re under way on the 2007. There was a bit of an issue, in 2005 they changed the law,” board spokesman Robert Brehm said.
    The legal change created more work for the board by including filings from local governments, so instead of tracking only about 1,700 files in a year, the board now deals with about 10,000 files, Brehm said.
    In many cases information is entered incorrectly, Brehm said. He pointed out that the board was able to eliminate the majority of the potentially illegal filings from 2005 — ultimately referring only 14 companies to district attorneys. The board did not know if any of those cases have been prosecuted.
    “There are instances of treasurer error, and clearly the campaign finance unit is actively reviewing these documents,” Brehm said. “They are looking at corporations that have made over contributions, they have hired three individuals to work as auditors to do this kind of work.”
    The groups releasing the report argue that the data has been computerized for the Board of Elections and they have the tools to distinguish companies that broke the law from those that legally contributed more through various loopholes.
    “In politics, unless someone enforces the law aggressively, people will do what they feel like they want to do,” said Blair Horner, a spokesman for the New York Public Interest Research Group. “At the state Board of Elections, they’re not aggressively enforcing that.”
    The report was jointly released by NYPIRG, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause New York and the Citizens Union of the City of New York.
    The groups argue the state’s weak campaign finance law should be updated to either say corporations can’t donate to politicians except through political action committees — to match federal law — or close the loophole that allows multiple subsidiaries of the same company to make contributions counted separately from each other.     

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Paterson offers campaign finance reform package
Critics say end-of-session effort unlikely to yield results
BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press

    Gov. David Paterson introduced a proposal for campaign finance reform Wednesday, but good government groups doubted it would pass in the final days of the Legislative session.
    Paterson’s measure would lower contribution limits and close a loophole allowing limited liability companies to contribute far more than individual companies. It would also give the state Board of Elections more enforcement power, and would add a fifth member to the board to eliminate the gridlock of an even political split.
    “Too often, decisions in Albany are shaped by wealthy donors and special interests,” Paterson said in a written statement. “We need to change that and restore New Yorkers’ confidence in how Albany does business.”
    At the same time Paterson released his proposal, reform groups released a “report card” objecting to what they described as broken promises by the Legislature and the governor.
    The groups praised some government efforts, including ethics reform in 2007 that toughened penalties and lobbying reform that strengthened the ban on gifts to legislators.
    But they had other complaints, including a lack of campaign finance reform and the elimination of the Lobbying Commission, which had its responsibility transferred to the Commission on Public Integrity.
    “We are working on a comprehensive package of campaign fi - nance reform legislation,” said Dan Weiller, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
    Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Senate majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said the Senate has been working on reforms.
    “Families in New York want reforms that will help their wallets and pocketbooks and help them keep their jobs,” he said. “New Yorkers want reforms that the Senate majority is pushing for, such as more property tax relief, more openness and accountability on school district spending, a cap on spending by state government and suspending the gas tax to provide relief at the pump.”
    Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group said with only nine days left in the legislative session, lawmakers should be passing reform legislation instead of introducing new bills.
    “The sweeping reform that was promised in November 2006 has simply not occurred,” he said.
    NYPIRG and other groups didn’t have sympathy for Paterson’s unusual position of becoming governor in March after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was linked to a prostitution ring and resigned.
    “The advocacy groups would be far better served by getting their members and New Yorkers across the state to rally behind the governor’s bold package, and help the governor get this bill passed by both houses, so that he can sign it into law,” said Risa Heller, a Paterson spokeswoman. “One thing is for certain, constant naysaying will not lead to progress.”
    Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters said politicians sometimes introduce “bills to cover their butts” at the end of session.
    “This obviously has been an atypical legislative session year,” Weiller said. “On the question of waiting until the end of session, it would be inaccurate to suggest that legislation introduced in June is not good, or doesn’t effectively address issues of importance to the people of the state of New York.”