This week marks the beginning of the important post-budget session here in Albany. We know we need to look no further than last week's headlines to understand the most pressing task at hand, broad reform of the way Albany does business. These reforms should start with a serious, genuine effort to overhaul our state's campaign finance laws.
If we want to finally get serious about campaign finance reform, we need to start at the core of the current system. That's because even if we pass a comprehensive public financing system — an idea that I support — many incumbents will choose not to participate in it. That's OK, but we can't allow these same incumbents to use a system that we all agree is in need of sweeping reforms.
Reforming the current system starts with cutting the contribution limits for all individual donors. Our current system has one of the highest levels in the country, permitting donations of up to $40,000. The Independent Democratic Conference proposes capping the amount an individual can give to $2,600. This would place New York's contribution limits in line with the federal standards used for Congressional, Senate, and presidential races. If these limits are high enough for those seeking the highest offices in the land, there's no reason for us to allow New York lawmakers to receive checks any bigger.
But limiting how much one person can give is all in vain if we don't change the way money sneaks its way into the back door of every campaign.
The widest back door is each party's "housekeeping" account. These accounts allow unlimited amounts of money to flood into party coffers, with little to no restrictions. Housekeeping accounts are intended to provide extra financial support for services such as hiring staff, renting office space, paying for utilities or even buying food for campaign workers. But in reality, these accounts provide a legal way for large individual and corporate donors to prop up the party of their choice. Currently, there are no limits on how much a group or company can donate to a housekeeping account, and while these monies cannot go directly towards promoting a candidate, the cash is used to offset costs normally borne by individual candidates.
We must also end the ability of party committees to act as multi-million dollar clearinghouses. Every election cycle, dozens of candidates raise barely a nickel, only to see tens of thousands of dollars from their party's coffers transferred into their personal campaign accounts. While candidates for the Assembly can accept up to $8,200 per election cycle and those for the Senate can accept up to $16,800, statewide party committees can accept donations of over $100,000. We need to reform a system that allows party committees to accept $100,000 checks and then bypass individual candidate contribution limits by dumping the amount into a candidate's committee.
I know these rules so well because for years, I served as the head of a party campaign committee, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. My colleagues and I played by these rules. But if we're going to propose changes, we can't dance around the biggest loopholes and still call it reform.
My IDC colleagues and I also support an optional public campaign finance system for all state office candidates. Our proposal includes a six-to-one match for every $250 raised from an individual, with a minimum threshold that must be raised in order to qualify. Under our plan, individuals who have business before the state would face stricter limits and would not be eligible for public matching funds. By enacting a matching fund system, we can shift the dynamic even further away from large donors, empowering voters and first-time candidates.
More reforms are possible, but these should be the starting point. After all, if we don't change the fundamentals, what have we really done?
Jeffery D. Klein is a state senator from the Bronx and leads the Independent Democratic Conference.