AHEAD OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT HEARING, SENATOR BIAGGI BILL PASSES THROUGH COMMITTEE PROHIBITING THE USE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO SETTLE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES
May 7, 2019
ALBANY, NY – Today the New York State Senate Committee on Elections passed bill S4311, sponsored by State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, which prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay any settlement fees for sexual harassment civil or criminal actions
The passage comes less than three weeks prior to the second hearing this session to address workplace sexual harassment, led by the Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance of which Senator Biaggi is the Chair. After the hearing, the Senator will move forward a legislation package designed to protect New Yorkers against workplace harassment and discrimination.
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester), issued the following statement
“As the law stands, candidates can use the generous donations of their supporters to evade paying their own settlement fees. People give money to campaigns to fund the issues they care about, not to cover the costs of a candidate’s misconduct. By prohibiting the use of campaign funds to pay any settlement fees for sexual harassment cases, candidates will be the only ones financially responsible for their own behavior.”