Senator Anna M. Kaplan Takes Action to Combat Pay-To-Play Culture and Empower Voters

(Albany, NY) Senator Anna M. Kaplan, together with the Senate Democratic Majority, passed legislation to help reform campaign financing and ensure ballots are easier to understand. These common sense bills include Senate Bill S.3167, which will restrict campaign contributions from anyone seeking government contracts, Senate Bill S.3145, to make voters more aware of ballot questions, and Senate Bill S.2300-A to enact the Voter Friendly Ballot Act.

“Voting should not be difficult and New Yorkers must be able to exercise their constitutional right without big money influencing both elections and government contracts,” Senator Anna M. Kaplan said. “I applaud Senator Zellnor Myrie and Senator Brian Kavanagh for their commitment to fixing a broken system. Today, the Senate Democratic Majority has taken action to end pay-to-play and clean up Albany after decades of inaction while continuing to rightfully make voting easier for all New Yorkers.”

The legislation advanced by the Senate Majority includes:

• Senate Bill S.3167, which will ban campaign contributions from a company seeking state contracts to officeholders with authority over procuring entities during a restricted vendor contribution period. Under this legislation, prospective vendors will be barred from contributing when responding to any form of procurement for six months after winning a contract, or when lobbying to create a procurement opportunity.
• Senate Bill S.3145, which will ensure that voters are appropriately informed when their ballot is a two-sided ballot and that they are aware of important ballot questions on the other side.
• Senate Bill S.2300A, enacts the Voter Friendly Ballot Act that changes formatting requirements so ballots are more user friendly and easier to read.

The legislation passed by the Senate Majority builds on the voting reform measures passed on January 14, 2019.