On Tuesday, September 17, the Suffolk County Legislature approved a bill sponsored by Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) that will reform the current laws on campaign finance disclosure. With only two days left in the six-month life of the resolution, the Legislature approved the bill that will pave the way for the general public to have much easier access to information about how elected officials raise their political contributions and how they spend the funds.
After the bill languished in the Ways and Means Committee for several months due to partisan wrangling, Legislator Cooper made a number of attempts over the past seven weeks to bring the measure directly to the floor of the Legislature via a discharge motion. Two previous attempts to discharge the resolution failed, the latter because of a filibuster led by opponents of the bill. Following a heated debate that lasted late into Tuesday night, Cooper's third and final attempt to discharge the bill succeeded. It was then voted on and approved by the full Legislature by a vote of 12-5, with one abstention.
The legislation, which will now be sent to County Executive Robert Gaffney for his signature, would require all candidates for county office to file their campaign finance reports with the non-partisan Suffolk County Campaign Finance Board, which will post the information on a website it has developed to track political contributions and spending by candidates. Importantly, the reporting requirements of Cooper's bill will also apply to town and state political committees that provide financial support to a candidate for county office.
Aiding in the success of the resolution was support received from groups ranging from the Suffolk County Independence Party to the Suffolk County League of Women Voters. Jacqui Lofaro, President of the League, said, "The League supports all efforts to better inform voters. Legislator Cooper's bill, creating easily accessible campaign finance information, is a good step toward restoring integrity to the American political system."
"With this legislation, the public will be able to easily see with the click of a button exactly where local politicians raise their campaign contributions and how they spend these funds," Cooper said. "When voters have at their fingertips the ability to hold elected officials' feet to the fire by monitoring campaign finances, better public policy will result."
The bill will, for the time being, require paper filings to the Campaign Finance Board, but it also mandates electronic filing as soon as the technology to do so becomes available. Cooper expects that electronic filing will be a reality in Suffolk by the end of this year.
