Albany Democrats push public campaign finance bill ahead of 2023 session end despite criticsm

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ALBANY – Democratic state lawmakers are expected to pass legislation before leaving the Capitol for the year that just so happens to help incumbent pols fight off future rivals.

The bill would overhaul the public campaign finance system by allowing all political contributions to get matched at taxpayer expense up to $250.

Potential challenges would also face tougher restrictions to qualify for the nascent program.

"This shameful bill inflicts huge damage on New York's historic small donor matching law and is completely counter to the law's goal of giving the average New Yorker a stronger voice in our democracy," government watchdog Reinvent Albany said in a statement.

Democratic supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly are expected to approve the controversial bill by Saturday despite opposition from good government groups.

Albany Democrats approved plans for a public campaign finance system, which would eventually include legislators and statewide offices, in 2019 to supposedly make it easier for people to run for office without the help of deep-pocketed donors and other political gatekeepers.

Allowing all donations to get matched no matter how large means upstart candidates will no longer enjoy such a big boost compared to more entrenched pols, according to New York Public Interest Research Group Executive Director Blair Horner.

"Public financing really helps challengers more than incumbents generally. And so if you’re undermining the program, you’re helping incumbents by extension," he told The Post.

Current law allows six-to-one matches for political contributions of $250 and below so that $100 from a donor becomes $700 for a candidate.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker (D-Brooklyn), who are sponsoring the bill in their respective chambers, did not provide comment Thursday.

The proposal would make the public campaign finance system more effective in the end, according to Mike Murphy, a spokesman for state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), said.

"With a Supreme Court determined to erode democracy and expand the influence of shadowy big-money in politics, New York has taken the lead by standing up the most ambitious public campaign finance programs in the nation," he said.

This new system will amplify the voice of small donors and improve transparency in elections. These updates will ensure the program's first year is a success and bring the state's participation and eligibility standards in line with New York City's campaign finance system, one of the most well-regarded local programs in the country."

A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) did not respond to a request for comment.

"I’m not in a position now to say yes or no to any particular piece of legislation," Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters in Albany on Wednesday when asked whether she would sign the proposal into law if passed by the state Legislature.

Democrats have also faced criticism for pushing another purportedly partisan bill to move local elections outside New York City from odd to even-numbered years when races for governor and president tend to boost turnout, which tends to disadvantage Republicans.

"When voters are engaged, we end up with more representative local governments," state Sen. James Skoufis (D-New Windsor) tweeted Wednesday about the bill he is sponsoring.

"The data shows us that simplifying our elections calendar to even years improves turnout on both sides of the aisle and will ultimately save taxpayers money down the line–a win-win."

Horner said the public will hardly benefit from pending plans for passing the two bills with little public input on the final scheduled week of the 2023 legislative session.

"This is a classic Albany deal, right at the last minute, no public comment process, no hearings, no even discussion about what's wrong with the system," Horner said of the public campaign finance bill.

"Waiting for the last minute to jam changes through – that is classic Albany last-minute dealmaking and usually when that happens, it's not in the public's best interest."