Legislation Introduced to Require More Disclosure in NYC Campaign Ads

New York City Councilman Daniel Garodnick (Manhattan-D) introduced legislation this week that would require more disclosure in campaign ads. The local law proposes to amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York to require public-facing disclosure of campaign spending. The law would require that whenever an authorized candidate committee pays for literature, advertisements, or other communications, the communication must disclose that it was funded by the candidate or committee. The law would also require the same disclosure when a candidate or authorized committee permits another individual or entity to pay for communications in support of, or in opposition to, that candidate. If enacted, the law will take effect in six months and will permit the Campaign Finance Board to promulgate any necessary rules to enforce the provision. The text of the proposed law can be found here. It was referred by the City Council to the Committee on Governmental Operations for further review.