A 1403: Allows public campaign funds to be used for disability access services including but not limited to captioning, sign language interpretation, assistive listening device, Braille, large print, communication access real-time translation and accessible transportation services and to be used for language interpretation and translation services.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1403 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, EPSTEIN, ZINERMAN, BUTTENSCHON, JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the election law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to allowing certain campaign funds to be used for disability access services and language interpretation and trans- lation services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 14-130 of the election law is amended by adding two 2 new subdivisions 4-a and 4-b to read as follows: 3 4-a. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a candidate from using 4 campaign contributions to pay for disability access services, including 5 but not limited to captioning, sign language interpretation, assistive 6 listening device, Braille, large print, communication access real-time 7 translation (CART) and accessible transportation services. 8 4-b. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a candidate from using 9 campaign contributions to pay for language interpretation or trans- 10 lation services. 11 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 14-206 of the election law, as added by 12 section 4 of part ZZZ of chapter 58 of the laws of 2020, is amended to 13 read as follows: 14 1. Public matching funds provided pursuant to this title may be used 15 only by an authorized committee for expenditures to further the partic- 16 ipating candidate's nomination for election or election[, including]. 17 Such expenditures may include paying for debts incurred within one year 18 prior to an election to further the participating candidate's nomination 19 for election or election and paying for disability access services or 20 language interpretation or translation services. 21 § 3. Section 14-204 of the election law is amended by adding a new 22 subdivision 6 to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02738-01-5 
 A. 1403 2 1 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the amount of 2 public funds that may be provided to a candidate for the purpose of 3 paying for disability access services or language interpretation or 4 translation services. 5 § 4. Subparagraphs 12 and 13 of paragraph a of subdivision 21 of 6 section 3-702 of the administrative code of the city of New York, 7 subparagraph 12 as amended and subparagraph 13 as added by local law 8 number 196 of the city of New York for the year 2018, are amended and 9 two new subparagraphs 14 and 15 are added to read as follows: 10 12. Expenditures to facilitate, support, or otherwise assist in the 11 execution or performance of the duties of public office; [and] 12 13. Childcare services, provided that: (i) the candidate has received 13 an approved statement of campaign childcare eligibility, pursuant to 14 subdivision 23 of this section, demonstrating that such services are for 15 a child or children under thirteen years of age for whom the candidate 16 is a primary caregiver and that either the need for such services would 17 not exist but for the campaign or the candidate has experienced a 18 significant loss of salary or wage earnings that would not have occurred 19 but for the campaign; and (ii) that expenditures for such services may 20 only be incurred during the calendar year of the election, and the year 21 immediately preceding the calendar year of the election, and may not be 22 incurred after such election is held[.]; 23 14. Disability access services, including but not limited to caption- 24 ing, sign language interpretation, assistive listening device, Braille, 25 large print, communication access real-time translation (CART) and 26 accessible transportation services; and 27 15. Language interpretation and translation services. 28 § 5. Section 3-706 of the administrative code of the city of New York 29 is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows: 30 7. Expenditures made for the purpose of disability access services 31 pursuant to subparagraph 14 or language interpretation and translation 32 services pursuant to subparagraph 15 of paragraph a of subdivision 21 of 33 section 3-702 of this chapter shall not be limited by the expenditure 34 limitations of this section. 35 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 36 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 37 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 38 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 39 completed on or before such effective date.