A 7853: Exempts internal communication by a labor organization aimed at its members from the definition of independent expenditures for purposes of campaign finance reporting.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7853 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY April 11, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to member-to-member commu- nications by labor organizations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph 3 of subdivision 9 2 of section 14-100 of the election law, as amended by chapter 70 of the 3 laws of 1983, are amended and a new subparagraph (D) is added to read 4 as follows: 5 (B) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, 6 food and beverages voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate 7 or political committee on the individual's residential premises for 8 candidate-related activities to the extent such services do not exceed 9 five hundred dollars in value, [and] 10 (C) the travel expenses of any individual who on [his] such individ- 11 ual's own behalf volunteers [his] such individual's personal services to 12 any candidate or political committee to the extent such expenses are 13 unreimbursed and do not exceed five hundred dollars in value[.], and 14 (D) any cost incurred for any communication by a labor organization to 15 its members on any subject. For the purposes of this clause, "member" 16 shall have the same meaning as defined in subparagraph (v) of paragraph 17 (b) of subdivision one of section 14-107 of the election law. 18 § 2. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 19 14-107 of the election law, as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 20 286 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 21 (v) any internal communication by a labor organization aimed at its 22 members. For purposes of this section, a member of a labor organization 23 shall mean: 24 (1) any individual who, pursuant to a specific provision of a labor 25 organization's articles or bylaws, has the right to vote directly or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08823-01-5 
 A. 7853 2 1 indirectly for the election of a director or directors or an officer or 2 officers or on a disposition of all or substantially all of the assets 3 of the organization or on a merger or on a dissolution; 4 (2) any individual who is designated in the articles or bylaws as a 5 member and, pursuant to a specific provision of a labor organization's 6 articles or bylaws, has the right to vote on changes to the articles or 7 bylaws, or pays or has paid membership dues in an amount predetermined 8 by the labor organization so long as the labor organization is tax 9 exempt under section 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 10 (3) any individual who resides within the same household as a member 11 as defined in this paragraph; 12 (4) executive or administrative personnel of the labor organization; 13 or 14 (5) retired members; or 15 (vi) a communication published on the Internet, unless the communi- 16 cation is a paid advertisement. 17 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 18 have become a law and shall apply to all election cycles commencing on 19 or after such effective date.