Report: State Not Prosecuting Illegal Corporate Political Contributions

The New York World has a data-heavy report which finds that between 2011 and 2013, the State Board of Elections (SBOE) made 164 referrals to district attorneys throughout the state regarding corporations that exceeded the state’s $5,000 annual limit on corporate contributions. But not a single one prosecution resulted from the referrals, and some corporations continued to make excessive contributions

A spokesman for the SBOE said that the agency, now that it has a dedicated enforcement unit, will be able to go after corporate over-contributors on its own.

As of this writing, the SBOE’s Independent Enforcement Unit (which began operations in early September) does not appear to have brought any actions against corporate over-contributors, or against any other individuals or entities for Election Law violations.

But it’s also important to keep in mind that under state law (as currently interpreted by the SBOE), only certain corporations are subject to the annual $5,000 contribution limit.

As this recent Times Union editorial explains, some corporations (limited liability companies, or LLCs) are not subject to the $5,000 annual corporate contribution limit:

“LLCs are considered individuals for the purposes of campaign finance laws. One person can easily set up an unlimited number of these entities, and then each can make the maximum legal political contribution allowed for an individual.”