Common Cause Calls for Moreland Commission to Investigate Political Spending via Housekeeping Accounts

In their latest “Moreland Monday” release, Common Cause NY calls on the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption to look at expenditures from what are known as “housekeeping accounts.”

Under Election Law 14-124(3), “housekeeping” funds are the monies of a party or constituted committee used to maintain permanent headquarters and staff, and to carry on ordinary activities.  Such funds cannot be used to promote the candidacy of specific candidates.

Current state law permits contributors to make unlimited donations to political parties’ housekeeping accounts. Critics argue that the limit on how this money is spent is “routinely ignored.”

In other Moreland Commission news, Jim Odato of the Times Union was unable to find out what the commission’s budget will be.

Finally, Ken Lovett of the Daily News reports that Moreland Commission Executive Director Regina Calcaterra obtained a JCOPE opinion that authorizes her to promote her recently published memoir, so long as she does not do so on state time or while using any state resources.