November 20, 2019

Dear Members of the Public Campaign Financing Commission,

We, the undersigned members of the New York State Legislature, are strong supporters of the Fair
Elections legislation that has been introduced and/or passed by the Assembly and Senate in recent
years, and we thank you for your work to create a voluntary system of public funding in New York State.
A strong law will be critical to increasing participation in the democratic process and restoring our
constituents’ trust in state government.

We write to respectfully express our strong support for including the following key policy points into the
state public financing program you are now crafting. It is critical that the system:

• Provide at least a 6-to-1 match on small donations, to ensure that participating candidates are able to
raise significant sums from small donors.

• Set qualifying thresholds that are attainable by viable candidates with community support but avoid
wasting public funds on frivolous candidates.

• Establish lower contribution limits (including lower doing business limits) for all candidates—
participants and nonparticipants—that incentivize fundraising from small donors and program
participation.

• Establish a campaign finance agency overseen by a board with a candidate services and oversight unit
separate from the State Board of Elections—one that will guard against fraud but will also support
candidates and set them up for success.

• Cover all statewide and state legislative races for both primary and general elections. (Ideally, a
public financing of elections program would also cover district attorney races.)

• Not alter or diminish fusion voting, which is wholly unrelated to public financing and any
assertion to the contrary is disingenuous. The Commission was formed in response to an outcry around
big money in politics, not fusion voting. The statute is clear that the Commission is to be focused only on
matters relevant to establishing a public financing program.

The donor class -- which is overwhelmingly white, wealthy, and male, and not representative of the
diversity in our state -- heavily represents industry interests. In the 2018 elections, just 100 donors gave
more to state candidates than all estimated 137,000 small donors (contributing $175 or less) combined,
according to the Brennan Center for Justice. At a time when attacks on marginalized groups are coming
from the highest echelons of our government, from many who believe that power should reside in the
hands of a small group of white men, it is imperative that we do all we can to increase the political
power of all people. We must dramatically shift our campaign finance system to one that amplifies the
voices of people of color, women, immigrants, working and middle class families, and all under-
represented New Yorkers.

The state budget we passed tasked the Commission with making its recommendations "in furtherance
of the goals of incentivizing candidates to solicit small contributions, reducing the pressure on
candidates to spend inordinate amounts of time raising large contributions for their campaigns, and
encouraging qualified candidates to run for office." The law also provided us with a short window in
December to “amend or abrogate” the Commission’s recommendations.

We are confident that the goals we’ve set forth for the Commission in the statute will lead to
the "model for the nation" the Governor has promised; however, we also take seriously our statutory
responsibility to craft and sponsor legislation to act in December if needed.

Thank you for your work to create a more fair and representative campaign finance system in New York
state. This is a unique opportunity to pass much needed campaign finance reforms, and we look
forward to seeing the results of your work.

Sincerely,

New York State Senators

Senator Julia Salazar, Senator Jessica Ramos,

18th Senate District 13th Senate District
Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Senator Neil Breslin,
34th Senate District 44th Senate District
Senator David Carlucci, Senator Brad Hoylman,
38th Senate District 27th Senate District
Senator Robert Jackson, Senator Brian Kavanagh,
31st Senate District 26th Senate District
Senator Liz Krueger, Senator John Liu,
28th Senate District 11th Senate District
Senator Rachel May, Senator Shelley Mayer,
53rd Senate District 37th Senate District
Senator Jen Metzger, Senator Gustavo Rivera,
42nd Senate District 33rd Senate District
Senator James Sanders, Senator James Skoufis,
10th Senate District 39th Senate District
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky,
16th Senate District
New York State Assemblymembers
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou,
65th Assembly District
Assemblymember Catalina Cruz,
39th Assembly District
Assemblymember William Colton,
47th Assembly District
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein,
74th Assembly District
Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi,
28th Assembly District
Assemblymember Ron Kim,
40th Assembly District
Assemblymember Walter Mosley,
57th Assembly District
Assemblymember Dan Quart,
73rd Assembly District
Assemblymember Nily Rozic,
25th Assembly District
Assemblymember Aravella Simotas,
36th Assembly District
Assemblymember Fred W. Thiele Jr.,
1st Assembly District
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal,
67th Assembly District
Assemblymember Brian Barnwell,
30th Assembly District
Assemblymember Maritza Davila,
53rd Assembly District
Assemblymember Richard Gottfried,
75th Assembly District
Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee,
97th Assembly District
Assemblymember Joseph R. Lentol,
50th Assembly District
Assemblymember Felix Ortiz,
51st Assembly District
Assemblymember Karines Reyes,
87th Assembly District
Assemblymember Rebecca A. Seawright,
76th Assembly District
Assemblymember Al Stirpe,
127th Assembly District
Assemblymember Kenneth P. Zebrowski Jr.,
96th Assembly District