Bill Text: NY A02237 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to election law [A02237 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02237-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2237

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 25, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, EPSTEIN, ZINERMAN, BUTTENSCHON, JACKSON --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law

        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.
                                                                   LBD03026-01-3
        A. 2237                             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 6 to read as follows:
    30    6. 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.