New York state lawmakers looked unlikely to reach a budget deal on Friday, but they got behind a proposal to loosen campaign finance rules and ease restrictions on larger donations in the state’s public matching funds program.
Lawmakers who met behind closed doors on Friday were on board with changes that would allow candidates to match the first $250 of donations up to $1,000, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Currently, donations higher than $250 are ineligible for matching, meaning the change would open eligibility to higher-dollar donations.
The provision is part of ongoing talks over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $252 billion proposal for this fiscal year. The budget, which was due on April 1, has been held up by policy disagreements on issues including a push to criminalize wearing masks while committing other crimes, and involuntary commitment.
The sources who spoke to Gothamist and the New York Public News Network said Hochul was supportive of the change to campaign finance. Hochul’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The state’s public campaign finance program is still relatively new. It went into effect in 2024 state legislative races and matches donations up to $250 at a 6-to-1 rate for statewide offices, like governor. For state legislative offices, it matches donations using a tiered scale, where the first $50 of a donation qualifies for a higher match rate than the rest.
While the program has received support from both Democrats and Republicans and coincided with an increase in small donations last cycle, proponents of the proposal say it would make it easier for candidates to participate in the match program.
But watchdog groups warn that making larger donations eligible for public matching could erode attempts to rein in large-donor influence. The good-government group Reinvent Albany released a statement earlier this month opposing the proposal, calling it “a truly dismal example of Albany at its worst.”
Candidates running for state Assembly have to raise at least $6,000 from at least 75 people in their district to qualify for the program. For state Senate candidates, they have to raise $12,000 from at least 150 district residents. The legislature is also considering altering those requirements.
