By Hank Russell
Two members of the state Assembly are asking for more transparency and accountability from the Public Campaign Finance Board as the hearings continue on the state budget.
Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and Matt Slater (R,C-Yorktown) are demanding greater transparency and accountability from the Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB). The board, responsible for overseeing the state’s taxpayer-funded campaign finance system, is notably absent from the witness list for the Local Government/General Government joint budget hearing scheduled for February 4. This absence raises serious concerns about the lack of direct oversight, especially as several election advocacy groups are scheduled to testify at the hearing on the program.
In December, Ra sent a letter to legislative leaders urging that PCFB representatives be invited to testify regarding its administration of the program. Despite the board overseeing a public campaign financing system that will spend $235 million in taxpayer funding for public matching funds, the PCFB has not been scheduled to appear before the Legislature to address concerns about the program’s execution and financial oversight.
New York State’s public campaign financing system was implemented for legislative candidates for the first time during the 2024 election cycle and is set to expand to statewide candidates in 2026. To date, more than $46.8 million has been given to the board for staffing and administration, with an additional $35 million provided to candidates for various legislative elections.
On May 7, 2024, the PCFB sent out a press release announcing the first-ever matching payments to 37 committees. In the program, for a contribution to be matched with public funds, it must be between $5 and $250 in the aggregate, from a resident of the district the candidate seeks to represent, and reported in full by the committee to the PCFB, along with required documentation.
A spokesperson for the board explained that, once the PCFB verifies the matching funds, they are sent from the State Comptroller’s office through the Statewide Financial System. The process, they said, is in compliance with Article 14, Title II of Election Law and the associated Program and Enforcement Regulations.
“The Public Campaign Finance Board is responsible for managing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, with many more to come as statewide offices will also utilize the system in 2026,” said Ra, the ranking member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. “We have just gone through the first election cycle using this system, and it’s wrong that lawmakers are being denied the opportunity to raise concerns directly with the board on the program’s effectiveness and efficiency.”
“We deserve transparency when it comes to how our tax dollars are being spent,” added Slater, the ranking member of the Committee on Election Law. “With the first election cycle with public campaign finance completed, members of the legislature should have the ability to ask pertinent questions before more dollars are allocated but that’s Albany – little oversight and no accountability of millions of taxpayer dollars being spent. The Public Campaign Finance Board’s absence is unacceptable—it must be held accountable for its stewardship of these funds.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the PCFB. A spokesperson said the state Board of Elections, including the board, were not invited to speak. As for accusations of lack of accountability and transparency, the spokesperson replied, “[T]he Board is committed to transparency – with program participants, the state legislature which created the program, and the general public.” They referred LILP to the board’s website for additional information and announced they recently released their first-ever end of cycle report.