Campaigns that spend big to promote nominees for appointed office in New York state should be required to disclose their donors, Democrats in the state Senate on Monday said. 

Sens. Mike Gianaris and Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced legislation that would place new disclosure requirements on those campaigns after a public effort to back Hector LaSalle's nomination to chief judge of the state's highest court was made in the wake of opposition from the state Senate. 

“Today’s nominees can be tomorrow’s public officials and it is crucial for the public to know to whom they might be beholden,” said Gianaris, the No. 2 Democrat in the state Senate. “Our ethics laws must apply to dark money efforts on behalf of or opposed to nominations so that the public can have more confidence in those who serve in their name.”   

Under the proposal, public campaigns that spend money to boost a nominee would have to disclose their donors to the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, the primary ethics and lobbying oversight agency. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul last month nominated LaSalle to the post only to have him rejected by the state Senate Judiciary Committee nearly two weeks ago. Hochul has not indicated whether she will sue the Senate so LaSalle's nomination can be voted on by the full floor or nominate a new candidate.