For decades, corruption has been one of the nasty facts of Albany’s way of doing things. However, some changes have been made to let the sunshine in and help expunge bad actors and actions in the capital.
The latest effort comes from a bill co-sponsored by Capital Region Democrat Phil Steck aimed at ending the practice of anonymous LLCs in the Empire State.
Steck told Capital Tonight that bad actors could “skirt” campaign finance laws and this change is needed.
The bill, which is sponsored in the state Assembly by Emily Gallagher and by Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the Senate, would require disclosure of “beneficial owners” when the LLC is created and require a database be set up so the public can search owners and companies.
The bill passed on party lines in the state Senate where Democrats control a supermajority. The bill has not yet been delivered to the governor. Once the bill is delivered, the governor will have 10 days, excluding Sundays, to either approve or veto the measure.