RANKING MEMBER

CODES

DANIEL SQUADRON

THE SENATE
STATE OF NEW YORK

SENATOR, 26TH DISTRICT

COMMITTEES
CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES
& COMMISSIONS
FINANCE
INVESTIGATIONS AND
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
SOCIAL SERVICES
TRANSPORTATION

TO:
FROM:
Senator Squadron
RE:
Co-Sponsorship of S.60B
DATE:
April 14, 2016
______________________________________________________________________________
I am writing to urge you to join me as a co-sponsor of S.60B, and help advance this legislation
that closes the LLC Loophole. As I said during the recent budget debate, Youre going to hear
the same thing from me again, again and again until this [LLC] Loophole is closed. Shockingly,
the Senate failed to include closing the Loophole in the final budget.
The Governor proposed closing the Loophole in the Executive Budget, and committed to signing
this legislation the day it is passed. The Assembly passed such legislation earlier this session.
The Senate Democratic Conference has included closing the Loophole in our ethics package.
But, in this house, my attempts to have the bill considered by the Senate have repeatedly been
blocked.
S.60B would make explicit that LLCs are corporations for contribution purposes. It would
increase transparency by requiring disclosure of the identity of individuals with membership
interests in LLCs. It would also attribute LLC contributions to each LLC member, as is the law
for partnerships.
Last years corruption trials of both former leaders of the Legislature highlighted the way in
which anonymous corporate dollars drown out the voice of everyday New Yorkers in the
political process.
Last year, I filed a Motion for Committee Consideration, only to have the bill buried in a
secondary committee. I was refused a Petition for Consideration, ironically because of the
majoritys tactic of burying. Then, I wrote a letter to the Majority Leader asking for a vote.
Please, also see the attached op-ed I wrote with Assemblymember Kavanagh this week in the
Albany Times Union.
In addition, along with colleagues and advocates, I have delivered thousands of signatures from
everyday New Yorkers calling for the Loophole to be closed.
So, now, I am asking you, my colleagues, to co-sponsor this bill to send the message to millions
of New Yorkers that they can trust us to do our jobs ethically and responsibly. Attached, you will
find a buckslip and, for your consideration, a copy of the bill and sponsors memo.
Many of us have made the promise to clean up and reform Albany. If the LLC loophole endures
beyond this session, we have failed in that promise. New Yorkers deserve better.
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