Albany, NY – Citing KJ Donor, Skoufis Triumphantly Announces Beginning Of The End To Albany Corruption

Albany, NY – The new legislative session may have only begun, but a freshman Orange County senator has already been making waves, announcing the passage of a bill that would prohibit limited liability corporations from making unlimited contributions to political candidates.

Senator James Skoufis was one of 39 co-sponsors of Senate bill S1101 which was introduced by Senator Brian Kavanagh and passed both the Senate and the Assembly. The bill will amend the state’s existing election law to subject political contributions from LLCs to the same contribution limits that apply to corporations and would also require the disclosure of all parties with membership interests in the LLC.

“This loophole has been exploited for years by corporations and wealthy individuals seeking unfair influence over elected officials,” Skoufis told VIN News. “These reforms will increase transparency and reduce the stranglehold that wealthy individuals and corporations have on our democracy.”

Skoufis’s Facebook announcement referenced a bill he introduced in 2015 that would have given Orange County officials oversight of the Kiryas Joel annexation plans that was vetoed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who subsequently received $250,000 in donations from a Kiryas Joel developer.

“Yesterday, the Legislature finally PASSED the bill to close this egregious loophole,” wrote Skoufis. “We passed it year after year in the Assembly only to see it blocked in the Senate. That changed last night.”

According to Skoufis, Cuomo announced his intention to sign the bill into law within the next ten days.

Next on Skoufis’ radar is a similar loophole that allows anonymous corporations purchasing residential properties to divulge their owners’ identities.

“We are cleaning up Albany,” wrote Skoufis, who posted a picture on Facebook yesterday of 45 bills introduced by his office in a single day. “There’s more to come.”