BUFFALO, NY - Clarence State Senator Mike Ranzenhofer came under criticism on Friday for his comments to 2 On Your Side concerning a campaign finance reform bill.
On Thursday, Ranzenhofer told Scott Brown that he would once again block a bill designed to severely limit the amount of money corporations can give to politicians.
The bill in question would close a loophole in state election law that, right now, permits companies to give virtually unlimited amounts of money to state politicians running for office if the companies set up what are called LLCs, or limited liability corporations.
Last year alone, LLCs gave a total of $20 million to state lawmakers and their political parties.
On Thursday, 2 On Your Side reported how just one company, Glenwood Management, a builder of luxury apartment buildings in New York City, has exploited the loophole in the law to give $13 million to those running for office since 2005, including more than one million to Governor Cuomo and $100,000 to Senator Ranzenhofer.
Glenwood has received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks from the state during that time, and was a key player in the corruption trials of former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.
Every good government group in the state supports closing the loophole, which would result in companies being limited to contributions of $5,000 per year.
Last year, the bill overwhelmingly passed the Assembly, but was then blocked by Ranzenhofer when it reached the Corporations Committee which he chairs.
On Thursday, Ranzenhofer told Scott Brown that he'll block the bill from coming to a vote again this year if it comes to his committee.
Instead, Ranzenhofer says he wants a bill that would strictly limit donations from all sources, including individuals, unions and political action committees.
Senator Ranzenhofer: "To just deal with one small aspect of campaign finance reform without dealing with all of the others I think will be a mistake, and then you'll never get any reform on really trying to control money into elections."
Scott Brown: "But isn't part of a loaf better than none, which is what you have now?"
Senator Ranzenhofer: "Well in my opinion no, because then you will not deal with the other issues."
But the head of the good government group Common Cause New York calls Ranzenhofer's positon a dodge.
"I thought quite frankly his comments were somewhat jaw-dropping," says Susan Lerner. "The idea that you have to solve every problem under the sun in one package, while admirable, is impractical. If we wait for perfection, then the problem of Albany being awash in special interest cash is not only going to continue, it's going to get worse."
Lerner added that if Ranzenhofer wants to see a more encompassing bill passed, he should submit one of his own.
And after seeing our story, the bill's sponsor Daniel Squadron, a Democrat from New York City, said "It's nice that Senator Ranzenhofer admits the LLC Loophole should be closed, but by cynically refusing to act, he's protecting his (party's) ability to exploit the loophole until pigs fly. This doesn't pass the smell test."
Governor Cuomo in his State of the State address, urged legislators to pass the LLC Loophole bill, adding that if they pass it, he'll sign it the very same day.