Firm at SAT hearing donated to chairman

A recent state Senate hearing called to investigate an SAT cheating scandal included a security company that was invited to testify a month after it contributed campaign cash to the committee's chairman.

The situation reveals a little-noticed concern about the dozens or perhaps hundreds of Legislature hearings each year, a good-government advocate said. Powerful committee chairmen decide who testifies on legislation and spending on topics that draw intense media exposure and affect many of their top donors.

"It's appropriate to have such a company appear," said the advocate, Dick Dadey of Citizens Union. "And it's legal to have the company make a contribution. The appearance, however, of a company who has made a campaign contribution invited to testify is not a good one. It smacks of the insider pay-to-play culture that New Yorkers want to change."

The SAT cheating hearing came after 20 people were accused in a scheme where impostors were paid $500 to $3,600 to take tests in place of Long Island high school students, authorities said.

A publicly traded security company, Long Island-based Applied DNA Sciences, said in press releases and news stories that it was "invited" to the Jan. 24 hearing by Sen. Kenneth LaValle. LaValle's office contests the characterization. The company had developed a so-called "digital DNA" device intended to help ensure the test takers are who they say they are.

The appearance led to several news stories featuring the company and last week, the company said that as a result of the hearing it was in "early discussions" with The College Board, which owns the SAT, a statement The College Board flatly denies.

The company hasn't responded to telephoned and e-mailed requests by The Associated Press for comment.

On Dec. 1, Applied DNA Sciences donated $675 to LaValle, a Long Island Republican, at his annual fundraiser at a local country club. He has received money from the company's executives for years, including $500 in November from another Applied DNA executive, Yacov Shamash; $1,000 from Shamash's wife in July 2010; and $500 from President and CEO James Hayward in December 2009, according to state Board of Elections filings.

A spokesman for LaValle, who has a long record challenging the SAT, said the company simply responded to the senator's press announcement about the hearing. The spokesman, Drew Biondo, noted another company from Rochester that hasn't contributed to LaValle also contacted the senator and was invited to testify.

Public notices for the January hearing stated: "Oral testimony by invitation only." That message appears on all state Legislature hearing notices, and Biondo said he didn't think in this case that it would have deterred any potential competitors. He said three or four companies contacted the senator as a result of the press release and the senator's Twitter and Facebook notices. Biondo said it's also possible the hearing came up in conversation between LaValle's staff and the company.

"We explained quite specifically what our role was during the hearing and it was not an endorsement of any technology," Biondo said. "It was simply a demonstration of the types of technology that were available to improve security."

"Everybody who contacted us and asked to testify was granted the opportunity to testify," he said.

The senator didn't note his 20-year association with Hayward, the CEO.

Hayward testified that his company developed the "digital DNA" card after the SAT cheating case broke. The pitch was part of a 15-minute Power Point presentation on his company's international operations, which was cut short by technical difficulties, followed by questions from legislators. The Rochester company, Document Security Systems, also testified.

"From this point forward, this committee has no jurisdiction," LaValle said after the hearing. "We are just kind of a facilitator ... to have people come forward and give us good solid ideas."

LaValle's commitment to forcing national changes to the SAT, used by millions of students nationwide, began 20 years ago when he forced The College Board to allow students to review their test answers after grading. It was the nation's first "truth-in-testing" law. His hearing in January aimed to enact harsher criminal penalties for cheating.

The Legislature defends the longstanding practice that's never been challenged, saying chairmen determine the most efficient way to run a hearing. There is no requirement to identify campaign contributors and no record of how often donors testify at the hearings. Most often, however, a committee chairman garners substantial campaign contributions from interests tied to the mission of the committee.

"I'm sure they seek people out, but if someone wants to testify, they will be allowed to testify," said Scott Reif, spokesman for the Senate's Republican majority. "It's at the discretion of the chairman."

"Given Sen. LaValle's long, commendable track record, he appears not to have done anything wrong," Dadey said. "The question is whether (the company) would have made these contributions if they weren't interested in positioning themselves for potential state business."