Plan to use casino cash to fund campaigns

ALBANY -- An innovative proposal expected in the New York Legislature would take some revenue from casino promoters and opponents who spend millions in campaign contributions and create a fund designed to reduce the influence of money in politics.

Good-government advocate Bill Samuels and Democratic State Sen. Liz Krueger said yesterday that the money from the proposal expected to be introduced to the new Legislature would pay for voluntary public funding of campaigns and level the playing field for candidates, creating more competitive elections. They say it would also open politics to more people without depending on large contributions from special interests.

It may also be a unique way to channel gambling money. A dozen states use casino tax revenue most often for education, local governments, and the state general fund, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. New Jersey uses some for financial assistance to the elderly and disabled, while Colorado and South Dakota target some for historic preservation, and Puerto Rico uses some for tourism.

New York's so-called grand bargain would seek to tap into an anticipated deluge of campaign contributions from supporters and opponents of the proposal to allow casinos on non-Indian land in New York.

"Where casino gaming interests in other states have become a force for some of the darkest excesses of post-Citizens United politics . . . this unique, counterintuitive opportunity is a way forward on government reform that Governor Cuomo and my fellow legislators cannot ignore," said Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat.

The Legislature is expected to approve up to seven casinos off Indian land this year, subject to a voter referendum in the fall.

New York's proposal would use casino licensing fees to raise $56 million a year for matching funds for contributions to candidates under strict limits, but still leave $250 million to $1 billion that could be directed to education, as is now done with lottery revenue.

Cuomo and the Assembly's Democratic majority have supported voluntary public financing of campaigns as part of stricter fundraising and spending requirements, but the Senate's Republican majority has opposed public financing. Its leaders say that tax dollars must instead go to schools and other high priorities, especially in tough economic times.

Neither Cuomo nor Senate Republicans ruled out the casino idea.