A State Supreme Court justice has voided new rules adopted by a special commission paving the way for public financing of elections in New York State while making it harder for minor parties to qualify for the ballot.
Justice Ralph A. Boniello III, in a ruling released Thursday, said the special commission appointed by the governor and Legislature to review state election law had, in effect, usurped the powers assigned to the Legislature by the State Constitution.
“The court finds that the Legislature, clearly and unequivocally, empowered the commission to legislate new law and repeal existing statutes,” the judge said. “The line between administrative rule making (which can be delegated) and legislative action (which cannot be delegated) has clearly been transgressed.”