Backers Say They Have the Votes to Pass NY Bill Targeting Trump's State Tax Returns
Democrats in New York plan to refine a bill that would allow Congress to obtain copies of President Donald Trump's state tax returns, making its power more narrow as to whose financial documents federal lawmakers could request.
May 20, 2019 at 01:13 PM
6 minute read
New York lawmakers said they expect to vote Wednesday on final passage of a measure that would allow the U.S. Congress to obtain copies of President Donald Trump's state tax returns.
Backers of the measure said they have the votes to pass the bill.
The legislation would sidestep Trump's efforts to block the release of his tax returns by allowing the chairpersons of three congressional committees to request his state tax documents in New York, as well as the filings of other federal, state and local officials.
A previous bill, which has already passed the State Senate, would have allowed Congress to request the state tax returns of any resident of New York, including Trump, from the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
But new legislation introduced over the weekend would restrict whose tax documents Congress could seek from the state. The bill would allow them to ask for the state filings of officials within the executive branch of federal government, including the president, New York's congressional delegation, and various state and local officials who have either been elected or appointed.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, who sponsors the bill, said those changes are intended to avoid any unplanned fallout that could result from the legislation.
“I think, like all legislation, we want to avoid unintended consequences and give people comfort,” Hoylman said. “This bill is now more narrowly tailored and applies only to public officials, which is I think a good result.”
It's not a replacement for the previous bill. Instead, lawmakers have introduced the legislation as an amendment to the initial proposal. That means the Assembly will have to pass both bills, while the Senate will only have to pass the amendment.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, said Democrats in his chamber plan to approve both bills Wednesday. The Senate is expected to pass the amendment that day as well.
“I think we're going to pass those on Wednesday, but it's going to be narrowed down to, more of, people in public office and public officials, so it won't be open to 19 million constituents,” Heastie said, referring to the state's population.
The amendment would also make a few, smaller tweaks to the initial bill, including what information would be available, and for what purpose. The new legislation would require the state Tax Department to redact any federal tax return information that would be included in an individual's requested state tax documents.
Hoylman had previously said it was an open question as to whether the state Tax Department would be able to release that federal information with the state tax returns. The amendment would resolve that question by taking away the option altogether.
Another tiny, but significant, change could broaden when Congress could request an individual's state tax returns. The previous legislation required that there be a “specified and legitimate legislative” purpose to the request, which some have said provide grounds for an impeachment inquiry.
The new bill says the request from Congress must, instead, be “related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress.” That's not defined in the legislation, though neither was the previous definition of how Congress could justify the request.
Assemblyman David Buchwald, D-Westchester, said the change was made in response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's recent decision rejecting a request from Congress for Trump's federal tax returns. Mnuchin said at the time that Congress did not have a “legitimate legislative purpose” to seek those documents.
“So, we wanted to make abundantly clear that the intent of the New York State Legislature is to be a partner with our colleagues in the federal Legislature and this new language conveys that wholly,” said Buchwald, who sponsors the bill in the Assembly.
The list of individuals whose tax returns could be requested is specific; it targets both elected officials and those appointed or employed by those individuals. The president would be eligible for such a request, but so would members of his or her cabinet and anyone working within the executive branch of federal government. The tax documents of the vice president could also be requested, according to the legislation.
But the bill would also allow Congress to request the state tax returns of federal and state lawmakers in New York. Representatives in the U.S. House and Senate from New York could have their tax documents requested, as could members of the State Senate and Assembly. Statewide elected officials, like the governor, would also be eligible for such a request. Members of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's cabinet are also included in the bill.
Congress would also be able to request the state tax returns of local elected officials, like mayors or county executives in New York, according to the bill. Political party leaders in New York would also be subject to such a request.
Any judge within the state court system, from the trial court level to the state's highest court, would also be eligible to have their state tax returns requested by Congress.
The rest of the legislation will remain the same, for the most part. Only three members of Congress would be able to request state tax documents from New York: the chairpersons of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
They would still only be able to make that request after they've first tried to obtain, through a written request, the federal tax returns of someone from the U.S. Treasury Department. Hoylman has previously said the state Tax Department would not be obligated to fulfill a request; that would, instead, be up to the agency's commissioner. That doesn't appear to have changed in the new legislation.
The bills, once passed, will be sent to Cuomo for a signature. Cuomo has previously signaled support for the legislation.
READ MORE:
Bill to Disclose Trump's State Tax Returns to Congress Passes NY Senate
NY Senate Set to Pass 'Double Jeopardy' Bill; Assembly May Follow
NY Assembly Expected to Give Final Passage to Trump-Targeted 'Double Jeopardy' Bill
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