State campaign finance system quietly takes effect

This month, the state public campaign financing system quietly went into effect.

It’s modeled on the city’s public dollar matching system, and will allow candidates running for state office to receive taxpayer money when they raise contributions from small donors.

Starting in 2024, candidates for assembly and state senate will be eligible for public matching funds on small donor contributions.

Candidates looking to access those funds are encouraged to begin fundraising, after the program took effect the day after Election Day.

The new state system is modeled on the city’s program, which advocates of campaign finance reform consider being a huge success.

“It’s a variation on the system the city of New York has had in place for many years, and that is a matching fund for low donor contributions. For people who live in your district,” Sen. Liz Krueger of Manhattan said.

The matching program was passed in 2019, and then a controversial commission was tasked with designing how it would work.

That commission presented its finding in December 2019 — months before the pandemic disrupted state government.

Under the new system, candidates for assembly and state senate could…