Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced in May that he is advancing legislation to close what he called “the LLC loophole” in New York state.

The governor has introduced eight bills – one for all political offices and one for each of the state’s elected offices, requiring that limited liability corporations be treated as traditional corporations, capping contributions at $5,000. The bills would prevent LLCs from circumventing disclosure requirements and ensure that businesses do not wield an outsized influence in politics and elections across the state, Cuomo said.

“The people of New York are demanding change and it’s time we took action to restore the public trust by closing the LLC loophole and bringing fairness to our campaign finance system,” Cuomo said. “For years, I have proposed closing the LLC loophole–one of the most egregious flaws in our campaign finance system–and every year the bill has stalled. This year, I am introducing eight different bills to close the LLC loophole – one for each elected office in the state. Pass all of them, or as many as you’d like, but at a minimum, pass the one impacting anyone running for the office of the governor.”

He said the LLC loophole is widely open to abuse – with companies regularly taking advantage of the gap in state law to set up numerous LLCs to donate millions of dollars to political campaigns, candidates for public office and elected officials in New York.

These eight bills are designed to close the LLC loophole, all of which apply to candidates for governor:

1. Everyone (all candidates for state political office).

Fireball Run, a television and internet streaming series, will be crossing New York state in late September, passing through southern Saratoga County in September.

The Fireball Run is a live action trivia pursuit, adventure travel competition that has “missions” or tasks framed as trivia. Each 26-episode season is filmed in a section of the country, edited, then streamed over the internet in the U.S. and shown on television stations.

Welcome events are planned in Ballston Spa and Clifton Park, according to the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, as 40 competing teams vie for top honors in solving clues and engaging with historic artifacts. Contestants also aid in the search for America’s missing children, and to date 48 children have been found in part by their efforts, according to program officials.

The contestants will be in the area on Sept. 29 and 30.

The event is not a race, organizers said. Teams earn points for completing tasks after having driven to spots of interest, many times historical, based on clues. Points also can be deducted for things like speeding.

The 2016 rally will be going up and down the Hudson Valley as well as the surrounding states from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1. Estimates put the financial impact of the presence in a community at $250,000 per day, according to the production company.

The rally will arrive in Ballston Spa Sept. 29 and Clifton Park on Sept. 30.

By Maureen Werther

J.W. Danforth Co. plans to take occupancy of its newest location at 5 Liebich Lane in Halfmoon by late fall or early winter of this year.

One of the largest mechanical contracting firms in the Northeast, Danforth has its origins in the Buffalo area, where it began over 130 years ago. Its main office is now located in Tonawanda, a few miles outside of Buffalo. The company received site plan approval from the Town of Halfmoon in early May.

Danforth came to the Capital Region in the fall of 2015 to help support the expansion at GlobalFoundries. The company initially rented space in Clifton Park until about six months ago. The company is now occupying space at 107 Hermes Road in Malta until construction on the new office is completed.

This new building will be the third location for Danforth. They also have an office in Victor, N.Y.

According to Steve DiRaimo, vice president of business development and acquisitions, “With the addition of the new office, Danforth will be better positioned to expand in the Capital Region and offer a full array of services, including custom sheet metal and pipe fabrication; full mechanical contracting services; design-build capabilities; energy performance contracting, and other specialty offerings.”

National Grid’s prices for delivering electricity and natural gas to upstate New York customers will be extended at today’s levels into 2018, following regulatory approval of a plan that also will allow the company to continue investment in its networks.

Current energy delivery prices will be maintained through March 2018, extending a period of delivery rate stability for consumers that began more than a decade ago, company officials said.

The company also will be increasing its capital investment in its electricity and natural gas networks over the next two years to approximately $1.3 billion, bringing total investment since 2013 to more than $3 billion. These investments are improving the safety and reliability of the networks, encouraging growth and enhancing storm resiliency, said Daly, National Grid president-New York.