New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Christine Quinn are proposing what they call the nation's toughest campaign finance laws. The legislation would strictly limit donations from those who do business with the city, such as big developers and lobbyists.

REPORTER: Gene Russianoff of the New York Public Interest Group praised the reforms. He says the challenge will be putting in place a proposed database of everyone who does business with the city.

RUSSIANOFF: And that's not easy. We've been doing it for the last couple of months - the city's been doing it for lobbyists, which are a relatively defined group. A thousand, two thousand people. Nothing compared to the vast numbers of franchise seekers.

REPORTER: The legislation would also increase public matching funds for small contributors. The mayor says the proposal would encourage more people to participate in civic life.