As lawmakers in Albany negotiate new rules as to the ways political campaigns are financed, they also need to make sure the rules will be followed.

A recent study pointed out more than 100 corporations that apparently doled out far more than the legally allowed $5,000 limit for donations to political campaigns.

Advocacy groups say the companies have been allowed to break the law with impunity because, as it stands now, there is only one investigator overseeing thousands of campaigns in the state.

Critics say a decades-old “pay for play” system in Albany allows lobbyists to donate large sums to campaigns as a way to influence legislation and the awarding of government contracts.

Finance reform, itself, is still being hotly debated.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he expects the issue to be resolved soon, while Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has said he opposes reducing the maximum donation candidates may receive.

Whatever the outcome of the latest debate, accountability and enforcement are an essential component of campaign finance laws.

Three government watchdog groups are asking that the state Board of Elections spend $1.5 million to hire two more attorneys and four investigators to enforce the law.

Though the Board of Elections indicates that its investigations normally find campaign contributors over-contributing by only about $200, campaign finance laws are useless without a proper enforcement component, and the state Board of Elections has had one investigator for the past three years.

For campaign finance laws to be followed, let alone be strengthened, the state needs to properly staff the Board of Elections with people dedicated to rooting out fraud.