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Limits & Thresholds

2019B City Council District 45 Special Election

CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
SPENDING LIMITS
THRESHOLDS
Public Funds Payment

Contribution limits apply to all campaigns, whether or not you join the matching funds program. These limits apply for the entire election cycle. Both monetary and in-kind contributions of goods and services are subject to these limits. All candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations, LLCs, and partnerships. Candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from political committees not registered with the CFB. View a list of registered political committees for this election cycle.

New Program 
(Option A) Participant

Old Program 
(Option B) Participant

Non-Participant

$500

$1,425

$1,425

For more information on the new and old programs and how to join, see Join the Matching Funds Program.

If an individual contributor has business dealings with the city at the time their contribution is made, lower limits apply. Doing business contributions are not eligible for matching funds and do not count toward the threshold to receive public funds. Access the Doing Business Database.

Doing Business Contribution Limit

$125

Program participants must observe strict spending limits. A spending limit is the maximum amount a campaign can spend during an election cycle.

Spending Limit

$190,000

If a non-participant raises or spends more than half the applicable spending limit, the spending limit for all participants in that race will be increased by 50%. If a non-participant raises or spends more than three times the applicable spending limit, participants in that race will no longer be subject to a spending limit. The CFB will review disclosure statements to see if expenditure limit relief is warranted and will notify affected campaigns. Candidates may also petition the Board if they believe that a non-participating opponent has triggered expenditure limit relief. Candidates should never assume that their expenditure limit has been increased or suspended unless they receive written confirmation from the CFB.

Program participants must meet this two-part threshold, abide by the Program’s requirements, and face opposition on the ballot to qualify for public funding. Only the first $175 of an individual New York City resident’s contribution is applied toward meeting dollar amount threshold.

Minimum Funds Raised

Minimum Number of Contributors

$5,000

75

† Must be district residents

The Program matches each dollar a New York City resident gives, up to $175 for a City Council candidate, with up to eight dollars in public funds, for a maximum of $1,400 in public funds per contributor. The maximum a candidate can receive in public funds per election equals 75% of the applicable spending limit.

Program Choice

Matching Rate

Maximum Matchable
Per Contributor

Maximum Public Funds 
Per Contributor

Maximum Public Funds 
Per Election

New Program (Option A)

$8-to-$1

$175

$1,400

$142,500

Old Program (Option B)

$6-to-$1

$175

$1,050

$104,500

† 75% of applicable spending limit

‡ 55% of applicable spending limit

For more information on the new and old programs and how to join, see Join the Matching Funds Program.

2019B Public Funds Payment Schedule

Payment Dates Based on Valid Matching Claims Reported in Disclosure Statement(s) Up To:
April 18, 2019 Disclosure Statement #1 (due April 12, 2019)

April 26, 2019 (tentative)

Response to statement #1 review with corrected invalid matching claims
May 9, 2019 Disclosure Statement #2 (due May 3, 2019)

This public funds payment schedule is tentative and subject to change. Public funds are paid only to candidates eligible for payment based on the Campaign Finance Act and CFB Rules. For more information on public funds eligibility criteria, please see Chapter 6 of the Handbook.