Doing Business Contributions - Frequently Asked Questions

Legislation enacted in 2007 called for the creation of a database containing the names of individuals and entities doing business with the City. The Doing Business Database (“DBDB”) is available to the public and campaigns can check whether their contributors are listed. This law affects all candidates running for local office (mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and City Council member) because contributions from individuals listed in the database are subject to lower contribution limits. In addition, for participants in the Campaign Finance Program, these contributions will not be eligible to be matched with public funds, nor will they count toward meeting the threshold to receive public funds.

The purpose is to reduce the potential for, and appearance of, corruption. Another term for "doing business" contributions is "pay-to-play," which suggests that those wanting to do business with the City could use, or could appear to be using, campaign contributions to get City business.

• Phase One effective February 2, 2008:
  
  • Contracts
  • Franchises
  • Concessions
  • Lobbying

• Phase Two effective July 31, 2008:
  
  • Grants
  • Pension fund investment agreements
  • Economic development agreements
  • Proposals to obtain contracts,  franchises, and concessions

• Phase Three effective December 3, 2008:
  
  • Real property transactions
  • Land use actions

Since February 2, 2008, the law covers the chief executive officer, the chief operating officer, and the chief financial officer (or their equivalents), and any owner who owns more than 10% of the entity. Since July 31, 2008, the law also covers senior managers of entities considered to be doing business.

A senior manager is someone, whether by title or duties, who has high level supervisory capacity in which substantial discretion and oversight is exercised in business transactions with the City.

Contributions from anyone in the Doing Business Database will not be matched with public funds. In addition, individuals in the database are subject to lower contribution limits, which vary by office:

Yes. In-kind contributions of goods or services are subject to the same contribution limits as monetary contributions.

No. A contribution must be valid for matching purposes to count for threshold.

As long as the political action committee registers with the CFB, it can make contributions to City candidates subject to the regular applicable contribution limits. However, political committees may not make contributions with money received from prohibited sources (corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies). As part of the CFB registration process, the political action committee must indicate whether it agrees not to use money from prohibited sources to make contributions to City candidates.

A union that negotiates a contract with the City on behalf of its members would not be in the doing business database as that category of contract is not covered by the current law. If a union is a registered lobbyist or enters into a real property transaction with the City, however, it would appear in the doing business database.

The law is not retroactive. The campaign may keep the contribution, provided that keeping it doesn't violate any other part of the law. As long as the contributor was an individual New York City resident and the transaction was reported and fully documented, the contribution could be matchable.

Again, the law is not retroactive. If the person was not considered to be doing business at the time of the contribution, the campaign may keep the contribution, provided that keeping it doesn't violate any other part of the law.

You will not be considered doing business with the City merely because you: pay real estate, income, or business taxes or receive a refund or rebate; work for the City; pay into or receive a City pension; drive a City taxi; hire a lobbyist; seek permits for your 1, 2, or 3 family home; apply for street permits, including parades, processionals, or street fairs; and other kinds of similar individual activities with the City.

Please keep in mind that someone may be in the doing business database as a result of a relationship that is not paid employment. If the contributor is in the Doing Business Database in connection with any category of doing business except lobbying, s/he should contact the Doing Business Accountability Project of the Mayor's Office of Contract Services by calling 212-788-8104 or email at DoingBusiness@cityhall.nyc.gov. The request for removal form, including instructions, can be accessed here. These forms must be completed in their entirety and submitted to the Doing Business Accountability Project, not to the CFB. The CFB will be notified when a removal occurs. If the contributor is in the Doing Business Database as a lobbyist and thinks that s/he should not be, s/he should contact the Office of the City Clerk at 212-699-8171

The contributor should contact the Doing Business Accountability Project at 212-788-8104 or DoingBusiness@cityhall.nyc.gov. Under very limited circumstances, waivers may be granted when it is determined “that it is in the best interests of the City.” Even if a waiver for the inclusion of all or some data is granted, the contributor is still doing business with the City, so any applicable contribution limits will still be in effect.

Once you file your disclosure statement, the CFB will quickly notify you (within 20 days of the filing or within 3 business days when the filing is within the six weeks preceding the election) about any contributions found to be from individuals doing business with the City that exceed the applicable contribution limits. You will then have 20 days to return the excess portion to the contributor. Failure to refund the over-the-limit portion of the contribution within 20 days following CFB notification will result in a reduction in the amount of public funds otherwise due and may result in the assessment of a penalty. Any contributions from doing business contributors, even those within the applicable limits, will not be matched with public funds and will not count toward the threshold.

The notification will depend on the findings of the doing business review performed by the CFB. If the CFB finds no cases of contributions over the doing business limit and no claims invalid because they were from a contributor who was doing business with the City, the campaign will not receive a doing business notification.

If the CFB finds that the campaign has received contributions over the doing business limit, it will send the campaign the Aggregate Contributions Over the Doing Business Office Limit report. This report will inform the campaign of each case where it received a contribution over the doing business limit, who the contributor in question is, how much the contribution was for, and how much must be refunded. Sometimes the report shows multiple smaller contributions that, when added together, exceed the limit.

If the CFB finds that the campaign has made claims for public matching funds on contributions from contributors doing business with the City, it will send the campaign the Invalid Matching Claims Detail Report – Doing Business. This report will list each claim that has been coded M36- Contributor is doing business with NYC.

The notification may consist of one or both of these reports. The reports will be sent via email to the campaign's treasurer, as long as such an email address has been provided to the CFB. The reports will be .pdf attachments and will be accompanied by an email message explaining the contents of the reports and the requirements for response from the campaign, including the 20 day deadline.

No. The law requires the CFB to notify campaigns about exceeding the doing business limits on an expedited schedule, so campaigns will continue to receive regular statement reviews, separate and apart from the doing business notifications.

The CFB uses an automated system to identify potential matches of contributors to individuals in the DBDB based on names and dates. Each potential match is then individually assessed, using the information about the contributor reported by the campaign and the information in the DBDB. If a match is unclear based on this data, the individual is researched further so that the CFB can be as certain as possible that the contributor is in the DBDB before a match is made.

If the campaign fails to provide sufficient information about a contributor for the CFB to form a conclusion about whether s/he matches a DBDB entity, the CFB will assume a match and the burden of proof will fall on the campaign. An example of this would be if John Smith is in the DBDB and a campaign reported John Smith as a contributor with no address or employment information. The CFB in this case would assume John Smith the contributor is the one doing business. If the campaign then reports additional information about John Smith, the CFB may then be able to determine that they are not the same person.

In the case of an undeclared candidate, the lowest doing business contribution limit, $250, is used. If the candidate is certain that he or she is running for an office with a higher limit, only the portion of the doing business contribution that is over that higher limit needs to be refunded.

No. This is only a preliminary notification. All doing business invalid claims will also appear on the complete Invalid Matching Claims report. You should respond to all invalid matching claims at one time, upon receipt of the full report.

The refund must be issued by bank or certified check. If the refund is issued via a check from the committee's account, the contributor might not deposit the check until after the deadline has passed, causing the prohibited funds to still be in the campaign's account at the time of the deadline.

You can provide the Board with proof by scanning the refund check and emailing the image to CFBDoingBusiness@NYCCFB.info, or by fax to 212-306-7143 or by mailing a copy of any refund checks to the Board. Responses should be marked Attention: Doing Business.

If you cannot find a contributor that has been marked as doing business in the DBDB, contact the CFB. There are several possible reasons. The public interface of the DBDB only shows individuals who are currently in the database. If a contributor was in the DBDB at the time of his/her contribution but is no longer doing business at the time of notification, s/he will not appear in the public DBDB but is subject to the doing business limits because s/he was doing business at the time of the contribution.

If you believe your contributor has been incorrectly matched with a person in the DBDB, you must provide the CFB with proof that this is the case. The campaign can bring to the CFB's attention any other records or data that would indicate that the contributor is a different individual than the one in the DBDB. The more complete and accurate the campaign’s reporting is, the less likely a mismatch is to occur. The campaign could also send the CFB a signed statement from the contributor, asserting that s/he is not the individual in the DBDB and is not associated with the doing business entity in any capacity. Such a statement would only cause the CFB to reevaluate the match but cannot function as a request for removal.

Campaigns are required to ask contributors who give contributions in amounts greater than the doing business limits to complete a Doing Business Contributor form about whether they have business dealings with the City. The Doing Business Database is available to the public and campaigns can check whether their contributors are listed.

Yes. A sample Doing Business Contributor form is available in both single-sided and double-sided versions. The sample is designed so that a campaign can choose to give the detailed instructions to its contributors or can just distribute the form with the information to be provided by the contributor. Contributors may find it helpful to have the description of what "doing business" means in front of them when completing the form. In addition, a third version contains the sample form (without instructions) on the back of a regular CFB contribution card.

No. They are separate requirements. A campaign could choose to print the doing business form on the reverse side of a contribution card or as an attachment to the regular contribution card. A sample form with the regular contribution card on one side and a doing business form (without instructions) is available.

The CFB recommends that the campaign follow up with the contributor to attempt to obtain the form. The campaign can resend it and maintain a record of having sent it, and/or the campaign can send an e-mail or make a phone call. The campaign should keep records of all attempts to get the information from the contributor. The campaign is also advised to take advantage of the public Doing Business Database to avoid accepting a contribution in excess of what is permitted for a doing business contributor.

The law went into effect on February 2, 2008. There is no need for anyone who contributed prior to February 2, 2008 to complete the form retroactively.

No. There is no penalty for failing to obtain a completed form. However, campaigns are required to keep records of their attempts to obtain completed forms including records of instances where contributors refused to fill out the form. These records should be dated and may consist of copies of letters sent, reports of phone calls, or any other record of contact between the campaign and the contributor on this subject. The CFB will review campaign attempts to obtain this information.

No. A campaign that is only accepting small contributions does not need to ask contributors whether they are doing business with the City.

Yes, although each campaign needs to decide that for itself. For one thing, even small contributions will not be matchable if a contributor is in the Doing Business Database, which could affect a campaign's calculations of whether it has met the threshold and how much public funds it expects to receive. For another, the doing business limits are aggregate limits, so multiple small contributions could add up and exceed the doing business limits. So, a campaign might find it useful to ask small contributors to complete these forms, because they provide direct information to the campaign that allows the campaign to plan accordingly.

Contracts, bids, or proposals for the procurement of goods or services, including contracts for the underwriting of New York City debt and the retention of any bond counsel, disclosure counsel, or underwriter's counsel in connection with the underwriting, which in total exceed $100,000, or for construction which in total exceed $500,000, are included. Contracts of $5,000 or less, competitive sealed bids, and emergency awards are excluded.

Generally, the entity will be in the doing business database for the term of the contract plus one year. The individuals associated with the entity will be in the doing business database for the same period.

Generally, the entity will remain in the doing business database for one year from the date of the proposal or bid submission. However, if the entity receives the award, the entity then will be in the doing business database for the period of the transaction, plus one year. Individuals associated with the entity will be in the doing business database for the same period.

Concessions or franchises (including bids and proposals for same) which in total exceed $100,000 are included. Competitive sealed bids are excluded.

Concessions and franchises are covered as of February 2, 2008, except for the firms' senior managers, who are covered as of July 31, 2008. Bids and proposals for concessions and franchises are also covered as of July 31, 2008.

Generally, the entity will be in the doing business database for the term of the transaction plus one year. Individuals associated with the entity will be in the doing business database for the same period.

Generally, the entity will remain in the doing business database for one year from the commencement or renewal of the franchise. Individuals associated with the entity will be in the doing business database for the same period.

The lobbyist category includes any lobbyist who is required to register with the Office of the City Clerk. This category does not include someone just because they hired a lobbyist to represent them. Contribution limits apply to lobbyists as of February 2, 2008, although under other provisions contributions from lobbyists have been ineligible to be matched with public funds since the start of the 2009 election cycle.

Also under the earlier law, contributions from the spouse, domestic partner, unemancipated children and employees of registered lobbyists are not eligible to be matched with public funds. These individuals are required to be listed on the lobbyist registration, but they are not included in the Doing Business Database. They are not subject to the doing business contribution limits.

Grants from the City which in total exceed $100,000 are included. Grants are covered as of July 31, 2008.

Generally, the entity will stay in the doing business database for one year after the grant is made. Individuals associated with the entity will be in the doing business database for the same period.

Any economic development agreement, including any payments in lieu of taxes, City tax incentives, and City financing is included. Economic development agreements are covered as of July 31, 2008.

Generally the entity will remain in the doing business database from the application date to the agreement end, plus one year. Individuals associated with the entity will stay in the doing business database for the same period.

Any contract or proposal for the investment of pension funds including any investment in a private equity firm and any contract with an investment-related consultant is included. Merely paying into or receiving a City pension is excluded. Pension fund investments are covered as of July 31, 2008.

The entity will stay in the doing business database from the earlier of the presentation of investment opportunity or the submission of a proposal through the term of the transaction plus one year. Individuals associated with the entity will stay in the doing business database for the same period.

Any purchase, sale, or lease of real property with or by New York City, including office space, or any application or proposal for same is included. Any public auction or competitive sealed bid is excluded. The real property category is covered as of December 3, 2008.

Generally, the entity will be in the doing business database for the term of the transaction plus one year. Individuals associated with the entity will remain in the doing business database for the same period.

Any land use application subject to Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (“ULURP”) and any application for zoning changes or a special permit are included. Applications for zoning changes involving owner-occupants of 1, 2 or 3 family homes are excluded. Special permits for street activity, such as parades or processionals are excluded. The land use category is covered as of December 3, 2008.

Generally, an entity will be in the doing business database from the date of the certification of the application to the date the City Council files its action with the Mayor, plus 120 days. Individuals associated with the entity will remain in the doing business database for the same period.