The New York City Council recently passed legislation that will have an impact on candidates running for the offices of Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President and City Council in the 2009 elections. This describes the major changes contained in this legislation. For further information, please call the Candidate Services Unit (CSU) at 212-306-7100.

Contributions

Contributions from limited liability companies (LLCs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and partnerships are prohibited as of January 1, 2008.

The definition of “intermediary” will include individuals who solicit contributions on behalf of a campaign—even if they did not collect or deliver contributions—where such solicitation was known to the campaign.

“Doing Business”

The new legislation places lower limits on contributions from individuals having business dealings with the City, and such contributions will not be matchable.

The contribution limits for “doing business” contributors are:

Mayor	$400
Public Advocate	$400
Comptroller	$400
Borough President	$320
City Council	$250

Individuals and entities doing business with the City will be listed in a database available to the general public. The database will be rolled out in three phases as the components of the databases are completed by the City and certified by the CFB and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT). The first phase went into effect on February 2, 2008 and covers contracts, franchises, concessions and lobbyists.

Certification

The deadline to file a Certification to join the Campaign Finance Program for the 2009 elections is June 10, 2009. Candidates will have the option of rescinding their Certification provided they do so by the June 10, 2009 filing deadline.

Matching Formula

The CFB will match the first $175 of each eligible contribution at a $6-to-$1 rate up to $1,050 per contributor.

Spending Limits

The new spending limits for the 2009 election cycle are as follows:

	2006-2008	2009 Primary Election	2009 General Election
Mayor	$290,000	$6,158,000	$6,158,000
Public Advocate	$290,000	$3,850,000	$3,850,000
Comptroller	$290,000	$3,850,000	$3,850,000
Borough President	$129,000	$1,386,000	$1,386,000
City Council	$  43,000	$   161,000	$   161,000

Remember, an expenditure is attributed according to when the benefit was received rather than when payment was made.

Qualified Expenditures

Advances for individual purchases over $250 may now be considered “qualified expenditures” provided the advances are properly documented. Remember there are no “qualified expenditures” until 2009.

Exempt Expenditures

As a result of legislation passed in 2007, only the following are now exempt from the spending limits: (i) ballot petition litigation and canvassing of election results; (ii) bringing or responding to any action, proceeding, claim, or suit before a court, arbitrator, or administrative agency regarding a candidate’s compliance with the Campaign Finance Act or election law; and (iii) expenses related to the post-election audit. These categories will be construed narrowly by the Board to exclude necessary and routine compliance expenses such as legal and accounting fees and the cost of record creation and retention.

Mandatory Trainings

CSU provides both C-SMART and compliance trainings. Beginning January 1, 2008, participating candidates, their treasurers, campaign managers or persons with significant managerial control will be required to attend both compliance and C-SMART trainings. We now offer full trainings satisfying both requirements in a single extended daytime class, as well as separate evening trainings satisfying each requirement individually.

Campaigns that have attended compliance and C-SMART trainings for the 2009 election cycle must attend a brief supplemental class focusing on the new legislation along with an advanced C-SMART class.

The training schedule through April 2008 is now available; be sure to check back periodically as more training dates will be scheduled throughout the year. Campaigns are limited to two representatives per training. Contact the Candidate Services Unit for reservations at (212) 306‑7100.