On July 9, 2010 the Charter Revision Commission released a preliminary staff report, which reflects the Commission’s work to-date and staff recommendations on a number of topics such as term limits, voter participation, public integrity and non-partisan elections.  The staff also recommends significant changes to the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
In response to the Supreme Court’s [...]

If one thinks of campaign finance and pay-to-play reforms as a tool chest, Connecticut seemed to have a wide-variety of intricately designed instruments adopted in response to corruption scandals that led to the resignation of Governor Rowland. On July 13, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued two decisions in [...]

Yesterday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order reactivating the appeal in Ognibene v. Parkes, which challenges NYC’s  doing business contribution limits and the extension of the City’s corporate contributions ban to LLCs and partnerships.  We’ve previously described the case here.
The order allows Appellants to file a supplemental brief specifically addressing [...]

The expectation is that NYC Mayor Bloomberg will soon appoint a Charter Revision Commission. The Commission would conduct a review of the New York City Charter, ultimately proposing a new charter or amendments to be voted on by referendum.
Theoretically, the Commission would be an independent City agency. As a practical matter, especially in recent years, mayors [...]

Contribution and pay-to-play restrictions often allow for refunds to “correct” an over-the-limit contribution. The power of a refund varies by statute. Here are a few examples.

The holidays are upon us and so are the various gifts that companies send out annually during this time.   Whether it’s a small calendar or an expensive bottle of wine, it is important to be aware of the various gift restrictions that apply when the gifts are made to public officials.  The restrictions change depending [...]

After every citywide election, the New York City Campaign Finance Board is required by law to evaluate the success of the Campaign Finance Program.  The CFB has traditionally held a series of public hearings to comply with this mandate.  For the 2009 elections, the CFB is holding hearings today and tomorrow at its offices.  Please [...]

Last week, we submitted a complaint on behalf of our client, New Yorkers for Bill Thompson, the authorized committee of mayoral candidate, Bill Thompson. The complaint alleges that Mr. Thompson’s opponent, incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg, violated the New York City Campaign Finance Act by failing to disclose over $3.35 million in political contributions he made [...]

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed the constitutional boundaries of campaign finance regulation. If confirmed, Judge Sonia Sotomayor would bring to the Court real world experience as a campaign finance regulator – likely a first for the Court. Because it is an experience she and I shared, I wanted [...]

On May 21, the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board issued an advisory opinion confirming that employees, trustees, and trustee-designated representatives of the five New York City pension funds are public servants subject to the City’s conflicts of interest law (NYC Charter Chapter 68). These five funds are: the New York City Employees’ [...]