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’ [...]

Since April 2007, the New Jersey State Investment Council has subjected firms seeking investment of state pension funds, and associated persons, to a ban on political contributions. The New Jersey regulation makes compliance with the ban a condition of eligibility for State investments. A proposal floated by New York Attorney General Andrew [...]

Yesterday, Genova, Burns & Vernoia submitted an advisory opinion request to the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) on behalf of New Yorkers for Bill Thompson, a mayoral committee in this year’s election.
The crux is that the NYC Campaign Finance Act requires the lifting of the $6,158,000 primary election spending limit that applies to candidates participating [...]