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 [...]

On Friday, Southern District Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued a decision in Ognibene v. Parkes upholding recent amendments to the New York City Campaign Finance Act.    The plaintiffs had sought an injunction against the enforcement of the doing business laws and the extension of the corporate contributions ban to LLCs and partnerships.  Analyzing the case [...]

The proposed extension of New York City’s term limits (Int. No. 845-a) from two (8 years) to three terms (12 years) applies to five offices: mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and City Council.  On the question of whether a referendum is legally required, not all of these offices are treated the same.  This potentially [...]

The talk in New York today is all about Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to seek a third term, which would require an amendment to the two-term limits law to open the way.  If the proposal to permit current office holders to run for third terms in 2009 is adopted, there likely will be a scramble [...]

In today’s New York Times, partner Laurence Laufer discusses legal issues in enacting Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed change in New York City’s term limits.

Talk of changing term limits in New York City continues. The New York Sun reported today that the City’s Campaign Finance Board has begun to draft a plan for dealing with term limits changes.
A month ago, we discussed some of the ramifications a term limits change or repeal would have for campaign finance requirements. [...]

A key issue under any campaign finance reform is whether the ground rules enable credible candidates to run competitive campaigns. At times the direction a reform will take is shown in the legislation. But more often there are twists and turns that are revealed only in the course of implementation.
Thus, it can [...]

In the last decade, competitiveness in New York City elections has increased substantially. The “chicken and egg” question has always been: was term limits or enhanced public campaign financing the key reform?
Now comes talk of legislative change or repeal to the two-term limit for NYC officeholders. Should the 36 currently term limited NYC [...]

The New York City Campaign Finance Board recently published proposed amendments to its rules pursuant to changes contained in Local Laws 34 and 67 of 2007.
The public is invited to submit comments by September 22, 2008 – the date of the public hearing on the proposed amendments.