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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →