NYC CFB Adopts Final Rules on Independent Expenditures

Last week, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) announced that it has adopted the final rules for the disclosure of independent expenditures in New York City Elections.

It is important to note that the rules not impose any limits on what may be raised for or spent on independent expenditures; they only require disclosure.

There are two key thresholds here – one for reporting expenditures, and a second for reporting the source of funds used to make such expenditures:

(1)   The requirement to disclose expenditures is triggered when an independent spender makes $1,000 in cumulative independent expenditures, and more than $100 of that refers to a given candidate or proposal.

(2)   Where an independent spender is an organization that makes $5,000 in independent expenditures of $100 or more that refer to a single candidate during the 12 months before the election, it must report the source of certain contributions for the remainder of the election cycle and retroactively.

CFB also said that they will be preparing guidance materials and offering training sessions regarding the new rules in the coming months.

These new rules will only apply to city elections.  The State Board of Elections is still in a public comment period on its proposed regulations.