Source: http://rules.cityofnewyork.us/tags/conflicts-interest-board-0
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 20:25:36+00:00

Document:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN THE NEW YORK CITY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST BOARD by Section 1043 of the City Charter and Section 3-907 of the New York City Administrative Code that the Conflicts of Interest Board has adopted Board Rules that create a procedure whereby agency heads may designate public servants to perform work on behalf of not-for-profit organizations and, with the approval of the Conflicts of Interest Board, participate in such organizations’ business dealings with the City.
The proposed Rules were published in the City Record on December 18, 2018, and a public hearing was held on January 18, 2019. No testimony or comments were received. The Conflicts of Interest Board now adopts the following Rules.
The Conflicts of Interest Board intends to amend its rules by creating a procedure whereby agency heads may designate public servants to perform work on behalf of not-for-profit organizations and, with the approval of the Conflicts of Interest Board, participate in such organizations’ business dealings with the City.
In compliance with Section 1043 of the New York City Charter, and exercising authority vested in the Campaign Finance Board (the “Board”) under Chapters 45 and 46 of the New York City Charter (including Sections 1043, 1052(a)(8) and 1052(a)(12) thereof) and under the New York City Campaign Finance Act (the “Act”) (including Section 3-708(8) of the New York City Administrative Code), the Board hereby adopts amendments to the Campaign Finance Board Rules related to timing of deposits of cash contributions, restrictions on return of contributions, transfers of funds received for other elections, rescission of certification, contributions made and intermediated by individuals doing business with the City, contribution documentation, proof of compliance with the Conflicts of Interest Board (“COIB”), and public funds payments in special elections. These amendments are being made to conform to amendments made to the City Administrative Code by Local Laws No. 167, 173, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 192, and 193 for the year 2016.
The Campaign Finance Board (“CFB” or “the Board”) is a nonpartisan, independent City agency that empowers New Yorkers to make a greater impact in elections. The CFB administers the City’s campaign finance system, overseeing and enforcing the regulations related to campaign finance and holding candidates accountable for using public funds responsibly. The CFB publishes detailed public information about money raised and spent in City elections by candidates and independent spenders, and engages and educates voters through community outreach, the Voter Guide, and the Debate Program.
The CFB is proposing amendments to several of its rules regarding timing of deposits of cash contributions, restrictions on return of contributions, transfers of funds received for other elections, rescission of certification, contributions made and intermediated by individuals doing business with the City, contribution documentation, proof of compliance with the Conflicts of Interest Board (“COIB”), and public funds payments in special elections.
The proposed rules are amended to conform to Local Laws No. 167, 173, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 192, and 193 for the year 2016, now codified in sections 3-702(3); 3-703(1), (1-b), (10), (14), and (17); and 3-705(2)(a) of the City Administrative Code (“Code”).
The following is a summary of the substantive changes.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 184 for the year 2016, which extended the time to deposit contributions from ten to twenty business days after receipt, except for cash contributions, which still must be deposited within ten business days of receipt.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 186 for the year 2016, which provided that participating candidates may return contributions because of the particular source or intermediary involved in order to protect a reputational interest.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 189 for the year 2016, which modified requirements on transfers of funds received for another election. Previously, candidates who transferred funds from a non-participating committee were required to obtain evidence of the contributors’ intent to have their contributions used for a different election. Pursuant to Local Law No. 189, this requirement no longer applies to transfers from committees filing timely contemporaneous disclosures with the Board.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 193 for the year 2016, which extended the time for candidates to rescind the certification filed to commence participation in the Campaign Finance Program (“Program”). Previously, candidates could rescind their certification no later than the deadline to file a certification. Pursuant to Local Law No. 193, candidates may rescind their certification by the ninth Monday preceding the primary election or prior to the receipt of public funds, whichever occurs first.
Subdivision (a) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 193 for the year 2016.
Subdivision (b) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 185 for the year 2016, which removed the requirement that candidates inquire whether a contributor is doing business with the City.
Paragraph (1) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 185 for the year 2016.
Paragraph (2) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 189 for the year 2016.
Candidates must maintain records of contributions, including contribution cards, which are filled out and signed by the contributor and contain contributor information. Contribution cards are a crucial component of the CFB’s audit process and in the review of contributions submitted for public funds matching claims. In order to determine whether a contribution is eligible to be matched with public funds, the CFB requires candidates to provide documentation verifying the information reported, including the contributor’s name and address, the amount and date of the contribution, and the instrument (i.e., cash, check, etc.) used to make the contribution.
This rule is amended to conform to the documentation requirements in Local Law No. 188 for the year 2016. Specifically, contribution cards are no longer required to be filled out by the contributor. A candidate or a member of his or her campaign committee may fill out a contribution card prior to its being signed and dated by the contributor.
Additionally, contribution cards are no longer required for money order contributions, unless the contributor’s name and residential address are not printed on the money order by the issuer. Contribution cards are required for check contributions only if the check is not signed by the contributor, and are no longer required merely because the check is missing an address or contains a professional designation.
Finally, paragraph (4) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 189 for the year 2016. Previously, candidates who transferred funds from a non-participating committee were required to exclude from such transfers contributions that violated source restrictions and spending limits, and to obtain evidence of the contributors’ intent to have their contributions used for a different election. Pursuant to Local Law No. 189, these requirements no longer apply to transfers from committees that filed timely contemporaneous disclosures with the Board.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 185 for the year 2016, which removed the requirement that candidates inquire whether a contributor is doing business with the City.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 173 for the year 2016, which removed the requirement that the COIB provide candidates with a receipt confirming compliance with section 12-110 of the Code.
Paragraph (3) of this rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 192 for the year 2016, which raised the maximum amount of public funds per contributor in a special election from $522 to $1,050, the same amount as in a primary or general election.
A new paragraph (29) is added to this rule to conform to Local Law No. 167 for the year 2016, which provided that contributions intermediated by individuals doing business with the City may not be matched with public funds.
This rule is amended to conform to Local Law No. 173 for the year 2016.
The Board’s authority for these rules is found in sections 1043, 1052(a)(8), and 1052(a)(15) of the City Charter, sections 3-701 et seq. of the City Administrative Code, and Local Laws No. 167, 173, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 192, and 193 for the year 2016.
“Shall” and “must” denote mandatory requirements and may be used interchangeably in the rules of the Board, unless otherwise specified or unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(b) Deposit. All monetary contributions must be accepted and deposited, or rejected and returned to a contributor, within  20 business days after receipt[; provided, however, that] except contributions made in the form of [checks received by an authorized committee of a candidate for the office of City Council more than one year before the first covered election for which such candidate is seeking nomination or election may be accepted and deposited, or rejected and returned to a contributor, within 20 business days after receipt] cash must be accepted and deposited, or rejected and returned to a contributor, within 10 business days after receipt. All contributions that are accepted and deposited are subject to the Act's contribution limits and prohibitions and must be reported to the Board. If a candidate returns a contribution after its deposit, the return must be reported to the Board.
(2) Restrictions on return. After receiving public funds for an election, a participant may not return a contribution, unless directed by the Board to do so, until any required repayments to the Fund have been made, except if the contribution: (i) exceeds the contribution limit, including the limit applicable to contributors having business dealings with the city, (ii) is otherwise illegal, (iii) is returned because of the particular source or intermediary involved, or (iv) was deposited in a separate account pursuant to Rule 2-06(c) for a runoff election that is not held.
(c) Contribution limit; prohibited contributions. Candidates have the burden of demonstrating that surplus funds and transfers of funds from committees not otherwise involved in the covered election do not derive from: (1) contributions in excess of the Act's contribution limits, including contributions that would exceed the Act's contribution limits when aggregated with other contributions accepted from the same source; or (2) contributions from sources prohibited by the Act or the Charter. In addition, participants have the burden of demonstrating that funds transferred from a committee, other than another [principal] authorized committee of the same candidate that has filed contemporaneous disclosure statements with the board in a timely manner, derive solely from contributions for which records demonstrating the contributors' intent to designate the contributions for the covered election have been submitted and maintained as required pursuant to Rules 3-03(c)(2) and 4-01(b)(4), respectively.
(f) Rescission. A participant or limited participant may rescind his or her certification [prior to] on or before the [certification deadline] ninth Monday preceding the primary election or prior to the receipt of public funds, whichever occurs first, by filing a certification rescission form.
(a) Generally. A candidate who does not file a certification pursuant to either §3-703 or §3-718 of the Code, or who rescinds his or her certification prior to the [certification] rescission deadline by filing a certification rescission form, shall be deemed to be a non-participant pursuant to §3-719 of the Code. A non-participant shall not be eligible to receive public funds pursuant to §3-705 of the Code and shall not be subject to the expenditure limitations provided in §3-706 of the Code. A non-participant may accept contributions from political committees notwithstanding the restrictions on such contributions contained in §3-703(k) of the Code.
§ 6. Paragraph 5 of subdivision b of section 2-11 of chapter 2 of title 52 of the rules of the city of New York is REPEALED.
(viii) such other information as the Board may require.
(2) Transfers. The candidate shall report contemporaneously the aggregate amount of each transfer and each contribution to which it is attributed. In addition, the participant shall report, in the case of a transfer from a committee not otherwise involved in the covered election, other than another [principal] authorized committee of the same candidate that has filed contemporaneous disclosure statements with the board in a timely manner: (i) all expenditures made by the transferor committee during the election cycle of the covered election; and (ii) all expenditures made by the transferor committee prior to the covered election cycle in connection with raising such contributions. Such reporting of expenditures shall be made in the same disclosure statement in which the transfer is reported, except that expenditures incurred during the covered election cycle for purposes other than raising or administering the transferred contributions need not be reported in disclosure statements to be filed with the Board but rather may be disclosed to the Board by providing copies of the transferor committee's New York City or New York State Boards of Elections or Federal disclosure statements. Further, the candidate shall submit contemporaneously the records required to be maintained pursuant to Rule 4-01(b)(4).
(i) For each contribution received, all candidates shall maintain records demonstrating the source and details of the contribution as described herein. All records required to be maintained must be provided to the Board upon request.
(A) Cash [and money order] contributions. For each contribution received from an individual contributor via cash [or money order], the record must be in the form of a contribution card.
(1) For each contribution received via money order, the record must include a copy of the money order made out to the authorized committee.
(2) The candidate must also maintain a contribution card, if the contributor’s name and residential address are not printed on the money order by the issuer.
(1) For each contribution received via check, the record must include a copy of the check made out to the authorized committee and signed by the contributor.
(c) is a bank-issued or electronic check that does not include an original contributor signature] is not signed by the contributor.
[(C)] (D) Credit card contributions.
(2) The candidate must also maintain copies of the merchant account or payment processor agreement, all merchant account statements, credit card processing company statements and correspondence, transaction reports, or other records demonstrating that the credit card used to process the transaction is that of the individual contributor (including proof of approval by the credit card processor for each contribution and proof of real time address verification), the account’s fee schedule, and the opening and closing dates of the account. Merchant account statements must be provided in such form as may be required by the Board.
(3) copies of any templates or scripts used by a mobile fundraising vendor to communicate with a contributor in facilitating and processing a text message contribution.
[(E)] (F) Segregated account documentation.
(1) Segregated account contribution cards. For each contribution from an individual contributor that the participant deposits into a segregated bank account pursuant to Rule 5-01(n)(2), the record must be in the form of a contribution card.
(2) Segregated account bank statements, contribution cards, and checks. Participants seeking to comply with the exception contained in Rule 5-01(n)(2) must submit segregated account contribution cards and copies of segregated account bank statements and checks to the Board in the manner and to the extent provided by Rule 5-01(n) with each disclosure statement filing.
[(F)] (G) Intermediaries. For each contribution accepted from an intermediary, including any contributions delivered to a fundraising agent, or solicited by an intermediary where such solicitation is known to the candidate, the candidate must maintain a separate record in the form of an intermediary statement. The intermediary statement must contain: the intermediary’s name, residential address, employer and business address; the names of the contributors; and the amounts contributed. This record must be signed by the intermediary, or if the intermediary is unable to sign his or her name, marked with an “X” by the intermediary and signed by a witness. Adjacent to the signature or mark, the intermediary must write the date on which he or she signed or marked the form.
(B) [Contribution cards must be filled out by the contributor or, if the contributor is unable to fill out the card, by another individual present at the time the contribution is made.] Contribution cards must be signed by the contributor or, if the contributor is unable to sign his or her name, marked with an “X” by the contributor and signed by a witness to the contribution. Adjacent to the signature or mark, the contributor must write the date on which he or she signed or marked the contribution card. After a contribution card has been signed, it may not be corrected, modified, or altered by anyone other than the contributor. The Board shall provide a template of all contribution cards required to be maintained pursuant to this section.
(4) Transfers. Candidates shall obtain and maintain all records specified by the Board regarding transfers, including, but not limited to, in the case of transfers from a committee not otherwise involved in the covered election, other than another [principal] authorized committee of the same candidate that has filed contemporaneous disclosure statements with the board in a timely manner, a record, obtained prior to receipt of the transfer, demonstrating, for each contribution to be transferred to a participant’s authorized committee, the contributor’s intent to designate the contribution for the covered election. This record shall contain the statements: “I understand that this contribution will be used by the candidate for an election other than that for which the contribution was originally made. I further understand that the law requires that a contribution be in my name and be from my own funds. I hereby affirm that this contribution was made from my personal funds, is not being reimbursed in any manner, and is not being made as a loan.” This record must be signed by the contributor, or, if the contributor is unable to sign his or her name, marked with an “X” by the contributor and signed by a witness to the contribution. Adjacent to the signature or mark, the contributor must write the date on which he or she signed or marked the record.
(i) In order to make possible payment within four business days after receipt of disclosure statements, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, pursuant to §3-705(4) of the Code, the Board shall conduct a preliminary review of all disclosure statements filed[ and all receipts filed indicating proof of compliance with §12-110 of the Code]. This preliminary review may be delayed if the participant fails to submit a disclosure statement[, a receipt indicating compliance with §12-110 of the Code or information requested by the Board, or fails to submit a disclosure statement, a receipt indicating compliance with §12-110 of the Code] or information requested by the Board by the date required by the Board, or submits a disclosure statement that fails to comply substantially with the requirements of the Act or these rules. A preliminary review may also be delayed for other reasons, including, but not limited to, consideration of whether a basis exists for an ineligibility determination, as described in subdivision (f). A delayed preliminary review may result in a delay in a payment determination, until such time as it is practicable and the Board is considering making payments based on matchable contributions claimed in disclosure statements actually received on or before a subsequent applicable due date.
(29) contributions for which any person subject to the limitations of §3-703(1-a) of the Code acted as an intermediary.
.Amendments to Rules to Comply with 2016 Legislative Changes.

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