Organizations Affiliated with Elected Officials

RCNY tit. 53, ch. 3

in effect

53 RCNY § 3-01 Definitions.

§ 3-01. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have these meanings: (a) Doing Business Database. "Doing Business Database" means the Doing Business Database as defined in Administrative Code § 3-702. (b) Donation. "Donation" means any contribution from a non-governmental source, including in-kind donations, gifts, loans, advances or deposits of money, or anything of value. (c) Elected official. "Elected official" means a person holding office as Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President or member of the Council. (d) Elected official communication. (1) An "elected official communication" means a communication that includes the name, voice, or likeness of the elected official with whom the entity making such communication is affiliated and that is in the form of: (i) radio, television, cable, or satellite broadcast; (ii) printed material such as advertisements, pamphlets, circulars, flyers, brochures, or letters; (iii) telephone communication; or (iv) paid internet advertising. (2) An elected official communication does not include: (i) communications with a professional journalist or newscaster, including an editorial board or editorial or opinion writer of a newspaper, magazine, news agency, press association, or wire service; or (ii) a communication that is: (A) directed, sent, or distributed by the distributing organization only to individuals who affirmatively consent to be members of the distributing organization, contribute funds to the distributing organization, or, pursuant to the distributing organization's articles or bylaws, have the right to vote directly or indirectly for the election of directors or officers, or on changes to bylaws, disposition of all or substantially all of the distributing entity's assets or the merger or dissolution of the distributing entity; or (B) for the purpose of promoting or staging any candidate debate, town hall, or similar forum to which at least two candidates seeking the same office, or two proponents of differing positions on a referendum or question submitted to voters, are invited as participants, and which does not promote or advance one candidate or position over another. (e) Household member. "Household member" means a person's spouse or domestic partner and unemancipated children. (f) In-kind donation. "In-kind donation" to an organization affiliated with an elected official in this Chapter means: (1) any gift, loan, advance of, or payment for, anything of value, other than money, made to or for the organization by a non-governmental source; or (2) the payment by any non-governmental source for the personal services of another person that is provided to an organization affiliated with an elected official without charge to the organization. "In-kind donation" does not include personal services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of the organization on matters outside of their professional expertise. (g) Organization affiliated with an elected official. "Organization affiliated with an elected official" means: (1) a non-profit entity other than an agency, public authority, public benefit corporation, or local development corporation; (2) which has received at least one donation in the previous or current calendar year; and (3) over which a person holding office as Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President or Member of the Council, or an agent of such a person, which shall include an appointee of such person serving at the pleasure of such person, exercises control. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of control by an elected official where such official, or such an agent, appoints a majority of seats on the board of the entity (not including appointees nominated by another individual or entity that is not such an agent of the elected official), or is a principal officer of the entity. Principal committees and political committees, as those terms are defined in Administrative Code § 3-702, are not organizations affiliated with an elected official. (h) Principal officers. "Principal officer" means an organization's executive director, chief financial officer, and chief development officer, or the organization's three executive staff members who perform equivalent duties. (i) Restricted organization. "Restricted organization" means an organization affiliated with an elected official that accepted a donation and either: (1) spent at least 10% of its expenditures on elected official communications in the calendar year it accepted the donation; or (2) reasonably expects to spend at least 10% of its expenditures on elected official communications in the calendar year after it accepted the donation. (j) Spend. "Spend" means to spend or to cause to be spent. (k) Unrestricted organization. "Unrestricted organization" means an organization affiliated with an elected official that accepted a donation and satisfies both of the following conditions: (1) the organization did not spend at least 10% of its expenditures on elected official communications in the calendar year it accepted the donation and (2) the organization does not reasonably expect to spend at least 10% of its expenditures on elected official communications in the calendar year after it accepted the donation. (Added City Record 2/14/2018, eff. 2/14/2018)

53 RCNY § 3-02 Procedures for Obtaining a Determination by the Board that an Elected Official or an Agent of an Elected Official Does Not Exercise Control over an Entity.

§ 3-02. Procedures for Obtaining a Determination by the Board that an Elected Official or an Agent of an Elected Official Does Not Exercise Control over an Entity. For purposes of Administrative Code § 3-904(c), a non-profit entity may apply to the Board for a formal determination that an elected official or an agent of an elected official does not exercise control over the entity. Such an application must be in writing, signed by an agent of the not-for-profit entity, and provide a detailed explanation of the underlying facts that show why, consistent with the considerations included in the definition of "organization affiliated with an elected official" set forth in Administrative Code § 3-901 and 53 RCNY § 3-03, the entity should not be considered an "organization affiliated with an elected official." (Added City Record 2/14/2018, eff. 2/14/2018)

53 RCNY § 3-03 Factors by which the Board Will Determine Whether an Entity is Affiliated with an Elected Official.

§ 3-03. Factors by which the Board Will Determine Whether an Entity is Affiliated with an Elected Official. For purposes of Administrative Code § 3-901, in determining whether a person holding office as Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President or member of the Council, or an agent or appointee of such a person, exercises control over a non-profit entity, the Board will consider the totality of the circumstances by weighing each of the following individual factors: (a) whether the organization was created by a person currently holding office as Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President, or member of the Council, or an agent of such official, or by an individual who was previously employed by, or was a paid political consultant of, the elected official, and, if so, how recently such organization was created; (b) whether the board of the organization is chaired by such an elected official or the official's agent; (c) whether board members are appointed by such an elected official or the official's agent or only upon nomination of other individuals or entities that are not agents of such elected official; (d) whether board members serve for fixed terms or can be removed without cause by an elected official or the official's agent; (e) the degree of involvement or direction by such an elected official or the official's agent in such organization's policies, operations, and activities; (f) the degree to which public servants, acting under the authority or direction of the elected official or an agent of the elected official, perform duties on behalf of the organization as part of their official City employment; (g) whether the purpose of the organization advances either the mission of a City agency under the control of the elected official or the political or policy interests of the elected official; and (h) whether more than one elected official serves on the board of the organization. (Added City Record 2/14/2018, eff. 2/14/2018; amended City Record 5/17/2019, eff. 6/16/2019)

53 RCNY § 3-04 Annual Reporting by Organizations Affiliated with an Elected Official.

§ 3-04. Annual Reporting by Organizations Affiliated with an Elected Official. Pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902, all organizations affiliated with an elected official must submit the reporting required pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902(a) on the Board's website, no later than August 1 for the previous calendar year, as follows. (a) Reporting Requirements for Restricted Organizations. (1) A restricted organization must submit the information listed in Administrative Code §§ 3-902(a)(1) to 3-902(a)(8). (2) In addition to the reporting requirement of Administrative Code §§ 3-902(a)(6) and 3-902(a)(7), a restricted organization must report for each donation received during the previous calendar year: (i) if the donor was the household member of a person listed in the City's Doing Business Database as of the date of such donation, or added to the City's Doing Business Database within 180 days after the receipt of such donation, the name of the person listed in the City's Doing Business Database; (ii) the value of any excess donation refunded pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(a) or 3-903(b); and (iii) the date of any excess donation refunded pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(a) or 3-903(b). (3) Multiple donations made by a person listed in the City's Doing Business Database and that person's household members in the same calendar year are considered in the aggregate for purposes of Administrative Code §§ 3-903(a) and 3-903(b). Multiple donations made by an individual in the same calendar year are considered in the aggregate for purposes of obtaining the individual donor's written submission pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(d). (4) In determining whether and when a donation must be returned pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(b), where a person is added to the City's Doing Business Database in a calendar year and the donor or household members of the donor make multiple donations to the organization that in the aggregate exceed $400 in that calendar year, the date of receipt will be deemed to be the date that the aggregate donations for the calendar year among the donor and household members of the donor exceed $400. (5) To determine whether a donation may be accepted pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(a) and (b), and to comply with the reporting requirement of Administrative Code § 3-902(a)(6), a restricted organization must take the following steps to determine whether a donor was listed in the City's Doing Business Database or was a household member of a person listed in the City's Doing Business Database, either on the date of the donation or as of 180 days after the date of the donation: (i) check the name of the donor against the City's Doing Business Database both at the time of the donation and as of 180 days after the date of the donation; (ii) consult the organization's records, including but not limited to donors' written submissions collected pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(d), if any, to determine whether the donor was a household member of a person listed in the City's Doing Business Database; (iii) consult each of the following people: (a) the organization's affiliated elected official or the agent of the organization's affiliated elected official who exercises control over the organization; (b) each board member of the organization; and (c) each principal officer of the organization. The organization must request that each person consulted pursuant to this subparagraph review a list of the organization's most recent donors and inform the organization if such person believes that a donor is the household member of a person listed in the Doing Business Database. The organization must obtain the names of the spouse or domestic partner of any such donor (or, if the donor is an unemancipated child, his or her parent) and check those names against the Doing Business Database; and (iv) if an organization believes that a donor, a donor's spouse or domestic partner (or, if a donor is an unemancipated child, his or her parent), is not a person with business dealings with the City, despite such person's name matching the name of an individual in the Doing Business Database, the organization must submit information supporting that conclusion to the Board. The Board will review the submission and determine whether the donation may be accepted pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-903(a) or 3-903(b) and if it must be reported pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902(a)(6). (6) To comply with the reporting requirement of Administrative Code § 3-902(a)(8), a restricted organization must submit to the Board a list of each elected official communication created or distributed, which list must include a description, the date, and the total cost of each such communication. In calculating the total cost of an elected official communication, a restricted organization must include the value of all goods and services paid by the organization to create and distribute the elected official communication, including without limitation the value of the time of its employees and the value of all goods and services donated by a non-governmental source for the communication's creation or distribution. (b) Reporting Requirements for Unrestricted Organizations. An unrestricted organization must submit the information listed in Administrative Code § 3-902(b)(1) to (b)(8). (c) Privacy, Safety, and Security Requests. (1) Pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902(c), a restricted organization may submit a request to the Board that disclosure of one or more of its donors and/or the amount of donation not be made public. The organization must make such a request in writing no later than April 1 for the previous calendar year and must explain why the release of such information to the public may cause harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals to the donor, or to individuals or property affiliated with the donor. (2) Whether or not a reporting entity has submitted a request pursuant to this subdivision, the Board may upon its own initiative grant privacy as to any information submitted by an organization affiliated with an elected official, upon a finding by the Board that the release of such information would constitute a risk to the safety or security of any person. (Added City Record 2/14/2018, eff. 2/14/2018; amended City Record 5/17/2019, eff. 6/16/2019; amended City Record 2/14/2020, eff. 3/15/2020) Editor's note: Pursuant to Section 2 of the rule adding this section, subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(6), (b), and (c) shall take effect on January 1, 2019.

53 RCNY § 3-05 Record Retention.

§ 3-05. Record Retention. (a) Records to be Retained. An organization affiliated with an elected official must retain all documents that enable the Board to verify the accuracy of the reporting required pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902. Organizations must maintain clear and accurate records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with Administrative Code §§ 3-901 to 3-907. (b) Retention Period. An organization affiliated with an elected official must retain all records and documents required to be kept pursuant to this rule for at least 6 years after filing the report pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902 to which the records or documents relate. (c) Custodian of Records. An organization affiliated with an elected official must designate a custodian of the organization's records or documents that substantiate the reporting required pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902 and must submit, at the time of each reporting pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902, the name, address, email address, and telephone number of the custodian of the organization's records. If an organization is no longer subject to the annual reporting requirement pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-902, the organization must, for 6 years after the date of its last filing required by Administrative Code § 3-902, notify the Board, in writing, of any change of custodian, or of the custodian's address, email address, or telephone number, no later than 30 days after such change. (Added City Record 2/14/2018, eff. 2/14/2018)

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-104640Fetched: 10/24/2026