Transition and Inauguration Entities (TIEs)

Congratulations on winning election to city office! If you’re planning to spend money on a swearing in event or to plan for taking office (transition or inauguration expenses), you must create and register a TIE with the CFB before beginning any financial activity. Elected candidates may not use their existing candidate committee or any other political committee or entity to raise or spend money for transition and inauguration purposes. This applies to all candidates elected to city office, regardless of participation in the Campaign Finance Program. Please note that candidates reelected to the same office (incumbents) are not permitted to incur transition expenses.

While this page provides an overview of TIEs, please consult Chapter 9 of the Campaign Finance Handbook and Chapter 13 of the Board Rules (Chapter 15 for special elections) for more detailed information. 

Getting Started

You register your TIE using the CFB Portal. The steps for registering a committee on the Portal are outlined in pages 7-18 of the Portal User Guide. You can register a TIE beginning the day after the general election through the deadline for the 27 day post-election disclosure statement (you can find disclosure deadlines for every election cycle here).

All TIEs are required to file disclosure statements with the CFB using C-SMART. You will receive log-in credentials for your TIE C-SMART account once your TIE registration has been accepted.

Donations

All TIEs are subject to the following donation limits and prohibitions.  Both monetary and in-kind contributions count toward an individual’s donation limit. 

TIE Donation Limits

Just as during the election, certain types of donations are prohibited, such as from corporations and unregistered political committees (see the full list of restricted and prohibited donations here.) You cannot transfer in funds from another committee. Candidates may make unlimited donations of personal funds to their own TIE.

Note: Any donation, loan, or other receipt received by a TIE after January 31 in the year after the election (30 days after inauguration for a special) shall be presumed to be for the next election in which the elected candidate is running (see Board Rules § 13-03 (a)(v) and § 15-07(b)).

Expenditures

Your TIE may only spend funds for the candidate-elect’s transition or inauguration into office, including the costs of fundraising for those purposes. The purchase of durable goods is presumed to be impermissible. You may not incur any TIE expenditures after January 31 in the year following the election, other than donation refunds and other nominal costs associated with fundraising to pay TIE liabilities or responding to the CFB’s audit of the TIE.

TIE expenditures must be directly related to your transition and/or inauguration into office. Transition costs may include seeking and selecting city office staff, temporary office furniture and rent, payroll and consulting fees, phone bills, and seminars related to city government and elected service. Inauguration expenses may include catering, entertainment, payroll, invitations, rental fees, decorations, advertising, transportation, and photography for the single permitted inauguration event. Remember, candidates reelected to the same office (incumbents) are not permitted to incur transition expenses.

Regardless of that prohibition, beginning in 2021 both newly elected and re-elected candidates may use their registered TIE for expenditures to further their selection as Speaker of the City Council.

For additional information, see Board Rule §13-03(b).

Disclosure

TIEs are required to file monthly disclosure statements covering all financial activity using C-SMART. Disclosure statements are due on the 5^th business day of each month, starting the month after you register your TIE (see Board Rule §13-02(e)). The CFB publishes the schedule for TIE disclosure on its Disclosure Deadlines page.

C-SMART reporting for TIE functions in the same manner as candidate committee reporting during the election cycle. Documentation your TIE must provide includes:

• Records of each donor and/or intermediary’s name, residential address, occupation, employer and business address.
• Copies of all contributed checks and deposit slips
• Bank statements
• Returned and canceled checks
• Receipts showing the value of in-kind donations
• Bills for goods and/or services rendered
• Monthly billing statements or receipts for credit/debit card purchases
• Documentation of loans received, repaid, and forgiven

You will find more detailed information on TIE disclosure and recordkeeping here. Remember, your TIE must retain all records for five years after the date of its registration.  

Closing out Your TIE

Once your TIE has paid all its liabilities, all remaining funds must be returned to one or more of the TIE’s donors or, if that is not possible, to the New York City Election Campaign Finance Fund. Your TIE must be closed no later than April 30 in the year following the election (60 days after your inauguration for a special).