The Board today certified the second phase of the Doing Business Database (DBDB), as required by Local Law 34 of 2007.
Local Law 34 limits contributions from persons doing business with the City to $400 for citywide offices, $320 for Borough President, and $250 for City Council. Contributions from such persons will no longer be eligible to be matched with public funds.
To enforce these doing business limits, the law directs the creation of a database to capture information about all persons or entities doing business with the City. The Board will match information from the DBDB against its own database of contributor information to ensure compliance with these limits. The Board has assisted the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) in the development of the DBDB.
Phase 2 of the DBDB will cover the principal owners and officers of entities receiving grants, economic development agreements and pension fund investment agreements, as well as firms who are bidding for city contracts, franchises, and concessions. It will also encompass senior managers with these and all other covered “doing business” firms.
Based on the data it received and processes it reviewed, the Board verified that the DBDB will be reasonably complete and accurate.
The new restrictions on contributions from contributors doing business with the City will take effect 30 days from today’s certification, July 31, 2008.
Certification of Phase 3 of the DBDB, which will contain information about parties to real property transactions and land use actions, is anticipated for November 2008.
The full report will be posted here later today.