During a regularly scheduled meeting today, the New York City Campaign Finance Board determined that one independent spender in the 2013 citywide elections committed violations. The Board assessed penalties totaling $26,054 for those violations.
Before voting on the penalties, Board member Richard Davis said: “These are very serious and severe penalties. They are very severe because there were very serious violations by NYCLASS. The Board feels very strongly that if you’re going to become an independent spender you cannot outsource responsibility for compliance with the law. That is the responsibility of the independent spender and that responsibility was not met here.”
Board Chair Rose Gill Hearn added: “We have all seen the disturbing increase in spending by outside groups in federal, state and even local elections in recent years. In 2013, outside groups spent nearly $16 million to influence the outcome of the elections in New York City.
“The Board’s strong enforcement helps to prevent coordination between outside spenders and candidates, ensuring that purportedly independent activities do not cross the line to become illegal contributions to candidates. The Board expects to consider violations and penalties against The Advance Group, the common agent to the spender and the candidates who benefited from these expenditures.”
The Board previously determined violations and penalties against the two 2013 campaigns involved in this matter at its May 21, 2014 meeting.
In addition, the Board voted to adopt final rules for text message contributions in city elections. These rules implement Local Law 116 of 2013 and provide for qualifying text message contributions raised by city candidates to be matched with public funds under NYC’s campaign finance program.
“These rules will provide candidates with a powerful new way to engage with more New Yorkers and bring them into the political process, which is an important element of the city’s landmark small-dollar matching funds program. We are excited to help make campaign fundraising easier and more inclusive for candidates and contributors alike,” said Board Member Art Chang.
For details on the Board’s actions, please refer to the chart below. Please note that the number in the “Total Penalties” column links to documents that provide detail on the violations committed.
Violations and Penalties
| Independent Spender | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties |
|
NYCLASS (2013) |
Cooperating in expenditures reported to be independent |
$16,054 | $26,054 |
| Material misrepresentation | $10,000 |
Archived video of today’s meeting will be made available at www.nyccfb.info/live