ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2024-1 (December 16, 2024)
Re: Charter of the City of New York ("Charter") § 1052(a)(15); Administrative Code of the City
of New York ("Admin. Code") § 3-703(15); Board Rules 2-06 and 6-04(a); Op No. 2024-1.
The New York City Campaign Finance Board (the "Board" or "CFB") issues this clarification of
the schedule for the enforcement of amendments to Board Rules 2-06 and 6-04(a). These
amendments occur during the 2025 election cycle and to avoid confusion for campaigns and
independent spenders, the Board is outlining the timing of the enforcement of these amendments.
Applicable Statutes, Board Rules, and Advisory Opinions
Section 1052(a)(15) of the Charter requires the Board to regulate independent expenditures in
covered New York City elections.
Section 3-703(15) of the Admin. Code requires campaigns to demonstrate compliance with the
Board’s training requirements in order to be eligible to receive public matching funds.
Board Rule 2-06 specifies how campaigns can comply with the training requirements.
Board Rule 6-04(a) details a non-exhaustive list of factors the Board will consider when
determining if an expenditure was made independently.
Analysis
Training
On November 14, 2024, the amendments to the rules were adopted, about a month before the
first public funds payment date for the 2025 primary election, December 16, 2024. Many
EC2025 campaigns are registered and are in compliance with the current training requirements
as stated in Rule 2-06.[1] Therefore, campaigns that have complied with Rule 2-06 prior to the
adoption of the amendments to the training requirements for the 2025 elections on November 14,
2024 will be deemed to be in compliance with the rule for the purposes of eligibility for the first
two public funds payments of the 2025 primary election: December 16, 2024 and January 15,
2025. However, campaigns will need to comply with the new rule, adopted on November 14,
2024, by January 27, 2025 to maintain eligibility for the third payment on February 18, 2025 and
all subsequent payments.
Any campaigns not in compliance prior to the adoption of the amendments to the requirements
need to come into compliance on the schedule outlined in Rule 2-06 as amended on November
14, 2024.
[1] The current requirement is that a candidate or candidate’s representative must attend trainings concerning
compliance with the requirements of the public funds program and the use of the disclosure software.
Independent Expenditures
The amendments to the factors for determining independence with regards to expenditures are
being adopted during the 2025 election cycle. For two of the factors that consider conduct
"during the same election cycle during which the expenditure is made," the Board has
determined that applicable conduct prior to the adoption of the amendments on November 14,
2024 will not be considered in any determination regarding independence.
First, for Rule 6-04(a)(vii), the new language will not be applied to expenditures made prior to
the adoption of the amendments to the rule. Second, for Rule 6-04(a)(viii), employment
relationships that ended prior to the adoption of the amendments to the rule will not be
considered a mandatory factor in determining independence.
NEW YORK CITY
CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD