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§3-706: Expenditures limitations

1. The following limitations apply to all expenditures made by a candidate and his or her principal committee on or after the first day of January preceding the election for which such candidate chooses to participate in the public funding provisions of this chapter and to expenditures made at any time prior to such date for services, materials, facilities, advertising or other things of value received, rendered, published, distributed or broadcast on or after such date:

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, in each primary election, in each special election to fill a vacancy, and in each general election, expenditures by a participating candidate or a limited participating candidate and his or her principal committee for one of the following offices shall not exceed the following amounts:²

(b) (i) The expenditure limitation in a run-off primary election held pursuant to section 6-162

of the New York state election law or a run-off special election held to fill a vacancy shall be one half the amount of the applicable limitation provided for an election for such office pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision.

(ii) The board shall promulgate rules to provide for a separate expenditure limit applicable to campaign expenditures for an additional day for voting held pursuant to section 3-108 of the New York state election law, an election held pursuant to court order, or a delayed or otherwise postponed election.

(c) Expenditures by participating or limited participating candidates in a primary election made prior to or on the date of such primary election shall be deemed to have been made for such primary election.

(d) The campaign finance board shall, pursuant to section 3-713, submit a report to the mayor and the council on or before September first, nineteen hundred ninety, containing its recommendations whether the expenditure limitations provided by this subdivision should be modified. Such report shall set forth the amount of, and reasons for, any modifications it recommends.

(e) Not later than the first day of March in the year two thousand ten and every fourth year thereafter the campaign finance board shall (i) determine the percentage difference between the average over a calendar year of the consumer price index for the metropolitan New York-New Jersey region published by the United States bureau of labor statistics for the twelve months preceding the beginning of such calendar year and the average over the calendar year two thousand seven of such consumer price index; (ii) adjust each expenditure limitation applicable either pursuant to this subdivision or subdivision 2 of this section by the amount of such percentage difference to the nearest thousand dollars; and (iii) publish such adjusted expenditure limitation in the City Record. Such adjusted expenditure limitation shall be in effect for any election held before the next such adjustment.

2. The following limitations apply to all expenditures made by a participating or limited participating candidate and his or her principal committee in the three calendar years preceding the year of the election for which such candidate chooses to file a certification as a participating or limited participating candidate pursuant to this chapter and to expenditures made at any time prior to such date for services, materials, facilities, advertising or other things of value received, rendered, published, distributed or broadcast in such calendar years. Such expenditures by a participating or limited participating candidate for one of the following offices and his or her principal committee shall not exceed the following amounts:³

2a. (a) If the expenditures made by a candidate and his or her principal committee subject to the

expenditure limitation of subdivision two of this section exceed the amount of the expenditure limitation applicable under such subdivision, such candidate or his or her principal committee shall not be ineligible to receive public funding for qualified campaign expenditures or be in violation of this chapter by reason of exceeding such limitation unless the amount by which such expenditures exceed such limitation is in excess of the expenditure limitation which next applies to such candidate or his or her principal committee pursuant to subdivision one of this section; and further provided that the amount of the expenditure limitation which next applies to such candidate or his or her principal committee, pursuant to subdivision one of this section, shall be reduced by the amount by which the expenditure limitation applicable under subdivision two of this section is exceeded.

(b) Nothing contained in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall:

(i) operate to increase or decrease the amount of public funds that may be received pursuant to section 3-705 by the principal committee;

(ii) affect the expenditure limitation set forth in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section; or

(iii) affect the expenditure limitation set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section for purposes of the application of subdivision three of this section.

3. (a) If any candidate in any covered election chooses not to file a certification as a participating or limited participating candidate pursuant to this chapter, and where the campaign finance board has determined that such candidate and his or her authorized committees have spent or contracted or have obligated to spend, or received in loans or contributions, or both, an amount which, in the aggregate, exceeds half the applicable expenditure limit for such office fixed by subdivision one of this section, then such expenditure limit applicable to participating candidates and limited participating candidates in such election for such office shall be increased to one hundred fifty percent of such limit.

(b) If any candidate in any covered election chooses not to file a certification as a participating or limited participating candidate pursuant to this chapter, and where the campaign finance board has determined that such candidate and his or her authorized committees have spent or contracted or have obligated to spend, or received in loans or contributions, or both, an amount which, in the aggregate, exceeds three times the applicable expenditure limit for such office fixed by subdivision one of this section, then such expenditure limit shall no longer apply to participating candidates and limited participating candidates in such election for such office.

4. (a) Expenditures made for the purpose of: (i) bringing or responding to any action, proceeding,

claim or suit before any court or arbitrator or administrative agency to determine a candidate’s or political committee’s compliance with the requirements of this chapter, including eligibility for public funds payments, or pursuant to or with respect to election law or other law or regulation governing candidate or political committee activity or ballot status, (ii) expenses to challenge or defend the validity of petitions of designation or nomination or certificates of nomination, acceptance, authorization, declination or substitution, and expenses related to the canvassing or recanvassing of election results, and (iii) expenses related to the post-election audit shall not be limited by the expenditure limitations of this section.

(b) A participating candidate shall be required to provide detailed documentation substantiating all exempt expenditure claims made pursuant to this subdivision.

5.(a) Expenditures for childcare services made pursuant to subparagraph 13 of paragraph a of subdivision 21 of section 3-702 for an aggregate amount of $20,000 or less shall not be limited by the expenditure limitation of paragraph a of subdivision 1 of this section, provided that any aggregate amount in excess of $20,000 shall be limited by such paragraph.

(b) Not later than the first day of March in the year two thousand twenty-two and every fourth year thereafter the campaign finance board shall (i) determine the percentage difference between the average over a calendar year of the consumer price index for the metropolitan New York-New Jersey region published by the United States bureau of labor statistics for the twelve months preceding the beginning of such calendar year and the average over the calendar year two thousand eighteen of such consumer price index; (ii) adjust each expenditure limitation applicable pursuant to this subdivision by the amount of such percentage difference to the nearest thousand dollars; and (iii) publish such adjusted expenditure limitation in the City Record. Such adjusted expenditure limitation shall be in effect for any election held before the next such adjustment.

* The Board will no longer enforce these provisions. See Order Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), Ognibene v. Parkes, No. 08-CV-1335 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2011).

ENDNOTES

² Pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-706(1)(e), these expenditure limits were increased in 2014, 2018, and 2022 to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Currently, these amounts are: for mayor, $7,932,000; for public advocate and comptroller, $4,959,000; for borough president, $1,785,000; and for member of the City Council, $207,000.

³ Pursuant to Administrative Code § 3-706(1)(e), these expenditure limits were increased in 2014, 2018, and 2022 to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Currently, these amounts are: for mayor, public advocate, and comptroller, $374,000; for borough president, $166,000; and for member of the City Council, $55,000.