New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 19 - DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Chapter XX - Commission on ethics and lobbying in Government
Part 938 - Source of Funding Regulations
Section 938.3 - Contribution Reporting Requirements
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Commencing with the Client Semi-Annual Report due on January 15, 2013, and for each Client Semi-Annual Report thereafter, a Client Filer is required to disclose Contributions received in accordance with the provisions of subdivisions (b), (c) (d), and (e) of this section.
(b) For the purpose of satisfying Legislative Law § 1-h(c)(4), a Client Filer whose lobbying activity is performed on its own behalf and not pursuant to retention by a client need only report Contribution(s) received from each Source in a Client Semi-Annual Report and is not additionally required to report such Contribution(s) on a Lobbyist Bi-Monthly Report.
(c) When a Client Filer has met the Expenditure Threshold during the first client semi-annual reporting period of the calendar year (January 1st - June 30th), the Client Filer shall aggregate all such Contributions, regardless of the amount, received from each Source. If the sum of such Contributions is more than $2,500, then a Client Filer is required to disclose the information in subdivision (e) of this section for each Contribution. If the sum of the Contributions received from each Source is $2,500 or less, then a Client Filer is not required to disclose any Contribution(s) from the Source in the Client Semi-Annual Report that covers the first reporting period of the calendar year.
(d) When a Client Filer has met the Expenditure Threshold during the second client semi-annual reporting period of a calendar year (July 1st - December 31st), the Client Filer uses the following to determine whether any Contribution(s) received from a Source shall be disclosed in the Client Semi-Annual Report covering the second reporting period of the calendar year:
If the sum of the Contributions received from a Source is $2,500 or less, then a Client Filer is not required to disclose any Contribution(s) from the Source in the Client Semi-Annual Report that covers the second reporting period of the calendar year;
Example 1: Jane Doe contributes $1,000 on May 4, 2017 to Client Filer. Source Jim Smith, contributes $2,000 on October 30, 2017. Client Filer knows that Jane and Jim live in the same household.
For the purpose of filing the Client Semi-Annual Report due on July 16, 2017 (covering the period January 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017), Client Filer is not required to report the Contribution from Jane Doe.
For the purpose of filing the Client Semi-Annual Report due on January 15, 2018 (covering the period July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017), if the Client Filer met the Expenditure Threshold during both reporting periods, the Client Filer must aggregate the Contributions from Jane Doe and Jim Smith as one Source because they have an Affiliate Relationship. The two Contributions exceed $2,500 when aggregated, therefore the Client Filer must disclose each Contribution in the Client Semi-Annual Report due on January 15, 2018.
Example 2: XYZ Corp. contributes $1,500 on March 3, 2017. ABC Corp is XYZ Corp's parent and contributes $1,500 on May 6, 2017. On November 12, 2017, ABC Corp contributes an additional $500. On December 2, 2017, XYZ Corp. contributes an additional $1,500. The Client Filer is aware of the corporate relationship between ABC Corp and XYZ Corp.
For the purpose of filing the Client Semi-Annual Report due on July 15, 2017 (covering the period January 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017), XYZ Corp and ABC Corp have an Affiliate Relationship and therefore are deemed a Source. The Contributions from XYZ Corp and ABC Corp must be aggregated. The sum of the Contributions received from the one Source consisting of ABC Corp and XYZ Corp between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017 exceeds $2,500. Therefore, if the Client Filer met the Expenditure Threshold for this period, it must disclose both the Contributions received on March 3 and May 6 in Client Semi-Annual Report due on July 15, 2017.
For the purpose of filing the Client Semi-Annual Report due on January 15, 2018 (covering the period July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017), if the Client Filer met the Expenditure Threshold for this second period, the Client Filer must disclose the November 12 and December 2 Contributions even though these two Contributions are less than $2,500 individually and in total.
The requirement to disclose the November 12 and December 2 Contributions arises from the facts that (i) the Source (comprised of XYZ Corp and ABC Corp, because they have an Affiliate Relationship) made aggregate Contributions in excess of $2,500 during the prior reporting period in the same calendar year and (ii) the Client Filer met the Expenditure Threshold during both reporting periods in the calendar year. Therefore, the Client Filer must list as one Source each of those two Contributions made by XYZ Corp and ABC Corp in the second reporting period of the calendar year on the Client SemiAnnual Report, together with the information required in 938.3(e).
If the Client Filer did not meet the Expenditure Threshold during the second reporting period of the calendar year, then the Client Filer is not required to disclose the November 12 and December 2 Contributions.
(e) Each Contribution required to be disclosed in any Client Semi-Annual Report on the form provided by the Commission shall contain the information identified below:
Note: If a contribution includes only membership dues, fees, or assessments, the Client Filer should disclose the contribution as $0. If membership dues, fees, or assessments make up a portion of a contribution, the Reportable Amount of the Contribution is calculated as described in section 938.2 of this Part.
(f) Notwithstanding subsections 938.2(b)(1) and 943.9(h)(1) and (3) of this Title, a Coalition that files its own Client Semi-Annual Report pursuant to subsection 943.9(h)(3)(ii) shall nevertheless be required to disclose its own Sources pursuant to this section if the Coalition reaches the Expenditure Threshold.
(g) Pursuant to sections 1-h(c)(4) and 1-j(c)(4) of the Lobbying Act, source of funding disclosure shall not apply to any corporation registered pursuant to article seven-A of the executive law that is qualified as an exempt organization by the United States Department of the Treasury under I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) (a "501(c)(3)"); provided, however, that this disclosure shall apply to any in-kind donations of staff, staff time, personnel, offices, office supplies, financial support of any kind or any other resources to any corporation or entity that is qualified as an exempt organization by the United States Department of the Treasury under I.R.C. 501(c)(4) when such in-kind donations are over two thousand five hundred dollars and from any corporation or entity that is qualified as a 501(c)(3). In such case the entity receiving such in-kind donations shall disclose the fair market value and identify the 501(c)(3) entity providing such in-kind donations as a Source. Nothing contained herein shall require ,501 (c)(3) entitities to disclose their Sources to the Commission.