Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
CFB access to contribution information from different platforms
2:52:59
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119 sec
Council Member Lincoln Restler inquires about the Campaign Finance Board's access to contribution information from various platforms and potential improvements to the intermediary reporting system. Executive Director Paul Seamus Ryan explains the current situation and future plans.
- CFB has subpoena power to access information from outside vendors if necessary.
- The agency is working on strengthening the Campaign Finance Act provisions around intermediary reporting.
- Proposed changes include clarifying that the use of a personalized hyperlink created by a campaign automatically triggers the disclosure requirement for intermediaries.
- The CFB is collaborating with council members to eliminate loopholes in the definition of intermediary and create a more robust disclosure regime.
Lincoln Restler
2:52:59
And and noted that you have access to the back end information on NYC votes, but don't have access to an ActBlue, for example.
2:53:09
Should the campaign finance board have access to contributions through kind of act blue hyperlinks to understand how donations are bundled?
2:53:21
Would you request access to the platform for a campaign to share that information if there are suspected intermediaries that are not reporting the contributions accurately?
Paul Seamus Ryan
2:53:33
One priority for us is to strengthen the Campaign Finance Act provisions around intermediary reporting.
2:53:42
My team and I, we've had conversations with you.
2:53:45
We've really enjoyed We're trying.
2:53:47
Collaborating with you on envisioning what the next generation of intermediary reporting is.
2:53:52
One of the things that has appeared at least in draft legislation is to make clear to the regulated community that the use of a personalized hyperlink created by a campaign makes one an intermediary.
2:54:05
That that is a form of solicitation known to the campaign automatically triggering the disclosure requirement.
2:54:12
So we'd love to continue working with you both on legislation that would do that but also to eliminate some of the exemptions to the definition of intermediary that really have resulted in some loopholes.
2:54:24
We can get access.
2:54:26
We have subpoena power to answer your question more directly.
2:54:28
Could we get at, can we require sharing with us information by ACT Blue?
2:54:33
One way or the other, I think we can get to that information.
2:54:36
We can request virtually anything we want and need from campaigns themselves as a criteria, including as a criteria to be eligible for public funds.
2:54:45
We also have subpoena power to go to outside vendors, but I think our preference would be to just create a more robust, more effective intermediary disclosure regime and some changes in the campaign finance act are necessary to accomplish that.