| Topic | Issue | Governor's Bill | New York City Law |
| Contribution Limits | Publicly Funded Candidates (primary and general election combined) |
Statewide - $12,000 (primary and
general)
Legislature - $4,000 or $8,000 (primary and general) |
City-wide - $4,950
City Council - $2,750 |
| Higher receipt limits for Non-Publicly Funded Candidates | Yes | No | |
| Higher contribution limits for Candidate's relatives | Yes | No | |
| Corporations | $1,000 annual aggregate limit | Prohibited to covered candidates | |
| Limited Liability Companies | $1,000 annual aggregate limit | Prohibited to covered candidates | |
| Labor Organizations and Labor PACs | Treated like individual contributors | May be treated as affiliated under a single contribution limit if they meet do not meet separate governance and account standards | |
| Reduced contribution limits if doing business with government or a lobbyist | No | Yes | |
| Political Party | May transfer $5,000 to candidate; also permits unlimited expenditures, including in coordination with candidate | Subject to regular contribution limit which also caps coordinated expenditures | |
| Spending Limits | No | Yes | |
| Independent Expenditures | Contains Magic Words (e.g., "vote for", "vote against") | Yes | Yes |
| Can have no reasonable meaning other than to advocate election or defeat | n/a | Yes | |
| Between 1 year and 60 days before general election (or 30 days before primary), could only be interpreted by a reasonable person as advocating for the election or defeat of the candidate based upon unequivocal, unambiguous terms of support or opposition | Yes | n/a | |
| Refers to a clearly identified candidate within 60 days or general election or 30 days of primary | Yes | Yes | |
| By telephone | Not specified | Yes, for communications with magic words or no other reasonable meaning | |
| Advance registration as political committee required | Yes | No | |
| Permissible Uses of Campaign Funds | Payment of fines | No, if under State campaign finance law, criminal conviction, or imposed by J-COPE | Yes, if non-criminal and arising out of political campaign |
| Public Disclosure - for State elections (Bill) or NYC elections (NYC law) | Reporting of all contributions and loans > $1,000 within 48 hours | Yes | No |
| Intermediary | Yes, defined as "delivery" | Yes, defined as delivery or solicitation | |
| Threshold for disclosing contributor's or intermediary's occupation and business address | Contribution of $500 or more | Contributions of $100 or more | |
| Name of contributor's and intermediary's employer disclosed | Not specified | Yes | |
| Public Financing | May opt-in for public funding in primary but not general election, and vice versa? | Unclear | No |
| May receive public funds pre-primary even if unopposed in primary? | Yes, half maximum payment allowed if there's a primary in a major party for office sought | No | |
| May receive maximum public funds for each primary in which candidate is on the ballot (i.e., Wilson-Pakula authorization)? | Not precluded | Specifically precluded | |
| Provisions to reduce public funds payments in non-competitive elections | No | Yes | |
| Permissible Uses of Public Funds | Pay business entity in which candidate has an interest | Not prohibited | Prohibited |
| Pay penalty or fine | Not prohibited | Prohibited | |
| Payment to defend ballot petitions | Not prohibited | Prohibited | |
| Public Financing Administration and Enforcement | Non-Partisan | No, State Board of Elections Enforcement Unit | Yes, NYC Campaign Finance Board |
| Bi-Partisan | Yes | No | |
| Deadline for completing post-election audit | 2 years | Variable and subject to indefinite postponement |
Tags: New York City • New York State