N.Y. Election Law 14-126 – Violations; penalties
§ 14-126. Violations; penalties. 1. (a) Any person who fails to file a statement required to be filed by this article shall be subject to a civil penalty, not in excess of one thousand dollars, to be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be brought by the chief enforcement counsel pursuant to section 16-114 of this chapter. Any person who, three or more times within a given election cycle for such term of office, fails to file a statement or statements required to be filed by this article, shall be subject to a civil penalty, not in excess of ten thousand dollars, to be recoverable as provided for in this subdivision.
Attorney's Note
Under the New York Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:Class | Prison | Fine |
---|---|---|
Class E felony | between 1 and 4 years | up to $5,000 |
Class A misdemeanor | up to 364 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In N.Y. Election Law 14-126
- candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination for election, or election, to any public office or party position to be voted for at a primary, general or special or New York city community school district election or election for trustee of the Long Island Power Authority, whether or not the public office or party position has been specifically identified at such time and whether or not such individual is nominated or elected, and, for purposes of this subdivision, an individual shall be deemed to seek nomination for election, or election, to an office or position, if he has (1) taken the action necessary to qualify himself for nomination for election, or election, or (2) received contributions or made expenditures, given his consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures, with a view to bringing about his nomination for election, or election, to any office or position at any time whether in the year in which such contributions or expenditures are made or at any other time; and
8. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100 - contribution: means :
(1) any gift, subscription, outstanding loan (to the extent provided for in section 14-114 of this chapter), advance, or deposit of money or any thing of value, made in connection with the nomination for election, or election, of any candidate, or made to promote the success or defeat of a political party or principle, or of any ballot proposal,
(2) any funds received by a political committee from another political committee to the extent such funds do not constitute a transfer,
(3) any payment, by any person other than a candidate or a political committee authorized by the candidate, made in connection with the nomination for election or election of any candidate, including any payment or expenditure where coordination has occurred as defined in section 14-107 of this article, or any payment made to promote the success or defeat of a political party or principle, or of any ballot proposal including but not limited to compensation for the personal services of any individual which are rendered in connection with a candidate's election or nomination without charge; provided however, that none of the foregoing shall be deemed a contribution if it is made, taken or performed by a candidate or his spouse or by a person or a political committee independent of the candidate or his agents or authorized political committees. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100 - Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- election: means all general, special and primary elections, but shall not include elections provided for pursuant to the education law, special district elections, fire district elections or library district elections. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100
- independent expenditure committee: means a political committee, that makes only independent expenditures as defined in this article, and does not coordinate with a candidate, candidate's authorized committees or an agent of the candidate as defined in paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section 14-107 of this article. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100
- labor organization: means any organization of any kind which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of representing employees employed within the state of New York in dealing with employers or employer organizations or with a state government, or any political or civil subdivision or other agency thereof, concerning terms and conditions of employment, grievances, labor disputes, or other matters incidental to the employment relationship. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100
- political action committee: means a political committee which makes no expenditures to aid or take part in the election or defeat of a candidate, or to promote the success or defeat of a ballot proposal, other than in the form of contributions, including in-kind contributions, to candidates, candidate's authorized committees, party committees, constituted committees, or independent expenditure committees provided there is no common operational control between the political action committee and the independent expenditure committee; or in the form of communications that are not distributed to a general public audience as described in subdivision thirteen of this section. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100
- political committee: means any corporation aiding or promoting and any committee, political club or combination of one or more persons operating or co-operating to aid or to promote the success or defeat of a political party or principle, or of any ballot proposal; or to aid or take part in the election or defeat of a candidate for public office or to aid or take part in the election or defeat of a candidate for nomination at a primary election or convention, including all proceedings prior to such primary election, or of a candidate for any party position voted for at a primary election, or to aid or defeat the nomination by petition of an independent candidate for public office; but nothing in this article shall apply to any committee or organization for the discussion or advancement of political questions or principles without connection with any vote or to a national committee organized for the election of presidential or vice-presidential candidates; provided, however, that a person or corporation making a contribution or contributions to a candidate or a political committee which has filed pursuant to section 14-118 shall not, by that fact alone, be deemed to be a political committee as herein defined. See N.Y. Election Law 14-100
(b) All payments received by the state board of elections pursuant to this section shall be retained in the appropriate accounts as designated by the division of the budget for enforcement activities by the board of elections.
2. Any person who, acting as or on behalf of a candidate or political committee, under circumstances evincing an intent to violate such law, unlawfully accepts a contribution in excess of a contribution limitation established in this article, shall be required to refund such excess amount and shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to the excess amount plus a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, to be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be brought by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel.
3. Any person who falsely identifies or knowingly fails to identify any independent expenditure as required by subdivision two of section 14-107 of this article or any political communication as required in section 14-106 of this article shall be subject to a civil penalty up to one thousand dollars or up to the cost of the communication, whichever is greater, in a special proceeding or civil action brought by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision five of section 3-104 of this chapter. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "person" shall mean a person, group of persons, corporation, unincorporated business entity, labor organization or business, trade or professional association or organization or political committee.
3-a. Any person who, acting as or on behalf of an independent expenditure committee or a political action committee, knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of section 14-107-a of this article shall be subject to a civil penalty, up to one thousand dollars or up to the cost of the communication, whichever is greater, to be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be brought by the state board of elections.
4. Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to file a statement required to be filed by this article within ten days after the date provided for filing such statement or any person who knowingly and willfully violates any other provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
5. Any person who knowingly and willfully contributes, accepts or aids or participates in the acceptance of a contribution in an amount exceeding an applicable maximum specified in this article shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
6. Any person who shall, acting on behalf of a candidate or political committee, knowingly and willfully solicit, organize or coordinate the formation of activities of one or more unauthorized committees, make expenditures in connection with the nomination for election or election of any candidate, or solicit any person to make any such expenditures, for the purpose of evading the contribution limitations of this article, shall be guilty of a class E felony.
7. Any online platform that fails to comply with the requirements of section 14-107-b of this article shall be subject to a civil penalty up to one thousand dollars for each violation in a special proceeding or civil action brought by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision five of section 3-104 of this chapter.