§ 14-100. Definitions. As used in this article: 1. "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.

2. "party committee" means any committee provided for in the rules of
the political party in accordance with section two-one hundred of this
chapter, other than a constituted committee.

3. "constituted committee" means a state committee, a county committee
or a duly constituted subcommittee of a county committee;

4. "duly constituted subcommittee of a county committee" means,
outside the city of New York, a city, town or village committee, and,
within the city of New York, an assembly district committee, which
consists of all county committee members from the city, town, village or
assembly district, as the case may be, and only such members;

5. "non-candidate expenditures" means expenditures made by a party
committee or a constituted committee to maintain a permanent
headquarters and staff and carry on ordinary party activities not
promoting the candidacy of specific candidates;

6. "district" means the entire state or any part thereof, as the case
may be;

7. "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. "legislative leader" means any of the following: the speaker of the
assembly; the minority leader of the assembly; the temporary president
of the senate and the minority leader of the senate.

9. "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. For purposes of this article, the term
"independent of the candidate or his agents or authorized political
committees" shall mean that the candidate or his agents or authorized
political committees did not authorize, request, suggest, foster or
cooperate in any such activity; and provided further, that the term
contribution shall not include:

(A) the value of services provided without compensation by individuals
who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or
political committee,

(B) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations,
food and beverages voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate
or political committee on the individual's residential premises for
candidate-related activities to the extent such services do not exceed
five hundred dollars in value, and

(C) the travel expenses of any individual who on his own behalf
volunteers his personal services to any candidate or political committee
to the extent such expenses are unreimbursed and do not exceed five
hundred dollars in value.

10. "transfer" means any exchange of funds or any thing of value
between political committees authorized by the same candidate and taking
part solely in his campaign, or any exchange of funds between a party or
constituted committee and a candidate or any of his authorized political
committees.

11. "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.

12. "clearly identified candidate" means that:

(a) the name of the candidate involved appears;

(b) a photograph or drawing of the candidate appears; or

(c) the identity of the candidate is apparent by unambiguous
reference.

13. "general public audience" means an audience composed of members of
the public, including a targeted subgroup of members of the public;
provided, however, it does not mean an audience solely comprised of
members, retirees and staff of a labor organization or members of their
households or an audience solely comprised of employees of a
corporation, unincorporated business entity or members of a business,
trade or professional association or organization.

14. "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. For the purposes of this
article, each local, parent national or parent international
organization of a statewide labor organization, and each statewide
federation receiving dues from subsidiary labor organizations, shall be
considered a separate labor organization.

15. "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.

For purposes of this section, an independent expenditure committee may
be created by a person, group of persons, corporation, unincorporated
business entity, labor organization or business, trade or professional
association, or organization, or political committee.

16. "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.

For purposes of this paragraph, "common operational control" means
that (i) the same individual or individuals exercise actual and
strategic control over the day-to-day affairs of both the political
action committee and the independent expenditure committee, or (ii)
employees of the political action committee and the independent
expenditure committee engage in communications related to the strategic
operations of either committee.

17. "foreign national" means foreign national as such term is defined
by subsection (b) of section 30121 of title 52 of the United States
code.