Schedule 4: Gifts from Persons or Entities Doing Business With, Regulated By, or Lobbying In City

Click italicized terms to review their definition.
 

Under § 7-23 of the Ethics Law, filers are required to disclose all significant gifts from persons doing doing business with the City, regulated by the City, and lobbyists.  A significant gift is any single gift worth more than $20, or any gift in a series of gifts with a cumulative value of $100 or more given during the reporting period by the same person.

Review List of Entities Doing Business with the City

Answer the question below to determine if Schedule 4 applies to you: 

During the reporting period covered by this statement, did you accept or direct someone else to accept a significant gift  (on your own or someone else's behalf) that was given by or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any of the following?

  • a lobbyist;
  • a person regulated by the City; or
  • a person doing business with the City.

If you answered "yes" to the question above, disclose each qualifying gift on Schedule 4. You will need to submit a separate "Add New Gift" entry for each gift. Watch the tutorial video below to guide you through the schedule:

Note: You do not need to disclose the following significant gifts: gifts from your spouse, parent, child, or sibling; campaign contributions that are otherwise reported as required by law; or tickets or free admission given to an elected official to attend a specific charitable, cultural, or political event, if given by the person sponsoring or conducting the event as a courtesy to the elected office.  

Instructions

In each "Add New Gift" entry, you will disclose the following information: 

1. Identity of Person or Entity Giving the Gift. Give the name of the person or business entity that gave the gift, and their relationship to the City, e.g., whether they are a lobbyist, are doing business with the City, and/or are regulated by the City. 

2. Recipient of the Gift. The name and address of the person receiving the gift and their relationship to you (either your self or another person at your direction).  

3. Nature, Date, and Value of the Gift. A description of the gift, its retail value, and the date it was received.

4. Travel Expenses. If the gift comprised travel-related expenses related to an event or conference of some kind, provide the details requested.  

Key Terms

  • An interest held by your spouse, parent, child, or sibling, if you directly or indirectly controlled that interest;
  • An interest held by any business entity in which, at any time during the reporting period
    • you held an equity interest of 30% or more; or
    • a family member held an equity interest of 30% or more, if you directly or indirectly controlled that family member’s interest; and
  • An interest held by any trust or estate in which, at any time during the reporting period, you: 
    • held a reversionary interest; 
    • were a beneficiary; or  
    • if a revocable trust, were a settlor.

Any person or entity engaged in business or other organized activity, whether for-profit or not-for-profit and regardless of form

  • “Business entity” includes, for example, any: 
    • corporation 
    • general or limited partnership
    • limited liability company
    • sole proprietorship. 
    • joint venture
    • unincorporated association or firm
    • real estate investment trust
    • institution, trust, foundation, or other organization

  • having or seeking one or a combination of contracts or other transactions with the City or with another person in connection with a contract between that other person and the City, that involves the commitment of $5,000 or more; 
  • being regulated by or subject to the authority of the City, any City agency, or any City official; or 
  • undertaking activities that require registration as a lobbyist. 

Any department, board, commission, council, authority, committee, office, or other unit of City government. 

Any:

  • spouse;
  • parent;
  • sibling; or
  • child, including an adopted child, stepchild, ward, or foster child, regardless of age. 

Ownership of:

  • more that 3% of a business entity; or
  • securities of any kind that represent or are convertible into ownership of more than 3% of a business entity; or
  • an interest as a result of which the owner:
    • received more than $1,000 in any of the preceding 3 calendar years; or
    • is entitled to receive more than $1,000 in the current or any later calendar year. 

The transfer of any thing or any service of economic value, regardless of the form, without adequate, identifiable, and lawful consideration.

  • “Gift” does not include political contributions that are regulated under state law. 

Any legal or equitable economic interest, whether or not subject to an encumbrance or a condition, that was owned or held, in whole or in part, jointly or severally, directly or indirectly, at any time during the reporting period.

  • “Interest” does not include:
    • an interest held in the capacity of a personal representative, agent, custodian, fiduciary, or trustee, unless the holder has an equitable interest in the subject matter;
    • an interest in a time or demand deposit in a financial institution (e.g., checking account, savings account, or certificate of deposit);
    • an interest in an insurance policy, endowment policy, or annuity contract under which an insurer promises to pay a fixed amount of money, either in a lump sum or periodically for life or some other specified period;
    • an interest in a common trust fund or a trust that forms part of a pension or profit-sharing plan that:
      • has more than 25 participants; and
      • has been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a qualified trust under § 401 or § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code; or
    • a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that is publicly traded on a national scale, unless the mutual fund or exchange-traded fund is composed primarily of holdings of stocks and interests in a specific sector or area that is regulated by the public servant's agency.  

Any individual or business entity

A dwelling that:

  • is used as a person’s principal or primary home; and 
  • is actually occupied by that person for more than 6 months of a 12-month period. 

  •  January 1 through December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year; or 
  • any additional period for which a disclosure statement is required. 

  • any gift with a value of more than $20; and
  • any gift in a series of gifts with a cumulative value of $100 or more given by or on behalf of the same person during the reporting period.
  • “Significant gift” does not include any of the following, regardless of value:
    • a gift from a family member;
    • a campaign contribution that is otherwise reported as required by law; or
    • tickets or free admission given to an elected official to attend a specific charitable, cultural, or political event, if given by the person sponsoring or conducting the event as a courtesy or ceremony to the office.

Holding an equity interest of 30% or more in a business entity.