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The New York City Campaign Finance Board plans to release an updated online campaign donation platform in mid-2015, board members testified before the City Council's government operations committee hearing Monday.

The new tool will make it easier for candidates to receive credit card donations and will also allow them to place donation widgets on their websites to accept donations.

Committee chair Ben Kallos emphasized that the use of text messaging and feature phones could be especially important to lower-income communities.

It's a done deal: City Council Democrats have voted to approve the appointments of three new commissioners to the Board of Elections.

Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), who was among those who grilled the nominees at City Hall and had pushed for a transparent selection process, noted in a statement that the new commissioners had publicly agreed to pursue anti-nepotism reforms at the oft-criticized agency.

"All of this progress was only made possible by a public hearing of the Rules Committee under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and its Chair Brad Lander," Kallos said.

Council members Laurie Cumbo and Ben Kallos are asking their counterparts in Utah and Oklahoma to pass resolutions in support of the creation of a National Women’s History Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The City Council’s Progressive Caucus, the left-leaning coalition that sparked the liberal shift of the council this year, has elected new leadership.

Councilmen Donovan Richards and Antonio Reynoso have been elected co-chairs of the caucus, replacing Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is now speaker of the body, and Councilman Brad Lander, now a deputy leader of the council. The two councilmen beat out Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez in a vote taken last week, according to caucus spokeswoman Mary Tek.