PAC Compliance

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As summer draws near, the tempo of the planning and fundraising for the DNC and RNC national party presidential nominating conventions is increasing. After the challenges and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, both parties are eager for a return to robust in-person attendance. For corporations, trade associations, and other nonprofit organizations seeking to host events or to provide support for the conventions, understanding the legal guardrails is essential.

House and Senate Gift Rules Apply to the Conventions

There is no special gift rule exception for convention events. All events to which federal legislators and congressional staff are invited must comply with House and Senate gift rules. Convention event planners and sponsors should be particularly mindful of the following events and items that the gift rules expressly allow:Continue Reading A Guide to Supporting the 2024 Presidential Nominating Conventions: From Hosting Events to Writing a Check

The Federal Election Commission has issued an advisory opinion making it much easier for federal candidates to offload their paid canvassing programs onto state PACs, nonprofits, and super PACs. While the campaign will need to pay for access to data collected, outside groups can now coordinate their canvassing activities—including the content of messages that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of federal candidates—with the candidates themselves.

In the request, a state political committee proposed hiring vendors to canvass potential voters before the election and distribute literature that would expressly advocate for the election or defeat of both state and federal candidates. The committee planned to “coordinate” its canvass by collaborating with federal candidates on aspects like strategy and messaging. Was this, requestors asked, an in-kind contribution to the federal candidates that a state committee like this one is prohibited from making? To this, the Commission answered no.Continue Reading FEC Allows Nonfederal Committee to Coordinate Paid Canvassing Efforts with Federal Candidates

When the 2017 tax reform bill passed, it included a provision that imposed an excise tax on compensation above $1 million for certain kinds of entities—including political action committees (PACs)—even if paid by the connected organization and not the PAC itself. Some companies feared that having senior executives provide services to the PAC could trigger…

With an election year just weeks away, there are steps you can take now to boost the effectiveness of your government affairs program, and help your organization and its principals avoid legal trouble. This is a particularly good time to fill the coffers of your PAC, develop a political contribution plan for next year,…

But, there are a lot of ways to improve PAC fundraising.

A Florida-based trade association voluntarily came forward to the FEC to disclose that it had reimbursed travel expenses for PAC contributors and was fined $9,000. The FEC found that the group developed a schedule for reimbursing travel expenses based on the amount given or pledged to the PAC. Under that system, the association reimbursed approximately $55,000 in travel expenses over the course of four years. Because of those travel reimbursements, the FEC concluded that the association had, in effect, reimbursed the PAC contributions. As such, it made impermissible corporate contributions and contributions in the name of another.

The reimbursement formula depended on the amount given or pledged to the PAC. Those who gave $1,000 per year, would get $750 in travel for each of two meetings, or a total of $1,500 per year. $100 contributors got $150 per meeting, or $300 total. If the association had reimbursed all directors for travel regardless of PAC contributions, that would have been fine. The problem was that the reimbursements were tied to the PAC contributions.

The FEC has said that the method for reimbursement does not matter. Bonuses, expense reimbursement, etc. are all impermissible. There are, however, permissible ways to incentivize PAC giving:Continue Reading Don’t Reimburse Contributions. Period.