52 U.S.C. § 30102 — Organization of political committees

Page 95 TITLE 52—VOTING AND ELECTIONS § 30102 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Federal Election Commission shall promul- gate regulations to carry out this Act [see Tables for classification] and the amendments made by this Act that are under the Commission’s jurisdiction not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 27, 2002]. ‘‘(2) SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall promulgate regulations to carry out title I of this Act [enacting section 30125 of this title and amending this section and sections 30104, 30116, and 30143 of this title] and the amendments made by such title.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 106–346, § 101(a) [title V, § 502(d)], Oct. 23, 2000, 114 Stat. 1356, 1356A–50, provided that: ‘‘The amend- ments made by this section [amending this section and section 30104 of this title] shall apply with respect to elections occurring after January 2001.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1980 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 96–187, title III, § 301, Jan. 8, 1980, 93 Stat. 1368, provided that: ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the amend- ments made by this Act [see Tables for classification] are effective upon enactment [Jan. 8, 1980]. ‘‘(b) For authorized committees of candidates for President and Vice President, section 304(b) of the Fed- eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 [section 30104(b) of this title] shall be effective for elections occurring after January 1, 1981.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1974 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 93–443, title IV, § 410, Oct. 15, 1974, 88 Stat. 1304, provided that: ‘‘(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) and sub- section (c), the foregoing provisions of this Act [see Ta- bles for classification] shall become effective January 1, 1975. ‘‘(b) Section 104 [set out as a note under section 591 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure] and the amendment made by section 301 [amending section 30143 of this title] shall become effective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 15, 1974]. ‘‘(c)(1) The amendments made by sections 403(a), 404, 405, 406, 408, and 409 [enacting sections 9031 to 9042, amending sections 276, 9002, 9003, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, 9008, 9009, 9010, 9011, and 9012, and repealing section 9021 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code] shall apply with re- spect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1974. ‘‘(2) The amendment made by section 407 [amending section 6012 of Title 26] shall apply with respect to tax- able years beginning after December 31, 1971.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 92–225, title IV, § 408, formerly § 406, Feb. 7, 1972, 86 Stat. 20, as renumbered § 408 by Pub. L. 93–443, title III, § 302, Oct. 15, 1974, 88 Stat. 1289, provided that: ‘‘Except as provided in section 401 of this Act [section 30141 of this title], the provisions of this Act [see Tables for classification] shall become effective on December 31, 1971, or sixty days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 7, 1972], whichever is later.’’ TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation abolished and functions transferred, see Pub. L. 101–73, title IV, §§ 401–406, Aug. 9, 1989, 103 Stat. 354–363, set out as a note under section 1437 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. TRANSITION PROVISIONS Pub. L. 96–187, title III, § 303, Jan. 8, 1980, 93 Stat. 1368, provided that: ‘‘(a) The Federal Election Commission shall transmit to the Congress proposed rules and regulations nec- essary for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Act [see Tables for classification], and the amendments made by this Act, prior to February 29, 1980. ‘‘(b) The provisions of section 311(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 [section 30111(d) of this title] allowing disapproval of rules and regulations by either House of Congress within 30 legislative days after receipt shall, with respect to rules and regula- tions required to be proposed under subsection (a) of this section, be deemed to allow such disapproval with- in 15 legislative days after receipt.’’ STUDY AND REPORT ON CLEAN MONEY CLEAN ELECTIONS LAWS Pub. L. 107–155, title III, § 310, Mar. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 104, related to a study and report on clean money clean elections laws in Arizona and Maine. VOTING SYSTEM STUDY; REPORT TO CONGRESS; COST OF STUDY Pub. L. 96–187, title III, § 302, Jan. 8, 1980, 93 Stat. 1368, as amended by Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433, required the Federal Election Com- mission, with the cooperation and assistance of the Na- tional Institute of Standards and Technology, to con- duct a preliminary study of the future development of voluntary engineering and procedural performance standards for voting systems and report the results to Congress with certain recommendations. § 30102. Organization of political committees (a) Treasurer; vacancy; official authorizations Every political committee shall have a treas- urer. No contribution or expenditure shall be ac- cepted or made by or on behalf of a political committee during any period in which the office of treasurer is vacant. No expenditure shall be made for or on behalf of a political committee without the authorization of the treasurer or his or her designated agent. (b) Account of contributions; segregated funds (1) Every person who receives a contribution for an authorized political committee shall, no later than 10 days after receiving such contribu- tion, forward to the treasurer such contribution, and if the amount of the contribution is in ex- cess of $50 the name and address of the person making the contribution and the date of receipt. (2) Every person who receives a contribution for a political committee which is not an au- thorized committee shall— (A) if the amount of the contribution is $50 or less, forward to the treasurer such contribu- tion no later than 30 days after receiving the contribution; and (B) if the amount of the contribution is in excess of $50, forward to the treasurer such contribution, the name and address of the per- son making the contribution, and the date of receipt of the contribution, no later than 10 days after receiving the contribution. (3) All funds of a political committee shall be segregated from, and may not be commingled with, the personal funds of any individual. (c) Recordkeeping The treasurer of a political committee shall keep an account of— (1) all contributions received by or on behalf of such political committee; Page 96 TITLE 52—VOTING AND ELECTIONS § 30102 (2) the name and address of any person who makes any contribution in excess of $50, to- gether with the date and amount of such con- tribution by any person; (3) the identification of any person who makes a contribution or contributions aggre- gating more than $200 during a calendar year, together with the date and amount of any such contribution; (4) the identification of any political com- mittee which makes a contribution, together with the date and amount of any such con- tribution; and (5) the name and address of every person to whom any disbursement is made, the date, amount, and purpose of the disbursement, and the name of the candidate and the office sought by the candidate, if any, for whom the disbursement was made, including a receipt, invoice, or canceled check for each disburse- ment in excess of $200. (d) Preservation of records and copies of reports The treasurer shall preserve all records re- quired to be kept by this section and copies of all reports required to be filed by this sub- chapter for 3 years after the report is filed. For any report filed in electronic format under sec- tion 30104(a)(11) of this title, the treasurer shall retain a machine-readable copy of the report as the copy preserved under the preceding sen- tence. (e) Principal and additional campaign commit- tees; designations, status of candidate, au- thorized committees, etc. (1) Each candidate for Federal office (other than the nominee for the office of Vice Presi- dent) shall designate in writing a political com- mittee in accordance with paragraph (3) to serve as the principal campaign committee of such candidate. Such designation shall be made no later than 15 days after becoming a candidate. A candidate may designate additional political committees in accordance with paragraph (3) to serve as authorized committees of such can- didate. Such designation shall be in writing and filed with the principal campaign committee of such candidate in accordance with subsection (f)(1). (2) Any candidate described in paragraph (1) who receives a contribution, or any loan for use in connection with the campaign of such can- didate for election, or makes a disbursement in connection with such campaign, shall be consid- ered, for purposes of this Act, as having received the contribution or loan, or as having made the disbursement, as the case may be, as an agent of the authorized committee or committees of such candidate. (3)(A) No political committee which supports or has supported more than one candidate may be designated as an authorized committee, ex- cept that— (i) the candidate for the office of President nominated by a political party may designate the national committee of such political party as a principal campaign committee, but only if that national committee maintains separate books of account with respect to its function as a principal campaign committee; and (ii) candidates may designate a political committee established solely for the purpose of joint fundraising by such candidates as an authorized committee. (B) As used in this section, the term ‘‘support’’ does not include a contribution by any author- ized committee in amounts of $2,000 or less to an authorized committee of any other candidate. (4) The name of each authorized committee shall include the name of the candidate who au- thorized such committee under paragraph (1). In the case of any political committee which is not an authorized committee, such political com- mittee shall not include the name of any can- didate in its name. (5) The name of any separate segregated fund established pursuant to section 30118(b) of this title shall include the name of its connected or- ganization. (f) Filing with and receipt of designations, state- ments, and reports by principal campaign committee (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, each designation, statement, or report of receipts or disbursements made by an author- ized committee of a candidate shall be filed with the candidate’s principal campaign committee. (2) Each principal campaign committee shall receive all designations, statements, and reports required to be filed with it under paragraph (1) and shall compile and file such designations, statements, and reports in accordance with this Act. (g) Filing with the Commission All designations, statements, and reports re- quired to be filed under this Act shall be filed with the Commission. (h) Campaign depositories; designations, mainte- nance of accounts, etc.; petty cash fund for disbursements; record of disbursements (1) Each political committee shall designate one or more State banks, federally chartered de- pository institutions, or depository institutions the deposits or accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corpora- tion, or the National Credit Union Administra- tion, as its campaign depository or depositories. Each political committee shall maintain at least one checking account and such other ac- counts as the committee determines at a deposi- tory designated by such committee. All receipts received by such committee shall be deposited in such accounts. No disbursements may be made (other than petty cash disbursements under paragraph (2)) by such committee except by check drawn on such accounts in accordance with this section. (2) A political committee may maintain a petty cash fund for disbursements not in excess of $100 to any person in connection with a single purchase or transaction. A record of all petty cash disbursements shall be maintained in ac- cordance with subsection (c)(5). (i) Reports and records, compliance with re- quirements based on best efforts When the treasurer of a political committee shows that best efforts have been used to obtain, maintain, and submit the information required by this Act for the political committee, any re- Page 97 TITLE 52—VOTING AND ELECTIONS § 30102 port or any records of such committee shall be considered in compliance with this Act or chap- ter 95 or chapter 96 of title 26. (Pub. L. 92–225, title III, § 302, Feb. 7, 1972, 86 Stat. 12; Pub. L. 93–443, title II, §§ 202, 208(c)(2), Oct. 15, 1974, 88 Stat. 1275, 1286; Pub. L. 94–283, title I, § 103, May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 480; Pub. L. 96–187, title I, § 102, Jan. 8, 1980, 93 Stat. 1345; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095; Pub. L. 104–79, §§ 1(b), 3(a), Dec. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 791, 792; Pub. L. 105–61, title VI, § 637, Oct. 10, 1997, 111 Stat. 1316; Pub. L. 108–447, div. H, title V, § 525, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3271; Pub. L. 115–244, div. B, title I, § 102, Sept. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 2926.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, means the Federal Elec- tion Campaign Act of 1971, as defined by section 30101 of this title. CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 432 of Title 2, The Congress, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. Some section numbers ref- erenced in amendment notes below reflect the classi- fication of such sections prior to their editorial reclas- sification to this title. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–244 amended subsec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘(1) Designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under this Act by a candidate for the office of Senator, by the principal campaign committee of such candidate, and by the Republican and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committees shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate, who shall receive such des- ignations, statements, and reports, as custodian for the Commission. ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Senate shall forward a copy of any designation, statement, or report filed with the Secretary under this subsection to the Commission as soon as possible (but no later than 2 working days) after receiving such designation, statement, or report. ‘‘(3) All designations, statements, and reports re- quired to be filed under this Act, except designations, statements, and reports filed in accordance with para- graph (1), shall be filed with the Commission. ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Senate shall make the des- ignations, statements, and reports received under this subsection available for public inspection and copying in the same manner as the Commission under section 30111(a)(4) of this title, and shall preserve such designa- tions, statements, and reports in the same manner as the Commission under section 30111(a)(5) of this title.’’ 2004—Subsec. (e)(3)(B). Pub. L. 108–447 substituted ‘‘$2,000’’ for ‘‘$1,000’’. 1997—Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 105–61 struck out ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘Senator,’’ and inserted ‘‘and by the Republican and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committees’’ after ‘‘candidate,’’. 1995—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–79, § 1(b), inserted at end ‘‘For any report filed in electronic format under sec- tion 434(a)(11) of this title, the treasurer shall retain a machine-readable copy of the report as the copy pre- served under the preceding sentence.’’ Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(a)(1), (2), redesig- nated par. (2) as (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: ‘‘Designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under this Act by a candidate or by an authorized committee of a candidate for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis- sioner to, the Congress, and by the principal campaign committee of such a candidate, shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who shall re- ceive such designations, statements, and reports as cus- todian for the Commission.’’ Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(a)(2), (3), redesig- nated par. (3) as (2), struck out ‘‘Clerk of the House of Representatives and the’’ before ‘‘Secretary of the Sen- ate’’, and substituted ‘‘filed with the Secretary’’ for ‘‘filed with them’’. Former par. (2) redesignated (1). Subsec. (g)(3). Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(a)(2), (4), redesig- nated par. (4) as (3) and substituted ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ for ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’. Former par. (3) redesignated (2). Subsec. (g)(4). Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(a)(2), (5), redesig- nated par. (5) as (4) and struck out ‘‘Clerk of the House of Representatives and the’’ before ‘‘Secretary of the Senate’’. Former par. (4) redesignated (3). Subsec. (g)(5). Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(a)(2), redesignated par. (5) as (4). 1986—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’, which for purposes of codification was translated as ‘‘title 26’’ thus requiring no change in text. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–187 struck out reference to the chairman as a person authorized to accept or make a contribution on behalf of a political committee. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–187 redesignated subsec. (b) as par. (1) of subsec. (b), substituted ‘‘for an authorized po- litical committee shall, no later than 10 days after re- ceiving such contribution, forward to the treasurer such contribution, and if the amount of the contribu- tion is in excess of $50 the name and address of the per- son making the contribution and the date of the re- ceipt.’’ for ‘‘in excess of $50 for a political committee shall, on demand of the treasurer, and in any event within five days after receipt of such contribution, render to the treasurer a detailed account thereof, in- cluding the amount of the contribution and the identi- fication of the person making such contribution, and the date on which received. All funds of a political committee shall be segregated from, and may not be commingled with, any personal funds of officers, mem- bers, or associates of such committee.’’, and added pars. (2) and (3). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–187 substituted ‘‘The treasurer of a political committee shall keep an account of’’ for ‘‘It shall be the duty of the treasurer of a political com- mittee to keep a detailed and exact account of’’ in in- troductory clause; substituted in par. (1) ‘‘all contribu- tions received by or on behalf of such political com- mittee’’ for ‘‘all contributions made to or for such com- mittee’’; substituted in par. (2) ‘‘the name and address of any person who makes any contribution in excess of $50, together with the date and amount of such con- tribution by any person’’ for ‘‘the identification of every person making a contribution in excess of $50, and the date and amount thereof and, if a person’s con- tributions aggregating more than $100, the account shall include occupation, and the principal place of business (if any)’’; substituted in par. (3) ‘‘the identi- fication of any person who makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more than $200 during a cal- endar year, together with the date and amount of any such contribution’’ for ‘‘all expenditures made by or on behalf of such committee; and’’; substituted in par. (4) ‘‘the identification of any political committee which makes a contribution, together with the date and amount of any such contribution, and’’ for ‘‘the identi- fication of every person to whom any expenditure is made, the date and amount thereof and the name and address of, and office sought by, each candidate on whose behalf such expenditure was made’’, and added par. (5). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–187 substituted provisions re- quiring the treasurer to preserve all records required by this section and copies of all reports to be filed by this subchapter for 3 years after the filing of the report for provisions requiring the treasurer to keep receipted bills for expenditures in excess of $100, and for expendi- tures of lesser amounts if the aggregate amount to the Page 98 TITLE 52—VOTING AND ELECTIONS § 30103 same person during a calendar year exceeds $100, such receipts to be kept for a period to be determined by the Secretary. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96–187 in par. (1) substituted pro- visions requiring a written designation of a political committee no later than 15 days after becoming a can- didate, with the designation of additional committees to be filed with the principal committee, for provisions prohibiting the designation of a committee as the prin- cipal campaign committee of more than one candidate except that the presidential candidate may nominate the national committee of a political party as his prin- cipal campaign committee; in par. (2) substituted pro- visions considering any candidate receiving a contribu- tion or loan or making a disbursement as an agent of the authorized committees for provisions requiring the filing of any report or statement of contributions re- quired to be filed with the Commission to be filed in- stead with the principal campaign committee; in par. (3) redesignated existing provisions as introductory clause of par. (3)(A), and in such clause as so redesig- nated, substituted provision that no political com- mittee which supports or has supported more than one candidate may be designated as an authorized com- mittee for provisions requiring principal committee to receive reports and statements and to compile and file such reports and statements together with its own re- ports and statements with the Commission, and added pars. (3)(A)(i), (ii), (4) and (5). Subsecs. (f) to (i). Pub. L. 96–187 added subsecs. (f) to (i). 1976—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–283, § 103(a), substituted ‘‘$50’’ for ‘‘$10’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 94–283, § 103(b), substituted ‘‘$50’’ for ‘‘$10’’. Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 94–283, § 103(c), (d), redesig- nated subsec. (f) as (e) and in par. (1) of subsec. (e) as so redesignated inserted provision that occasional, iso- lated, or incidental support of a candidate not be con- strued as support for such a candidate for purposes of determining whether a political committee supports more than one candidate. Former subsec. (e) providing for the giving of notice by a candidate that a political committee soliciting funds on his behalf is not author- ized to do so and that he is not responsible for the ac- tivities of that committee was eliminated. 1974—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–443, § 202(a)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘of the contribution and the identification’’ for ‘‘, the name and address (occupation and principal place of business, if any)’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 93–443, § 202(a)(2), (3), sub- stituted ‘‘identification’’ for ‘‘full name and mailing address (occupation and the principal place of business, if any)’’ before ‘‘of every person’’ and inserted end text reading ‘‘and, if a person’s contributions aggregate more than $100, the account shall include occupation, and the principal place of business (if any)’’. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 93–443, § 202(a)(2), substituted ‘‘identification’’ for ‘‘full name and mailing address (occupation and the principal place of business, if any)’’ before ‘‘of every person’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 93–443, § 208(c)(2), substituted ‘‘Commission’’ for ‘‘supervisory officers’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 93–443, § 202(b), substituted provi- sions respecting principal campaign committees for prior provisions respecting notice of funds solicitation by political committees and availability for purchase of annual reports of the political committees from the Superintendent of Documents made available through the Public Printer, now covered in section 435(b) of this title. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–79, § 1(c), Dec. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 791, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by subsection (a) and subsection (b) [amending this section and section 30104 of this title] shall apply with respect to reports for periods beginning after December 31, 1996.’’ Pub. L. 104–79, § 3(d), Dec. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 793, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section and sections 30104 and 30111 of this title] shall apply with respect to reports, designa- tions, and statements required to be filed after Decem- ber 31, 1995.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1980 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 96–187 effective Jan. 8, 1980, see section 301(a) of Pub. L. 96–187, set out as a note under section 30101 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1974 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 93–443 effective Jan. 1, 1975, see section 410(a) of Pub. L. 93–443, set out as a note under section 30101 of this title. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation abolished and functions transferred, see Pub. L. 101–73, title IV, §§ 401–406, Aug. 9, 1989, 103 Stat. 354–363, set out as a note under section 1437 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. § 30103. Registration of political committees (a) Statements of organizations Each authorized campaign committee shall file a statement of organization no later than 10 days after designation pursuant to section 30102(e)(1) of this title. Each separate segregated fund established under the provisions of section 30118(b) of this title shall file a statement of or- ganization no later than 10 days after establish- ment. All other committees shall file a state- ment of organization within 10 days after be- coming a political committee within the mean- ing of section 30101(4) of this title. (b) Contents of statements The statement of organization of a political committee shall include— (1) the name, address, and type of com- mittee; (2) the name, address, relationship, and type of any connected organization or affiliated committee; (3) the name, address, and position of the custodian of books and accounts of the com- mittee; (4) the name and address of the treasurer of the committee; (5) if the committee is authorized by a can- didate, the name, address, office sought, and party affiliation of the candidate; and (6) a listing of all banks, safety deposit boxes, or other depositories used by the com- mittee. (c) Change of information in statements Any change in information previously sub- mitted in a statement of organization shall be reported in accordance with section 30102(g) of this title no later than 10 days after the date of the change. (d) Termination, etc., requirements and authori- ties (1) A political committee may terminate only when such a committee files a written state- ment, in accordance with section 30102(g) of this title, that it will no longer receive any contribu- tions or make any disbursements and that such committee has no outstanding debts or obliga- tions.