Companies that operate in regulated industries or have state and local government contracts may be subject to “pay-to-play” rules when making political contributions. Pay-to-play (PTP) laws exist at the federal, state, local, and agency levels, and are designed to prevent corruption or undue influence in politics, particularly when it comes to political contributions. PTP laws may apply to political contributions made by executives, employees, and in some cases, their family members.

PASS offers comprehensive PTP compliance services for our clients. We leverage in-house and external resources to identify potential PTP issues a political contribution may trigger, and we help guide clients on the key focus areas.

Pay to Play is one of the many services where the PASS Compliance Team

collaborates closely with our clients to ensure all relevant entities,

including affiliated ones, are considered when assessing government contracts.

Does your organization contract with, or plan to contract with, governmental bodies? If so, it is crucial to understand the specific PTP laws in that jurisdiction. By staying informed, you can avoid jeopardizing existing and future contracts or facing fines and penalties. Contact your PASS Compliance Manager today to discuss our PTP services.

It seems like starting a new PAC will be helpful for your corporation.  You will have the opportunity to help influence legislation that affects your industry.  The Government Affairs team agrees it’s a brilliant idea!

Some things to consider and questions to ask before starting a PAC:

How will you fund the PAC?

• The solicitable class of a corporation includes executive and administrative personnel, stockholders and family members of those groups.  Is our solicitable class likely to participate? What is our plan for asking them to give?

What is your plan for the PAC?

• Is our industry heavily regulated by the government?  Is there specific legislation affecting our industry?  Is any other organization/association representing our interests?

Who will manage the PAC?

• Is it best to keep the management in-house or do we need outside help?  Is our budget such that we can afford additional staff and/or consultants?

Managing the PAC is not terribly complicated, but it is time consuming and requires experience.  Federal Election Commission regulations have very specific timelines, reporting schedules, and reporting deadlines.

Having a person on staff with FEC experience or hiring an outside vendor is important to keeping your PAC on course and legal.

PASS has been keeping PACs on Track and legal for 40 years, and the compliance experts at PASS are an extension of your team.

Think your start-up PAC is too small for a PAC compliance consultant, give us a call to find out just how cost-effective PASS’ services can be.

Independent expenditures tend to be a seasonal thing, with that season being the few months leading up to the election.  As such, there is often a lack of order, especially when TV, radio or digital ads can be reactionary to a recent debate or new poll numbers.  Everything is moving mind numbingly fast for everyone including: canvassers, political directors, advertisement vendors, and compliance vendors. This can sometimes lead to late or even missed 24/48-hour reports with the FEC or state agencies. Based on my 25+ years of experience, I want to share some important points, which I believe can lead to better overall Federal and State IE reporting during this stressful time.

• Have a Plan of Attack.  Convene a meeting and invite individuals involved in procuring media spots, those making decisions on candidate support, and the compliance vendor responsible for the reporting. This will make a huge difference when expenditures take off during the two or three months leading up to an election. All involved in the process, should know who to reach out to for information due to quick IE reporting turnaround times.

• Communication.  Communication on all sides is critical when coordinating between the PAC making the IE, the advertising vendor and compliance reporting vendor.  Be sure to have the names of individuals who will quickly respond with information needed for reporting to the FEC or state agencies. Turnaround times are tight (24/48 hours), and it is advisable to stay in constant contact during this time to ensure all IEs made are included in the report. Unplanned IEs can happen more than one might want to admit, so stay vigilant and in constant contact with vendors. This will help PACs and Super PACs stay consistent with their reporting.

When you need help with your IE reporting, talk to the experts at PASS. With over 40 years of experience, our PAC compliance experts can make sure your IE reports are filed accurately and on-time. Let our Compliance Experts help you during this busy election season!

When logging onto PASS’ epacInfo® software, there are many different features that help our clients more effectively and efficiently manage their PACs.  One of the best features clients can utilize are the Disbursement (DM) and Receipt Management (RM) Reports. These reports show the money going in and out of your PAC.  Let’s take a look at my top 3 most helpful reports:

1. Candidate/Committee History DM007 – This report allows the user to search for how much your PAC has given to a particular committee or candidate (federal and non-federal). PAC Directors I work with are constantly being asking how much has been given to a candidate in the past.  The DM007 will get you that information in three mouse clicks.
2. Election Cycle DM008– Yearly giving is one thing, but many clients want to know how much the PAC has given in an election cycle. Some candidates are in two-, four-, or six-year election cycles and it’s hard to keep track.  This report will output your PAC’s giving based on each candidate’s election cycle.
3. Congressional Member Information DM032- Want to know a Federal Candidate’s Committee and Subcommittee Assignments? Want to know who to contact within their office to schedule a meeting?  This is one of the best tools to give you a comprehensive look at a member’s footprint in Congress and staff contacts and issue areas.
4. Payroll Comparison RM032– Say you want to compare payrolls to better understand the money lost or added from one pay period to the next. This Receipt report shows you the specific contributions/contributors that were added or stopped giving.  A great way to see the PAC membership turnover each month and year.
5. Receipts Download RM044- Want a comprehensive look at all your contributors? This report gives you detailed information that allows for data mining to help with targeted PAC solicitations.
6. Enrollment Summary RM250– Need specific information on who started giving or who stopped giving to the PAC? This report will show the enrollments that have been added, subtracted or changed so you can estimate current and future receipt totals.

epacInfo® has over 200 Receipt Management reports and over 200 Disbursement management reports that allow users to pull the data they need with just two or three mouse-clicks.

If you are not already using epacInfo® reports to help you more effectively and efficiently run your PAC, reach out to your PASS Compliance Manager and ask for additional one-on-one epacInfo® training.

Whether you are looking at starting a new political action committee (PAC) or have an established PAC, bylaws are a best practice for PACs of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The PAC’s external activity, in the form of receiving contributions from individuals, making contributions to political committees, and reporting all PAC activity, is already heavily regulated.  PAC bylaws establish the internal procedures and policies that will govern how the PAC functions.

Bylaws can serve as an opportunity to formalize the PAC’s fundraising and decision-making processes by addressing topics such as:

• Does the PAC have a board to determine who can receive disbursements and disbursement budgeting and contribution strategies? A PAC board can bring diversity and transparency to the PAC’s decision-making processes.
• If the PAC does not have a board, who are the individuals that will be the decision makers and what division will there be between who is responsible for disbursement strategy and actual monetary disbursements? Having a separation between decision making and the checkbook can be crucial to safeguarding the PAC’s resources.
• Establishing any qualifications that will be used to determine candidate and committee eligibility.
• Building internal accounting procedures that follow established law, as well as organizational requirements and best practices.
• Determining who will be responsible for compliance and reporting.

Note: The most successful PACs outsource the day-to-day PAC administration and reporting to firms like PASS.

• Who is going to pay for PAC administrative and fundraising expenses? The PAC or the sponsoring entity can cover the day-to-day administration and fundraising expenses.
• Setting fundraising eligibility and expectations.

As I stated earlier, bylaws are not a legal requirement, but they are a best practice and will provide your PAC with a framework for success. If you have questions about drafting PAC bylaws, contact your PASS Compliance Manager or reach out to your PAC Counsel for assistance.

Your FEC Statement of Organization, also known as FEC Form 1, is a document that must accurately represent your PAC at all times. Oftentimes changes within the connected organization result in the PAC needing to update the FEC Form 1.

As soon as you learn changes are occurring, the FEC requires you to file an amended Form 1 within 10 days of the changes taking place.

Why would I need to update my FEC Form 1, you ask? The most common reason we see at PASS is the appointment of a new PAC Treasurer. A PAC Treasurer is the one position required by the FEC and that position must never be vacant. Other reasons include a change in banks, the committee or the business address has changed, or there is a change to the Custodian of Records.

Another time you will need to update your FEC Form 1 is when your organization merges with another company and either changes the company name or the other company also has a PAC. Once the merger is complete, assuming the two PACs still exist, the two PACs are now affiliated and both PACs will have to amend their FEC Form 1 to show an affiliation with the other PAC. Both PACs will also share limits, but that’s a topic for another blog.

Should you need to amend your FEC Form 1, simply provide your PASS Compliance Manager with the updated information and they will prepare the amended form and send it for your review. If the change is the appointment of a new Treasurer or Custodian of Records, that individual must acquire a new password to electronically file the amended Form 1 and subsequent reports. A committee’s Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer can request or change an electronic password online at www.fec.gov/elecfl/passwords.shtml. (from FEC page 11 of Campaign Guide for Political Party Committees (August 2013)).

If you have any organizational changes or want to discuss upcoming mergers/acquisition changes within your organization, please contact your Compliance Manger and they will make the process seamless.

Have you ever gotten close to election day and found out you don’t have enough money in the bank to make any pre-election disbursements? Or have you found yourself with a surplus of cash following an election? Either way, planning your spending at the start of a new year or new election cycle will help avoid cash-flow issues and reporting mistakes.

The best way to map out contributions is to create a PAC budget and identify intended recipients and contribution amounts. Your Board or Approval Team can “pre-approve” the proposed recipients in the budget list, and PASS can provide you with feedback on whether registration will be required in any new jurisdiction. This allows you to plan your registrations in advance of contributing. When you are ready to make your contributions, PASS can complete the compliance review and check processing for each recipient, to ensure disbursements are compliant with federal and state regulations and delivery is not delayed.

PASS offers a Budget Module as part of our epacInfo^® software suite. The beauty of using epacInfoBudgets^® is that you can create your disbursement request directly from your budget record, without needing to re-enter information. Your budget is updated as soon as a check is cut so no manual updating of spreadsheets is needed. PASS can load your budget at the beginning of the year or cycle, and you can update budgets as priorities change or retirements are announced.

PASS offers a Budget Module as part of our epacInfo^® software suite. The beauty of using epacInfoBudgets^® is that you can create your disbursement request directly from your budget record, without needing to re-enter information.

PASS can also give you guidance on how to avoid additional pre-election or 24-hour late contribution reporting, depending on your time-sensitive disbursement needs. Working together, we can help meet your spending goals and reporting obligations in the most efficient way possible.

With over 40 years of experience, our PAC compliance experts can help you budget and track your PAC spending to maximize your impact. Let our Compliance Experts help you during this busy election season!