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Advocacy Blog
Thursday, February 01, 2007
The FEC Position on 527 Organizations
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has released a draft justification of its political committee status; or why 527 organizations are not regulated as political committees. The agency is defending itself for not issuing a rule defining "political committee" and arguing that the rules adopted in 2004 are adequate. These 2004 rules will be used to determine whether any group is working solely to influence federal elections without abiding by federal campaign finance restrictions. This document confirms the FEC's contention that a 527 organization can not be considered a political committee simply based on tax status alone. "An organization's election of section 527 tax status is not sufficient evidence in itself that the organization satisfies FECA and the Supreme Court’s contribution, expenditure, and major purpose requirements." The FEC gives the recent examples of the 527 organizations that were just fined extensively for its activity in the 2004 campaign.
Pursuant to FECA and Supreme Court precedent, the Commission will continue to determine political committee status based on whether an organization (1) received contributions or made expenditures in excess of $1,000 during a calendar year, and (2) whether that organization’s major purpose was campaign activity.
Read reactions to the FEC's explanation at these blogs: skepticseye.com and moresoftmoneyhardlaw.
Posted by Amanda Adams
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