As we’re getting closer to the state and federal general election, the MLC team is often asked a considerable number of campaign finance and election law questions.  Over the past two years, and even the past two months for that matter, there have been significant changes in both areas of law.  In an effort to help answer these questions, we will be running a question and answer series in the MLC Insider Intelligence over the next 4 weeks.  In each segment, we will share some of the commonly asked questions by our clients along with the corresponding answers.  We promise, we won’t get too far into the weeds with our answers.  We’ll give you the basic information you’re looking for and if you need more detail, please just send us an e-mail with your follow-up question and we’ll respond back to you.

Q:  What are the contribution limits to a candidate for a state House seat? 

A:  It depends on the source of the contribution.  Here is a breakdown of the sources and limits:

• Individual (i.e. you’re writing a personal check to a candidate):  $1,000.00
• Political Action Committee (PAC):  $1,000.00
• Independent PAC:  $10,000.00
• Caucus PAC:  Unlimited
• District Political Party Committee:  $10,000.00
• County Political Party Committee:  $10,000.00
• State Political Party Committee:  $10,000.00

These limits are based on an election cycle.  So, if you have a PAC that contributed $1,000.00 to a House candidate in 2015, you cannot make a contribution to that same candidate until November 9^th in 2016 because you have reached the contribution limit with that candidate for the election cycle.  An election cycle begins the day following the last general election in which the office appeared on the ballot and ends on the day of the next general election.  However, if you’re a PAC that made a $500.00 contribution to a House candidate in 2015, you could still contribute up to another $500.00 to that same candidate in 2016.  Relatively speaking, it doesn’t matter in what increments you reach that limit, it matters that you don’t go over that limit.

Q:  My association has a state PAC, but does not have a federal PAC.  Can we make a contribution to a candidate for a Congressional seat from our state PAC?

A:  Yes, but there special provisions you need to be aware of before you start making such contributions.  Here are some key pieces of information you need to know:

• Should the state PAC raise or spend more than $1,000 in federal contributions or expenditures in a calendar year, it must register with the FEC (Federal Election Commission) as a nonconnected committee.  That $1,000 threshold is a total amount and not a per candidate amount.  Therefore, a state PAC must keep track of all federal contributions/expenditures because once that $1,000 amount is hit, then it must file to be a nonconnected federal PAC.
• From that point on, the nonconnected PAC must file regular reports with the FEC and ensure that it maintains an account into which only federally permissible contributions are deposited for use in federal elections.

Q:  I would like to contribute to my local judge’s campaign.  Are there limits that I need to be aware of?

A:  Yes.  The limits vary depending on the population of the district where you live.  Below is a chart from the Secretary of State’s website that notes the population thresholds and contribution limits.

Note:  If you are an attorney, judicial candidate campaign committees are actually prohibited from soliciting contributions greater than $100 from you.

Do you have a question that you would like MLC to answer on this blog?  If so, please e-mail it to info (AT) mlcmi (DOT) com and we’ll try to include it in upcoming segments of this Q&A series.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.