If you have been reading this Q&A series on campaign finance and election law, congratulations you’ve made it to the last segment in the series!  We hope that you’ve found the information helpful and informative.  If you haven’t read the previous three segments (series 1, series 2, series 3), then you’ll find it helpful to know that this is where MLC shared some of the most common campaign finance and election law questions that our clients asked us along with the corresponding answers.  Here are the last set of questions:

Q:  My association has a PAC.  When can the PAC accept cash contributions and when does the contribution have to be a check? 

A:   A state PAC can accept cash contributions if they are $20.00 or less.  If it’s a contribution of $20.01, then it must be provided either by a check, money order or credit card.  Anything over $20.00 has to be provided on some type of written instrument.

Q:  Are there any limits to how much someone can contribute to a PAC?  There seems to be limits on everything else.

A:  No, PACs can receive unlimited contribution amounts from legal sources. So, if you’re running a state level PAC be sure to ask for contributions early and often.  There is an exception to this provision for caucus PACs.  If you’re making contributions to a caucus PAC, then you’re limited to 40,000 per calendar year (not election cycle!).

Q:  What is the most important piece of advice that you can give to someone who is working on a candidate’s campaign?

A:  Don’t be the Treasurer.  If anything goes wrong, it’s the Treasurer who goes to jail.  Of course, that is a little tongue in cheek for a response, but it gets the point of across that you have to make sure you’re detail oriented when you’re the Treasurer.  It’s not necessarily a difficult role to perform, but it’s one of the most important because it keeps the candidate’s committee in compliance with campaign finance law and ideally out of the media headlines for violations.

If you have an idea for a Q&A series for MLC’s Blog, please share that with us!  You can e-mail your ideas to info (AT) mlcmi (DOT) com. 

This Q&A series is meant to be educational only.  The information contained in the above article does not constitute legal advice and should not be considered as such.

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.