Price Index Adjustments for Expenditure Limitations and Lobbyist Bundling Disclosure Threshold
As mandated by provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended ("FECA" or "the Act"), the Federal Election Commission ("FEC" or "the Commission") is adjustin...
Notice of adjustments to expenditure limitations and lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold.
SUMMARY:
As mandated by provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (“FECA” or “the Act”), the Federal Election Commission (“FEC” or “the Commission”) is adjusting certain expenditure limitations and the lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold set forth in the Act, to index the amounts for inflation. Additional details appear in the supplemental information that follows.
DATES:
Effective Date:
January 1, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Greg J. Scott or Mr. Kevin R. Salley, Information Division, 999 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20463; (202) 694-1100 or (800) 424-9530.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, 2 U.S.C. 431et seq.,
as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 [1]
and the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007,[2]
coordinated party expenditure limits (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(2) and (3)(A), (B)) and the disclosure threshold for contributions bundled by lobbyists (2 U.S.C. 434(i)(3)(A)) are adjusted periodically to reflect changes in the consumer price index.
See2 U.S.C. 434(i)(3) and 441a(c)(1), and 11 CFR 109.32 and 110.17(a), (f). The Commission is publishing this notice to announce the adjusted limits and disclosure threshold.
Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits for 2010
Under 2 U.S.C. 441a(c), the Commission must adjust the expenditure limitations established by 2 U.S.C. 441a(d) (the limits on expenditures by national party committees, state party committees, or their subordinate committees in connection with the general election campaign of candidates for Federal office) annually to account for inflation. This expenditure limitation is increased by 4.35110, which reflects the difference between the price index, as certified to the Commission by the Secretary of Labor, for the 12 months preceding the beginning of the calendar year and the price index for the base period (calendar year 1974).
1. Expenditure Limitation for House of Representatives in States With More Than One Congressional District
Both the national and state party committees have an expenditure limitation for each general election held to fill a seat in the House of
( printed page 8354)
Representatives in States with more than one congressional district. This limitation also applies to those States that elect individuals to the office of Delegate or Resident Commissioner.[3]
The formula used to calculate the expenditure limitation in such States multiplies the base figure of $10,000 by the difference in the price index (4.35110), rounding to the nearest $100.
See2 U.S.C. 441a(c)(1)(B) and 441a(d)(3)(B), and 11 CFR 109.32(b) and 110.17. Based upon this formula, the expenditure limitation for 2010 general elections for House candidates in these States is $43,500.
2. Expenditure Limitation for Senate and for House of Representatives in States With Only One Congressional District
Both the national and state party committees have an expenditure limitation for a general election held to fill a seat in the Senate or in the House of Representatives in States with only one congressional district. The formula used to calculate this expenditure limitation considers not only the price index but also the voting age population (“VAP”) of the state. The VAP of each state is published annually in the
Federal Register
by the Department of Commerce. 11 CFR 110.18. The general election expenditure limitation is the greater of: The base figure ($20,000) multiplied by the difference in the price index, 4.35110 (which totals $87,000); or $0.02 multiplied by the VAP of the state, multiplied by 4.35110. Amounts are rounded to the nearest $100.
See2 U.S.C. 441a(c)(1)(B) and 441a(d)(3)(A), and 11 CFR 109.32(b) and 110.17. The chart below provides the state-by-state breakdown of the 2010 general election expenditure limitations for Senate elections. The expenditure limit for 2010 House elections in states with only one congressional district [4]
is $87,000.
Senate General Election Expenditure Limitations—2010 Elections
State
VAP
(in thousands)
VAP × .02 × the price index (4.35110)
Senate
expenditure
limit (the greater of the amount
in column 3 or $87,000)
Alabama
3,580
$311,500
$311,500
Alaska
515
44,800
87,000
Arizona
4,864
423,300
423,300
Arkansas
2,180
189,700
189,700
California
27,526
2,395,400
2,395,400
Colorado
3,797
330,400
330,400
Connecticut
2,710
235,800
235,800
Delaware
678
59,000
87,000
Florida
14,480
1,260,100
1,260,100
Georgia
7,245
630,500
630,500
Hawaii
1,005
87,500
87,500
Idaho
1,127
98,100
98,100
Illinois
9,733
847,000
847,000
Indiana
4,834
420,700
420,700
Iowa
2,295
199,700
199,700
Kansas
2,114
184,000
184,000
Kentucky
3,300
287,200
287,200
Louisiana
3,369
293,200
293,200
Maine
1,047
91,100
91,100
Maryland
4,348
378,400
378,400
Massachusetts
5,161
449,100
449,100
Michigan
7,620
663,100
663,100
Minnesota
4,005
348,500
348,500
Mississippi
2,184
190,100
190,100
Missouri
4,556
396,500
396,500
Montana
755
65,700
87,000
Nebraska
1,345
117,000
117,000
Nevada
1,962
170,700
170,700
New Hampshire
1,036
90,200
90,200
New Jersey
6,662
579,700
579,700
New Mexico
1,499
130,400
130,400
New York
15,117
1,315,500
1,315,500
North Carolina
7,103
618,100
618,100
North Dakota
503
43,800
87,000
Ohio
8,828
768,200
768,200
Oklahoma
2,769
241,000
241,000
Oregon
2,953
257,000
257,000
Pennsylvania
9,830
855,400
855,400
Rhode Island
826
71,900
87,000
South Carolina
3,481
302,900
302,900
South Dakota
613
53,300
87,000
Tennessee
4,803
418,000
418,000
Texas
17,886
1,556,500
1,556,500
Utah
1,916
166,700
166,700
( printed page 8355)
Vermont
495
43,100
87,000
Virginia
6,035
525,200
525,200
Washington
5,095
443,400
443,400
West Virginia
1,433
124,700
124,700
Wisconsin
4,345
378,100
378,100
Wyoming
412
35,900
87,000
Contribution Limitations for Individuals, Non-Multicandidate Committees and for Certain Political Party Committees Giving to U.S. Senate Candidates for the 2009-2010 Election Cycle
For the convenience of the readers, the Commission is also republishing the contribution limitations for individuals, non-multicandidate committees and for certain political party committees giving to U.S. Senate candidates for the 2009-2010 election cycle:
$57,500 (of which no more than $37,500 may be attributable to contributions to political committees that are not political committees of national political parties)
$69,900 (of which no more than $45,600 may be attributable to contributions to political committees that are not political committees of national political parties)
The Act, as amended by HLOGA, requires certain political committees to disclose contributions bundled by lobbyists/registrants and lobbyist/registrant political action committees once the contributions exceed a specified threshold amount. The Commission must adjust this threshold amount annually to account for inflation. The disclosure threshold is increased by multiplying the $15,000 statutory disclosure threshold by 1.06418, the difference between the price index, as certified to the Commission by the Secretary of Labor, for the 12 months preceding the beginning of the calendar year and the price index for the base period (calendar year 2006). The resulting amount is rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.
See2 U.S.C. 434(i)(3)(A) and (B), 441a(c)(1)(B) and 11 CFR 104.22(g). Based upon this formula ($15,000 × 1.06418), the lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold for calendar year 2010 is $16,000, unchanged from 2009.
2 U.S.C. 431
11 CFR 109.32
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