the United States Government

“ Members shall be chosen on the basis of their experience, integrity, impartiality, and good judgment and members (other than the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives) shall be individuals who, at the time appointed to the Commission, are not elected or appointed officers or employees in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal Government. Such members of the Commission shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment. ”

“ Limitation on contribution of currency No person shall make contributions of currency of the United States or currency of any foreign country to or for the benefit of any candidate which, in the aggregate, exceed $100, with respect to any campaign of such candidate for nomination for election, or for election, to Federal office. ”

“ Notwithstanding any other law, any method of soliciting voluntary contributions or of facilitating the making of voluntary contributions to a separate segregated fund established by a corporation, permitted by law to corporations with regard to stockholders and executive or administrative personnel, shall also be permitted to labor organizations with regard to their members. ”

“ No political committee which supports or has supported more than one candidate may be designated as an authorized committee, except that— (i) the candidate for the office of President nominated by a political party may designate the national committee of such political party as a principal campaign committee, but only if that national committee maintains separate books of account with respect to its function as a principal campaign committee ”

“ Scope of protection for good faith reliance upon rules or regulations Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who relies upon any rule or regulation prescribed by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of this section and who acts in good faith in accordance with such rule or regulation shall not, as a result of such act, be subject to any sanction provided by this Act or by chapter 95 or chapter 96 of title 26. ”

“ For the purposes of this section the term “labor organization” means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. ”

“ Generic campaign activity.— The term “generic campaign activity” means a campaign activity that promotes a political party and does not promote a candidate or non-Federal candidate. (22) Public communication.— The term “public communication” means a communication by means of any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing, or telephone bank to the general public, or any other form of general public political advertising. ”

“ No officer or employee of a political committee shall knowingly accept a contribution made for the benefit or use of a candidate, or knowingly make any expenditure on behalf of a candidate, in violation of any limitation imposed on contributions and expenditures under this section. ”

“ Each political committee shall designate one or more State banks, federally chartered depository institutions, or depository institutions the deposits or accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, or the National Credit Union Administration, as its campaign depository or depositories. ”

“ The Commission shall set filing dates for reports to be filed by principal campaign committees of candidates seeking election, or nomination for election, in special elections and political committees filing under paragraph (4) (A) which make contributions to or expenditures on behalf of a candidate or candidates in special elections. The Commission shall require no more than one pre-election report for each election and one post-election report for the election which fills the vacancy. ”

“ The term “expenditure” does not include— (i) any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate; (ii) nonpartisan activity designed to encourage individuals to vote or to register to vote ”

“ A member of the Commission may serve on the Commission after the expiration of his or her term until his or her successor has taken office as a member of the Commission. (C) An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expiration of a term of office shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member he or she succeeds. ”

“ Registration of political committees (a) Statements of organizations Each authorized campaign committee shall file a statement of organization no later than 10 days after designation pursuant to section 432 (e) (1) of this title. Each separate segregated fund established under the provisions of section 441b (b) of this title shall file a statement of organization no later than 10 days after establishment. All other committees shall file a statement of organization within 10 days after becoming a political committee within the meaning of section 431 (4) of this title. ”

“ The term “candidate” means an individual who seeks nomination for election, or election, to Federal office, and for purposes of this paragraph, an individual shall be deemed to seek nomination for election, or election— (A) if such individual has received contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000 or has made expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000 ”

“ Each political committee shall maintain at least one checking account and such other accounts as the committee determines at a depository designated by such committee. All receipts received by such committee shall be deposited in such accounts. No disbursements may be made (other than petty cash disbursements under paragraph (2) ) by such committee except by check drawn on such accounts in accordance with this section. (2) A political committee may maintain a petty cash fund for disbursements not in excess of $100 to any person in connection with a single purchase or transaction. ”

“ All political committees other than authorized committees of a candidate shall file either— (A) (i) quarterly reports, in a calendar year in which a regularly scheduled general election is held, which shall be filed no later than the 15th day after the last day of each calendar quarter: except that the report for the quarter ending on December 31 of such calendar year shall be filed no later than January 31 of the following calendar year ”

“ If the Commission believes that a violation of this Act or of chapter 95 or chapter 96 of title 26 has been committed, a conciliation agreement entered into by the Commission under paragraph (4) (A) may include a requirement that the person involved in such conciliation agreement shall pay a civil penalty which does not exceed the greater of $5,000 or an amount equal to any contribution or expenditure involved in such violation. ”

“ The Commission shall promulgate a regulation under which a person required to file a designation, statement, or report under this Act— (i) is required to maintain and file a designation, statement, or report for any calendar year in electronic form accessible by computers if the person has, or has reason to expect to have, aggregate contributions or expenditures in excess of a threshold amount determined by the Commission ”

“ Contributions in name of another prohibited No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution, and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person. ”

“ Nothing in this subparagraph is to be construed as a prohibition on the use of funds in such a segregated account for a purpose other than electioneering communications. (F) If the disbursements were paid out of funds not described in subparagraph (E) , the names and addresses of all contributors who contributed an aggregate amount of $1,000 or more to the person making the disbursement during the period beginning on the first day of the preceding calendar year and ending on the disclosure date. ”