April quarterly reporting reminder

All principal campaign committees of House and Senate candidates must file a quarterly report by April 15. 11 CFR 104.5(a). Principal campaign committees of Presidential candidates must file a report on April 15, if they are quarterly filers, or on April 20, if they are monthly filers.

Political action committees (PACs) and party committees that file on a monthly basis, including all national party committees and certain political action committees and state, district and local party committees, have a report due on April 20.¹ Other PACs and party committees must file a quarterly report by April 15.

Committees that will be involved in the April 11, 2006, Special General Election in California’s 50th Congressional District or in an intervening primary election may have additional filing requirements in April. See the January 2006 Record and the February 2006 Record, page 4, for more details.

Electronic filing software

The Commission recently updated its electronic filing format to Version 5.3.1.0. FECFile Version 5.3, supported by the new format, is available for download from the FEC website. Committees using commercial software should contact their vendors for more information about the latest software release. Only reports filed in the new format version will be accepted.

Filing electronically

Under the Commission’s mandatory electronic filing regulations, individuals and organizations² that receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $50,000 in a calendar year — or expect to do so — must file all reports and statements with the FEC electronically.

Electronic filers who instead file on paper or submit an electronic report that does not pass the Commission’s validation program will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines. 11 CFR 104.18. Senate committees and other committees that file with the Secretary of the Senate are not subject to the mandatory electronic filing rules, but may file an unofficial electronic copy of their reports with the Commission in order to speed disclosure.

Timely filing for paper filers

Reports sent by registered or certified mail, by Express or Priority Mail with delivery confirmation or by overnight mail with an online tracking system must be postmarked, or deposited with the mailing service, by the filing deadline.³ A committee sending its reports by certified mail should keep its mailing receipt with the postmark as proof of filing because the U.S. Postal Service does not keep complete records of items sent by certified mail. A committee sending its reports by registered, Express or Priority mail, or by an overnight delivery service, should also keep its proof of mailing or other means of transmittal of its reports.

Reports sent by other means — including first class mail and courier — must be received by the FEC before it closes its doors on the filing deadline. 2 U.S.C. §434(a)(5) and 11 CFR 104.5(e).

For those filers who are not required to file their reports electronically, paper forms are available on the FEC’s website and from FEC Faxline, the agency’s automated fax system, 202/501-3413.

Additional information

For more information on 2006 reporting dates:

• See the reporting tables in the January 2006 Record;
• Call and request the reporting tables from the FEC at 800/424- 9530 or 202/694-1100;
• Fax the reporting tables to yourself using the FEC’s Faxline at 202/501-3413 (document 586); or
• Visit the FEC’s webpage to view the reporting tables online.

¹ State, district and local party committees that have $5,000 or more of aggregate receipts and disbursements in a calendar year for federal election activity (FEA) must file monthly. 11 CFR 300.36(c). For more information on new FEA rules see March 2006 Record page 3.

² The regulation covers individuals and organizations required to file reports with the Commission, including any person making an independent expenditure. Disbursements made by individuals or unregistered entities for electioneering communications do not count toward the $50,000 threshold for mandatory electronic filing. See 11 CFR 104.18(a).

³ Note that April 15 falls on a weekend. Filing dates are not extended for weekends or holidays