• 

THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

COMMISSION 

1325 K Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463 

Volume 4, Number 1 

YEAR-END REPORT IN NONELECTION YEAR 

All Federal candidates and political committees must 

file a year-end report of receipts and expenditures by 

January 31, 1978. (The year-end report is the same as a 

fourth quarter report.) The report must be filed by all candidates and committees regardless of how much they have 

raised or spent during the year or whether they have outstanding debts, with the exception of: 

-- Candidates and committees which have filed a valid 

termination report during 1976 or 1977 (and did not 

subsequently become a candidate or committee for a 

1978 election); 

-- Candidates and committees who participated in a special 

election during 1977 (see below); 

-- Candidates who have received a personal reporting 

waiver. 

The report, filed on FEC Form 3 or 6 (Short Form), as 

appropriate, is due on January 31, 1978. FEC Form 3a 

(postcard form) will not be considered an adequate filing 

and should not be used for this report. The report must 

disclose all reportable transactions since the closing date of 

the last report and all outstanding debts or obligations 

through December 31, 1977. The postcard form is not considered an adequate filing. Therefore, "transactions not 

previously reported" must include all receipts or expenditures occurring in any calendar quarter for which the candidate or committee filed a postcard form. 

The report should be filed with the Clerk of the House, the 

Secretary of the Senate or the Federal Election Commission, as appropriate. A notice containing additional information ·will be sent to all registered candidates and committees required to file. Questions or requests for fOrms 

should be addressed to the Office of Public Communications, Federal Election Commission, 1325 K Street, N.W., 

Washington, D.C. 20463 or by telephone at toll-free 

800/424-9530. 

YEAR-END REPORT 

FOR ELECTION YEAR 

January 197

Candidates who participated in one of the special elec

tions held during 1977 and committees which supporte

such candidates must regard 1977 as an election year

Therefore, a year-end report is required only if: 

1. Receipts and expenditures during the fourth quarte

exceeded $1,000; OR 

2. The candidate or committee has outstanding debts o

obligations, regardless of activity. 

The report should cover all transactions not previous

reported through December 31, 1977. For information o

where to file and which forms to use, se.~ paragraph abov

.(Any candidate or committee whose reporting obligation

have been properly terminated need not file any reports

MONTHLY REPORTING IN 1978 

Political committees which make contributions o

expenditures to support Federal candidates in more tha

one State may prefer to report on a monthly basis durin

1978. Monthly reports take the place of quarterly and pr

and post-primary election reports. The committee mu

request in writing and receive Commission approval prio

to filing monthly reports. (Those committees alread

reporting monthly do not need to reapply.) The monthl

report must be filed no later than the 20th day of th

month and be complete as of the last day of the precedin

month. In lieu of monthly filings for the months of Novem

ber and December 1978 and January 1979, the committe

will be required to file pre· and post-general election repor

and a year-end report. This reporting option will remain 

effect until the committee requests in writing and receiv

approval by the Commission to revert to qUarterly filiry

The Commission retains the right to deny any subseque

requests by the same committee to change rePorting statu

again. Requests for Monthly Reporting Option forms a

available from the Office of Public Communications. 
ADVISORY OPINION PROCEDURES 

The Federal Election Commission issued Advisory Opin· 

ions (AOs) on the application of the Federal Election Cam· 

paign Act of 1971, as amended, or the FEC's Regulations 

to a specific factual situation. 2 U;S.C. §437f. An AO may 

be requested by the following: 

·· A Federal officeholder; 

·· A candidate for Federal office; 

·· A political committee; or 

- The national committee of a political party. 

The request must be made in writing to the Office of 

General Counsel, Advisory Opinion Section. 

Once an Advisory Opinion Request (AOR) is received, it 

is made public. Interested members ofthe public may make 

comments on any. AOR within 10 days of the date the AOR 

is made public. Comments should also be addressed to the 

Office of General Counsel and should refer to the AOR 

number. Upon written request, additional time may be 

granted for comments. 

Within a reasonable time after receipt of an AOR, the Commission issues an Advisory Opinion. The opinion may be 

relied on by any person involved in the specific transaction 

which is the subject of the opinion and also by the 

requestor and any Other person involved in_ a transaction 

which is indistinguishable in all material aspects from the 

transaction covered by the AO. Copies of all AORs and 

AOs are available at 10 cents per page, payable in advance, 

from the Public Records Office, Federal Election Commission, 1325 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463. 

Checks should be made payable to the United States 

Treasurer. 

PENDING ADVISORY OPINION REQUESTS 

Effective this issue, the FEC will begin publishing Advi· 

sory Opinion Requests (AORs) in the Record, instead of 

the Federal Register. As in the past, the full text of AORs 

will be made available to the public in the Commission's 

Office of Public Records as they are received. The following 

chart lists pending AORs (those not yet answered by the 

Commission) not previously published in the Federal Regis· 

ter, together with a brief description of the subject matter, 

the date the requests were made public and the number of 

pages of each request. 

AOR Subject Date Made Numb

Public of Pag

1977-52 Retirement of past campaign debts. 

10/13/77 

1977-53 Establishment of separate 10/21/77 

segregated fund by federa· 

tion of trade associa~ions. 

1977-54 Candidate participation in 10/21/77 

petition drive. 

1977-55 Reporting of payments. 

1977-57 Termination of commit· 

tee. 

10/27/77 

10/28/77 

1977-58 Reporting of loan. 11/2/77 

1977-61 Fundraising dinner. 11/7/77 

1977-63 Use of surplus campaign 11/16/77 

funds. 

1977-64 . Use of surplus campaign 11/16/77 

funds. 

1977-65 Contributions from mem- 11/21/77 

bership organization. 

1977-66 Use of contributor lists. 11/28/77 

ADVISORY OPINIONS: SUMMARIES 

3 

5 

2 

3 

2 

2 

2 

The following are brief summaries of recen~ly issu

Advisory Opinions (AOs). 

AO 1977-18: Solicitation by 

Trade Association 

The Proprietary Industry Political Action Commit

(PIPAC) may not solicit the Board of Directors of its sp

soring trade association, the Proprietary Association (

Association), because they are not stockholders or exe

tive or administrative personnel of the Association. Ho

ever, since the Board consists of executive and administ

tive personnel of the corporate members of the Associati

PI PAC may splicit members of the Board under the FE

trade association regulations (11 CFR §114.8). These re

lations require that the corporate member give pr

approval to a solicitation by a trade association and li

such approval to only one trade association in any calen

year. Those Board members who are employed by a corp

ration which has not consented to a PI PAC solicitation 

. 

The RECORD is published by tbe Federal Election Commission, 1325 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463 •

Commissioners are: Thomas E •. Harris, Chairman; Joan D. Aikens, Vice-Chairman; William L. Springer; Neil Staebler; 

Vernon W. Thomson; Robert 0. Tieman; J.S. Kimmitt, Secretary of the Senate, Ex Officio; Edmund L. Henshaw, Jr., 

Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ex Officio. 

For more information, call 5234068 or toll free .800424-9530. 

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which has consented to a solicitation by another trade 

association could not be solicited by PIPAC. (Length: 

3 pages) 

AO 197745: Use of 

Credit Received 

Mr. Terry Martin, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, may use credit from an advertising publication, 

received as compensation for his professional services, to 

purchase campaign advertising space in the same publication. The credit would be considered personal funds of 

Mr. Martin, rather than an in-kind contribution, provided: 

1. The credit is the result of bona fide employment of Mr. 

Martin; and 

2. The compensation does not exceed the fair market value 

of the services performed, when compared to similar 

work performed by others. 

Actual use of the credit to purchase advertising space in the 

publication would be an expenditure by the candidate's 

principal campaign committee. The committee should 

report the credit actually used both as an expenditure by 

the committee and as an in-kind-contribution from the can· 

didate. The committee should also maintain a record of 

the unused amount of compensation available to avoid 

expenditures in excess of that amount. The application 

of 1 RS Regulations to this transaction falls outside the 

jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission. (Length: 

3 pages) 

AO 1977-46: Receiving Honoraria 

Congressman Guy Vander Jagt may count honoraria 

received in 1977 for speeches given in 1976 against his 

1976 calendar year limitations on honoraria. An honorarium is considered "accepted," and therefore counted 

against the limitations, when the officeholder delivers a 

speech or makes an appearance to earn the honorarium, 

which may or may not be when the honorarium is 

actually received. The application of House Rules or IRS 

Regulations is not within the jurisdiction of the Federal 

Election Commission. (Length: 2 pages) 

AO 197747: Use of Surplus 

Campaign Funds 

Senator Clifford P. Hansen may use surplus campaign funds 

from his 1972 election campaign to pay expenses incurred 

in connection with his duties as a Federal officeholder, such 

as entertainment of constituents or travel to and from 

Wyoming. The Senator's campaign committee may remain 

in operation to make these disbursements, in which case the 

committee continues to have a reporting obligation under 

the Federal Election Campaign Act. Alternatively, since 

Senator Hansen is retiring and will not be a candidate for 

reelection and since the committee has no outstanding 

debts or obligations, the committee· may fife a termination 

report. If, upon termination, the surplus funds are transferred to an office account (11 CFR §113.1(b)), a reporting 

obligation under Part 113 of the Commission's Regulations 

would be incurred. The applicability of Senate Rules or 

IRS Regulations to this situation is not within the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission. (Length: 

2 pages) 

3 

AO 197748: Use of Excess 

Campaign Funds 

Marvin Durning, Congressional candidate in Washingt

State's 1977 special election, may use excess campai

funds from this campaign to retire debts from a 19

gubernatorial campaign. The Act permits the use of exc

campaign funds for supporting activities of a Federal offi

holder, charitable purposes and "any other lawful p

pose." 2 U.S.C. §439a. The use of excess campaign fun

by Mr. Durning to pay debts from a 1976 gubernator

campaign would be a "lawful purpose" provided no· St

or Federal law outside the FEC's jurisdiction prohib

such use. Any possible application of IRS Regulations 

such payments falls outside the jurisdiction of the Fede

Election Commission. (Length: 2 pages) 

AO 1977-51: Gifts to 

Congressional Members 

Congressman Cecil Heftel may give gifts of macadamia n

to other Members of Congress without incurring a report

obligation and without making a contribution under 

Federal Election Campaign Act. The gifts, purchased 

the Congressman or received from corporations, tra

associations or individuals, would not be subject to the A

The application of House Rules to this activity is not wit

the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission. 

(Length: 2 pages) 

AO 1977-60: Purchase of 

Greeting Cards 

Congressman Leo C. Zeferetti may regard the purchase 

Christmas greeting cards with campaign funds as an exp

diture by his principal campaign committee under 

Federal Election Campaign Act. The greeting cards wo

not have to contain the statement of authorization 

notice of filed reports (2 U.S.C. §§435 and 441d) requi

by the Act, provided the cards do not expressly advoc

the Congressman's election or solicit funds for his c

paign. (Length: 2 pages) 

LEROY B. JONES, et al. v. FEC, et-al. 

{Part Ill) 

On October 26, 1977, the U.S. District Court for 

District of Columbia denied the Plaintiff's motion fo

preliminary injunction and granted the Commissio

motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff's orig

complaint alleged that the Commission had violated 

constitutional rights of contributors to the Commi

to Reelect Lyndon LaRouche. For a summary of 

original complaint and the FEC's motion to dismiss, 

the Record, June 1977, p. 3 and September 1977, p

respectively. 

In granting a summary judgment, the :Court agreed w

the FEC's arguments that its investigation. of contributi

to the LaRouche campaign and the actions of its agent
the field during the investigation were " ... reasonable- and 

within the statutory authority conferred by 2 U.S.C. 

§§437d and 438." The Court also found " ... nothing in 

the record which supports or could support any alleged 

violation of Plaintiff's common law, statutory or constitu· 

tiona! rights." 

On November 4, 1977, a notice of appeal was filed by the 

plaintiffs. 

NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK COMMITTEE v. 

VERNON W. THOMSON, et al. (Part Ill) 

On November 18, 1977, the U.S. District Court for the 

District of Columbia denied the Commission's motion to 

dismiss the suit filed by the National Right to Work Com· 

mittee (the Committee), and granted the plaintiff's motion 

for summary. judgment. The suit alleges that the Commis· 

sion failed to act on two complaints filed with the F EC by 

the Committee. For a summary of the original complaint, 

see the Record, July 1977, p. 4. In addition, the Court 

ruled that the Commission must act upon the complaints 

filed by the Committee within 30 days. 

CORRECTION 

In the December 1977 issue of the Record under 

"The Law in the Courts," the two suits summarized 

were erroneously stated to be filed in the U.S. Dis· 

trict Court for the District of Columbia. Bread Political Action Committee, et al. v. FEC, et al. is filed in 

the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 

(Eastern Division). National Right to Work Commit· 

tee v. FEC .is filed in the District Court for the 

Eastern District of Virginia. 

The Public Communications Office of the Federal Elec· 

tion Commission receives numerous inquiries from the 

public on the toll-free line (800/424·9530). The following 

explanation of some specific reporting requirements is presented in response to several frequently asked questions. 

ITEMIZING CONTRIBUTIONS 

The FEC Regulations require that all Reports of 

Receipts and Expenditures (FEC Form 3 or 6), filed by 

candidates and political committees, contain an itemization 

of all contributions " ... in an amount or value in excess of 

$100, or in an amount of less than $100 if the [contribu· 

tor's] contributions within a calendar year total more than 

$100 .... " 11 CFR §104.2(b)(2). (Note that an individual 

who makes a contribution to a candidate or committee has 

no reporting obligation.) 

4 

For example, if an individual contributes $50 to Candidate 

Jones in each quarter of a calendar year, the candidate's 

reporting obligation would be as follows (contributed 

amounts appear in parentheses): 

·· First Quarter: Because the amount contributed to Jones 

($50) is less than $100, the contribution would be in· 

eluded in unitemized contributions. (Note that a candi· 

date may decide to itemize contributions of $100 or 

less even though not required by the Act or Regulations. 

In this case, however, those contributions must be 

itemized on a separate schedule from those in excess of 

$100.) 

·· Second Quarter: The donor contributes another $50, 

but the total amount contributed ($1 00) to Candidate 

Jones is not in excess of $100, so the contribution 

w·ould be reported again under unitemized contributions. 

·· Third Quarter: Again, the donor contributes $50. The 

total amount contributed ($150) now aggregates in 

excess of $100 and must be itemized on Schedule A (of 

Form 3) or 6A (of Form 6). The itemization must contain the contributor's name, address, occupation, principal place of business, the date of the contribution, the 

amount of the contribution received during the third 

quarter ($50), and the year·to·date aggregate of contri· 

butions received from the same contributor ($150). 

-· Fourth Quarter: Because the donor's total contributions 

to Jones have now exceeded $100, all subsequent contributions from the same contributor in the same year 

must be itemized regardless of amount. Thus, when the 

donor contributes another $50 to Candidate Jones, the 

itemization would be identical to that made during the 

third quarter, except that the amount for the aggregate 

year-to-date ($200) would reflect the additional contri· 

bution made during the fourth quarter. 

REPORTING TRANSFERS 

The Commission's Regulations require that all transfers 

of funds from a committee to another candidate, political 

committee or other political organization, regardless of 

amount, must be itemized on the next Report of Receipts 

and Expenditures (FEC Form 3 or 6). Both the candidate 

or committee receiving a transfer and the committee 

making a transfer must make the itemization. The itemization of a transfer must indude: 

-· The name and address of the committee making a transfer; or the name and address of the candidate/committee 

receiving a transfer; 

-- The date a'nd amount of the transfer; 

·· The aggregate year·to·date total of transfers to and/or 

from affiliated committees and to and/or from non· 

affiliated committees. 

For example, Candidate Smith holds a fundraising dinner 

with tickets selling for $75 each. Among those purchasing 

tickets are an individual, John Doe, and a multi-candidate 

committee, the XYZ Good Government Committee, 

neither of whom had previously contributed to Candidate 

continued 
Smith's campaign. Candidate Smith's reporting obligation 

for the quarter in which the tickets were purchased (i.e., 

the contributions were made) would be as follows: 

·· The contribution by John Doe ($75) would be reported 

as unitemized because it was not in excess of $100. 

.. The contribution by the XYZ Good Government Com· 

mittee ($75). however, is a transfer, and therefore must 

be itemized regardless of amount. 

OFFICE OF PUBLIC RECORDS 

The Office of Public Records at the FEC provides a cen· 

tral location for the public to obtain information on cam· 

paign financing and the FEC itself. Although the principal 

function of the Office is to make available to the public 

campaign reports filed by candidates and committees (see 

the February Record, p. 3), Public Records also maintains 

other information for public review. The following is a list 

of materials available in the Public Records Office in addi· 

tion to campaign finance reports: 

-- Commission Documents (press releases, memoranda, 

agendas, agenda items and minutes of Commission 

meetings) 

.. FEC Opinions (Index, Advisory Opinion Requests, 

Advisory Opinions, Opinion Requests, Opinions of 

counsel, comments on Advisory Opinions) 

·· Compliance Cases (Index, 9losed compliance actions) 

·· Audits (GAO 1972-1974, FEC) 

.. Court Cases (Buckley v. Valeo, etc.) 

·· FEC Publications (Campaign Guides, Record, Federal 

Register notices) 

·· Presidential Matching Funds Certifications 

.. Hearing Transcripts (upon request) 

·· General Information (Newspaper articles, studies on 

campaign finance by other organizations, informational 

handouts) 

.. Daily updated computer printouts of FEC indexes, as 

available, consolidating information from campaign 

finance reports (i.e., cross index of selected committees 

by candidates supported and amount of financial sup· 

port) 

The Office also maintains copies of the Commission's Dis· 

closure Series of indexes which consolidate and summarize 

data taken from the financial disclosure reports from the 

1976 campaign. In the list below the dates in parentheses 

indicate the Record issue in which summaries of the 

individual Disclosure Series appeared. 

5 

1. Presidential Pre-Nomination Receipts and Expenditu

1976 Campaign 

2. Contrib11tions of $500 or More From Individual

Major Party Presidential Candidates (Ford and Car

1976 Campaign (Currently being revised) 

3. Index of Independent Expenditures by Individuals 

Receipts and Expenditures by Unauthorized Delega

1976 Campaign (May, p. 5) 

4. National Political Party Committee Receipts and Ex

ditures (June, p. 6) 

5. Index of Communications Costs by Corporations, L

Organizations, Membership Organizations and T

Associations (June, p. 5) 

6. 1976 Senatorial Campaigns Receipts and Expendit

(June, p. 6) 

7. A Study of the 1976 Presidential Campaigns Rec

and Expenditures (July, p. 5) 

8. A Study of the 1976 Corporate-Related Commi

Receipts and Expenditures (November, p. 5) 

9. A Study of the 1976 House Campaigns Receipts 

Expenditures (November, p. 6) 

All documents listed above are available for public revie

the Office of Public Records, located on the street flo

1325 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The Office is o

for public use weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For t

living outside the Washington area who cannot come in 

sonally, copies of all documents are available by mail. 

Commission charges 10 cents per page and $2.50 for 

half hour of time spent filling the request, with the 

half hour free. Since full payment in advance is require

is recommended that, prior to requesting a specific d

ment by mail, the public should contact the Office 

phone for information as to cost and availability: 

523-4181 or toll free 800/424-9530. 

FEC PUBLIC APPEARANCES 

In keeping with its objective to make informatio

available to the public, the Federal Election Commi

sion regularly accepts invitations for its represent

tives to address public gatherings on the subject 

campaign finance laws and the Commission itse

(For a summary of the Commission's policy o

accepting invitations, see the Record, June 197

p. 6.) This regular column lists scheduled Commissio

appearances, detailing the name of the sponsorin

organization, location of the event, and the Comm

sion's representative. Any inquiries concerning th

event should be addressed to the sponsoring orga

ization. 

1/25 A Presidential Classroom for Young American

Washington, D.C. 

Commissioner Joan Aikens 
ADVISORY OPINION INDEX 

The Commission re~ntly announced the availability of a 

cumulative Index to Advisory Opinions and Opinions of 

Counsel. The Index includes three parts: a subject index 

and an index by U.S. Code, both covering .all opinions 

issued from April 1975 through August 1977; and an index 

by FEC Regulations covering opinions from 1977. 

Requests for the Index should be addressed to the Public 

Records Office, Federal Election Commission, 1325 K 

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463. Purchase price 

(for duplication costs) is $5.30, payable in advance. Checks 

should be made payable to the United States Treasurer. 

UPDATE OF MATERIALS AVAILABLE 

The Office of Public Communications receives numerous 

requests each day for publications, forms and other mate· 

rials related to the Federal Election Campaign Act. Some 

materials requested are unavailable because they are in the 

process of being revised or have been replaced by newer 

. material. The following is a list of publications currently 

available without charge from the Office of Public Com· 

munications: 

• Federal Election Campaign Laws .• Compiled by the 

Federal Election Commission 

• The Federal Election Commission Regulations 

• Bookkeeping and Reporting Manual for Candidates and 

Committees · 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

1325 KSTREET, NW 

WASHINGTON, DC 20463 

OFFICIAL BUSINESS 

e1975 and '1976 Annual Reports 

e Campaign ·Guide for State and Subordinate Party Co

mittees - 

• Campaign Guide for the Nonelection Year 

• 1976 Candidate and Committee Index of Filers 

Also available are all forms currently in use and back copi

of the FEC newsletter, the Record. Orders may be plac

by letter to the Office of Public Communications, Feder

Election Commission, 1325 K Street, N.W., Washingto

D.C. 20463 or by phone at 202/5234068 or toll·fre

800/424·9530. 

FEC documents of general applicability are published 

the Federal Register. The following list identifies all FE

documents appearing in the Federal Register betwee

November 16, 1977 and December 19, 1977. 

Federal Register 

Notice Title Publication Date Citation 

1977·54 Freedom of 11/22/77 42 FR 5994

I nformation Act 

Regulations 

1977·55 Clearinghouse on 12/14/77 42 FR 6297

Election Administration Advisory 

Panel Meeting 

POST AGE AND FEES PAl D 

U.S. MAIL