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THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

COMMISSION 

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

Volume 3, Number 4 

SUMMARY OF 1976 ACTIVITY 

Nearly three quarters of the money in the Presidential 

Election Campaign Fund was disbursed for the 1976 elections. The Fund, comprised of $1 contributions voluntarily 

"checked off" by taxpayers on their income tax forms, 

held a total of $95.8 million in deposits, as of December 31, 

1976. (Between January 1 and March 2, 1977, an additional $8,558,000 was added by taxpayers filing their 1976 

income tax returns, representing a 2.3 percent increase over 

the amount checked off at this time last year by taxpayers 

filing their 1975 returns.) An FEC status report, released on 

February 20, 1977, shows that (as of December 31, 1976) 

approximately $72 million was spent from the Fund in connection with the 1976 Federal elections, as follows: 

•· Approximately $24,270,000 in primary matching funds 

was certified by the Commission to 15 Presidential candidates. 

·· Roughly $4,145,000 was certified to the Democratic 

and Republican National Committees for their nominating conventions. (Democrats received about $2,181,000 

and the Republicans received approximately $1,964,000.) 

-- $43,640,000 in general election payments was granted 

to the two major party Presidential nominees 

($21,820,000 to each). 

NEW PHONES 

The F EC telephone conversion to Centrex was completed on Monday, March 21. All internal phones 

were assigned new numbers with the beginning 

exchange, 523. However, the toll-free information 

number, 800-424-9530, .was not changed. Please note 

the following new numbers: 

Main Switchboard 

Public Information 

Public Records 

5234089 

523-4068 

5234181 

April 19

The FEC continues to certify matching funds to prima

candidates with outstanding debts incurred in the 1976 p

mary campaigns. Between December 31, 1976, an

March 10, 1977, approximately $332,822 was certified 

five candidates. As of March 10, requests were still pendin

from seven primary candidates for additional matchin

funds amounting to approximately $900,707. 

Public money not spent in the 1976 Presidential electio

remains in the Presid~ntial Election Campaign Fund for u

in the 1980 Presidential elections. 

Until Commission regulations are officially promulgate

the Commission will continue to issue two types 

opinions: 

1. Advisory Opinions, designated as AO's, concern th

application of the Act to specific factual situations. An

person requesting an advisory opiriion who in good fai

acts in accordance with the findings of the opinion w

not be penalized under the Act. The opinion may also 

relied upon by any other person involved in a specif

transaction which is indistinguishable in all materi

aspects from the activity discussed in the advisory opi

ion. 

2. Informational Responses to Advisory Opinion Reques

designated as Re: AOR's, differ from AO's in that th

are based in part on the Commission's proposed regu

tions and they offer no legal protection to recipients u

til the regulations on which they are based go into effec

All the opinions issued February 8. 22, 1977, are summ

rized below. 

AO 1977-1: Post-Election Use of Property Purchased 

by Principal Campaign Committee 

A car purchased by Congressman Norman Lent's princip

campaign committee during his 1976 campaign may b

used by the Congressman and his staff after the election 

over. Since property purchased by a principal campaig

committee " .. . may be treated like surplus campaig

Continued on p. 
Continued 

funds. , , . " the car may be used for any lawful purpose. 

Committee disbursements related to the car, however, constitute reportable expenditures by the principal :campaign 

committee. (Length: 2 pages) 

Re: AOR 1977-3: Office Accounts 

Senator Ted Stevens may accept private contributions to 

establish a "leader's office account" to be used ~or paying 

costs associated with Stevens' duties as a Senate leader since 

these duties are among those of a Federal officeholder. 

Receipts and disbursements from this account must be disclosed. They are not, however, subject to contribution 

limits unless they are made for the purpose of influencing a 

Federal election. Funds from the account may be used to 

pay costs of attending "political functions" involving 

another Senator. If, however, 'attendance at a "political 

function" relates to influencing the election of another 

Senator, the use of office account funds would cdnstitute a 

contribution-in-kind by Stevens to that Senator's campaign. 

As such, they would be subject to the Act's limitations and 

could not be made at all if the account contained any corporation or labor organization treasury funds.' (Length: 

3 pages) 

AO 1977-4: Donation of Goods to Officeholder 

Congressman Richard T. Schulze may accept 'from the 

Franklin Mint (a corporation) a donation of 250 medals, 

valued at approximately $2,000, to be awardep by the 

Congressman as medals of merit to selected COI')Stituents, 

only if: 1) Schulze is not a candidate for any 19~8 Federal 

election and 2) the medals are neither intended for use nor 

actually used in connection with a future Federal election 

campaign. If these two conditions are not met, the donation would violate the Act because it would conStitute an 

in-kind contribution by a corporation "in connedtion with 

a Federal election." (length: 2 pages) 

AO 1977-5: Legal and Accounting Fees Related to 

Ensuring Candidate's Compliance with FECA 

Contribution limits apply to donations made to a candidate 

·specifically to defray legal and accounting services rendered 

solely to ensure compliance with the Act. The limits do not 

apply, however, when an employer donates the services 

(i.e., pays the salary) of his accountant-employee or his 

attorney-employee. A principal campaign committee may 

establish a separate fund for defraying costs of: legal and 

accounting services rendered to ensure compliance with the 

Act. Contributions to such a fund would, however, constitute contributions to the candidate and, therefdre, would 

count against the donor's contribution limits. Further, all 

receipts and expenditures would be reportable.: (Length: 

3 pages) 

The Public Communications Office of the Federal E

tion Commission maintains an onQoing dialogue with 

public on the toll-free telephone line (800-424-9530). F

time to time, this column will provide answers to the q

tions most frequently posed. 

TERMINATION OF A COMMITTEE 

OR CANDIDACY 

In recent weeks, the Commission has received numer

inquiries from candidates and committees wanting to k

how to terminate their candidacy or registration in orde

end their reporting obligations. The process is not com

cated, but certain conditions must be met before com

tee registration or candidacy may be terminated. 

WHO MAY TERMINATE 

Candidates with personal obligations related to t

1976 campaigns are required to notify the Commission 

they have terminated their candidacy before they may s

filing reports. They may do so only when all campa

debts for which they are personally obligated have been 

tinguished. In the case of candidates who filed 1976 rep

showing no financial activity or who requested and satis

the conditions for receiving a waiver from filing candid

reports, the FEC will automatically terminate the 1976 

didacy. 

A principal campaign committee may terminate registra

only after the candidate status of its candidate has b

terminated, its debts and loans have been retired and all 

candidate's authorized committees have extinguished t

debts. 

A political committee, other than a principal camp

committee, may terminate registration if no outstand

debts or obligations are owed to it or by it and if the c

mittee does not plan to receive contributions or make 

penditures totaling more than $1,000 in a calendar y

HOW TO TERMINATE 

Committees or candidates meeting these requireme

may file a termination report as part of a regularly s

duled report by checking the appropriate box on 

Form 3 or 6 and disclosing: 

1. Receipts and disbursements not previously reported; 

2. The retirement of all debts; and 

3. The disposition of any residual funds (if the commi

is also disbanding), 

(FEC Proposed Regulations, Sections 101.1 and 102.4) 

Continued on 

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

Commissioners are: Vernon W. Thomson, Ch8irman; Thomas E. Harris, Vice-Chairman; Joan D. Aikens; William L

Springer; Neil Staebler; Robert 0. Tiernan;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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Continued 

REACTIVATING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

Any individual who registered as a Federal candidate in 

the 1976 elections, regardless of whether his or her candidacy was terminated, must file a new Statement of Candidate (FEC Form 2) when he becomes a candidate for a 

future Federal election {i.e., he receives contributions or 

makes expenditures to influence his electiOn or otherwise 

triggers a future candidacy under the Act)_ On the other 

hand, a political committee which receives or spends more 

than $1,000 in a calendar year to influence Federal elections in 1977 or 1978 need not file a new Statement of 

Organization (FEC Form 1) unless it previously filed a 

termination report. Consequently, some committees may 

prefer not to terminate (to avoid the need to re-register) 

and to continue, instead, to file the reports required in 

nonelection years. (See Campaign Guide on Post-Election 

FECA Requirements, pp_ 6.7- 6.8.) Such committees must, 

however, amend the old Statement of Organization to 

reflect the dates of new elections. 

COMMISSION ADOPTS 

SUNSHINE REGULATIONS 

Effective March 13, 1977, an agenda for each FEC Commission meeting will be transmitted to the Federal Register 

seven days prior to the date of the meeting and be published immediately thereafter. This new practice is one immediate result of the new "Sunshine" regulations unanimously 

adopted by the Commission on March 2 to govern FEC 

proceedings. 

The regulations, as initially proposed, were summarized in 

the February Record. In the final version (Federal Register, 

March 9, 1977, p. 13202), the Commission incorporated 

several suggestions from the public, most notably those of 

Congressman Richardson Preyer, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Information and Individual 

Rights. Among the changes were: 

1. A clarification of the criteria justifying closure of a 

meeting, stating that a meeting may nqt be closed if 

the public interest requires it to be open, even if the 

subject matter in question would otherwise justify 

closing the meeting to the public. 3.2(b)2. 

2. The inclusioQ of statutory language providing that if 

the Commission wants to close a meeting to avoid disclosure of information potentially damaging to "a proposed Commission action," it may do so only "as long 

as the Commission has not already disclosed the content 

or nature of its proposed action, or is not required by 

law to disclose it prior to final action." 3.2(b). 

3. A clarification providing that the General Counsel's 

certification that a meeting may be closed must be made 

prior to its closure. 3.3(e). 

4. A requirement that the mandatory public listing of persons -expected to attend a closed meeting also include 

the names of those Commissioners and staff expected to 

attend. 3.3(d)(1)(iii). 

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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE 

UNITED STATES, et al., v. FEDERAL ELECTIO

COMMISSION, et al. 

On February 11, the League of Women Voters of th

United States (LWVUS) filed a complaint in the U.S. Di

trict Court in the District of Columbia against the FEC

The complaint asks the Court to declare null and void th

portion of an F EC Pol icy Statement (Presidential Debate

August 30, 1976) which prohibited contributions made b

corporations and unions to the League of Women Vote

Education Fund (the Fund) for purposes of defrayin

expenses related to the 1976 televised Presidential debate

sponsored by the Fund. Such corporate and union contr

butions, the FEC had said, would be "in connection with

a Federal election and would therefore be prohibited und

the Act. 

The LWVUS said the FEC Policy Statement worked 

serious hardship on the Fund by inhibiting its ability t

raise sufficient funds to cover the cost of the debate

Several constitutional issues were also raised. 

The LWVUS argued that the Policy Statement violate

First Amendment rights of free speech and association b

restricting the ability of the Fund, the LWVUS and its loc

and State affiliates to present debates or engage in oth

voter education activities. Further, the LWVUS said, th

Policy Statement violated the Fifth Amendment right b

discriminating against the League and its incorporate

affiliates. As corporations, they could not contribute to th

Fund, while nonincorporated entities (including noninco

porated League affiliates) could do so. The FEC has not y

responded to the complaint. 

SOCIALIST WORKERS 1976 NATIONAL 

CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE et al., v, JENNINGS 

et al. (Part II) 

On January 17, 1977, the U.S. District Court in th

District of Columbia ordered the Federal Election Commi

sion to develop within six months a full factual record an

make specific findings of fact concerning the " ... prese

nature and extent of any harassment suffered ... " by th

Socialist Workers Party (SWP) as a result of the disclosu

provisions of the Act. The SWP had requested that the ide

tities of contributors be exempt from disclosure requir

ments. (See Record, March 1977, p_ 6.) 

In response to both that order and a subsequent reque

from the Socialist Workers, the Federal Election Commi

sion decided on March 2 to allow the Socialist Worke

until April 15, 1977, to submit materials relating to the

claim. The Commission rejected fOr the present time, how

ever, the SWP's request for oral argument and a trial-typ

hearing on the case. 
FEC FILES SUIT AGAINST FIVE CANDIDATES 

The Federal Election Commission announced on 

February 17 that it had filed civil suits in five U.S. District 

Courts (in California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania 

and Texas) to compel one Senate and four House candidates in the 1976 elections to comply with the reporting 

requirements of the Federal Election Campaign' Act. In 

separate suits, the F EC asked the Courts to order these 

candidates either to designate a principal campaign· committee or to file one or more required reports (quart~rly, preelection, post-election) or both. In addition, the FEC asked 

the Courts to assess a penalty of not more than $5,000 

against the candidates for "failing and refusing to comply 

with the Act." 

As of February 17, the FEC had filed a total of 22 civil 

suits in District Courts against candidates failing to file 

reports for the 1976 Federal elections. 

FEC TESTIFIES ON BUDGET 

On March 15, 1977, the Senate Appropriations 'Committee heard FEC testimony on the Commission's budget 

request for fiscal year 1978. In a presentation similar to 

that given on March 3 before the Senate Rules Ccimmittee, 

Commissioners Robert 0. Tiernan and Joan D. Aikens presented data to justify the Commission's request for $8.123 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

1325 K STREET, NW 

WASHINGTON, DC 20463 

OFFICIAL BUSINESS 

million. The Office of Management and Budget has reco

mended a budget of $6.833 million. Congress has not 

completed action on budgetary requests for fiscal y

1978. 

FEC documents of general applicability are publish

regularly in the Federal Register. The following list ide

lies all FEC documents appearing in the Federal Regi

between February 17 and March 18, 1977: 

Federal Register 

Notice Title Publication Date Citatio

1977-10 Privacy Act: 2-23-77 42 FR 107

System of Records 

1977-11 Advisory Opinion 3-3-77 42 FR 123

Requests 1977-6 

through 1977-8 

1977-12 Government in the 3-9-77 42 FR 132

Sunshine; Final 

Regulations 

1977-13 Advisory Opinion 3-18-77 42 FR 152

Request 1977-9 

1977-14 Regulations 3-18-77 42 FR 152

Interpreting FECA: 

Transmittal to Congress 

1977-15 Advisory Opinion 3-16-77 42 FR 148

Request 1977-10 

1977-16 Advisory Opinion " 3-17-77 42 FR 149

Request 1977-11 

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID