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      FEC Record: Litigation
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      Commission statement on Citizens United v. FEC

FEC Record: LitigationCommission statement on Citizens United v. FECMarch 1, 2010 On February 5, 2010, the Commission announced that, due to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC, it will no longer enforce statutory and regulatory provisions prohibiting corporations and labor unions from making either independent expenditures or electioneering communications. The Commission also announced several actions it is taking to fully implement the Citizens United decision. In Citizens United v. FEC, issued on January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court held that the prohibitions in the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) against corporate spending on independent expenditures or electioneering communications are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court upheld statutory provisions that require political ads to contain disclaimers and be reported to the Commission. Provisions addressed by the decision are described below: The Court struck down 2 U.S.C. §441b, which prohibits, in part, corporations and labor organizations from making electioneering communications and from making independent expenditures— communications to the general public that expressly advocate the election or defeat of clearly identified federal candidates;The Court upheld 2 U.S.C. §441d, which requires that political advertising consisting of independent expenditures or electioneering communications contain a disclaimer clearly stating who paid for such communication; andThe Court upheld 2 U.S.C. §434, which requires certain information about electioneering communications and independent expenditures, and the contributions received for such spending, to be disclosed to the Commission and to be made public. The Commission is taking the following steps to conform to the Supreme Court’s decision: The Commission will no longer enforce the statutory provisions or its regulations prohibiting corporations and labor organizations from making independent expenditures and electioneering communications;The Commission is reviewing all pending enforcement matters to determine which matters may be affected by the Citizens United decision and will no longer pursue claims involving violations of the invalidated provisions. In addition, the Commission will no longer pursue information requests or audit issues with respect to the invalidated provisions; andThe Commission is considering the effect of the Citizens United decision on its ongoing litigation. The Commission intends to initiate a rulemaking to implement the Citizens United opinion. It is reviewing the regulations affected by the invalidated provisions, including but not necessarily limited to the following: 11 CFR 114.2(b)(2) and (3), which implement the Act's prohibition on corporate and labor organization independent expenditures and electioneering communications;11 CFR 114.4, which restricts the types of communications corporations and labor organizations may make to those not within their restricted class;11 CFR 114.10, which permits certain qualified nonprofit corporations to use their treasury funds to make independent expenditures and electioneering communications under certain conditions;11 CFR 114.14, which places restrictions on the use of corporate and labor union funds for electioneering communications; and11 CFR 114.15, which the Commission adopted to implement the Supreme Court’s decision in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC. The Commission is also considering the effect of Citizens United on the ongoing Coordinated Communications rulemaking. 74 FR 53893 (Oct. 21, 2009). The Commission also issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) regarding issues presented by Citizens United. See page 7 for more information. The additional comment period closed on February 24, 2010. The Commission intends to hold a hearing on the Coordinated Communications rulemaking on March 2 and 3, 2010. The text of the SNPRM is available at http://transition.fec.gov/pdf/nprm/coord_commun/2009/notice2010-01.pdf. Revisions to Commission reporting requirements, forms, instructions and electronic software may be required. Corporations and labor organizations that intend to finance independent expenditures or electioneering communications should: Include disclaimers on their communications, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 110.11;Disclose independent expenditures on FEC Form 5, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 109.10; andDisclose electioneering communications on FEC Form 9, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 104.20. The Commission notes that the prohibitions on corporations or labor organizations making contributions contained in 2 U.S.C. §441b remain in effect. The full text of the Commission's statement is available at https://www.fec.gov/updates/fec-statement-on-the-supreme-courts-decision-in/.


Read next: Cao v. FEC (district court)
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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