representation and electoral systems - American Political Science ...

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Congress enacted and president George w. Bush signed on September 14, 2007,
the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (PL. 110-81, 121 Stat. 735, 2
U.S.C.§1601) amending House and Senate Ethics Rules and the Federal election
Campaign Act. Amendments to the latter act introduces new disclosure requirements for
certain committees that receive bundled contributions from lobbyists and committees
established or controlled by any lobbyist and new rules relating to travel on private jet
aircraft. The law requires candidates’ authorized committees, leadership political action
committees, and party committees to disclose the name, address, employer of, and the
bundled contribution amount credited to, each lobbyist (or lobbyist’s committee) who
provided the committee with bundled contributions aggregating in excess of $15,000
during specified time periods.
The commission on December 20, 2007, certified $19,287,504.65 in federal
matching funds to seven presidential candidates (Joseph Biden, Christopher Dodd, John
Edwards, Duncan Hunter, Dennis Kucinich, John McCain, and Thomas Tancredo) for the
2008 election. Other candidates declined to participate in the matching fund program.
The presidential public funding program, however, lacks sufficient funds to make the
payments.
On December 20, 2007, the commission amended its written rules for the conduct
of meetings to provide for circumstances when the commission has fewer than four
members. Currently, the commission has only two members. The amended rules were
published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2008 (73 FR 5569) and are available on
the commission’s web site:
http://www.fec.gov/law/cfr/ej_compilation/2008/notice_2008-01.pdf
The commission reported a 1.5 percent increase in the number of federally registered
political action committees (PACs) from 4,168 to 4,234 during the second half of 2007.
Corporate PACs continue to be the largest category with 1,601 committees, an increase
of 15. Labor PACs remained constant at 273, but trade/member/health PACs declined by
1 to 925.
The commission issued several advisory opinions.
Advisory Opinion 2007-9 provides the Kerry-Edwards 2004 General Legal and
Compliance Fund may reimburse the Kerry-Edwards 2004 Incorporated Presidential
Campaign Committee for the portion of its advertising expenses dedicated to compliance
with the “stand-by-your-ad” provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.
Advisory Opinion 2007-10 holds a candidate’s committee may not recognize the
corporate employers of individual contributors at a golf tournament fundraiser because
the use of the corporation’s name, trademark, or service mark would result in the
corporation facilitation of contributions which are prohibited by the Federal Election
Campaign Act.
Advisory Opinion 2007-16 holds the American Kennel Club (AKC) and its
voting clubs and accredited clubs are membership organizations under the Federal
Election Campaign Act and commission regulations, and the voting clubs and the
accredited clubs are affiliated with AKC. Therefore, any separate segregated fund the
AKC establishes may solicit contributions from the individual members of its affiliated
voting clubs and accredited clubs.
Advisory Opinion 2007-18 authorizes U.S. Representative Charles Rangel’s
principal campaign committee or his leadership political action committee to pay for the