The treasurer of a political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission is legally responsible for that committee's compliance with the federal campaign finance laws. The Commission has developed this page to help treasurers fulfill that responsibility.
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As you'll see, this page not only provides links to an array of helpful publications, online presentations and other pages, it also offers timely tips and reminders to help treasurers meet their obligations under the law. As an added feature, you can subscribe to receive automatic notification of updates to this page via RSS. We also invite you to ask questions, provide feedback and offer your own compliance tips by e-mail to info@fec.gov.
In addition to these online resources, the FEC staffs a toll-free information hotline (800-424-9530), and offers periodic educational workshops for treasurers. Please visit our Outreach page for details, and sign-up to receive program updates by e-mail at Conferences@fec.gov.
This section offers helpful tips -- both from the FEC and from your fellow treasurers -- to help you meet your obligations under the federal campaign finance law. To suggest a tip, please e-mail us at info@fec.gov. Click here to receive the tips as an RSS feed.
| June 29, 2009 | Forwarding and Depositing Contributions - Deadlines for Treasurers. Did you know that treasurers have to pay attention to two different deadlines when a committee receives a contribution? First, when any person receives a contribution of any amount for a campaign (or a contribution in excess of $50 for a PAC or party committee), that person has 10 days to forward the contribution to the treasurer. (The deadline for forwarding contributions of $50 or less to a PAC or party committee is 30 days). See 11 CFR 102.8. Second, the treasurer must deposit the contribution within 10 days after he or she receives it from the person who initially collected it. 11 CFR 103.3(a). By the way, the date of receipt for reporting purposes is the date that person initially received the contribution (so the date and other records must be forwarded along with the contribution). For more information, see the chapters on fundraising and recordkeeping in your Campaign Guide and the regulations linked above. |
| June 23, 2009 | Summer Deadlines and Vacations. It's Summer, so staff may be out of the office on vacation. In addition, the Commission will be closed Friday, July 3. Be sure to plan for these days off yet keep up with upcoming reporting deadlines and FEC software updates. Moreover, campaign committees and quarterly filing PACs and party committees active in the CA/32 special runoff election are reminded that the pre-Runoff report is due July 2. (Click here for more information). |
| June 15, 2009 | June Reporting Reminder. Monthly filing committees are reminded that they have a report due Saturday, June 20, covering the month of May 2009. Please note that even though the FEC is not open on the 20th, the due date will not be extended, so plan accordingly to timely file your report. |
| June 8, 2009 | Summer Learning Opportunity at the FEC. The FEC is holding concurrent roundtable workshops on reporting and e-filing using FECFile on July 8. The roundtables are for PACs, party committees, campaign committees and consultants, and cost $25 per workshop. For more information, click here or e-mail Conferences@fec.gov. |
For more, visit our Timely Tips Archive.
This section provides links to publications designed specifically for committee treasurers. Additional publications are available in the FEC Library, through our Quick Answers pages and on our Publications page.
Monthly Newsletter
All committee treasurers automatically receive a free subscription to the FEC's monthly newsletter, the Record. Reading the Record each month is one of the best ways to stay current on the law and your obligations as a treasurer. Every issue of the Record from 1996 - present is available online. To subscribe to the Record, send an e-mail with your name and address to info@fec.gov.
Campaign Guides
Campaign Guides are compliance manuals for committees registered with the FEC. The guide supplements summarize relevant post-publication rules and opinions.
- Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees (April 2008) [PDF]
- Candidate Guide Supplement (June 2009) [PDF]
- Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations (January 2007) [PDF]
- Corporate Guide Supplement (June 2009) [PDF]
- Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees (May 2008) [PDF]
- Nonconnected Guide Supplement (June 2009) [PDF]
- Campaign Guide for Political Party Committees (August 2007) [PDF]
- Party Guide Supplement (June 2009) [PDF]
- 2009 Coordinated Party Expenditure (441a(d)) Limits [PDF]
Brochures and Handouts
Brochure Title Advisory Opinions Alternative Dispute Resolution Program Candidate Registration Committee Treasurers Compliance with Laws Outside the FEC's Jurisdiction HTML Contributions Federal and State Campaign Finance Laws Filing a Complaint Foreign Nationals Independent and Coordinated Expenditures Internet Communications and Activity Local Party Activity Retiring Campaign Debt Special Notices on Political Ads and Solicitations Separate Segregated Funds and Nonconnected PACs Volunteer Activity Winding Down Your Federal Campaign Other
- Guideline for Presentation in Good Order (2008) (for Presidential campaigns seeking public funding) [PDF] [Word] [Appendices]
This section supplements the reporting and filing information contained in the publications listed above with links to additional information. Treasurers may also seek reporting and filing assistance from the Campaign Finance Analyst who reviews the committee's reports. To reach the Reports Analysis Division, call 1-800-424-9530 (press 5).