Fec Form 7 – Fill Out and Use This PDF

2 U.S.C. 441b allows “communica- tions by a corporation to its stockhold- ersandexecutiveoradministrativeper- sonnel and their families or by a labor organization to its members and their families on any subject,” including the expressadvocacyoftheelectionorde- featofanyFederalcandidate.Further,2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)(iii) requires that the costs of such communications be re- portedtotheFederalElectionCommis- sion under certain circumstances. This sectionstatesinpertinentpart:

“…the costs incurred by a member- shiporganization(includingalaboror- ganization)orbyacorporationdirectly attributable to a communication ex- presslyadvocatingtheelectionordefeat of a clearly identified candidate (other thanacommunicationprimarilydevoted tosubjectsotherthantheexpressadvo- cacyoftheelectionordefeatofaclearly identifiedcandidate),shall,ifthosecosts exceed$2,000perelection,bereported totheCommission.”

Forthepurposeofinterpretingthese provisions of law, the Commission’s regulations provide the following defi- nitions:

(i)“Labororganization”meansanor- ganization of any kind (any local, na- tional,orinternationalunion,oranylo- calorStatecentralbodyofafederation of unions is each considered a separate labor organization for purposes of this section)oranyagencyoremployeerep- resentativecommitteeorplan,inwhich employeesparticipateandwhichexists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances,labordisputes,wages,rates of pay, hours of employment or condi- tionsofwork.

(ii)“Stockholder” means a person who has a vested beneficial interest in stock, has the power to direct how that stockshallbevoted,ifitisvotingstock, andhastherighttoreceivedividends.

(iii)“Executiveoradministrativeper- sonnel”meansindividualsemployedby a corporation who are paid on a salary rather than hourly basis and who have policy-making,managerial,professional orsupervisoryresponsibilities.

(iv)“Members” means all persons whoarecurrentlysatisfyingtherequire- mentsformembershipinamembership organization,tradeassociation,coopera- tiveorcorporationwithoutcapitalstock and in the case of the labor organiza- tion,personswhoarecurrentlysatisfy- ingtherequirementsformembershipin a local, national or international labor organization.Membersofalocalunion areconsideredtobemembersofanyna- tionalorinternationalunionofwhichthe local union is a part and of any federa- tion with which the local, national or international union is affiliated.A per- son is not considered a member under this definition if the only requirement for membership is a contribution to a separatesegregatedfund.

(v)“Election” means two separate processes in a calendar year, to each of which the $2,000 threshold described above applies separately. The first pro- cess is comprised of all primary elec- tions for Federal office, wherever and whenever held; the second process is comprised of all general elections for Federaloffice,whereverandwhenever held.The term “election” also includes each special election held to fill a va- cancy in a Federal office or each run- offelection.

(vi)“Corporation” means any sepa- ratelyincorporatedentity,whetherornot affiliated.

WHO MUST FILE

Every membership organization (in- cluding a labor organization) or corpo- ration which makes disbursements for communications pursuant to 11 CFR 100.8(b)(4) and 114.3 of the Commission’sregulationsshallreportto

the Federal Election Commission, 999 EStreet,N.W.,Washington,D.C.20463 on FEC FORM 7 such costs which are directlyattributabletoanycommunica- tionexpresslyadvocatingtheelectionor defeat of a clearly identified candidate (other than a communication primarily devotedtosubjectsotherthantheelec- tionordefeatofaclearlyidentifiedcan- didate),ifsuchcostsexceed$2,000for anyelection.

WHAT MUST BE REPORTED

Eachreportfiledunder11CFR104.6 of the Commission’s regulations must include,foreachcommunication:

(1)The type of communication (such as direct mail, telephone or tele- gram);

(2)The class or category commu- nicatedwith(Executive/Administrative Personnel,Stockholders,Members);

(3)The date(s) of the communica-

tion;

(4)Whether the communication wasinsupportof,orinoppositionto,a particularcandidate;

(5)Thenameofthecandidate,the office sought (and the district and state oftheoffice,ifapplicable),andwhether thecommunicationwasfortheprimary orgeneralelection;and

(6)Thecostofthecommunication. Generally,thetotalcostofacommu-

nicationwhichadvocatestheelectionor defeatofmorethanonecandidateshould be allocated to and reported for each candidateinequalproportions.If,how- ever,oneormorecandidatesareempha- sized, the cost should be allocated and reportedtoreflectthebenefitreasonably expected to be derived by each candi- date.

WHEN TO REPORT

Organizations required to report un- der 11 CFR 104.6(a) of the Commission’sregulationsmustfilesuch reportsduringacalendaryearinwhich