Alabama Advisory Opinions May 04, 2001: AGO 2001-176 (May 4, 2001)

AGO 2001-176.

Dear Senator Dial:

This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request.

May a member of the Legislature, who participates in the establishment and operation of a political action committee, solicit contributions from various businesses on behalf of that political action committee?

The Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) defines a "principal campaign committee" as a committee established primarily to benefit an individual candidate or an individual elected official. ALA. CODE § 17-22A-2(11) (Supp. 2000). A political committee, commonly referred to as a political action committee or PAC, is defined as follows:

Any political committee, club, association, principal campaign committee, political party, or other group of one or more persons which receives or anticipates receiving contributions or makes or anticipates making expenditures to or on behalf of any elected official, proposition, candidate, principal campaign committee or other political committee. For the purposes of this chapter, an individual who makes a personal political contribution, other than a candidate who makes a contribution to himself or herself, shall not be considered a political committee.

This Office has opined that a member of the Legislature may participate in the establishment and operation of a separate and distinct political committee for the purpose of receiving contributions and making expenditures to other members of the Legislature and candidates for the Legislature if the political committee's organizational document prohibits contributions to, or expenditures on behalf of, the member of the Legislature participating in the establishment and operation of the political committee. Opinion to Honorable Seth Hammett, Representative, dated December 19, 1996, A.G. No. 97-00054. The basis of that opinion was stated as follows:

Candidates for state office and their principal campaign committees are limited with respect to the time period during which they can solicit and/or accept contributions. ALA. CODE § 17-22A-7(b) (Supp. 1998). Political committees other than principal campaign committees, however, are not subject to this limitation. This Office has previously held that a political committee that makes contributions to or expenditures on behalf of a member of the Legislature who assists in the establishment and operation of that political committee could violate these time period prohibitions but could avoid those prohibitions if the member of the Legislature participating in the establishment and operation of the political committee does not receive any contributions from the political committee and no expenditures are made by the political committee on behalf of that Legislator. Opinion to Honorable Seth Hammett, Member, House of Representatives, dated December 19, 1996, A. G. No. 97-00054. In the opinion to Seth Hammett, the Legislator participated in the creation of the political committee and had the authority to make decisions as to who would receive contributions from the committee.

In the opinion to Michael Rogers, this Office stated, as follows, with respect to a member of the Legislature acting as an agent of the Caucus political action committee:

A member of the Legislature is not prohibited by the [Fair Campaign Practices Act] from soliciting funds on behalf of the House Republican Caucus administrative fund or the Caucus political action committee and may receive contributions from the Caucus as long as the Legislator does not have the sole authority to make contributions or expenditures on behalf of the Caucus to his own campaign, and does not participate in the decision to make such contributions.

A member of the Legislature who participates in the establishment and operation of a political action committee is not prohibited by the FCPA from soliciting contributions on behalf of the committee. The legislator may receive contributions from this committee if the legislator does not have the sole authority to make contributions or expenditures on behalf of the committee to his own campaign and does not participate in the decision to make these contributions.

I hope this opinion answers your question. If this Office can be of further assistance, please contact Brenda F. Smith of my staff.

Sincerely,

BILL PRYOR

Attorney General

By: CAROL JEAN SMITH

Chief, Opinions Division

BP/BFS

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