Alabama Advisory Opinions November 01, 1999: AGO 2000-016 (November 1, 1999)

AGO 2000-016.

Dear Representative Rogers:

This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request. Your question has been restated so as to narrow it to one that can be addressed by this Office.

Are there any limitations under the Alabama Fair Campaign Practices Act on a member of the Alabama House Republican Caucus or an agent of the Caucus with respect to soliciting funds for the Caucus administrative fund or, in the alternative, a Caucus political action committee (in the event one is established)?

This Office understands your question to be whether a member of the Legislature, acting as a member or agent of the House Republican Caucus, may solicit funds on behalf of the Caucus administrative fund or the Caucus political action committee. This question may be addressed by first looking at the definitions in the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA).

A "principal campaign committee" is defined as a committee established primarily to benefit an individual candidate or an individual elected official. ALA. CODE § 17-22A-2(11) (Supp. 1998). A political committee, commonly referred to as a PAC, is defined as:

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.

If the Caucus plans to receive contributions as defined in the FCPA or makes expenditures as defined in the FCPA in support of candidates, principal campaign committees, elected officials, propositions, or political committees, the Caucus is a political committee and must comply with the reporting requirements of the FCPA. See Opinion to Honorable Jim Campbell, Speaker Pro Tem, House of Representative, dated January 30, 1992, A. G. No. 92-00150 and ALA. CODE §§ 17-22A-5 and 17-22A-8 (1995).

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.

A member of the Legislature, acting as a member or an agent of the House Republican Caucus, is not prohibited by the FCPA from soliciting funds on behalf of the Caucus administrative fund or the Caucus political action committee. A Legislator 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.

This opinion addresses the applicability of the Fair Campaign Practices Act. This Office understands that you have requested and received an opinion from the State Ethics Commission concerning the applicability of the ethics law.

A member of the Legislature is not prohibited by the FCPA 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.

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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