The Statement Of Organization Forming And Registering A PAC

POLITICAL COMMITTEES AND INDEPENDENT COMMITTEES (PAC) COVERED BY THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT

As soon as a “person” or group receives or spends (as defined under the MCFA) $500.00 or more in a calendar year, that person or group is required to form and register a committee. Committees are “persons” or groups that:

• receive contributions or make expenditures to influence voters for or against the nomination or election of a candidate;
• receive contributions or make expenditures to influence voters for the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question;
• make independent expenditures to influence voters; or
• receive contributions or make expenditures to assist a political party in qualifying for ballot access in Michigan
• DATE COMMITTEE FORMED Once the $500.00 threshold is met, the PAC has ten (10) calendar days to form and register with the appropriate filing official by submitting the Statement of Organization form. Formation is establishing the information needed to complete the Statement of Organization. The most important elements of formation include selecting a committee treasurer and a committee depository.

REGISTERING THE COMMITTEE

A PAC registers by filing a Statement of Organization form with the appropriate filing official. Therefore, the Statement of Organization is the first form filed by a PAC. There are several sub types of each PAC type which are outlined below.

• Independent Committees include Caucus Committees and Separate Segregated Funds.
• Political Committees include Super PACS and Separate Segregated Funds.

(For more information on committee types see Appendix H).

The Statement of Organization forms can be obtained from the Department of State’s website www.michigan.gov/campaignfinance. State Level PACs can file the Statement of Organization electronically.

A PAC is required to include in the name of the committee the name of the person or persons that sponsor the committee, if any, or with whom the committee is affiliated. A person, other than an individual or a committee, sponsors or is affiliated with a PAC if that person establishes, directs, controls, or financially supports the administration of the committee. A person does not financially support the administration of a committee by merely making a contribution to the PAC.

WHERE TO FILE

PACs must file all required statements and reports with the appropriate filing official as listed below:

• If the only “multi-county” candidate supported by the committee is a school board candidate, the committee files with the clerk of the county where the greatest number of voters eligible to vote on the office resides. (See Appendix B).
• Exception: Committees involved in State Level Recall Elections file with the Bureau of Elections in Lansing (See Appendix M).

KEEPING THE COMMITTEE’S STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION UP-TO-DATE

The information on the Statement of Organization must be kept up-to-date. If a change in the information takes place, an amendment to the form must be filed no later than the due date of the first Campaign Statement required of the committee after the change. The treasurer serving at the time of the change must sign the amended Statement of Organization form. A committee may voluntarily file the required Statement of Organization amendments earlier if desired.