(a) Definitions.

(1) Reporting Committee. Reporting committee means:

(i) An authorized committee of a Federal candidate as defined at 11 CFR 100.5(f)(1);

(ii) A leadership PAC as defined at 11 CFR 100.5(e)(6); or

(iii) A party committee as defined at 11 CFR 100.5(e)(4).

(2) Lobbyist/Registrant. Lobbyist/registrant means a person who, at the time a contribution is forwarded to, or is received by, a reporting committee, is:

(i) A current registrant under Section 4(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)); or

(ii) An individual who is named on a current registration or current report filed under Section 4(b)(6) or 5(b)(2)(C) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6) or 1604(b)(2)(C)).

(3) Lobbyist/Registrant PAC. Lobbyist/registrant PAC means any political committee that a lobbyist/registrant “established or controls,” as defined in paragraph (a)(4) of this section.

(4) Established or Controls.

(i) For purposes of this section only, a lobbyist/registrant established or controls any political committee that the lobbyist/registrant is required to disclose to the Secretary of the U. S. Senate or Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives as being established or controlled by that lobbyist/registrant under Section 203 of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, amending the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)(C)).

(ii) If, after consulting guidance from the offices of the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the U.S House of Representatives, or communicating with such offices, a political committee is unable to ascertain whether it is established or controlled by a lobbyist/registrant, a lobbyist/registrant will be deemed to have established or to control a political committee if:

(A) The political committee is a separate segregated fund with a current registrant under Section 4(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)) as its connected organization; or

(B) The political committee meets either of the following criteria:

(1) A lobbyist/registrant had a primary role in the establishment of the political committee, excluding the provision of legal or compliance services or advice; or

(2) A lobbyist/registrant directs the governance or operations of the political committee, excluding the provision of legal or compliance services or advice.

(5) Covered Period. Covered period means:

(i) Semi-annually. The semi-annual periods of January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31; and the period described in paragraph (a)(5)(ii), (iii) or (iv), below, that applies to the reporting committee.

(ii) Quarterly. For reporting committees that file campaign finance reports under 11 CFR 104.5 on a quarterly basis, the covered period also includes the quarters beginning on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 of each calendar year and the applicable pre- and post-election reporting periods in election years; in a nonelection year, reporting committees not authorized by a candidate need only observe the semi-annual period described in paragraph (a)(5)(i) above; or

(iii) Monthly. For reporting committees that file monthly campaign finance reports under 11 CFR 104.5, the covered period also includes each month in the calendar year, except that in election years the pre- and post-general election reporting periods shall constitute the covered period in lieu of the monthly November and December reporting periods.

(iv) Alternative for monthly filers. Any reporting committee that files monthly campaign finance reports under 11 CFR 104.5 may choose to file reports pursuant to the quarterly covered period in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) of this section instead of the monthly covered period in paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section. It shall do so by notifying the Commission in writing of its intention to do so at the time the reporting committee files a monthly report under paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section. The reporting committee will be required to file its next report under the new filing frequency. The reporting committee may change its filing frequency no more than once per calendar year.

(v) Runoffs and Special Elections. For special elections and runoff elections set by State law, the covered period shall be the same as the reporting periods set under 11 CFR 104.5(h).

(6) Bundled Contribution. Bundled contribution means any contribution that meets the definition set forth in either paragraph (i) or (ii) below:

(i) Forwarded contribution means a contribution delivered or transmitted, by physical or electronic means, to the reporting committee by a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC, or by any person that the reporting committee knows to be forwarding such contribution on behalf of a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC.

(ii) Received and credited contribution means a contribution received by the reporting committee from the contributor or contributors, and credited by the reporting committee or candidate involved to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC through records, designations, or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised by the lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC.

(A) Records, designations, or other means of recognizing. Records means written evidence (including writings, charts, computer files, tables, spreadsheets, databases, or other data or data compilations stored in any medium from which information can be obtained) that the reporting committee or candidate involved attributes to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC contributions raised by that person or entity and received by the reporting committee.

Designations or other means of recognizing bundled contributions means benefits given by the reporting committee to persons for raising a certain amount of contributions, including but not limited to:

(1) Titles that the reporting committee assigns to persons who have raised a certain amount of contributions;

(2) Tracking identifiers that the reporting committee assigns and that are included on contributions or contributions-related materials (for example, contributor response devices, cover letters, or Internet Web site solicitation pages) for the purpose of maintaining information about the amounts of contributions that a person raises;

(3) Access (including offers or attendance) to events or activities given to the lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC by the reporting committee as a result of raising a certain amount of contributions; and

(4) Mementos, such as photographs with the candidate or autographed copies of books authored by the candidate, given by the reporting committee to persons who have raised a certain amount of contributions.

(B) The candidate involved. The candidate involved means the candidate by whom the authorized committee is authorized; the candidate or individual holding Federal office who directly or indirectly established, finances, maintains or controls the leadership PAC; or the chairman of the committee in the case of a political party committee.

(iii) Bundled contributions do not include contributions made by the lobbyist/registrant PAC or from the personal funds of the lobbyist/registrant that forwards or is credited with raising the contributions or the personal funds of that person's spouse.

(b) Reporting requirement for reporting committees—(1) FEC Form 3L. Each reporting committee must file FEC Form 3L (Report of Contributions Bundled by Lobbyist/Registrants and Lobbyist/Registrant PACs) if it has received two or more bundled contributions (see paragraph (a)(6)) forwarded by or received and credited to a person reasonably known by the reporting committee to be a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC aggregating in excess of $15,000 during the covered period. The form shall set forth:

(i) The name of each lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC;

(ii) The address of each lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC;

(iii) The employer of each lobbyist/registrant; and

(iv) The aggregate amount of bundled contributions forwarded by or received and credited to each lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC by the reporting committee during the covered period.

(2) Determining whether a person is reasonably known to be a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC.

(i) In order to comply with paragraph (b)(1) of this section, a reporting committee must consult, in a manner reasonably calculated to find the name of each person who is a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC, the Web sites maintained by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Federal Election Commission to determine whether, at the time a contribution was forwarded to, or received by, the reporting committee:

(A) The person was listed as a current registrant under Section 4(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a));

(B) The person was an individual listed on a current registration filed under Section 4(b)(6) or a current report filed under Section 5(b)(2)(C) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603 or 1604);

(C) The person identified itself as a lobbyist/registrant PAC on its Statement of Organization, FEC Form 1, filed with the Commission; or

(D) The person was listed as a political committee established or controlled by a lobbyist or registrant on a report filed under Sec. 203(a) of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, amending the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604).

(ii) A manner reasonably calculated to find the name of each person who is a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC may be demonstrated by the reporting committee producing a computer printout or screen capture from a Web browser indicating that the name of the person sought was not listed in the results of the Web site consultations performed in accordance with paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section. Such a computer printout or screen capture shall constitute conclusive evidence that the reporting committee has consulted such Web sites and not found the name of the person sought, but shall not be the exclusive means by which the reporting committee may provide evidence that it has consulted such Web sites and not found the name of the person sought.

(iii) A reporting committee shall be subject to the reporting requirement under paragraph (b)(1) of this section if it had actual knowledge that, at the time a contribution was forwarded or received, the person whose name is sought was required to be listed on any registration or report described in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section.

(c) Lobbyist/Registrant PAC reporting requirements. Any political committee that is a lobbyist/registrant PAC as defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section must identify itself as such on FEC Form 1 either upon registration with the Commission if it is a new political committee, or by amendment in accordance with 11 CFR 102.2(a)(2) if it is a political committee registered with the Commission.

(d) Where to file. Reporting committees shall file with the Federal Election Commission.

(e) When to file. Reporting committees must file the forms required under this section with the first report that they file under 11 CFR 104.5 following the end of each covered period.

(f) Recordkeeping. In addition to any requirements to maintain records and accounts under 11 CFR 102.8, 102.9 and 110.6, each reporting committee must maintain for three years after the filing of the report to which the information relates a record of any bundled contributions (see 11 CFR 104.22(a)(6)) provided by a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC that aggregate in excess of $15,000 for any covered period. The information required to be maintained is:

(1) The name and address of the lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC;

(2) The employer of the lobbyist/registrant; and

(3) The aggregate amount of bundled contributions forwarded by or received and credited to each lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC by the reporting committee during the covered period.

(g) Price index increase.

(1) The threshold for reporting bundled contributions established in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be increased by the percent difference between the price index as defined at 11 CFR 110.17(d), as certified to the Commission by the Secretary of Labor, for the 12 months preceding the beginning of the calendar year and the price index for the base period.

(2) Each contribution bundling threshold so increased shall be the threshold in effect for that calendar year.

(3) For purposes of this paragraph (g), the term base period means calendar year 2006.

(4) If any amount after the increases under this paragraph (g) is not a multiple of $100, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.

[74 FR 7302, Feb. 17, 2009, as amended at 84 FR 18700, May 2, 2019]