Federal Election Commission Main Page
September 29, 1989
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
ADVISORY OPINION 1989-19
Oscar Johnson
4921 Seminary Road
#823
Alexandria, VA 22311
Dear Mr. Johnson:
This responds to your letters dated August 22 and August 31, 1989,
requesting an advisory opinion concerning the application of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended ("the Act"), and
Commission regulations to the sale of copies of pages from reports
filed with the Commission.
You ask whether it would be permissible for you, or a "for profit
company" that you would form, to sell to the public unaltered copies
of pages from selected Reports of Receipts and Disbursements filed
with the Commission. The pages you propose to include are the Summary
Page, the Detailed Summary Page, and those pages from the Itemized
Receipts, Schedule A, that list only contributions from other
political committees. Information on individual contributors "would
not be included in any way under [your] venture." You state that the
copies would be sold "for purposes of education and voter
information."
The Act provides that the Commission shall make reports and
statements filed with it available to the public for inspection and
copying within 48 hours after receipt, "except that any information
copied from such reports or statements may not be sold or used by any
person for the purpose of soliciting contributions or for commercial
purposes, other than using the name and address of any political
committee to solicit contributions from such committee." 2 U.S.C.
Sc438(a)(4). See 11 CFR 104.15(a). Based on the legislative history
of the Act, the Commission has previously explained that the principal
purpose of this restriction is the protection of individuals who make
contributions to political committees from having their names used for
commercial purposes, not the suppression of financial information.
See Advisory Opinions 1988-2, 1986-25, 1983-44, 1981-38, 1980-101, and
1980-78. The focus of the sponsor of the amendment creating this
restriction centered on the privacy of the "very public-spirited
citizens" who make contributions to campaigns. 117 Cong. Rec.
30057-58 (1971) (remarks of Senator Bellmon). This focus was
reinforced in the legislative history of the 1979 amendments. While
the Act was amended to permit a commercial vendor to compile the names
and addresses of political committees for the purpose of selling the
names of the committees, "the prohibition on the copying and use of
the names and address [sic] of individual contributors [was]
maintained." H.R. Rep. No. 422, 96th Cong., 1st Sess. 23 (1979).
Specifically, the Commission has permitted a publisher to use
names and addresses from reports filed with the Commission to provide
leads for news articles and other information for use in a newsletter
and to solicit subscriptions, so long as the names of individual
contributors were not used. Advisory Opinion 1981-38. In addition,
the Commission has permitted the proposed sale of a directory of
comprehensive information concerning PACs obtained from documents
filed with the Commission, stating that any of the information may be
used, "except for information identifying individual contributors."
Advisory Opinion 1980-101.
You have stated you will only market copies of report pages that
do not contain the names of individual contributors. The Commission
concludes that nothing in the Act or Commission regulations prohibits
your proposed activity.
This response constitutes an advisory opinion concerning
application of the Act or regulations prescribed by the Commission to
the specific transaction or activity set forth in your request. See 2
U.S.C. Sc437f.
Sincerely,
Danny L. McDonald
Chairman for the
Federal Election Commission
Enclosures (AOs 1988-2, 1986-25, 1983-44, 1981-38, 1980-101,
and 1980-78)