Coordinated party expenditure limits adjusted (2017)
The 2017 coordinated party expenditure limits are now available.
The limits are:
- $97,400 for House nominees in states that have only one U.S. House Representative. This adjustment is calculated by multiplying $20,000 by the Cost of Living Adjustment provided by the Secretary of Labor (COLA) and rounding to the nearest $100. The applicable COLA is 4.86767.
- $48,700 for House nominees in states that have more than one U.S. House Representative ($10,000 x COLA); and
- A range from $97,400 to $2,935,900 for Senate nominees, depending on each state's voting age population (the greater of $20,000 x COLA or 2₵ x state voting age population (VAP) x COLA).
Party committees may make these special expenditures on behalf of their 2017 special general election nominees. National party committees have a separate limit for each nominee. Each state party committee has a separate limit for each House and Senate nominee in its state. Local party committees do not have their own separate limit. One party committee may authorize another committee of that party to make an expenditure against the authorizing committee’s limit. Local committees may only make coordinated party expenditures with advance authorization from another committee within in the party.
Coordinated party expenditure limits are separate from the contribution limits. Unlike contributions, the national Senatorial and Congressional committees do not have separate coordinated party expenditure limits; however, they may receive authorization to spend against the national limit or state party limits. They also differ from contributions in that the party committee must spend the funds on behalf of the candidate rather than give the money directly to the campaign. These expenditures may be made in consultation with the candidate; however, only the party committee making the expenditure – not the candidate committee – must report them. Coordinated party expenditures are reported on FEC Form 3X, line 25, and are always itemized on Schedule F, regardless of amount.
Click here to view the 2017 coordinated party expenditure limits. The link also includes information on which party committees have the authority to make coordinated party expenditures; the formula used to calculate the coordinated party expenditure limits; and a listing of the state-by-state coordinated party expenditure limits for Senate candidates.
The coordinated party expenditure limits were published in the Federal Register on February 16, 2017, at 82 Fed. Reg. 10904.
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