Political Action Committee

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) requires federal political action committees to obtain written approval from ACEC members before it may solicit, accept, or process contributions from member firm employees. Prior Approval may be granted for up to five (5) consecutive years by the firm and may be withdrawn at any time. Only one approval form is required per firm. 

Prior Approval may be granted by anyone so authorized by the firm. This includes the firm’s chief executive or the owner/principal but may also include those designated to represent the firm at ACEC state and national meetings. 

That’s up to you. By signing a Prior Approval form, you could allow ACEC to solicit all principals and senior executives in your firm, or only certain individuals in the firm. You could also give ACEC approval to accept voluntary contributions but request that no solicitations be made to firm employees, and ACEC will honor the request. A firm can also request that only a certain branch or branches be granted approval. 

Yes. Even if your firm has a federally registered PAC, your employees can still contribute up to $5,000 each year to ACEC/PAC. The same holds true for Federal PACs that give a “PAC-to-PAC” contribution to ACEC/PAC. 

In practical terms, granting Prior Approval allows firm employees who wish to support ACEC/PAC the ability to do so since ACEC/PAC cannot accept contributions without a signed Prior Approval form. Congressional legislation will continue to directly affect firms, and ACEC/PAC is the engineering industry’s biggest and most effective tool for helping to elect U.S. House and Senate members that support policies favorable to the industry. We need the support of every firm to ensure the industry’s voice is heard on Capitol Hill. 

You can download the prior approval program by signing into the ACEC/PAC site here.