Find out who can contribute, how much they can contribute and how to involve your employees in supporting the industry's advocacy efforts.
Have further questions about NMHC PAC? E-mail: nmhcpac@nmhc.org.
Decisions made in Washington have a tremendous impact on the apartment industry, your firm and ultimately, your job. NMHC PAC is your opportunity to elect Congressmen and Senators who understand multifamily housing and can protect your investment in the apartment industry.
Executive, managerial or administrative personnel of the firm may be solicited for and contribute to NMHC PAC. These individuals, such as, corporate officers, executives, division managers, lawyers, engineers, etc., are paid on a salary rather than an hourly basis. They also are trusted with policymaking, managerial, professional or supervisory responsibilities. Corporate directors may only be solicited if they are stockholders or receive a regular salary or fee from the corporation. Any person, including employees who are stockholders, may be solicited, even if they are not executive or administrative personnel. Professionals represented by labor unions, salaried lower-level supervisors, hourly employees, former or retired personnel or consultants not subject to withholding taxes, are not considered executive or administrative personnel.
If an individual is salaried (as opposed to hourly workers or person who work on commissions) and has either managerial or executive responsibilities, they are eligible for solicitation, assuming their firm has provided prior authorization. One way to verify that an individual qualifies as eligible is to ask if they are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. If so, the FEC will consider them eligible for solicitation (unless they belong to a union or only supervise hourly workers).
There is no minimum contribution; however, federal law limits individual contributions to $5,000 per individual per calendar year. (A husband and wife each have separate $5,000 limits.) Even if you have contributed to other PACs, you are still eligible to contribute to NMHC PAC. The combined or aggregate maximum contribution to all candidates, committees and other recipients by an individual is $117,000 for any two-year election cycle.
Contributions to NMHC PAC are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions to NMHC PAC are voluntary. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal. Contributions to NMHC PAC will be used in connection with federal elections and are subject to the limitations and prohibitions of federal law. The proposed contribution amounts are merely suggestions; you may choose to contribute more or less or not at all. The maximum an individual may contribute is $5,000 per calendar year. Corporate and foreign national contributions are prohibited. Federal law requires political committees to use best efforts to obtain and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.
- Contributions in excess of the contribution limits (see above)
- Contributions from other corporations, from national banks or federal government contractors
- Contributions from non-citizens of the United States who have not been admitted for permanent residence;
- Contributions made in the name of another person
- Cash contributions exceeding $100 per contributor per year.
Illegal contributions may not be accepted by NMHC PAC. PAC officers and agents are prohibited from knowingly accepting any contribution that is barred by the Federal election laws. Illegal contributions include:
- Amount
- Date of receipt
- Donor’s name and address
- Donor’s occupation and employer
- Amount
- Date of receipt
- Donor’s name and address
For each contribution that exceeds $200 either by itself or when aggregated with previous contributions from the same donor to the PAC during the same calendar year, records must identify the:
By law, this information must be submitted to the Federal Election Commission. For each contribution exceeding $50, but not greater than $199, the records must note:
When reporting information about contributors, the PAC’s agent is deemed to have exercised their “best efforts” if each PAC solicitation contained a clear request for the information above and if they made at least one additional attempt (by phone or mail) to obtain the information after the contribution was received.
Contributions in excess of $50.00 must be transferred and then deposited by NMHC PAC within ten (10) days, and those of $50.00 or less within 30 days.
NMHC PAC is completely independent and bipartisan. Candidates who receive financial support are evaluated on their merits and their understanding of issues of importance to the apartment industry.
Since all the PAC’s administrative expenses are paid by NMHC, every dollar given goes directly to candidates who support our industry. For more info on how NMHC PAC disburses its funds, visit our Life of an NMHC PAC Dollar page.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Lisa Costello, vice president of political affairs at 202.974.2325 or lcostello@nmhc.org.
