FECA Coordinated Expenditure Limits

Coordinated or "On behalf of" [O.B.O.] expenditures are funds that are spent by party committees in connection with the general election campaign of a candidate for federal office. These expenditures are not considered contributions because they are not given directly to the candidate or his/her committee, but rather are spent on his/her behalf.

The limits are dependent upon the office, and are based on formulas that use the voting age population [VAP]:

Presidential campaigns: National VAP x $.02 in 1974 dollars
Senate campaigns: $20,000 or State VAP x $.02 in 1974 dollars, whichever is greater
House campaigns: $10,000 in 1974 dollars or, in states with only one congressional district, equal to the limit for Senate campaigns.

These limits were upheld in June 2001 by the Supreme Court in Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee.
Party committees may assign all or part of their coordinated party spending authority to another party committee through an agency agreement. (See Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 454 U.S. 27, 1981). However, local party units do not have any coordinated spending authority of their own.
Similar expenditures made by PACs are considered "in-kind contributions" and therefore are counted against their contribution limit.
"In 1974 dollars" means that the expenditure limits are adjusted for the rate of inflation since 1974, the base year.
Money that is spent by groups or individuals in support of, or opposition to, a candidate, but not in cooperation with that candidate or his/her campaign is considered an independent expenditure. The Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that this is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment and, therefore cannot limited. (Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1). This argument also applies to independent expenditures made by party organizations. (Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission, 518 U.S. 604, [1996]) However, under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, party committees may not make both independent and coordinated expenditures.