FECA provides that a "person" is limited to contributing no more than
$2,000 per candidate, per election (adjusted for inflation to $2,300 for the 2007-2008 election cycle); $25,000 per year to a national committee of a political party (adjusted for inflation to $28,500 for the 2007-2008 election cycle); and $5,000 per year to PACs (limits on contributions by and to PACs are not adjusted for inflation). As a result of that ruling, it appears that an Indian tribe, by making, for example, an unlimited number of $2,300, $28,500, and $5,000 contributions, could significantly exceed the $108,200 aggregate election-cycle limit applicable to "individuals." PAC contributions are subject to limitations under FECA, as are contributions from individual citizens and political parties. Generally, as most Indian tribes are unincorporated, they are not subject to the FECA ban on the use of corporate treasury funds for contributions and expenditures in connection with federal elections. Several observations may be made about the ability of Indian tribes to spend money in federal elections compared with that of other interest groups, which typically operate through PACs. Like other interest groups, Indian tribes are subject to no aggregate limit on their total federal election contributions (only individual citizens are subject to this limit). Sometimes referred to as nonfederal funds, prior to the enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 ( P.L. Prior to BCRA, issue advocacy communications were generally unregulated by FECA. Therefore, Indian tribes (like corporations, labor unions, and individuals) could spend unlimited amounts of money on such communications. BCRA created a new term in federal election law, "electioneering communication," which describes a political ad that "refers" to a clearly identified federal candidate, is broadcast within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election, and if for House and Senate elections, is "targeted to the relevant electorate," (i.e., is received by 50,000 or more persons in the state or district where the respective House or Senate election is occurring). Therefore, while corporations and labor unions are prohibited from engaging in "electioneering communications," it appears that most Indian tribes, as unincorporated entities, may continue to finance such communications, subject to the disclosure requirements.
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), Indian tribes are subject to contribution limits applicable to "persons," as defined by the act. For the 2008 election cycle, these limits include $2,300 per election to a candidate, $28,500 per year to a political party's national committee, and $5,000 per year to a political action committee (PAC). The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has found, however, that FECA's $108,200 election cycle aggregate limit applicable to "individuals," as defined by the act, does not apply to Indian tribes (similar to FECA's treatment of other interest groups that operate through PACs and are also not subject to an aggregate limit). In addition, as most Indian tribes are unincorporated, they are not subject to the FECA ban on use of corporate treasury funds for contributions and expenditures in connection with federal elections. Hence, unlike corporations, most Indian tribes are not required to establish PACs in order to participate in federal elections. As the result of an FEC ruling, unlike PACs, Indian tribes are also not required to disclose the amounts and recipients of any contributions they make. With regard to unregulated soft money, Indian tribes may spend unlimited amounts of money on issue advocacy communications.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 made several significant changes to FECA, including increasing certain contribution limits from their previous levels. BCRA also prohibited any "person," which includes Indian tribes, from making soft money donations to political parties. While FECA prohibits corporations and unions from paying for broadcast issue advertisements that refer to federal candidates within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election, labeled by BCRA as "electioneering communications," unincorporated Indian tribes are not subject to such a prohibition. However, if an Indian tribe sponsors an electioneering communication, regardless of its incorporation status, it is subject to disclosure requirements, including the identification of disbursements and donors over certain dollar amounts.