South Carolina Bankers Association

SCBA Federal PAC

All senior level bank personnel and bank board members should be invited to make a personal contribution to the SCBA Federal PAC. Those contributing $500 or more will be recognized through membership in the President’s Club. Those contributing $1,000 or more will be recognized through membership in the Chairman’s Circle.

Who may be solicited for Federal PAC Contributions

Executive and administrative personnel, paid on a salary, which have policy-making, managerial, professional, or supervisory responsibilities.

Executive and administrative personnel may include individuals who run your bank’s business (officers, branch managers, division or group managers) and professionals such as lawyers and accountants.

Board members and other stockholders, if they have a vested beneficial interest in the stock, the power to direct how the stock will be voted (if it is voting stock) , and the right to receive dividends.

Family members of executive and administrative personnel, stockholder, and corporate employees.

Who may not be solicited for Federal PAC Contributions

Hourly wage employees.

Professionals represented by a labor organization.

Salaried foremen and others who supervise hourly employees.

Former or retired personnel who are not stockholders.

How an eligible employee may be solicited

Federal Election Law Regulations specify the following legal parameters for a SCBA Federal PAC solicitation.

All Contributions must Be Voluntary

Chapter 11, Section 114.5, of the Code of Federal Regulations confirms this: “A separate segregated fund (SCBA Federal PAC) is prohibited from making a contribution or expenditure by utilizing money or anything of value secured by physical force, job discrimination, financial reprisals, or the threat of force, job discrimination, or financial reprisals…”

Guidelines for Contributions Are Only Suggestions

Any person soliciting for SCBA Federal PAC must inform the solicitee that:

Contribution guidelines are only suggestions.
An individual is free to donate more or less than the guidelines indicate.
The solicitee and his/her bank will not favor or disadvantage anyone due to the amount of their contribution or their decision not to contribute.
Anyone soliciting an employee for a SCBA Federal PAC contribution must inform the employee at the time of the solicitation of his/her right to refuse to contribute without any due reprisal.

Methods of Contribution

Please remember that all contributions to the SCBA Federal PAC must be personal. The Federal Election Commission prohibits corporate contributions to federal political action committees. SCBA Federal PAC may accept personal contributions from your bank’s eligible employees through several methods:

Credit Card – The employee may login to the portal and make an online contribution to the SCBA PAC.

Personal Check – The employee may contribute via personal check from an individual account. The check should be made payable to SCBA BankPAC. He/she may then elect to send the check to SCBA, give to CEO, or a bank designee may return it to SCBA along with other employees’ contributions.

Cashier’s Check – The check must be drawn from a personal account or from personal funds. Several employees may pool their personal funds into one cashier’s check also made payable to SCBA BankPAC. If your employees choose this method, please enclose a list with the contributor name(s) and address(es) along with the check.

Important Note: Corporate Authorization

Each participating bank must sign and return the SCBA PAC Authorization Form before any employees of that bank are solicited to contribute to the SCBA Federal PAC.

Please remember the following when signing the authorization:

A corporation may only make one election for a trade association PAC per year to make solicitations, but still may solicit for their own corporation’s PAC.
A corporation may not authorize any other trade association PAC to make solicitations for the calendar year listed on the form.

REMEMBER – Contributions to any PAC fund is voluntary. No form of coercion should be used to obtain a contribution. Contributions to any political action committee are not deductible as charitable contributions.