From the Associated Press

FEC Weighs New 'Soft Money' Restrictions
By SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -- Some tax-exempt groups facing the possibility of new
government restrictions on their fund-raising and spending said Thursday
they were prepared to go to court to overturn any broad limits federal
election officials might impose.
The threat came as the Federal Election Commission began work on a proposal
that could quash the plans of several partisan groups to spend millions of
dollars in big donations on this year's elections -- or give them the
go-ahead.
Although an FEC decision is about two months away, the Sierra Club and
several other nonprofit organizations said they are worried any new
commission rules would sweep them in even though their main purpose is
lobbying, not election activities.
Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, speaking at a news
conference with other Democratic-leaning groups including the AFL-CIO and
America Votes, a coalition of organizations, said the groups would sue to
overturn any rules they thought quashed their ability to speak out about
politicians and government policy.
Pope suggested the Sierra Club would even consider ignoring any new FEC
restrictions and proceeding with its activities as planned, letting the
chips fall where they may.
"I suspect that's what people will have to do," Pope said in an interview
after the news conference.
At issue is how the nation's campaign finance law affects nonparty groups
that raise corporate, union and unlimited donations known as "soft money"
and spend it on get-out-the-vote activities, ads mentioning congressional
and presidential candidates, and other activities that could affect this
fall's elections.
The law bans national party committees from raising soft money and broadly
restricts the use of such donations by others at election time. Several
partisan activists, mostly Democrats so far, have formed new groups to spend
soft money in this year's elections.
The commission last month placed some limits on outside groups' use of soft
money, but the decision covered only organizations that register with the
FEC as political committees. By doing so, groups tell the FEC that one of
their top priorities is spending money for or against federal candidates.
The FEC is considering whether a range of tax-exempt political groups should
be swept into such restrictions even if they do not consider themselves
political committees.
Under proposals the commission voted Thursday to circulate for public
comment, such groups could be required to register with the FEC as political
committees if they spend certain amounts on activities the FEC believes
influence federal elections. If they became political committees in the
commission's view, they could no longer spend big corporate or union
contributions on a range of activities.
The FEC plans hearings next month on the issue and is expected to decide on
any new rules in May. Several commissioners said Thursday that their minds
aren't made up on whether new rules are needed or, if so, what form they
should take.