The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent U.S. federal agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance laws—overseeing disclosure and reporting, campaign finance data, audits, advisory opinions, enforcement of contribution and expenditure limits, and public guidance and training for candidates, committees and the public.
A "political party committee" is an organization (national, state, district/local or subordinate) that, by party bylaws or state law, is part of an official political party and whose party-nominated or -selected federal candidates appear on the ballot; national/state/district committees must meet specific criteria (e.g., ballot access, official party structure, day‑to‑day operation) to qualify for party benefits under federal law.
Pay.gov is the U.S. Treasury’s secure online payment portal that agencies (like the FEC) use to accept non‑tax payments. For the FEC webinar you register/pay via the FEC Training Payment page on Pay.gov; Pay.gov accepts ACH (bank debit), credit/debit cards and some digital wallets, issues confirmations by email and shows payment status in your Pay.gov account.
ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, the electronic network for bank-to-bank transfers. ACH refunds are not "readily available" because Pay.gov and agencies typically cannot reverse settled ACH debits the way credit‑card charges can; refunds must be handled by the paying agency or via bank return/reclamation processes, which take longer and may require the payer to work with their bank.
CLE (Continuing Legal Education) are credits for lawyers required by state bar authorities; CPE (Continuing Professional Education) are credits for accountants and other professionals (often regulated via NASBA/state boards). The FEC will provide a participation letter/certificate to attendees; participants use that letter to apply directly to their state bar, NASBA sponsor, or relevant licensing board to request CLE, CPE or other continuing‑education credit.
"Federal election activity" (FEA) is a category of party committee activity defined in federal law and FEC regulations that includes certain voter registration drives, get‑out‑the‑vote activity, voter identification, generic campaign activity and communications that refer to clearly identified federal candidates within specified pre‑election windows; FEA is subject to special funding and reporting rules for party committees.
Disclosure rules for party committees generally cover what receipts and disbursements must be reported (contributions, transfers, expenditures), required filing schedules and forms, identification of contributors and payees, reporting of federal election activity and coordinated party expenditures, and required public disclosures to ensure transparency under the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations.
The FEC announcement does not state that the webinar will be recorded or posted later; it only says materials and log‑in instructions will be emailed to registrants the day before and that the sessions are live and interactive. (If recording/archival access is needed, registrants should contact conferences@fec.gov.)