FEC fines 185 political committees

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. federal elections watchdog fined 185 political committees a total of $234,405 for filing late campaign finance reports or not filing them at all.

Most of the cases involved reports filed with the Federal Elections Committee in 2005 and 2006, the commission said in a news release.

Since its founding in 2000, the FEC has collected $2.15 million in civil penalties for 1,596 cases processed under its Administrative Fine Program. The program's mission is to reduce the number of financial reports either filed late or not at all, as well as free up the FEC for more complex enforcement efforts.

Fines are determined by the number of days late, the amount of financial activity involved and any previous penalties for reporting violations, the FEC said.