Rulemaking Petition: Requiring Reporting of Segregated Party Accounts, 45117-45118 [2019-18505]

Download as PDF jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with PROPOSALS Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 28, 2019 / Proposed Rules an election year as a quarterly filer to maintain that status through any primary elections in which the committee is involved. The Commission seeks comment on the petition. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 28, 2019. ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically via the Commission’s website at https:// www.fec.gov/fosers, reference REG 2019–02. Alternatively, commenters may submit comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal Election Commission, Attn.: Mr. Robert M. Knop, Assistant General Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463. Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name, last name, city, and state. All properly submitted comments, including attachments, will become part of the public record, and the Commission will make comments available for public viewing on the Commission’s website and in the Commission’s Public Records Office. Accordingly, commenters should not provide in their comments any information that they do not wish to make public, such as a home street address, personal email address, date of birth, phone number, social security number, or driver’s license number, or any information that is restricted from disclosure, such as trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert M. Knop, Assistant General Counsel, or Ms. Jennifer G. Waldman, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694–1650 or (800) 424– 9530. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 14, 2019, the Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking (‘‘Petition’’) from the Campaign Legal Center asking the Commission to amend 11 CFR 104.5(c)—which sets forth the filing dates for unauthorized political committees 1—to require any unauthorized committee that starts an election year as a quarterly filer to maintain that status through any primary elections in which the committee is involved. The Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101–45 (the ‘‘Act’’), provides unauthorized political 1 An unauthorized committee ‘‘is a political committee which has not been authorized in writing by a candidate to solicit or receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of such a candidate, or which has been disavowed pursuant to [11 CFR 100.3(a)(3)].’’ 11 CFR 100.5(f)(2). VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:07 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 247001 committees with two methods to report their receipts and disbursements to the Commission. The first method allows unauthorized committees to file semiannual reports in non-election years and quarterly reports in election years. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(4)(A). Quarterly filers that make contributions or expenditures in a primary or general election must file pre-election reports 12 days before the election and must report the committee’s election activities up to 20 days before the election. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(4)(A)(ii). All quarterly filers also must file a post-general election report no later than 30 days after the general election and must report the committee’s election activities up to 20 days after the election. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(4)(A)(iii). The second method allows unauthorized committees to file on a monthly basis, except that in election years, a monthly filer must file pre- and post-general election reports in lieu of the monthly report for November and December and a year-end report no later than January 31 of the following calendar year. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(4)(B). Monthly filers are not required to file pre- or post-election reports for primary elections. Id. Commission regulations allow an unauthorized committee to change the frequency of its reporting once every calendar year. To do so, an unauthorized committee must notify the Commission of its intent in writing at the time it files a required report under its current frequency and then file its next required report on the new filing frequency. 11 CFR 104.5(c). The Petition asks the Commission to open a rulemaking to amend section 104.5(c) ‘‘to ensure that all unauthorized committees are required to file a preelection report.’’ Petition at 4. The Petition argues that ‘‘a well-timed switch from reporting on a quarterly cycle to a monthly cycle just before a pre-election report is due can allow a political committee to take advantage of the laxer quarterly filing deadline, then avoid disclosing receipts and disbursements from the last few weeks of the campaign until after the election is over—when the information is of less value to voters.’’ Petition at 2. The Petition suggests that the Commission revise section 104.5(c) to prohibit committees from switching their filing schedules during an election year; prohibit committees from switching from quarterly to monthly filing in any quarter in which they participate in a primary; or establish that committees that switch to monthly filers automatically revert back to quarterly filers if they are involved in a primary PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 45117 in their first quarter after the switch. Id. at 4. The Commission seeks comments on the petition. The public may inspect the petition on the Commission’s website, at https://www.fec.gov/fosers, or in the Commission’s Public Records Office, 1050 First Street NE, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20463, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Commission will not consider the petition’s merits until after the comment period closes. If the Commission decides that the petition has merit, it may begin a rulemaking proceeding. The Commission will announce any action that it takes in the Federal Register. Dated: August 22, 2019. On behalf of the Commission, Ellen Weintraub, Chair, Federal Election Commission. [FR Doc. 2019–18504 Filed 8–27–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6715–01–P FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 11 CFR Part 104 [Notice 2019–14] Rulemaking Petition: Requiring Reporting of Segregated Party Accounts Federal Election Commission. Rulemaking Petition: Notification of Availability. AGENCY: ACTION: On August 5, 2019, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to promulgate rules to specifically require reporting of receipts and disbursements of the accounts created by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015. The Commission seeks comments on the petition. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 28, 2019. ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically via the Commission’s website at https:// sers.fec.gov/fosers/, reference REG 2019–04. Alternatively, commenters may submit comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal Election Commission, Attn.: Esther Gyory, Acting Assistant General Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463. Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name, last name, city, and state. All properly submitted comments, including attachments, will become part of the public record, and the Commission will SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\28AUP1.SGM 28AUP1 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with PROPOSALS 45118 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 28, 2019 / Proposed Rules make comments available for public viewing on the Commission’s website and in the Commission’s Public Records Office. Accordingly, commenters should not provide in their comments any information that they do not wish to make public, such as a home street address, personal email address, date of birth, phone number, social security number, or driver’s license number, or any information that is restricted from disclosure, such as trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Esther Gyory, Acting Assistant General Counsel, or Mr. Tony Buckley, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694–1650 or (800) 424–9530. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 5, 2019, the Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking from the Campaign Legal Center and the Center for Responsive Politics (‘‘Petition’’). The Petition asks the Commission to ‘‘promulgate rules and forms requiring national party committees to delineate within their reports the individual and aggregate transactions involving’’ the accounts created by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113–235, 128 Stat. 2130, 2772 (2014) (‘‘Appropriations Act’’). Petition at 6. The Appropriations Act amended the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101–45 (‘‘FECA’’), by establishing separate limits on contributions to three types of segregated accounts of national party committees (collectively ‘‘segregated party accounts’’). The segregated party accounts are for expenses incurred with respect to (1) presidential nominating conventions; (2) party headquarters buildings; and (3) election recounts or contests and other legal proceedings. 52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(9). The segregated party accounts are in addition to any other federal accounts that the committee may lawfully maintain. FECA and Commission regulations require a political committee to report its receipts and disbursements. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a); 11 CFR 104.3(a) (reporting of receipts), (b) (reporting of disbursements). On February 13, 2015, the Commission issued interim guidance regarding the reporting of the activities of the segregated party accounts. See https://www.fec.gov/ updates/fec-issues-interim-reportingguidance-for-national-party-committeeaccounts/. In that guidance the Commission noted that ‘‘[a]lthough party committees normally disclose their contributions on VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:07 Aug 27, 2019 Jkt 247001 Form 3X, Line 11(a), the Commission[’s] forms currently do not provide a clear way to distinguish between contributions deposited into the committees’ separate accounts.’’ The guidance instructed committees to report contributions to the three accounts on Line 17 of Form 3X titled ‘‘Other Federal Receipts.’’ When itemizing contributions of $200 or more on Schedule A, the committees were instructed to enter ‘‘Convention Account’’ ‘‘Headquarters Account,’’ or ‘‘Recount Account,’’ as appropriate, in the description field. The guidance instructed committees to report administrative or operating expenses paid from the accounts on Line 21(b) of Form 3X titled ‘‘Other Federal Operating Expenditures’’ (for expenses paid from a convention or headquarters account) and Line 29 of Form 3X titled ‘‘Other Disbursements’’ (for expenses paid from a recount account). When itemizing disbursements on Schedule B, the committees were instructed to enter ‘‘Convention Account,’’ ‘‘Headquarters Account,’’ or ‘‘Recount Account,’’ as appropriate, in the Purpose of Disbursement field along with the required purpose of the disbursement.1 The Petition asserts that ‘‘each national party committee reports its receipts to and disbursements from the [segregated party] accounts in inconsistent and insufficient ways. As a result, it is effectively impossible for the public to track the large quantities of funds flowing into and out of the accounts.’’ Petition at 2. Further, ‘‘[e]very political committee is required to file periodic reports that include the committee’s total receipts, total disbursements, and cash-on-hand for the reporting period and election cycle to-date. The national party committees, however, report none of these figures for their [segregated party] accounts.’’ Id. The Petition also asserts that ‘‘there is no consistent location or terminology that committees use to denote transactions involving the’’ segregated party accounts. Id. at 2–3. As a result, the Petition claims, ‘‘there is no simple way for any member of the public—even the most sophisticated users of FEC data—to determine the amounts of money being received into and disbursed from the [segregated party] accounts.’’ Petition at 5. The Petition requests that the Commission ‘‘promulgate rules and forms requiring national party committees to delineate within their reports the individual and 1 Examples provided by the Commission included: ‘‘Convention Account—Bookkeeping and Compliance,’’ ‘‘Headquarters Account—Carpeting,’’ and ‘‘Recount Account—Legal Services.’’ PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 aggregate transactions involving their [segregated party] accounts.’’ Petition at 6. The Commission seeks comments on the Petition. The public may inspect the Petition on the Commission’s website at https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/, or in the Commission’s Public Records Office, 1050 First Street NE, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20463, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Commission will not consider the Petition’s merits until after the comment period closes. If the Commission decides that the Petition has merit, it may begin a rulemaking proceeding. The Commission will announce any action that it takes in the Federal Register. Dated: August 22, 2019. On behalf of the Commission. Ellen L. Weintraub, Chair, Federal Election Commission. [FR Doc. 2019–18505 Filed 8–27–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6515–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 39 [Docket No. FAA–2018–0547; Product Identifier 2017–NM–091–AD] RIN 2120–AA64 Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc., Airplanes Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal. AGENCY: The FAA is withdrawing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) that would have applied to certain Bombardier, Inc., Model DHC–8–400 series airplanes. The NPRM was prompted by reports of wear on fuel couplings, bonding springs, and sleeves as well as fuel tube end ferrules and fuel component end ferrules. The NPRM would have required repetitive inspections of the existing clamshell coupling bonding wires, fuel couplings, and associated sleeves for certain criteria, and replacement as necessary. The NPRM would also have required repetitive inspections of the fuel tube end ferrules, fuel component end ferrules, and ferrule o-ring flanges for damage and wear, and rework as necessary. Since issuance of the NPRM, the FAA determined that more restrictive airworthiness limitations are also necessary, that an SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\28AUP1.SGM 28AUP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45117-45118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18505]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Part 104

[Notice 2019-14]


Rulemaking Petition: Requiring Reporting of Segregated Party 
Accounts

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Rulemaking Petition: Notification of Availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On August 5, 2019, the Federal Election Commission received a 
Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to promulgate rules to 
specifically require reporting of receipts and disbursements of the 
accounts created by the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act of 2015. The Commission seeks comments on the 
petition.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 28, 2019.

ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters are encouraged 
to submit comments electronically via the Commission's website at 
https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/, reference REG 2019-04. Alternatively, 
commenters may submit comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal 
Election Commission, Attn.: Esther Gyory, Acting Assistant General 
Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463.
    Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name, 
last name, city, and state. All properly submitted comments, including 
attachments, will become part of the public record, and the Commission 
will

[[Page 45118]]

make comments available for public viewing on the Commission's website 
and in the Commission's Public Records Office. Accordingly, commenters 
should not provide in their comments any information that they do not 
wish to make public, such as a home street address, personal email 
address, date of birth, phone number, social security number, or 
driver's license number, or any information that is restricted from 
disclosure, such as trade secrets or commercial or financial 
information that is privileged or confidential.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Esther Gyory, Acting Assistant 
General Counsel, or Mr. Tony Buckley, Attorney, Office of the General 
Counsel, 1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694-1650 or 
(800) 424-9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 5, 2019, the Commission received a 
Petition for Rulemaking from the Campaign Legal Center and the Center 
for Responsive Politics (``Petition''). The Petition asks the 
Commission to ``promulgate rules and forms requiring national party 
committees to delineate within their reports the individual and 
aggregate transactions involving'' the accounts created by the 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public 
Law 113-235, 128 Stat. 2130, 2772 (2014) (``Appropriations Act''). 
Petition at 6.
    The Appropriations Act amended the Federal Election Campaign Act, 
52 U.S.C. 30101-45 (``FECA''), by establishing separate limits on 
contributions to three types of segregated accounts of national party 
committees (collectively ``segregated party accounts''). The segregated 
party accounts are for expenses incurred with respect to (1) 
presidential nominating conventions; (2) party headquarters buildings; 
and (3) election recounts or contests and other legal proceedings. 52 
U.S.C. 30116(a)(9). The segregated party accounts are in addition to 
any other federal accounts that the committee may lawfully maintain.
    FECA and Commission regulations require a political committee to 
report its receipts and disbursements. 52 U.S.C. 30104(a); 11 CFR 
104.3(a) (reporting of receipts), (b) (reporting of disbursements). On 
February 13, 2015, the Commission issued interim guidance regarding the 
reporting of the activities of the segregated party accounts. See 
https://www.fec.gov/updates/fec-issues-interim-reporting-guidance-for-national-party-committee-accounts/.
    In that guidance the Commission noted that ``[a]lthough party 
committees normally disclose their contributions on Form 3X, Line 
11(a), the Commission['s] forms currently do not provide a clear way to 
distinguish between contributions deposited into the committees' 
separate accounts.'' The guidance instructed committees to report 
contributions to the three accounts on Line 17 of Form 3X titled 
``Other Federal Receipts.'' When itemizing contributions of $200 or 
more on Schedule A, the committees were instructed to enter 
``Convention Account'' ``Headquarters Account,'' or ``Recount 
Account,'' as appropriate, in the description field. The guidance 
instructed committees to report administrative or operating expenses 
paid from the accounts on Line 21(b) of Form 3X titled ``Other Federal 
Operating Expenditures'' (for expenses paid from a convention or 
headquarters account) and Line 29 of Form 3X titled ``Other 
Disbursements'' (for expenses paid from a recount account). When 
itemizing disbursements on Schedule B, the committees were instructed 
to enter ``Convention Account,'' ``Headquarters Account,'' or ``Recount 
Account,'' as appropriate, in the Purpose of Disbursement field along 
with the required purpose of the disbursement.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Examples provided by the Commission included: ``Convention 
Account--Bookkeeping and Compliance,'' ``Headquarters Account--
Carpeting,'' and ``Recount Account--Legal Services.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Petition asserts that ``each national party committee reports 
its receipts to and disbursements from the [segregated party] accounts 
in inconsistent and insufficient ways. As a result, it is effectively 
impossible for the public to track the large quantities of funds 
flowing into and out of the accounts.'' Petition at 2. Further, 
``[e]very political committee is required to file periodic reports that 
include the committee's total receipts, total disbursements, and cash-
on-hand for the reporting period and election cycle to-date. The 
national party committees, however, report none of these figures for 
their [segregated party] accounts.'' Id. The Petition also asserts that 
``there is no consistent location or terminology that committees use to 
denote transactions involving the'' segregated party accounts. Id. at 
2-3. As a result, the Petition claims, ``there is no simple way for any 
member of the public--even the most sophisticated users of FEC data--to 
determine the amounts of money being received into and disbursed from 
the [segregated party] accounts.'' Petition at 5. The Petition requests 
that the Commission ``promulgate rules and forms requiring national 
party committees to delineate within their reports the individual and 
aggregate transactions involving their [segregated party] accounts.'' 
Petition at 6.
    The Commission seeks comments on the Petition. The public may 
inspect the Petition on the Commission's website at https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/, or in the Commission's Public Records Office, 
1050 First Street NE, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20463, Monday through 
Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    The Commission will not consider the Petition's merits until after 
the comment period closes. If the Commission decides that the Petition 
has merit, it may begin a rulemaking proceeding. The Commission will 
announce any action that it takes in the Federal Register.

    Dated: August 22, 2019.

    On behalf of the Commission.
Ellen L. Weintraub,
Chair, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-18505 Filed 8-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6515-01-P
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