Federal Election Commission 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting amendments to Form N-PX under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Investment Company Act'') to enhance the information mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (``ETFs''), and certain other funds currently report about their proxy votes and to make that information easier to analyze. The Commission also is adopting rule and form amendments under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') that would require an institutional investment manager subject to the Exchange Act to report on Form N-PX how it voted proxies relating to executive compensation matters, as required by the Exchange Act. The reporting requirements for institutional investment managers complete implementation of those requirements added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act'').

After considering comments received in response to its May 3, 2021, Notification of Availability, the Federal Election Commission seeks comments on proposed changes to its regulations regarding the use of campaign funds by a candidate's principal campaign committee to pay compensation to the candidate. The Notification of Availability was published in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by a former candidate for the United States House of Representatives. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking.

The Federal Election Commission is seeking additional public comment on previously proposed rules that would modernize the agency's regulations in light of technological advances in communications, recordkeeping, and financial transactions, and that would eliminate and update references to outdated technologies and address similar technological issues. In particular, the Commission presently seeks comments on whether its definition of ``public communication'' should also include Internet communications that are ``promoted for a fee'' on another person's website, digital device, application, or advertising platform. The Commission also seeks to elicit comments concerning whether ``Internet public communications,'' a new defined term, should include public communications ``promoted for a fee'' on another person's website, digital device, application, or advertising platform. No final decision has been made by the Commission on the issues presented in this rulemaking.

On August 22, 2022, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to amend its existing regulations regarding the threshold amount at which conduits forwarding contributions to political committees must identify the contributors to the recipient political committees and the Commission. The petitioner requests that the Commission establish an itemization threshold equal to the contribution amount at which political committees must report the identification of contributors.

The Federal Election Commission is seeking additional public comment on previously proposed rules that would modernize the agency's regulations in light of technological advances in communications, recordkeeping, and financial transactions, and that would eliminate and update references to outdated technologies and address similar technological issues.

Minnesota has scheduled special elections on May 24, 2022, and August 9, 2022, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 1st Congressional District held by the late Representative Jim Hagedorn. Committees required to file reports in connection with the Special Primary Election on May 24, 2022, shall file a 12-day Pre- Primary Report. Committees required to file reports in connection with both the Special Primary and Special General Election on August 9, 2022, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary, a 12-day Pre-General, and a 30- day Post-General Report.

The Federal Election Commission is adopting a procedure concerning the enforcement process in situations where the respondent to a complaint is a foreign state, a political subdivision of a foreign state, a head of state or other foreign official acting in his or her official capacity, or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.

California has scheduled special elections on June 7, 2022, and November 8, 2022, to fill the remainder of Vice President Kamala Harris' unexpired U.S. Senate term, which ends on January 3, 2023. Committees required to file reports in connection with the Special Primary Election on June 7, 2022, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary Report. Committees required to file reports in connection with both the Special Primary and the Special General Election on November 8, 2022, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary, a 12-day Pre-General, and a 30-day Post-General Report.