Federal Election Commission 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Election Commission is announcing a public hearing on the policies and procedures of the Federal Election Commission including but not limited to, policy statements, advisory opinions, and public information, as well as various elements of the compliance and enforcement processes such as audits, matters under review, report analysis, administrative fines, and alternative dispute resolution. The Commission also seeks comment from the public on the procedures contained in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, 2 U.S.C. 431 et. seq. (``FECA'' or ``the Act''), as well as the Commission's implementing regulations.

Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (``FECA''), to extend the expiration date for the Administrative Fines Program (``AFP'') from December 31, 2008 to December 31, 2013. Under the AFP, the Commission may assess civil monetary penalties for violations of the reporting requirements of section 434(a) of the FECA. Accordingly, the Commission is extending the applicability of the AFP rules and the AFP penalty schedules. Further information is provided in the Supplementary Information that follows.

The Federal Election Commission (``Commission'') requests comments on the proposed deletion of its rules regarding increased contribution limits and coordinated party expenditure limits for Senate and House of Representatives candidates facing self-financed opponents. These rules were promulgated to implement sections 304 and 319 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, known as the ``Millionaires' Amendment.'' In Davis v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court held that sections 319(a) and (b), regarding House of Representatives elections, were unconstitutional. The Court's holding also applies to the contribution and spending limits in section 304 regarding Senate elections. The Commission, therefore, proposes to remove its current rules that implement the Millionaires' Amendment. In addition, the Commission proposes to retain certain other rules that generally are applicable throughout the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the ``Act'' or ``FECA''). The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

Ohio has scheduled elections on October 14, 2008, and November 18, 2008, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Eleventh Congressional District held by the late Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Committees required to file reports in connection with the Special Primary Election on October 14, 2008, 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 November 18, 2008, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary Report, a 12-day Pre-General Report, and a 30-day Post-General Report.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is providing notice to its employees, former employees and applicants for Federal employment about the rights and remedies available to them under the applicable Federal antidiscrimination laws and whistleblower protection laws. This notice fulfills the FEC's notification obligations under the Notification and Federal Employees Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act or the Act), as implemented by the Office of Personnel Management regulations at 5 CFR part 724. The FEC's No FEAR Act notice is available on the FEC's Web site at https://www.fec.gov/ eeo/nofear/nofear.html.

California has scheduled a special general election on April 8, 2008, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Twelfth Congressional District held by the late Representative Tom Lantos. Under California law, a majority winner in a special election is declared elected. Should no candidate achieve a majority vote, a special runoff election will be held on June 3, 2008, among the top vote-getters of each qualified political party, including qualified independent candidates. Committees participating in the California special elections are required to file pre- and post-election reports. Filing dates for these reports are affected by whether one or two elections are held.

As mandated by provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (``BCRA''), the Federal Election Commission (``FEC'' or ``the Commission'') is adjusting certain expenditure limitations set forth in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (``FECA'' or ``the Act''), to account for increases in the consumer price index. Additional details appear in the supplemental information that follows.

The Federal Election Commission is revising its written rules for conducting its activities to provide for the circumstance when the Commission has fewer than four Members. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.