Federal Election Commission 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Election Commission (``Commission'') proposes removing its rules regarding funds received in response to solicitations. The Commission also proposes removing two additional rules regarding the allocation of certain expenses by separate segregated funds and nonconnected committees. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that these rules are vacated, in accordance with a Court of Appeals decision. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

The Federal Election Commission will resume the practice of placing all First General Counsel's Reports on the public record, subject to appropriate redaction or withholding.

The Federal Election Commission seeks comments on proposed changes to its rules regarding participation by Federal candidates and officeholders at non-Federal fundraising events under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. These proposed changes are in response to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Shays v. FEC. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking.

Florida has scheduled elections on February 2, 2010, and April 6, 2010, to fill the U.S. House seat in the 19th Congressional District being vacated by Representative Robert Wexler.

On November 19, 2007, the Federal Election Commission (``Commission'') published a procedural rule making permanent a program allowing respondents in enforcement proceedings under the Federal Election Campaign Act, to have a hearing before the Commission. The Commission is now amending its procedures to provide that the Commissioners may ask questions of the General Counsel and the Staff Director, and their staff, during probable cause hearings. This amendment will conform the procedures for enforcement hearing with the Commission's procedures for audit hearing published earlier this year.

The Federal Election Commission seeks comments on proposed changes to its rules regarding the definitions of ``voter registration activity'' and ``get-out-the-vote activity'' under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. These proposed changes are in response to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Shays v. FEC. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

New York has scheduled a Special General Election on November 3, 2009, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Twenty- Third Congressional District vacated by Representative John M. McHugh.

On July 10, 2009, the Federal Election Commission published a Procedural Rule (``Commission'') instituting a program that provides committees that are audited pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (``FECA'') with the opportunity to have a hearing before the Commission prior to the Commission's adoption of a Final Audit Report. Procedural Rules for Audit Hearings, 74 FR 33140 (July 10, 2009). The Commission is now adding a further statement at the end of that procedural rule to conform this statement to other agency procedural rules.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) are jointly taking action to transfer regulations implementing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) from the FEC to the EAC. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 transferred the FEC's former statutory authority regarding the NVRA regulations to the EAC. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

The Commission announces its disposition of two Petitions for Rulemaking regarding the Commission's candidate debate regulations. The first petition, filed on May 25, 1999 by Mary Clare Wohlford, William T. Wohlford, and Martin T. Mortimer (``Wohlford Petition''), urged the Commission to amend its rules so that the objective criteria for inclusion in Presidential and Vice Presidential debates would be established by the Commission itself, and not left to the discretion of debate staging organizations. The second petition, filed on April 10, 2002 by several major news organizations, urged the Commission to amend its rules to state explicitly that the sponsorship by a news organization (or a related trade association) of a debate among candidates does not constitute an illegal corporate campaign contribution or expenditure in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (``the Act'') and that the Commission would have no jurisdiction over such sponsorship. The Commission has decided not to initiate a rulemaking in response to either of these petitions. The petitions are available for inspection in the Commission's Public Records Office, and on its Web site, https:// www.fec.gov.

California has scheduled a special general election on September 1, 2009, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Tenth Congressional District vacated by Representative Ellen O. Tauscher. 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 November 3, 2009, among the top vote-getters of each qualified political party, including qualified independent candidates.

The Federal Election Commission published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2009, a document concerning the improvement of public information disclosure via the Commission's Web site and other Internet communications. The Commission inadvertently entered the signature date on the document as March 25, 2009. This document removes that signature date and inserts the correct date, which is June 25, 2009.

The Commission is establishing a program to allow persons requesting an advisory opinion, or their counsel, a limited opportunity to appear before the Commission. The purpose of their appearances is to answer questions from the Commission at the open meeting during consideration of the requestor's draft advisory opinion.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended, the Federal Election Commission is adopting final rules to apply inflation adjustments to certain civil monetary penalties under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (``FECA''), the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act. The civil penalties being adjusted are for certain violations of these statutes that are not knowing and willful, involving contributions and expenditures; knowing and willful violations of the prohibition against the making of a contribution in the name of another; knowing and willful violations of the confidentiality provisions of FECA; certain penalties for late filed or non-filed reports under the administrative fines program; and failure to file timely 48-hour notices. The adjusted civil monetary penalties are calculated according to the formula set forth in the law and will be effective for violations occurring on or after the effective date of these rules. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.