This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

25672

Vol. 65, No. 86

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

1While the amendment requires all

disbursements including operating expenditures to

be aggregated and reported on an election-cycle

basis, it does not require that operating

expenditures be itemized on an election-cycle basis.

Thus, the effect of the amendment is that operating

expenditures would be reported on the summary

pages on an election-cycle basis and itemized on

Schedule B on a calendar-year basis. On March 10,

2000, the Commission submitted to Congress a

legislative recommendation that Congress amend

the FECA by requiring operating expenditures to be

itemized on an election cycle basis rather than on

a per calendar year basis. The proposed rules

proceed on the assumption that Congress will pass

an amendment to the Act to correct this

inconsistency prior to the January 1, 2001, effective

date required by Public Law 106–58.

2The Commission notes that publicly funded

Presidential candidates are required to provide in

their matching fund submissions, contributor

information for contributors whose aggregate

contributions exceed $200 per calendar year. 11

CFR 9036.1(b)(2). Since this is an issue of matching

fund submissions and not a reporting issue, the

Commission does not intend to change the

matching fund regulations while submissions are

being made with respect to the 2000 election.

3On March 10, 2000, the Commission sent a

legislative recommendation to Congress

recommending a clarifying amendment that would

remove the election cycle language from 2 U.S.C.

434(b)(6)(B)(iii) and (v) because 2 U.S.C.

434(b)(6)(B) applies solely to unauthorized

committees.

4Please note that in the case of a runoff election

after the general election, the election cycle would

end on the day of the runoff election. Advisory

Opinions 1993–2 and 1983–16.

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Part 104

[Notice 2000–9]

Election Cycle Reporting by

Authorized Committees

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Federal Election

Commission is seeking comment on

proposed rules to require authorized

committees of Federal candidates to

aggregate, itemize and report all receipts

and disbursements on an election-cycle

basis rather than on the current

calendar-year-to-date basis. This

requirement reflects recent changes in

the Federal Election Campaign Act of

1971. The intent of these proposed rules

is to simplify recordkeeping and

reporting requirements for authorized

committees of Federal candidates and to

better disclose receipts and

disbursements that occur during an

election cycle. Please note that the draft

rules that follow do not represent a final

decision by the Commission on the

issues presented by this rulemaking.

Further information is provided in the

supplementary information that follows.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be

addressed to Rosemary C. Smith,

Assistant General Counsel, and must be

submitted in either written or electronic

form. Written comments should be sent

to the Federal Election Commission, 999

E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20463.

Faxed comments should be sent to (202)

219–3923, with printed copy follow-up

to insure legibility. Electronic mail

comments should be sent to

ecyclereport@fec.gov. Commenters

sending comments by electronic mail

must include their full name, electronic

mail address and postal service address

within the text of their comments.

Comments that do not contain the full

name, electronic mail address and

postal service address of the commenter

will not be considered. The Commission

will make every effort to have public

comments posted on its web site within

ten business days of the close of the

comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Rosemary Smith, Assistant General

Counsel, or Cheryl Fowle, Attorney, 999

E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463,

(202) 694–1650 or (800) 424–9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

September 29, 1999, Public Law 106–58

amended section 434(b) of the Federal

Election Campaign Act of 1971 (‘‘the

Act’’ or ‘‘FECA’’) to require, inter alia,

that the Commission draft rules

requiring the authorized committees of

Federal candidates to aggregate and

report their receipts and disbursements 1

on an election-cycle-to-date basis, rather

than a calendar-year-to-date basis, as is

currently required. The new law

requires these rules to be effective for

reports covering periods after December

31, 2000.

The new law also requires the

Commission to amend its regulations to

add a system of administrative fines for

violations of the reporting requirements,

and to require persons to file

electronically if their aggregate

contributions or expenditures within a

calendar year are, or are expected to be,

above a certain threshold amount. These

two topics are being addressed in two

separate rulemakings. See Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking, 65 FR 16534

(March 29, 2000) and Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking, 65 FR 19339

(April 11, 2000).

The Commission is seeking public

comment on proposed amendments to

11 CFR 104.3, 104.7, 104.8 and 104.9 to

implement the new statutory

requirements regarding election-cycle

reporting. Current Commission

regulations at 11 CFR 104.3 and 104.8

require authorized committees of

Federal candidates to aggregate

contributions from each contributor on

a per-election basis for purposes of the

contribution limits, but to report them

on a calendar-year-to-date basis.2 Other

receipts are both aggregated and

reported on a calendar-year-to-date

basis. Under 11 CFR 104.3 and 104.9,

disbursements are both aggregated and

reported on a calendar-year-to-date

basis. The goals of the amendment to

the FECA and the proposed rules are to

simplify recordkeeping and reporting

for authorized committees by itemizing

contributions, other receipts, and

disbursements on the same electioncycle-to-date basis, and to provide the

public with more relevant information

for the current election cycle. 145 Cong.

Rec. E1896–02, September 17, 1999

(statement of Hon. William M. Thomas).

Please note that this amendment to

the FECA does not affect unauthorized

committees and the Commission does

not anticipate issuing new rules

modifying the calendar year reporting

system they currently use, or changing

the forms they file.3

Definition of Election Cycle

Under current 11 CFR 100.3(b), an

election cycle begins on the day after

the general election for the office or seat

that the candidate seeks and ends on the

day of the next general election for that

seat or office.4 For example, for many

candidates for the House of

Representatives, the 2004 election cycle

begins the day after the general election

in 2002 and will end on the day of the

general election in 2004. Please note

that the length of the election cycle

varies depending on the office sought.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules 25673

5At the time of the Haley loan guarantees in 1983,

11 CFR 110.1 stated that properly designated postprimary contributions were allowed only to the

extent that the recipient committee had net debts

outstanding. AO 1977–24 interpreted these rules to

apply also to post-general election contributions.

The regulations were clarified in a 1987

rulemaking. See Explanation and Justification for

Rules on Contributions by persons other than

multicandidate committees, 52 FR 761, (January 9,

1987).

The election cycle is two years for

candidates for the House of

Representatives, six years for Senate

candidates and four years for

Presidential candidates.

For purposes of the contribution

limits of 2 U.S.C. 441a and 11 CFR 110.1

and 110.2, contributions are aggregated

on per election basis. See FEC v. Haley,

852 F.2d 1111, (1988) (‘‘Haley’’).

Contribution aggregation regulations at

11 CFR 110.1 and 110.2 state that postelection contributions can only be made

to the extent the recipient committee

has net debts outstanding, and these

contributions must be properly

designated for the previous election. 11

CFR 110.1(b)(3)(i) and 110.2(b)(3)(i).

Those regulations further require that

any undesignated post-election

contributions be applied to the donor’s

contribution limit for the next election

in which the recipient will be a

candidate. In Haley, the Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals upheld the

Commission’s aggregation regulations at

11 CFR 110.1, ruling that post-election

loan guarantees for a loan used to retire

general-election debt were contributions

subject to the limits and aggregation

rules in Part 110 of 11 CFR.5

Changes to FEC Forms 3 and 3P

The Commission recognizes that the

amendment to the FECA and the

proposed regulations will necessitate

several changes to both the paper and

electronic FEC Form 3 (used by House

and Senate candidates’ authorized

committees to report receipts and

disbursements) and FEC Form 3P (used

by Presidential candidates’ committees

to report receipts and disbursements).

While most of the changes to the forms

would consist of renaming headings and

redrafting certain instructions, Forms 3

and 3P for the post-general election

report would have to be substantively

changed. Section 434(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the

Act and 11 CFR 104.5 require that

committees file post-general election

reports covering the period from the

19th day before the general election to

the twentieth day after the general

election. Thus, the post-general election

covers two election cycles. Similarly,

two election cycles will be covered in

the year-end report for candidates who

did not participate in the most recent

general election (and therefore did not

file a post-general election report).

Comments are sought as to the simplest

and easiest way for committees to report

separately the financial activity for each

cycle, given that the activity occurred

within the time period covered by the

post-general election report or year-end

report.

Best Efforts

Under current 11 CFR 104.7,

treasurers are required to exercise best

efforts to obtain, maintain and report

certain identifying information for

contributors whose contributions

aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar

year. The Commission is proposing to

amend paragraph (b) of 11 CFR 104.7 to

change the references to $200 in a

calendar year to $200 in an election

cycle with regard to contributions

itemized by authorized committees.

This revision would be consistent with

the proposed changes to the regulations

at 11 CFR 104.3 requiring authorized

committees to itemized contributions

from any contributor aggregating in

excess of $200 per election cycle. Also

under the current regulations at 11 CFR

104.7(b), written solicitations are

required to contain a clear statement

requesting contributor information. The

current regulations give two examples of

clear statements. The Commission is

considering adding two additional

examples at 11 CFR 104.7(b)(1)(i)(B) for

authorized committees.

Current paragraph (b)(3) of 11 CFR

104.7 requires committees to disclose

contributor information not supplied by

the contributor if the committees have

the information in their records or

reports filed within the same ‘‘two-year

election cycle.’’ Paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of 11

CFR 104.7 requires that if committees

file an amendment containing

contributor information received after

contributions are disclosed, that they

must amend every report containing

itemized contributions from those

contributors for the ‘‘two-year election

cycle.’’ The Commission seeks

comments on possibly revising

paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4)(ii) to require

authorized committees to supply

information found in reports filed

within the entire election cycle and to

amend all reports disclosing itemized

contributions from the contributor

during the election cycle. This would

require authorized committees to

maintain copies of records and reports

for the entire election cycle (two, four or

six years for House, Presidential and

Senate candidates respectively).

However, the FECA requires committees

to maintain records and reports for a

period of three years. 2 U.S.C. 432(d).

Since these revisions to 11 CFR

104.7(b)(3) and (b)(4)(ii) would require

some authorized committees to

maintain records for a longer period of

time than the FECA requires, the

Commission has not included these

changes in the proposed rules that

follow.

Two Alternatives Regarding Election

Cycles

The Commission is seeking comments

on two alternatives, neither of which

has been included in the proposed rules

set out below.

Alternative 1

The first alternative would be to add

a new paragraph (c) to 11 CFR 104.1

stating that for reporting purposes only,

authorized committees shall begin the

‘‘election cycle’’ on January 1 of the year

following the general election for a seat

or office and shall end the election cycle

on December 31 of the calendar year in

which the next general election for that

seat or office is held (e.g., January 1,

2003, to December 31, 2004, for House

candidates). This approach has the

advantage of causing less change to

current reporting practices and avoiding

the need to include election-cycle-todate figures for two different election

cycles in post-general election reports

(or year-end reports where no postgeneral report is filed). Under this

alternative, post-general-election

contributions received after the general

election but before January 1 of the

following year would be reported in the

election cycle to date totals

corresponding to the election cycle in

which the general election was held,

even though these contributions might

count toward the limits for a different

election. This approach would

introduce a definition of election cycle

into the regulations that is different than

the one in current 11 CFR 100.3(b)

which relates to determining whether an

individual is a candidate. To avoid any

confusion, a new cross-reference

sentence would be added to paragraph

100.3(b) to explain that for reporting

purposes, the term election cycle is

defined at paragraph 104.1(c).

Alternative 2

Under the second alternative

approach, which has not been included

in the proposed rules set out below, for

both reporting and contribution limit

purposes, authorized committees would

begin the election cycle on the twentyfirst day after the general election for the

seat or office the candidate is seeking

(the day after the end of the post-general

election reporting period) and end the

election cycle on the twentieth day after

25674 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules

the next general election for the seat or

office the candidate is seeking (the day

the post-general reporting period ends

for that election). Under this alternative,

both 11 CFR 100.3(b) (election cycle

definition) and 11 CFR 104.3 (reporting)

would be amended. In addition, the

contribution aggregation regulations at

11 CFR 110.1 and 110.2 would be

changed to modify the attribution date

of undesignated contributions for a

general election from election day to the

twentieth day after the election. For

example, an undesignated contribution

made on or before the twentieth day

after the election would be considered

as aggregating to the contributor’s

contribution limit for the general

election that was just held.

Undesignated contributions made after

the twentieth day would count toward

the contributor’s limit for the next

election in which the recipient is a

candidate.

This alternative would obviate the

issue of the post-general election report

covering two election cycles.

Nevertheless, for candidates who did

not participate in the general election

(and therefore who do not file a postgeneral election report), the year-end

report would cover activity occurring

both before the twentieth day after the

election and after the twentieth day, and

thus, would cover two election cycles.

If the Commission adopts this

alternative, it will need to consider

which advisory opinions, if any need to

be modified or superseded. Another

consideration may be whether this

change is advisable in light of the Haley

decision, absent a change in the FECA.

Aggregation of Past Financial Activity

The amendment to the Act requires

that the new rules be in effect for

reporting periods beginning after

December 31, 2000. Consequently,

receipts and disbursements made

between November 8, 2000 (the day

after the general election) and December

31, 2000 will be reported in the year-todate totals for 2000 in the post-general

election report and the year-end report.

However, under proposed paragraph (k)

of 11 CFR 104.3, these amounts must

also be included in the election-cycleto-date aggregation totals that are

reported beginning in 2001. Similarly,

some candidates for U.S. Senate in 2002

and 2004 and possibly some

Presidential candidates for the 2004

election may have two, three, four or

more years of previously reported

receipts and disbursements. These

amounts must also be included in the

election-cycle-to-date figures reported

on the first report covering financial

activity occurring in 2001.

On the Detailed Summary Page of

each report filed for the first election

cycle during which these rules take

effect, election-cycle-to-date totals

should be reported for each category of

receipts (except itemized and

unitemized contributions from

individuals) and each category of

disbursements. Please note that the

Commission is creating a one-time

worksheet to assist authorized

committees in aggregating electioncycle-to-date data because this might

require some committees to aggregate

several years of previously reported

receipts and disbursements. However,

the Commission does not anticipate

making any changes to either the

detailed summary page, or schedules of

contributions or expenditures, that

would necessitate the filing of

amendments to reports covering pre2001 financial activity. The Commission

is also considering possible changes to

its databases to reflect the election-cycle

totals. The Commission welcomes

comments on the proposed approach as

well as on other alternatives to address

these issues.

The Commission seeks comments on

the proposed revisions to 11 CFR 104.3,

104.7, 104.8 and 104.9, on the

alternatives discussed above, and on

any other issues raised by the new

statutory requirements regarding

election cycle reporting.

List of Subjects in 11 CFR Part 104

Campaign funds, Political committees

and parties, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Certification of No Effect Pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 605(b) (Regulatory Flexibility

Act)

These proposed rules, if promulgated,

will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. The only small entities subject

to these proposed regulations are

candidates for Federal office and their

authorized committees. The proposed

rules implement statutory reporting

requirements that Congress enacted to

reduce inadvertent violations of the

contribution limits. Therefore, there

would be no significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, subchapter A, chapter I of

title 11 of the Code of Federal

Regulations is proposed to be amended

as follows:

PART 104—REPORTS BY POLITICAL

COMMITTEES

1. The authority citation for part 104

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 2 U.S.C. 431(1), 431(8), 431(9),

432(i), 434, 438(a)(8), 438(b), 439a.

2. Section 104.3 would be amended

by revising paragraph (a) introductory

text, paragraph (a)(3) introductory text,

paragraph (a)(4) introductory text,

paragraphs (a)(4)(i), (v) and (vi),

paragraph (b) introductory text

paragraph (b)(2) introductory text,

paragraphs (b)(4)(i) and (vi), paragraph

(c) introductory text, and paragraph (i),

and by adding paragraph (k) to read as

follows:

§ 104.3 Contents of reports (2 U.S.C.

434(b), 439a).

(a) Reporting of receipts. Each report

filed under § 104.1 shall disclose the

total amount of receipts for the reporting

period and for the calendar year (or for

the election cycle, in the case of an

authorized committee) and shall

disclose the information set forth at

paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this

section. The first report filed by a

committee shall also include all

amounts received prior to becoming a

political committee under § 100.5 of this

chapter, even if such amounts were not

received during the current reporting

period.

* * * * *

(3) Categories of receipts for

authorized committees. An authorized

committee of a candidate for Federal

office shall report the total amount of

receipts received during the reporting

period and, except for itemized and

unitemized breakdowns, during the

election cycle in each of the following

categories:

* * * * *

(4) Itemization of receipts for all

committees including authorized and

unauthorized committees. The

identification (as defined at § 100.12 of

this chapter) of each contributor and the

aggregate year-to-date (or aggregate

election-cycle-to-date, in the case of an

authorized committee) total for such

contributor in each of the following

categories shall be reported.

(i) Each person, other than any

committee, who makes a contribution to

the reporting committee during the

reporting period, whose contribution or

contributions aggregate in excess of

$200 per calendar year (or per election

cycle in the case of an authorized

committee), together with the date of

receipt and amount of any such

contributions, except that the reporting

committee may elect to report such

information for contributors of lesser

amount(s) on a separate schedule;

* * * * *

(v) Each person who provides a

rebate, refund or other offset to

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules 25675

operating expenditures to the reporting

committee in an aggregate amount or

value in excess of $200 within the

calendar year (or within the election

cycle, in the case of an authorized

committee), together with the date and

amount of any such receipt; and

(vi) Each person who provides any

dividend, interest, or other receipt to the

reporting committee in an aggregate

value or amount in excess of $200

within the calendar year (or within the

election cycle, in the case of an

authorized committee), together with

the date and amount of any such

receipt.

(b) Reporting of Disbursements. Each

report filed under § 104.1 shall disclose

the total amount of all disbursements for

the reporting period and for the

calendar year (or for the election cycle,

in the case of an authorized) and shall

disclose the information set forth at

paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of this

section. The first report filed by a

committee shall also include all

amounts disbursed prior to becoming a

political committee under § 100.5 of this

chapter, even if such amounts were not

disbursed during the current reporting

period.

* * * * *

(2) Categories of disbursements for

authorized committees. An authorized

committee of a candidate for Federal

office shall report the total amount of

disbursements made during the

reporting period and, except for

itemized and unitemized breakdowns,

during the election cycle in each of the

following categories:

* * * * *

(4) * * *

(i) Each person to whom an

expenditure in an aggregate amount or

value in excess of $200 within the

election cycle is made by the reporting

committee to meet the committee’s

operating expenses, together with the

date, amount and purpose of each

expenditure.

* * * * *

(vi) Each person who has received any

disbursement(s) not otherwise disclosed

under paragraph (b)(4) of this section to

whom the aggregate amount or value of

such disbursements exceeds $200

within the election cycle, together with

the date, amount, and purpose of any

such disbursement.

(c) Summary of contributions and

operating expenditures. Each report

filed pursuant to § 104.1 shall disclose

for both the reporting period and the

calendar year (or the election cycle, in

the case of the authorized committee):

* * * * *

(i) Cumulative reports. The reports

required to be filed under § 104.5 shall

be cumulative for the calendar year (or

for the election cycle, in the case of an

authorized committee) to which they

relate, but if there has been no change

in a category reported in a previous

report during that year (or during that

election cycle, in the case of an

authorized committee), only the amount

thereof need be carried forward.

* * * * *

(k) Reporting election cycle activity

occurring prior to January 1, 2001. The

aggregate of each category of receipt

listed in § 104.3(a)(3), except those in

§ 104.3(a)(3)(i)(A) and (B), and for each

category of disbursement listed in

§ 104.3(b)(2) shall include amounts

received or disbursed on or after the day

after the last general election for the seat

or office for which the candidate is

running through December 31, 2000.

3. Section 104.8 would be amended

by revising paragraph (a) and the first

sentence of paragraph (b) to read as

follows:

§ 104.8 Uniform reporting of receipts.

(a) A reporting committee shall

disclose the identification of each

individual who contributes an amount

in excess of $200 to the committee’s

federal account(s). This identification

shall include the individual’s name,

mailing address, occupation, the name

of his or her employer, if any, and the

date of receipt and amount of any such

contribution. If an individual

contributor’s name is known to have

changed since an earlier contribution

reported during the calendar year (or

during the election cycle, in the case of

an authorized committee), the exact

name or address previously used shall

be noted with the first reported

contribution from that contributor

subsequent to the name change.

(b) In each case where a contribution

received from an individual in a

reporting period is added to previously

unitemized contributions from the same

individual and the aggregate exceeds

$200 in a calendar year (or in an

election cycle, in the case of an

authorized committee) the reporting

committee shall disclose the

identification of such individual along

with the date of receipt and amount of

any such contribution. * * *

* * * * *

4. Section 104.9 would be amended

by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) as

follows:

§ 104.9 Uniform reporting of

disbursements.

(a) Political committees shall report

the full name and mailing address of

each person to whom an expenditure in

an aggregate amount or value in excess

of $200 within the calendar year (or

within the election cycle, in the case of

an authorized committee) is made from

the reporting committee’s federal

account(s), together with the date,

amount and purpose of such

expenditure, in accordance with

paragraph (b) of this section. As used in

this section, purpose means a brief

statement or description as to the

reasons for the expenditure. See 11 CFR

104.3(b)(3)(i)(A).

(b) In each case when an expenditure

made to a recipient in a reporting period

is added to previously unitemized

expenditures to the same recipient and

the total exceeds $200 for the calendar

year (or for the election cycle, in the

case of an authorized committee), the

reporting committee shall disclose the

recipient’s full name and mailing

address on the prescribed reporting

forms, together with the date, amount

and purpose of such expenditure. As

used in this section, purpose means a

brief statement or description as to the

reason for the disbursement as defined

at 11 CFR 104.3(b)(3)(i)(A).

* * * * *

5. Section 104.7 would be amended

by revising the introductory text of

paragraph (b), paragraph (b)(1) and the

first sentence of paragraph (b)(2) to read

as follows:

§ 104.7 Best efforts (2 U.S.C. 432(i)).

* * * * *

(b) With regard to reporting the

identification as defined at 11 CFR

100.12 of each person whose

contribution(s) to the political

committee and its affiliated committees

aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar

year (or in an election cycle in the case

of an authorized committee) (pursuant

to 11 CFR 104.3(a)(4)), the treasurer and

the committee will only be deemed to

have exercised best efforts to obtain,

maintain and report the required

information if—

(1)(i) All written solicitations for

contributions include a clear request for

the contributor’s full name, mailing

address, occupation and name of

employer, and include an accurate

statement of Federal law regarding the

collection and reporting of individual

contributor identifications.

(A) The following are examples of

acceptable statements for unauthorized

committees, but are not the only

allowable statements: ‘‘Federal law

requires us to use our best efforts to

collect and report the name, mailing

address, occupation and name of

employer of individuals whose

contributions exceed $200 in a calendar

25676 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules

year;’’ and ‘‘To comply with Federal

law, we must use best efforts to obtain,

maintain, and submit the name, mailing

address, occupation and name of

employer of individuals whose

contributions exceed $200 per calendar

year.’’

(B) The following are examples of

acceptable statements for authorized

committees, but are not the only

allowable statements: ‘‘Federal law

requires us to use our best efforts to

collect and report the name, mailing

address, occupation and name of

employer of individuals whose

contributions exceed $200 in an election

cycle;’’ and ‘‘To comply with Federal

law, we must use best efforts to obtain,

maintain, and submit the name, mailing

address, occupation and name of

employer of individuals whose

contributions exceed $200 per election

cycle.’’

(ii) The request and statement shall

appear in a clear and conspicuous

manner on any response material

included in a solicitation. The request

and statement are not clear and

conspicuous if they are in small type in

comparison to the solicitation and

response materials, or if the printing is

difficult to read or if the placement is

easily overlooked.

(2) For each contribution received

aggregating in excess of $200 per

calendar year (or per election cycle, in

the case of an authorized committee)

which lacks required contributor

information, such as the contributor’s

full name, mailing address, occupation

or name of employer, the treasurer

makes at least one effort after the receipt

of the contribution to obtain the missing

information. * * *

* * * * *

Dated: April 27, 2000.

Darryl R. Wold,

Chairman, Federal Election Commission.

[FR Doc. 00–10962 Filed 5–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6715–01–U

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

12 CFR Parts 900, 940, 950, 955 and

956

[No. 2000–20]

RIN 3069–AA98

Federal Home Loan Bank Acquired

Member Assets, Core Mission

Activities, Investments and Advances

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance

Board.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance

Board (Finance Board) is proposing to

add a new part 955 to its regulations to

authorize the Federal Home Loan Banks

(Banks) to hold acquired member assets

(AMA) and to amend its recently

adopted part 940 to enumerate the types

of core mission assets (CMA) that must

be addressed in the Banks’ strategic

business plans. The Finance Board is

also proposing related changes to its

regulations governing the Banks’

investment and advances authorities.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing on or before

June 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to: Elaine L. Baker, Secretary to

the Board, by electronic mail at

bakere@fhfb.gov, or by regular mail at

the Federal Housing Finance Board,

1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20006. Comments will be available for

public inspection at this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James L. Bothwell, Director and Chief

Economist, (202) 408–2821; Scott L.

Smith, Deputy Director, (202) 408–2991;

Ellen E. Hancock, Senior Financial

Analyst, (202) 408–2906; Christina K.

Muradian, Senior Financial Analyst,

(202) 408–2584, Office of Policy,

Research and Analysis; or Eric M.

Raudenbush, Senior Attorney-Advisor,

(202) 408–2932; Office of General

Counsel, Federal Housing Finance

Board, 1777 F Street, N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. General

On November 12, 1999, the President

signed into law the Federal Home Loan

Bank System Modernization Act of 1999

(Modernization Act), see Title VI of the

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Public Law

106–102 (1999), which amended the

Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank

Act), 12 U.S.C. 1421 through 1449,

among other things, to establish a new

capital structure for the Banks, to

authorize the Banks to accept additional

types of collateral as security for

advances, and to devolve to the Banks

from the Finance Board full authority

over their corporate governance, all

subject to the rules and regulations of

the Finance Board. In order to

implement these and other statutory

changes, the Finance Board has already

adopted: a final rule devolving certain

corporate governance authorities to the

Banks, see 65 FR 13663 (March 14,

2000); an interim final rule conforming

certain membership and advances

requirements to the requirements of the

Modernization Act, see 65 FR 13866

(March 15, 2000); a final rule setting

forth a corporate governance framework

for the Banks, which was published in

the Federal Register on May 1, 2000; a

final rule reorganizing the Finance

Board’s regulations to better

accommodate the substantive regulatory

changes, see 65 FR 8253 (Feb. 18, 2000);

and a proposed rule that would amend

the Finance Board’s advances collateral

regulation and make other related

changes to the regulations. In addition,

the Finance Board intends to adopt a

proposed rule on risk management and

capital during the second quarter of

2000. By statute, the Finance Board is

required to publish a final rule on

capital by November of 2000.

Under the revised Bank Act and the

new regulations, each Bank will have

authority to engage in a wider range of

asset activities than in the past, will

have more discretion in establishing its

capital structure, and will have more

freedom to operate its business without

the day-to-day involvement of the

Finance Board. As the agency charged

by Congress with the duty to ensure that

the Banks carry out their statutory

mission, see 12 U.S.C. 1422a(a), the

Finance Board believes that it is

especially important to keep the Banks

focused on their mission as they

exercise their expanded statutory and

regulatory authorities. To this end, the

Finance Board’s recently-adopted final

governance rule requires that each

Bank’s board of directors have in place

at all times a strategic business plan that

describes how the Bank’s business

activities will achieve the mission of the

Bank (to be codified at 12 CFR 917.5).

In order to clarify this requirement, the

Finance Board established in its

regulations a new part 940, which, in

§ 940.2 defines the ‘‘mission of the

Banks’’ as providing to members and

associates financial products and

services, including but not limited to

advances, that assist and enhance such

members’ and associates financing of:

(a) Housing, including single-family and

multifamily housing serving consumers

at all income levels; and (b) community

lending. This definition of the mission

of the Banks and the regulatory

provisions that implement it are

intended to ensure maximum use of the

cooperative structure of the Bank

System to provide funds for housing

finance and community lending.

In order to further clarify the strategic

business planning requirement, this

proposed rule would enumerate in

regulation those specific Bank activities

that the Finance Board considers to be

‘‘core mission activities’’ (CMA); that is,

those activities that are within the