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      FEC Record: Regulations
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      Final rules on funds received in response to solicitations; allocation of expenses by PACs

FEC Record: RegulationsFinal rules on funds received in response to solicitations; allocation of expenses by PACsApril 1, 2010 On March 11, 2010, the Commission approved final rules regarding funds received in response to solicitations and the allocation of certain expenses by separate segregated funds (SSFs) and nonconnected political action committees (PACs). The rules were
    adopted in response to a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in EMILY’s List
v. FEC (EMILY’s List). See the November
2009 Record. Background On September 18, 2009, the court of appeals held that Commission regulations at 11 CFR 100.57, 106.6(c) and 106.6(f) violated the First Amendment and also held that 100.57, 106.6(f) and one provision of 106.6(c) exceeded the Commission’s authority under
    the Federal
Election Campaign Act (the Act). At the direction of the court of appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that these rules be vacated. On December 29, 2009, the Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
    in the Federal Register in which it sought public comment on the proposed removal of the rules vacated by the court. The Commission received two comments on the proposed rules, which are available on the Commission’s website. (Editor's note: Search REG 2009-02.) Final rules Funds received in response to
solicitations Commission regulations at 11 CFR 100.57 specified that funds provided in response to a communication were to be treated as contributions if the communications indicated that any portion of the funds received would be used to support or oppose the election
    of a clearly identified federal candidate. 11 CFR 100.57(a). All of the funds received in response to a solicitation that referred both to a clearly identified federal candidate and a political party, but not to any nonfederal candidates, were to
    be treated as contributions. 100.57(b)(1). Finally, if a solicitation referred to at least one clearly identified federal candidate and one or more clearly identified nonfederal candidate(s), then at least fifty percent of the funds received in response
    to that solicitation had to be treated as contributions. 100.57(b)(2). The regulation provided an exception for certain solicitations for joint fundraisers conducted between or among authorized committees of federal candidates and the campaign organizations
    of nonfederal candidates. 100.57(c). The Commission removed 11 CFR 100.57 in its entirety because the court of appeals held that it is unconstitutional and that it exceeded the Commission’s statutory authority under the Act. Allocation of expenses Commission regulations at 11 CFR 106.6 provided SSFs and nonconnected PACs making disbursements in connection with both federal and nonfederal elections with instructions as to how to allocate their administrative expenses and costs for federal and nonfederal
    activities. The rule at 106.6(c) required nonconnected committees and SSFs to use at least fifty percent federal funds to pay for administrative expenses, generic voter drives and public communications that referred to a political party, but not to any federal or
    nonfederal candidates. The rule at 106.6(f) specified that nonconnected committees and SSFs had to pay for public communications and voter drives that referred to both federal and nonfederal candidates using a percentage of federal funds proportionate
    to the amount of the communication that was devoted to the federal candidates. The Commission removed 106.6(c) and 106.6(f) in their entirety, as the court of appeals held that both provisions are unconstitutional. The deletion of the regulations apply both to nonconnected committees and to SSFs. Additional information The final rules were published in the Federal Register on March 19, 2010, and are effective on April 19, 2009. The Federal Register Notice is available on the Commission’s website.
 Author
          Myles MartinIcon of email being sentPublic Affairs Specialist


Read next: Notice of proposed rulemaking on debt collection (2010)
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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