50708 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Parts 102, 104 and 108

[Notice 1997–14]

Recordkeeping and Reporting

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Federal Election

Commission requests comment on

proposed revisions to regulations that

govern recordkeeping, reporting, and

filing with State officers under the

Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,

as amended (‘‘the Act’’ or ‘‘FECA’’). The

proposed revisions, many of which are

technical in nature, would clarify and

simplify requirements for recording,

reporting, and filing reports of

campaign-related receipts and

disbursements. The revisions are

intended to address issues that have

arisen since the rules were last

amended. Please note that the draft

rules which follow do not represent a

final decision by the Commission on

issues presented in this rulemaking.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before October 27, 1997. If the

Commission receives requests to testify,

it will hold a hearing on November 5,

1997 at 10:00 a.m. Persons wishing to

testify should so indicate in their

written comments.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Ms. Susan E. Propper,

Assistant General Counsel, and must be

submitted in either written or electronic

form. Written comments should be sent

to the Commission’s postal service

address: Federal Election Commission,

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

20463. Faxed comments should be sent

to (202) 219–3923. Commenters

submitting faxed comments should also

submit a printed copy to the

Commission’s postal service address to

ensure legibility. Comments may also be

sent by electronic mail to

‘‘reprec@fec.gov’’. Commenters sending

comments by electronic mail should

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Susan E. Propper, Assistant General

Counsel, or Ms. Teresa A. Hennessy,

Attorney, 999 E Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20463, (202) 219–3690

or (800) 424–9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FECA’s principal requirements for

recording and reporting contributions

and expenditures in connection with

Federal elections currently appear at 11

CFR 102.9 and 104.3. The first rule

prescribes procedures for committees

that qualify as political committees

under the Act to follow in

recordkeeping. The second sets forth

procedures for political committees to

follow in reporting campaign-related

receipts and disbursements. The

procedures apply to authorized

committees, i.e. committee(s) designated

by a candidate to receive contributions

and make expenditures on his or her

behalf, and unauthorized committees,

those not so designated by a candidate.

11 CFR 100.5(f).

Although the Commission has made

several changes to these sections in

earlier rulemakings, it is now taking a

comprehensive look at the

recordkeeping and reporting

requirements. Disclosure of campaign

finance in connection with Federal

elections is a major goal of the FECA, as

recognized by the Supreme Court. See

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 67–69

(1976). Hence, the Commission is

undertaking to clarify—and where

possible, to simplify—the requirements.

The Commission is aware of the ongoing

need to balance the public interest in

effective and timely disclosure with the

concerns of the regulated community

about reporting burdens. Thus, the draft

rules propose several key changes:

reorganizing the reporting requirements

by retaining the provisions applicable to

unauthorized committees at 11 CFR

104.3 and moving the reporting

requirements for candidates’ authorized

committees to new 11 CFR 104.17;

permitting alternatives for reporting

loan repayments; simplifying the

reporting requirements for draws on a

line of credit; and clarifying procedures

for reporting disbursements paid by

credit card(s).

Concurrently, a review is underway of

the relevant reporting forms: Form 3 for

authorized committees and Form 3X for

unauthorized committees. Under the

proposed revisions, the rules and forms

would be revised in a parallel manner.

Draft revised Form 3 and Form 3X are

available on request from the

Commission’s Public Records Branch at

999 E Street, NW, Washington, DC

20463 (202/219–4140 or 800/424–9530).

Lastly, the Act’s requirements for

filing reports with State officers appear

at 11 CFR part 108. The regulations

provide that any reports required under

the Act are also required to be filed with

the Secretary of State, or other State

officer, of the appropriate State(s). The

regulations identify the ‘‘appropriate’’

State(s) and set forth duties for State

officers regarding the reports. See, e.g.,

11 CFR 108.2 and 108.6. The

Commission seeks to comport these

rules with recent amendments to the

FECA, providing that these

requirements do not apply in certain

circumstances. Public Law No. 104–79,

109 Stat. 791 (1995).

The Commission seeks comment on

the proposed regulations. It requests

that any comments on the reporting

forms be forwarded with comments on

the proposed reporting rules. The

Commission also welcomes comments

on the recordkeeping and reporting

process, in general, including any issues

not covered by the proposed

regulations. A summary of the proposed

revisions follows.

A. Proposed 11 CFR 102.9—Accounting

for Contributions and Expenditures

Proposed § 102.9, governing

recordkeeping for contributions and

expenditures, would redesignate current

paragraphs (a)(1)–(3) as paragraphs

(a)(2)–(4), respectively. The draft rule

also would propose several substantive

changes for procedures set forth at

current paragraphs (a), (b) and (d).

1. Proposed Recordkeeping for

Contributions

The proposed revisions first would

codify recordkeeping requirements for

contributions of $50 or less. A

committee would have two options for

maintaining this information. It may

retain the information specified for

contributions in excess of $50 at

redesignated paragraph (a)(2). Or, for

many small contributions received at a

fundraising event, the committee may

record the name of the event, the date(s)

contributions are received at the event,

and the total amount of contributions

received on each day of the event.

The Act requires that a treasurer of a

political committee maintain an account

of all contributions received by or on

behalf of the committee but does not

specify how records should be kept of

receipts under $50. 2 U.S.C. 432(c)(1).

Currently, the rule elaborates that the

treasurer may use ‘‘any reasonable

accounting procedure’’ to maintain

these records. 11 CFR 102.9(a). The

Commission has suggested methods of

recording receipts under $50 in

Advisory Opinions (‘‘AO’’) 1981–48 and

1980–99. This section would codify that

guidance at new paragraph (a)(1).

2. Proposed Recordkeeping for

Disbursements

The draft rule would continue the

current rule’s definition of ‘‘payee’’. See

proposed paragraph (b)(2)(i)(A). The

rule would provide that a ‘‘payee’’ is a
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50709

person who receives payment directly

from the committee, or indirectly from

an agent of the committee, in return for

goods or services extended to the

committee or its agent. To comply with

the proposed section, a committee

therefore must retain records for all

disbursements it makes, including those

by its agent, or primary payee, to other

vendors that perform work for the

committee, or secondary payees. As

presented later, a committee similarly

would be required to report all

disbursements: payments to primary

payees would be reported as

disbursements and, under certain

circumstances, payments to secondary

payees would be reported as memo

entries. See proposed §§ 104.3(c)(2) and

104.17(c)(2).

The Commission has addressed

recording and reporting disbursements

to payees in AO 1996–20, AO 1983–25

and in audits. In AO 1996–20, the

Commission determined that the

principal campaign committee

(‘‘PCC’’)—the committee designated by

the candidate as his main authorized

committee—for the re-election of a

Member of Congress was permitted to

reimburse the Member’s Chief of Staff

(‘‘COS’’) for his campaign-related travel

expenses. See 11 CFR 100.5(e)(1), 101.1

and 102. The Commission stated that

the PCC must report as memo entries

the COS’ payments to vendors for the

travel expenses ‘‘* * * to achieve full

disclosure but not inflate disbursement

figures.’’ See AO 1996–20, note 3. The

Commission reached a different

conclusion in AO 1983–25. There, the

Commission determined that, after a

presidential PCC made direct payments

to certain media consultants, it was not

required to itemize payments by the

consultants to other vendors which

performed work for the PCC as long as

records were maintained for the latter

disbursements.

The draft rule would codify the

guidance of AO 1996–20 for two

reasons. First, the reporting method

referenced in this opinion would

indicate how a committee’s

disbursements are actually used and,

thus, would serve the disclosure policy

underlying the Act. Relying alone on the

recordkeeping requirements in AO

1983–25 would not as effectively result

in such disclosure.

Next, the two committees in the

opinions are different legal entities

under the Act. The Presidential

campaign committee was a recipient of

public funding and, therefore, was

required to undergo a mandatory audit.

26 U.S.C. 9007 and 9038. It also was

required to maintain records of

disbursements to secondary payees. See

11 CFR 9003.5, 9033.1(b)(7) and

9033.11. Hence, even if publicly funded

committees were not required to report

disbursements to secondary payees, the

Commission could rely on audits to

examine these disbursements. On the

other hand, Title 2 committees, such as

the PCC in AO 1996–20, do not receive

public funding and are not required to

be audited by statute. Compare 2 U.S.C.

438(b). Thus, the mechanism of a

recordkeeping and reporting

requirement is necessary so that the

Commission may examine how Title 2

committees directly, and indirectly, use

funds. The Commission welcomes

comments on the proposed clarification.

The draft rule would revise the

recordkeeping requirements in other

respects. The draft rule would more

clearly state that an individual who

receives an advance from a committee

for his or her own travel or subsistence

would be a ‘‘payee’’. The draft rule

would raise the amount of the

qualifying advance from $500 or less to

$1,000 or less, to accommodate

inflationary increases. See proposed

paragraph (b)(2)(i)(B).

The documentation requirements for

disbursements also would be revised.

The draft rule would require that if a

committee makes an advance for travel

or subsistence expenses, it must keep all

expense account documentation related

to the advance. The present rule

requires only that the committee

maintain ‘‘the expense voucher or other

expense account documentation’’

(emphasis added). Thus, committees

now may satisfy their recordkeeping

obligations by retaining only one type of

documentation, even if more records

originally existed for a particular

expense. The Commission proposes this

change because the present rule may

conflict with the general requirement to

maintain records stated at 11 CFR

104.14. Moreover, the Commission has

discovered that an expense voucher may

have required information that other

expense account documentation lacks,

or vice-versa. The proposed

documentation requirement would not

require committees to create new

records. Rather, it would clarify that

committees must preserve all records

related to disbursements, consistent

with § 104.14.

The draft rule specifically would

address documentation requirements for

disbursements by bank draft accounts

and debit cards. These financial

instruments are more commonly used

today by committees and have unique

characteristics. Therefore, the

Commission is providing guidance on

how to retain required information for

transactions based on these. The

Commission also would welcome

comments on suitable documentation

for these transactions. Please note that

the proposed requirements for bank

draft accounts are distinct from those for

share draft accounts at credit unions,

addressed at current paragraph

(b)(2)(iii). The new provisions would

address a current concern of committees

and lead to more complete, useful

information for committees and the

Commission. See proposed paragraph

(b)(2) and new paragraphs (b)(2)(iv) and

(v).

Further, the draft rule would clarify

that a committee treasurer must comply

with both the ‘‘best efforts’’ rule and the

requirements of 11 CFR 104.14.

Principally, a treasurer would be

required to meet the recordkeeping

duties set forth at proposed § 102.9 and,

at the same time, to maintain bank

records and other documents related to

reports required under 11 CFR part 104.

See proposed paragraph (d).

The proposed revisions also would

require that, in recording contributions

to candidates, a committee identify the

election(s) for which these are made.

See proposed paragraph (b)(1)(iii). In

addition, the proposed revisions would

amend paragraph (b)(1)(iv) of the

section to cross-reference the new

citations for the definition of ‘‘purpose’’

in proposed §§ 104.3 and 104.17. The

final rules will contain conforming

amendments to other sections of the

regulations to reflect the revisions

proposed for this section.

B. Proposed 11 CFR 104.3—Contents of

Reports for Unauthorized Committees

1. Proposed Restructuring of Current 11

CFR 104.3

The Commission proposes to

restructure, into two sections, 11 CFR

104.3 which governs the contents of

reports political committees must file.

Proposed 11 CFR 104.3 would state the

requirements applied to all

unauthorized committees for reporting

receipts and disbursements. The

corresponding requirements for

authorized committees would appear at

new 11 CFR 104.17. (Please note that

the Commission recently repealed

former 11 CFR 104.17 as an obsolete

rule. 60 FR 56506 (November 9, 1995.))

The purpose of the proposed

restructuring is to clarify points of

Commission policy, simplify the

preparation of reports pursuant to 2

U.S.C. 434, and facilitate committees’

efforts to locate the rules that apply to

each. The Commission welcomes

comments on the proposed

restructuring.
50710 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

2. Proposed Reporting Requirements for

Unauthorized Committees

As amended, the section would

follow the organization of current 11

CFR 104.3 except for the changes

discussed below. Most of the proposed

changes would appear at draft

paragraphs (b), (c), (k) and (l) to address

procedures for reporting receipts and

disbursements, amending reports and

reporting disbursements paid by credit

card(s), respectively. New paragraph (a)

would state the rule’s scope and refer

authorized committees to the reporting

requirements at new § 104.17.

a. Reporting Receipts of Unauthorized

Committees

The proposed amendments would

delete the reference to traveler’s checks

in the definition of ‘‘Cash on hand’’.

Under this amendment, a committee

may hold traveler’s checks only after

receiving these as contributions, see 11

CFR 104.8, and before depositing these

pursuant to 11 CFR 103.3(a). The

proposed amendment is intended to

comport with the Act and to address

substantial problems raised by the use

of traveler’s checks for disbursements.

The Act requires that, except for petty

cash fund expenditures, a committee

issue a check from an account at its

campaign depository to make a

disbursement. 2 U.S.C. 432(h). See also

11 CFR 102.10 and 103.3. Traveler’s

checks are unlike these checks:

traveler’s checks are not forwarded to a

committee’s campaign depository and

are unavailable for review. Thus, at

times committees have been unable to

identify payees or the purpose of

disbursements by traveler’s checks, and

the Commission’s efforts to evaluate a

committee’s compliance with the Act

have been frustrated. The Commission

welcomes comment on the proposal to

limit the role of traveler’s checks in

campaign finance. See redesignated

paragraph (b)(2).

The categories and itemizations of

receipts for unauthorized committees

would be reorganized and revised in

draft paragraphs (b) (3) and (4).

Concurrently, Form 3X would be

revised to conform to the proposed rule.

Similar provisions for authorized

committees would be addressed in new

§ 104.17.

Paragraph (b)(3) would set forth the

revised categories of receipts that must

be reported on the Detailed Summary

Page of Form 3X. The revisions would

reflect the types of receipts received by

unauthorized committees in recent

years. For example, the draft rule would

add two new categories: ‘‘loan

repayments received’’ and ‘‘refunds of

contributions made by the reporting

committee to political committees’’. See

proposed paragraphs (b)(3) (vi) and

(viii). In addition, the Commission

proposes to reduce the burden on

committees by deleting the itemized and

unitemized sub-categories for ‘‘offsets to

operating expenditures’’ and ‘‘other

receipts’’. See proposed paragraphs

(b)(3) (vii) and (ix). The draft rule also

would clarify that the category of

‘‘contributions from persons’’ would

include contributions from committees

that do not qualify as political

committees under the Act, and that

‘‘offsets to operating expenditures’’

would refer to rebates and refunds from

vendors. See proposed paragraphs (b)(3)

(i), (ii) and (vii). Further, the draft

paragraph would require year-to-date

reporting for itemized and unitemized

sub-categories.

The proposed itemizations of receipts

for unauthorized committees, which

must be reported on Schedule A of

Form 3X, would follow the revisions

proposed for reporting categories of

receipts, discussed above. Thus, the

proposed rule would add an itemization

for loan repayments received, clarify

that the current itemization for ‘‘offsets’’

refers to rebates and refunds from

vendors, and add an itemization for

refunds of contributions. See proposed

paragraphs (b)(4) (v)–(vii).

b. Reporting Disbursements of

Unauthorized Committees

The draft rule would reorganize and

revise requirements for reporting

categories and itemizations of

disbursements at proposed paragraphs

(c) (1) and (2). The proposed revisions

would appear on Form 3X, concurrently

under revision. (Similar requirements

for authorized committees would be

moved to new section 104.17.) The draft

rule also would cross-reference new

reporting requirements for

disbursements paid by credit card found

at new paragraph (l).

The categories of disbursements,

which are reported as total amounts on

the Detailed Summary Page of Form 3X,

would be revised to reflect

contemporary disbursement practices by

committees. Illustratively, the categories

for refunds of contributions to persons

and to political committees would

replace ‘‘offsets’’. See proposed

paragraphs (c)(1) (ix) and (x). These

revisions also would correspond to

amendments proposed for reports of

receipts. To ease committees’ reporting

burdens, the draft rule would delete

itemized and unitemized sub-categories

for ‘‘other disbursements’’. See

proposed paragraph (c)(1)(xii). The

proposed amendments additionally

would clarify which disbursements are

covered by categories in the current rule

for operating expenditures, transfers to

affiliated or party committees,

coordinated party expenditures under

11 CFR 110.7, and other disbursements.

See proposed paragraphs (c)(1) (ii), (iii),

(vi), and (xii). As for receipts, the

proposed rule would require year-todate reporting for itemized and

unitemized sub-categories of

disbursements.

The revised itemizations of

disbursements for unauthorized

committees, which must be reported on

Schedule B of Form 3X, would appear

at proposed paragraph (c)(2). The

amended rule would clarify that a

committee may report a loan repayment

in two ways: report the sum of the

principal and interest as a single loan

repayment, or report the principal as a

loan repayment and the interest as an

operating expenditure. (Committees

would continue to report on Schedule C

repayments of principal and the

outstanding principal balance for each

loan.) In the past, the Commission has

instructed that each interest payment be

reported as a separate operating

expenditure. See AO 1991–9 and AO

1986–45. Although the latter method is

consistent with the Act’s requirements,

the former may be easier for reporting

committees. The Commission seeks to

ease the reporting burden on

committees and requests comment on

the proposal to permit alternative

reporting methods for loan repayments.

See proposed paragraph (c)(2)(vi).

The Commission seeks comments on

related points raised by Schedule D. For

example, should a committee report as

a payment toward a debt incurred for

goods or services only the principal

paid and report as an operating

expenditure the finance charges paid?

Or, should a committee report the sum

of these as a debt payment? The

Commission is considering permitting

both reporting methods, and requiring

that payments (including accrued

interest) on debts owed to a committee

be reported along similar lines.

The revisions proposed for

itemizations of disbursements generally

would follow the revisions proposed for

categories of disbursements, discussed

above. Thus, a committee would itemize

‘‘refunds of contributions’’ to persons

and to political committees in place of

‘‘offsets to contributions’’. See proposed

paragraphs (c)(2) (viii) and (ix). The

proposed rule would add a requirement

that, for certain itemized disbursements,

a committee identify the election for

which the disbursement was made. See

proposed paragraphs (c)(2) (iii)–(v) and

(vii). Where a disbursement is a
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50711

contribution, a committee would be

required to identify the election for

which it made the contribution and,

hence, the particular contribution limit

against which the contribution must be

counted, e.g. 1998 General Election. See

2 U.S.C. 441a.

c. Additional Revisions to Section 104.3

Significant changes are proposed at

paragraphs (e), ‘‘Reporting debts and

obligations’’, (h), ‘‘Legal and accounting

services’’, (k), ‘‘Amending reports’’, and

(l), ‘‘Credit card payments’’, of the draft

rule. With respect to paragraph (e), the

provision governing loans to candidates

would be moved to new § 104.17. The

proposed revisions also would simplify

the current rule to require that, for a line

of credit, a committee file Schedule C–

1 only when it reports the receipt of a

line of credit or a restructuring of the

line. As revised, the rule would require

a committee to report each draw on a

line of credit only as a receipt on

Schedule A.

The Commission proposes to simplify

the reporting requirements because it

appears that committees often make

numerous draws on a line of credit in

a single day. The draws usually are

made without restructuring the line of

credit, i.e. changing the repayment

terms such as the interest rate. The

Commission therefore has questioned

the present practice of requiring a

Schedule C–1 for every routine draw.

The Commission believes that it would

be more informative to require that, after

the initial Schedule C–1, a committee

file a subsequent Schedule C–1 only to

report a restructuring of the line. This

approach would ease the burden on

committees while protecting the public

interest in disclosure. The Commission

emphasizes that a committee would

remain obligated to report, as with any

debt or obligation, the outstanding

balance on a line of credit on Schedule

C.

The reporting requirements would be

streamlined for a committee that

receives legal and accounting services

pursuant to 11 CFR 100.7(b) (13) and

(14). Draft paragraph (h) would delete

the current requirement that a

committee report each person providing

the services. The Commission also is

proposing to institute a $200 threshold

for ‘‘itemizing’’ receipts of these

services: a committee would specify in

a memo entry, on Schedule A, the

regular employers of persons providing

the services which have spent more

than $200 for the services during the

calendar year. For ‘‘unitemized’’

receipts of the services, or those from

employers which have not met the $200

threshold, a committee instead would

report as a memo entry, on Schedule A,

the total of amounts paid by regular

employers for the services and maintain

all records of the services as described

in 11 CFR 102.9(c). A memo entry is

supplemental information about a

specific transaction, and the dollar

amount recorded in the memo entry is

not included in the totals reported on

the Detailed Summary Page for Form 3X

(or Form 3). Thus, for an employer

meeting the $200 threshold, a

committee would report a memo entry:

Employer A/Address, $50, on 11/22/96

(where Employer A had spent $250 for

the services in 1996). For regular

employers not meeting the threshold, a

committee would report a memo entry:

$500 received in ‘‘unitemized’’ exempt

legal and accounting services (for

example, to reflect 5 employers which

individually had not spent more than

$200 for the services in 1996).

New paragraph (k) would be added to

clarify the process for amending reports

that are filed with the Commission in

hard-copy form. The new paragraph

would present: the deadline for filing an

amendment; optional methods for filing

amendments; and a provision for

identifying the specific changes in the

amended report(s). These provisions

would apply both to amendments

prompted by a Commission notice and

to those initiated by a committee after

discovering an error, omission or change

in information. The Commission

proposes to standardize the amendment

process to simplify a committee’s

reporting obligations. The proposed

revisions also are intended to address an

issue that frequently arises concerning

amendments to longer reports as well as

shorter reports, such as Schedule H–4

(‘‘Joint Federal and NonFederal Activity

Schedule’’). A mechanism to quickly

and clearly identify the changes on

amended pages, or reports, submitted by

a committee is necessary to ensure the

accuracy of the Commission’s database

and to assist the review of disclosure

reports. The draft rule provides one

mechanism for ensuring that the

Commission and the public are able to

locate easily new or amended

information in a report. The

Commission welcomes suggestions as to

other effective methods for achieving

this result, and seeks comment generally

on the proposed amendment process. In

addition, the Commission notes that a

committee which amends an

electronically filed report must follow a

different procedure set forth at 11 CFR

104.18.

New paragraph (l) would clarify and

simplify reporting obligations for

disbursements paid by credit card.

These provisions would apply to all

disbursements subject to the

requirements proposed for categories of

disbursements, and itemized entries for

the categories, discussed earlier. The

new paragraph would define a credit

card as representing a credit account

with a depository institution or other

corporation that is not a depository

institution. See 11 CFR 103.2. For some

credit cards, the monthly balance must

be paid in full; for others, it may be paid

in part or in full. A committee would be

required to itemize on Schedule B each

payment to a credit card company, the

depository institution or other

corporation receiving the payment, the

date and the amount of payment. For

example, for a payment that covers an

entire monthly balance, the committee

would report: ABC National Bank

(VISA), Anytown, Any State, 12/05/96,

$2,000.00. The committee also would

include the payment in the total for the

appropriate category on the Detailed

Summary Page of Form 3X (or Form 3).

Under the new provisions, if the

disbursement is a partial payment of a

monthly credit card balance, the

committee first would report the

information required for a full payment,

as noted above, and next report a memo

entry on Schedule B. The memo entry

would report the creditor, the

outstanding credit balance, and the

corresponding date. In the example

above, the committee would report as a

memo entry: ABC National Bank (VISA),

$1,000 balance, as of 12/05/96. It would

not include $1,000 in the appropriate

totals on the Detailed Summary Page,

but it would report the unpaid balance

as a debt under 11 CFR 104.11(b).

Whether paying its bill in full or in

part, a committee also would be

required to report, as a memo entry on

Schedule B, each expenditure that is

separately listed on a monthly credit

card statement and that would be

required to be itemized under proposed

paragraph (c)(2). In the example above,

the committee would report as a memo

entry: $600 to XYZ Printing Company,

Anytown, Any State, 12/01/96, by ABC

National Bank VISA, for campaign

literature. If a committee made multiple

expenditures to a particular vendor

during a single reporting period and

each was required to be itemized, the

committee would report a memo entry

for each expenditure. Thus, a committee

would itemize a disbursement to pay

all, or part, of a credit card balance and

would identify the itemizable,

underlying expenditures that were paid

by credit card. See new paragraphs (l)

(2) and (3).

In the Commission’s experience,

many committees pay for disbursements

with credit card(s) and subsequently
50712 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

make partial payments to the credit card

company. Thus, regulations tailored to

these transactions would disclose more

information about a committee’s

disbursements as well as identify a

committee’s outstanding credit

balances. The Commission welcomes

comment on the proposal to include the

new paragraph in the reporting

requirements.

Lastly, the proposed amendments

would modify section 104.3 in several

other respects. The draft rule would

substitute the term ‘‘savings

association’’ for ‘‘savings and loan

institutions’’ to reflect current

regulatory practice. See 12 CFR 561.43

(Regulations Applicable to All Savings

Associations, Office of Thrift

Supervision, U.S. Department of

Treasury). In addition, the draft

provision for reporting ‘‘cash on hand’’

would cross-reference to 11 CFR 104.13

to clarify that, when a committee

receives a non-liquid asset (such as a

computer) as an in-kind contribution, it

should report the contribution in a

memo entry rather than as cash. See

proposed paragraph (b)(2). Current

paragraph (c), ‘‘Summary of

contributions and operating

expenditures’’, would be adjusted to

reflect the amendments proposed for

reporting categories of receipts and

disbursements. See proposed paragraph

(d). Finally, the proposed amendments

would move current paragraph (f),

‘‘Consolidated reports’’, to new § 104.17

as it relates solely to authorized

committees, and add guidance for

national party committees in proposed

paragraph (g), ‘‘Building funds’’.

C. New 11 CFR 104.17—Contents of

Reports for Authorized Committees

The new rule would contain all the

reporting provisions applicable to

authorized committees of candidates.

Also, Form 3 would be revised to reflect

these provisions. New § 104.17

generally would follow the organization

of proposed § 104.3, thus simplifying

the reporting process for authorized

committees. The discussion below

concentrates on the provisions unique

to authorized committees and not

discussed in the preceding discussion of

proposed § 104.3.

1. Reporting Receipts of Authorized

Committees

The new rule would address reporting

receipts by authorized committees at

new paragraph (b) and would

correspond to current 11 CFR 104.3(a)

(3) and (4). The categories of receipts at

new paragraph (b)(3) would be reported

as total amounts on the Detailed

Summary Page of Form 3. The new

section would specify more clearly

which categories include the following

receipts: contributions from the

candidate; loans made, guaranteed or

endorsed by the candidate; Federal

matching funds for presidential

candidates; and the new factor of

contributions refunded by authorized

committees for other Federal

candidates. See new paragraphs (b)(3)

(iii), (vi), (vii), and (ix). The draft

categories also would provide for

transfers from other committees

authorized by the candidate, to the

extent permitted by Commission

regulations. See new paragraph (b)(3)(v)

and 11 CFR 110.3(c) (4) and (5) and

110.8(d)(2). In addition, reimbursements

by any person for ‘‘personal use’’ of

committee funds would be added to the

category of ‘‘other receipts’’. See new

paragraph (b)(3)(x). ‘‘Personal use’’

consists of the use of campaign funds

for an obligation of any person that

would exist irrespective of the

candidate’s campaign or duties as a

Federal officeholder. Certain payments

for travel or vehicle expenses may

include both legitimate officeholder or

campaign activities and personal

business. The portion of these costs

associated with personal activities must

be reimbursed under 11 CFR

113.1(g)(1)(ii) (C) or (D).

As drafted, the categories would

continue to state that coordinated party

expenditures, made pursuant to 11 CFR

110.7, are not contributions and would

add that loan repayments received are

included as ‘‘other receipts’’. See new

paragraph (b)(3) (ii) and (x). To ease

reporting burdens, the draft rule would

delete the requirements for reporting

total itemized and unitemized ‘‘offsets

to operating expenditures’’ and ‘‘other

receipts’’. See new paragraphs (b)(3)

(viii) and (x).

The draft rules for itemizing receipts,

which must be reported on Schedule A

of Form 3, would follow the changes

proposed for categories of receipts. The

new section also would add that an

authorized committee specify the

election for which contributions from

persons and from political committees

are made when it itemizes the

contributions. See draft paragraphs

(b)(4) (i) and (ii). In addition to the

requirements at proposed § 104.3, a

committee would be required to itemize

all loans it has received including those

made to the candidate as the

committee’s agent. If any loan itemized

under draft paragraph (b)(4)(v)

represents a contribution by a lender,

endorser or guarantor, the committee

would be required to report the election

for which the contribution was made.

As drafted, the section would add a

provision governing the itemization of

contributions by the candidate,

excluding any loans by the candidate.

See new paragraph (b)(4) (iii) and (v).

2. Reporting Disbursements of

Authorized Committees

The new rule would govern reporting

disbursements at new paragraph (c).

This new paragraph would correspond

to current 11 CFR 104.3(b) (2) and (4).

One issue on which the Commission

seeks comment concerns the

requirement that authorized committees

report the ‘‘purpose’’ of committee

disbursements. See new paragraphs

(c)(2)(i) (A) and (B). In particular, the

Commission seeks comment on whether

to require more information on

committees’ statements of ‘‘purpose’’ in

the interests of monitoring adequately

possible instances of personal use of

campaign funds. 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1) (i)

and (ii). It is intended that any new

requirement would generate meaningful

disclosure about committee

disbursements, as intended by the Act,

without significantly increasing

committees’ reporting burdens.

The Commission’s current regulations

closely follow the legislative guidance

on this point:

It is the opinion of the Committee that the

purpose requirement will be satisfied by a

short statement or description, no more than

one or two words in most cases, of why the

money was spent. The particulars, i.e., the

details, of the disbursement are not required

by the statute.

H.R. Rep. No. 422, 96th Cong., 1st Sess.

18 (1979). Despite suggestions in

comments received in the Commission’s

rulemaking on ‘‘personal use’’, 60 FR

7862 (February 9, 1995), the

Commission has been reluctant to

conclude that the purpose statement

serves only to regulate personal use of

campaign funds. These statements

provide required information about

other committee disbursements, such as

a committee’s contributions to a

committee authorized by another

candidate. Over the years, however,

purpose statements often have lacked

sufficient detail to enable the

Commission to determine whether a

certain disbursement represents a

candidate’s personal use of campaign

funds. See Matter Under Review 3107.

In addition, a more informative purpose

statement may be necessary to

determine whether a disbursement by

an authorized committee for an officeholder not seeking re-election is

impermissible personal use.

The Commission is obligated to

enforce the Act’s prohibition on

personal use of campaign funds. 2

U.S.C. 439a. Currently, the only
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50713

reporting provisions addressing this ban

are the requirement for statements of

purpose and the requirement to describe

certain disbursements for travel and

vehicle expenses for which the

committee expects reimbursement. See

11 CFR 104.17(c)(2)(i) (A) and (B); 11

CFR 113.1(g)(1)(ii) (C) and (D). Hence,

the Commission requests comment on

possible mechanisms for generating

more disclosure of the purpose of

committee disbursements without

heavily burdening reporting

committees.

As drafted, the new rule would crossreference to draft paragraph (l)

governing disbursements paid by credit

card. The categories of disbursements, at

new paragraph (c)(1), would be reported

as total amounts on the Detailed

Summary Page of Form 3. The draft rule

would specify which categories include

the following receipts: transfers to other

committees authorized by the candidate;

repayments of loans made or guaranteed

by the candidate; and disbursements by

authorized committees for presidential

candidates not subject to the limitations

at 11 CFR 110.8. See new paragraphs

(c)(1) (ii)–(iv). Also, the new rule would

add a category for contributions to

committees authorized by other

candidates for Federal office. See new

paragraph (c)(1)(viii). The new

categories of refunds of contributions to

persons and to political committees

would replace the current category of

‘‘offsets to contributions’’. See new

paragraphs (c)(1) (v) and (vi). To ease

committees’ reporting burdens, the new

rule would eliminate reporting itemized

and unitemized subcategories for ‘‘other

disbursements’’. See draft paragraph

(c)(1)(ix).

Paragraph (c)(2) would contain the

reporting requirements for itemizing

disbursements on Schedule B of Form 3.

The draft rule would add a requirement

that a committee identify the election

for which contributions and loans to

authorized committees for other

candidates are made. See new

paragraphs (c)(2) (iii) and (v). A

committee would be required to itemize

repayments for all loans used in the

campaign, whether these were made to

the committee or to the candidate. See

draft paragraph (c)(2)(iv).

3. Additional Revisions to New Section

104.17

Generally, new paragraphs (d)–(l)

would correspond to proposed

paragraphs (d)–(l) of § 104.3 with certain

exceptions. The draft rule would

provide for reporting loans to

candidates and would move

‘‘Consolidated reports’’ from current 11

CFR 104.3(f). See new paragraphs (e)(2),

(3) and (g).

The final rules will contain

conforming amendments to other

sections of the regulations to reflect

changes in cross-reference citations,

resulting from the reorganization of 11

CFR 104.3 into two sections and the

proposed revisions included therein.

D. 11 CFR Part 108—Filing Copies of

Reports and Statements With State

Officers

The FECA governs, inter alia, the

filing of campaign finance reports and

statements by political committees with

Secretaries of State or equivalent State

officers. Similarly, the Act specifies the

duties of State officers to maintain the

duplicate reports. 2 U.S.C. 439. On

December 28, 1995, Public Law No.

104–79, 109 Stat. 791 (1995), amended

the FECA to provide that the filing and

maintenance requirements no longer

apply where the Commission

determines that a State maintains a

system that permits electronic access to,

and duplication of, reports and

statements filed with the Commission.

Public Law No. 104–79, section 2

(codified at 2 U.S.C. 439(c)).

The proposed rule would revise 11

CFR part 108 to conform to the statutory

amendments. It also would ease

reporting burdens for political

committees and other persons as well as

filing responsibilities for State offices.

For example, an unauthorized

committee or other person, making

independent expenditures under 11

CFR part 109, would not be required to

file a copy of campaign finance reports

with the relevant State officer where the

Commission has determined that the

State office maintains a system that can

receive and duplicate optically imaged

reports from the Commission. Optically

imaged reports are stored on special

optical disks. See proposed

§§ 108.1(b)(1) and 108.3(b). These are

unlike microfilm and microfiche. This

method also is distinct from electronic

filing of reports, which was the subject

of a separate rulemaking by the

Commission. See 61 FR 42371 (August

15, 1996). Current technology requires

that the images be stored and

maintained on specialized equipment at

the Commission. To access and retrieve

these images, states must have the

equipment necessary to connect to the

Commission’s imaging system.

Although currently no state office has

the necessary capability, the

Commission expects that states will

begin to gain the capability in the near

future.

The proposed revisions would apply

to reports filed in connection with

primaries for presidential and vicepresidential candidates as well as

reports by unauthorized committees in

connection with a presidential election.

See proposed §§ 108.2 and 108.4. The

revisions also would apply to reports

filed in connection with a candidate’s

campaign for the office of

Representative in, Delegate or Resident

Commissioner to the Congress. The

1995 amendments and a subsequent

rulemaking on the point of entry for

campaign finance reports provide that

these reports now are filed with the

Commission rather than the Clerk of the

House of Representatives. Public Law

104–79, section 3; 61 FR 3549 and 6095

(February 1 and 16, 1996). Hence, the

Commission includes the reports in the

optical imaging process and is able to

make the reports available to State

offices.

However, reports filed by a candidate,

or authorized committee(s) of a

candidate, to the office of Senator would

not be covered. Since these reports are

filed with the Secretary of the Senate,

the Commission does not receive the

original reports and cannot optically

image the copies it receives.

Consequently, it is unable to make the

reports available to State offices by this

method. See proposed § 108.3.

Lastly, the provisions governing the

duties of state officers to maintain the

duplicate reports would be modified to

correspond to the 1995 amendments.

See proposed § 108.6.

The Commission seeks comment on

all proposed revisions to the regulations

concerning recordkeeping, reporting,

and filing with State offices and on the

proposed conforming amendments. The

Commission also welcomes comment on

these requirements generally, including

any issues not covered by the proposed

regulations. Please note that a

subsequent rulemaking may cover other

issues addressed by parts 102 and 104.

Certification of No Effect Pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 605(b)

(Regulatory Flexibility Act)

The attached proposed rules would

not, if promulgated, have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The majority

of the attached proposed rules would

clarify recordkeeping and reporting

requirements under the Federal Election

Campaign Act, and any affected entities

already are required to comply with the

Commission’s requirements in this area.

The remaining attached proposed rules

for filing copies of reports with State

officers would conform to statutory

amendments and reduce any reporting

burden of affected entities. Therefore,

these rules would not have a significant
50714 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

economic effect on a substantial number

of small entities.

List of Subjects

11 CFR Part 102

Political candidates, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

11 CFR Part 104

Campaign funds, Political candidates,

Political committees and parties,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

11 CFR Part 108

Elections, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, it is proposed to amend

subchapter A, chapter I of title 11 of the

Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 102—REGISTRATION,

ORGANIZATION, AND

RECORDKEEPING BY POLITICAL

COMMITTEES (2 U.S.C. 433)

1. The authority citation for part 102

would continue to read as follows:

Authority: 2 U.S.C. 432, 433, 438(a)(8),

441d.

2. Section 102.9 would be amended

by redesignating paragraphs (a)(1)

through (3) as paragraphs (a)(2) through

(4), respectively, by adding new

paragraph (a)(1), by revising newly

designated paragraphs (a)(2) through (4),

the last sentence of (b)(1) introductory

text, (b)(1) (iii) and (iv), (b)(2)

introductory text and (b)(2)(i) (A) and

(B), by adding new (b)(2) (iv) and (v),

and by revising paragraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 102.9 Accounting for contributions and

expenditures (2 U.S.C. 432(c)).

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(1) For contributions of $50 or less, a

committee may satisfy the requirements

of this section by keeping either: the

name and address of each contributor,

the date of receipt and the amount of

each contribution; or, if the committee

received many small contributions

under $50 each through a fundraising

event, the name of the event, the date(s)

contributions were received at the

event, and the total amount of

contributions received on each day of

the event.

(2) For contributions in excess of $50

each, the account shall include the

name and address of the contributor, the

date of receipt and amount of each

contribution.

(3) For contributions from any person

whose contributions aggregate more

than $200 during a calendar year, the

account shall include the identification

of the person, the date of receipt and

amount of each contribution.

(4) For contributions from a political

committee, the account shall include

the identification of the political

committee, the date of receipt and

amount of each contribution.

(b)(1) * * * The account shall consist

of a record of:

* * * * *

(iii) if the disbursement is made for a

candidate, the name, the election (e.g.

primary or general) and office

(including State and Congressional

district, if any) sought by the candidate.

(iv) For purposes of 11 CFR

102.9(b)(1), purpose has the same

meaning given the term at 11 CFR

104.3(c)(2)(i)(A) and (B) and

104.17(c)(2)(i)(A) and (B).

(2) In addition to the account to be

kept under paragraph (b)(1) of this

section, the receipt(s) or invoice(s) from

the payee or the canceled check(s) to the

payee shall be obtained and kept for

each disbursement in excess of $200, by

or on behalf of, the committee, except

that credit card transactions shall be

documented in accordance with

paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section,

disbursements by share draft or check

drawn on a credit union account shall

be documented in accordance with

paragraph (b)(2)(iii) of this section, bank

draft account disbursements shall be

documented in accordance with

paragraph (b)(2)(iv) of this section, and

debit card transactions shall be

documented in accordance with

paragraph (b)(2)(v) of this section.

(i)(A) For purposes of paragraph (b)(2)

of this section, payee means the person

who provides the goods or services to

the committee or its agent in return for

payment, except that an employee of a

political committee, or other individual,

who receives an advance from the

committee of $1,000 or less for his or

her own travel and subsistence shall be

considered the payee for that advance.

(B) For any advance to an employee

of a political committee, or other

individual, of $1,000 or less for travel

and subsistence, the committee shall

obtain and keep all expense account

documentation including the expense

voucher and the canceled check(s) to

the recipient of the advance.

* * * * *

(iv) For purposes of paragraph (b)(2)

of this section, a copy of the draft drawn

on a bank draft account may be used as

a duplicate record of the draft provided

that the monthly account statement

showing that the draft was paid by the

bank also is retained.

(v) For purposes of paragraph (b)(2) of

this section, the point of sale receipt for

a debit card transaction may be used as

a duplicate record of the transaction

provided that the monthly account

statement reflecting the debit charge

also is retained.

* * * * *

(d) * * * The treasurer, or his or her

authorized agent, also shall meet the

requirements of 11 CFR 104.14.

* * * * *

PART 104—REPORTS BY POLITICAL

COMMITTEES (2 U.S.C. 434)

3. The authority citation for part 104

would continue to read as follows:

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

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

4. Section 104.3 would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 104.3 Contents of reports for political

committees other than authorized

committees (2 U.S.C. 434(b), 439a).

(a) Scope. The requirements of this

section apply to all political committees

other than authorized committees.

Authorized committees shall meet the

requirements for reporting receipts and

disbursements set forth at 11 CFR

104.17.

(b) Reporting of Receipts. (1) General.

Each report filed under this section

shall disclose the total amount of

receipts for the reporting period and for

the calendar year and shall disclose the

information set forth at paragraphs (b)(2)

through (4) of this section. The first

report filed by a committee shall also

include all amounts received prior to

becoming a political committee under

11 CFR 100.5, even if these amounts

were not received during the current

reporting period.

(2) Cash on hand. The amount of cash

on hand at the beginning of the

reporting period, including: currency;

balance on deposit in banks, savings

associations and other depository

institutions; certificates of deposit,

treasury bills and any other committee

investments valued at cost. Non-liquid

assets on hand, if received as in-kind

contributions, should be reported in

accordance with 11 CFR 104.13.

(3) Categories of receipts. Each report

shall disclose the total amount of

receipts received during the reporting

period and during the calendar year for

each of the following categories:

(i) Contributions from persons other

than political committees, including

individuals and committees that do not

qualify as political committees under

the Act;

(A) Itemized contributions;

(B) Unitemized contributions;

(ii) Contributions from political

committees;
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50715

(A) Party committees;

(B) Authorized committees;

(C) Unauthorized committees other

than party committees;

(iii) Total contributions (add

contributions from persons to

contributions from political

committees);

(iv) Transfers from affiliated

committees and, where the reporting

committee is a political party

committee, transfers from other party

committees of the same party, regardless

of whether the committees are affiliated;

(v) Loans received;

(vi) Loan repayments received;

(vii) Offsets to operating expenditures,

such as vendor refunds and rebates;

(viii) Refunds of contributions made by

the reporting committee to political

committees;

(ix) Other receipts (such as dividends

and interest);

(x) The total sum of all receipts.

(4) Itemization of receipts. The

identification (as defined at 11 CFR

100.12) of each contributor and the

aggregate year-to-date total for the

contributor in each of the following

categories shall be reported.

(i) Each person other than a political

committee, including individuals and

committees which do not qualify as

political committees under the Act, who

makes a contribution to the reporting

committee during the reporting period,

whose contribution(s) aggregate in

excess of $200 per calendar year,

together with the date of receipt and

amount of the contribution(s), except

that the reporting committee may elect

to report this information for

contributors of lesser amount(s) on a

separate schedule;

(ii) All political committees which

make contributions to the reporting

committee during the reporting period,

together with the date of receipt and

amount of the contribution(s);

(iii) Each affiliated political

committee which transfers funds to the

reporting committee during the

reporting period and, where the

reporting committee is a political party

committee, each transfer of funds to the

reporting committee from another party

committee of the same party regardless

of whether the committees are affiliated,

together with the date and amount of

the transfer;

(iv) Each person who makes a loan to

the reporting committee during the

reporting period, together with the

identification of any endorser or

guarantor of the loan, the date the loan

was made, and the amount or value of

the loan;

(v) Each person who makes a loan

repayment to the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount of the

repayment;

(vi) Each person who provides an

offset to operating expenditures, such as

vendor rebates and refunds, to the

reporting committee in an aggregate

amount in excess of $200 within the

calendar year, together with the date

and amount of the offset;

(vii) Each political committee,

including authorized committees, which

refunds during the reporting period a

contribution made by the reporting

committee, together with the date of

receipt and amount of the refund; and

(viii) Each person who provides any

dividend, interest, or other receipt to the

reporting committee, in an aggregate

amount in excess of $200 within the

calendar year, together with the date

and amount of the receipt.

(c) Reporting of Disbursements. Each

report filed under this section shall

disclose the total amount of all

disbursements for the reporting period

and for the calendar year and shall

disclose the information set forth at

paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section.

If a committee has paid any

disbursements by credit card, the

committee shall report the

disbursements in accordance with

paragraph (l) of this section. The first

report filed by a committee shall also

include all amounts disbursed prior to

becoming a political committee under

11 CFR 100.5, even if these amounts

were not disbursed during the current

reporting period.

(1) Categories of disbursements. Each

report shall disclose the total amount of

disbursements made during the

reporting period and during the

calendar year in each of the following

categories:

(i) Shared Federal and nonfederal

operating expenditures;

(A) Federal share;

(B) Nonfederal share;

(ii) Other Federal operating

expenditures;

(A) Itemized expenditures;

(B) Unitemized expenditures;

(C) Total Federal operating

expenditures;

(iii) Transfers to affiliated political

committees and, where the reporting

committee is a political party

committee, transfers to other party

committees of the same party, regardless

of whether the committees are affiliated;

(iv) Contributions to political

committees including authorized

committees and unauthorized

committees, such as party committees;

(v) Independent expenditures made (2

U.S.C. 434(b)(4)(H)(iii));

(vi) Coordinated party expenditures

made (2 U.S.C. 441a(d));

(vii) Loan repayments made;

(viii) Loans made by the reporting

committee;

(ix) Refunds of contributions to

persons, including individuals, other

than political committees;

(A) Itemized refunds;

(B) Unitemized refunds;

(x) Refunds of contributions to

political committees;

(A) Party committees;

(B) Authorized committees;

(C) Unauthorized committees other

than party committees;

(xi) Total contribution refunds (add

contribution refunds to persons and

contribution refunds to political

committees);

(xii) Other disbursements, including

any disbursements to nonfederal

candidate committees;

(xiii) Total disbursements;

(xiv) Total Federal disbursements.

(2) Itemization of disbursements. Each

report shall disclose the full name and

address of each person in each of the

following categories, as well as the

information required by each category.

For each disbursement governed by

paragraphs (c)(2)(i) or (x) of this section,

the report shall disclose this

information for each vendor or other

person to whom a disbursement is made

directly by the committee, and shall

contain a memo entry for each vendor

or other person to whom a disbursement

is made by an agent of the committee.

(i) Each person to whom an

expenditure in an aggregate amount or

value in excess of $200 within the

calendar year is made by the reporting

committee to meet the committee’s

operating expenses, together with the

date, amount, and purpose of the

operating expenditure;

(A) As used in paragraph (c)(2) of this

section, purpose means a brief statement

or description of why the disbursement

was made.

(B) Examples of statements or

descriptions which adequately describe

the purpose of a disbursement include

the following: dinner expenses, media,

salary, polling, travel, party fees, phone

banks, travel expenses, travel expense

reimbursement, and catering costs.

However, statements or descriptions

such as advance, election day expenses,

other expenses, expenses, expense

reimbursement, miscellaneous, outside

services, get-out-the-vote and voter

registration would not meet the

requirements of paragraph (c)(2) of this

section for reporting the purpose of an

expenditure.

(ii) Each affiliated political committee

to which a transfer is made by the

reporting committee during the

reporting period and, where the
50716 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

reporting committee is a political party

committee, each transfer of funds by the

reporting committee to another party

committee of the same party regardless

of whether the committees are affiliated,

together with the date and amount of

the transfer;

(iii) Each political committee, which

has received a contribution from the

reporting committee during the

reporting period, together with the date

and amount of the contribution and, for

contributions to authorized committees,

the candidate’s name, the election (e.g.

primary or general) and office sought

(including State or Congressional

district, where applicable);

(iv) (A) Each person who receives any

disbursement during the reporting

period in an aggregate amount or value

in excess of $200 within the calendar

year in connection with an independent

expenditure by the reporting committee,

together with the date, amount, and

purpose of the independent

expenditure(s);

(B) For each independent expenditure

reported, the committee must also

provide a statement which indicates

whether the independent expenditure is

in support of, or in opposition to, a

particular candidate, as well as the

name of the candidate, the election and

office sought by the candidate

(including State and Congressional

district, where applicable), and a

certification, under penalty of perjury,

as to whether the independent

expenditure is made in cooperation,

consultation or concert with, or at the

request or suggestion of, any candidate

or any authorized committee or its

agent;

(C) The information required by

paragraph (c)(2)(iv)(A) and (B) of this

section shall be reported on Schedule E

as part of a report covering the reporting

period in which the aggregate

disbursements for any independent

expenditure to any person exceed $200

per calendar year. Schedule E shall also

include the total of all such

expenditures of $200 or less made

during the reporting period.

(v) Each person who receives any

expenditure from the reporting

committee during the reporting period

in connection with an expenditure

under 11 CFR 110.7 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)),

together with the date, amount, and

purpose of the expenditure as well as

the name of, and the election and office

sought by (including State and

Congressional district, where

applicable), the candidate on whose

behalf the expenditure is made;

(vi) Each person who receives a loan

repayment from the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount of repayment;

(A) For each loan repayment, the

committee shall either report the

principal and the interest as separate

disbursements, or, it shall report the

sum of these as a single disbursement.

If the committee applies the former

method, the principal shall be reported

on Schedules B and C as a loan

repayment and the interest shall be

reported on Schedule B as an operating

expenditure. If the committee applies

the latter method, the sum of the

principal and the interest shall be

reported on Schedule B as a loan

repayment and only the principal shall

be reported on Schedule C;

(B) The committee shall use one

reporting method for the duration of a

loan;

(vii) Each person who has received a

loan from the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount or value of

the loan, and for any authorized

committee that has received a loan, the

candidate’s name, the election and

office sought (including State or

Congressional district, where

applicable);

(viii) Each person, other than a

political committee, who receives a

contribution refund from the reporting

committee during the reporting period

where the receipt of the contribution

was reported under paragraph (b)(4)(i)

of this section, together with the date

and amount of the refund;

(ix) Each political committee which

receives a contribution refund from the

reporting committee during the

reporting period where the receipt of the

contribution was reported under

paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section,

together with the date and amount of

the refund; and

(x) Each person, including nonfederal

candidate committees, who has received

any disbursement during the reporting

period not otherwise disclosed under

paragraph (c)(2) of this section, to whom

the aggregate amount or value of

disbursements made by the reporting

committee exceeds $200 within the

calendar year, together with the date,

amount, and purpose of the

disbursement(s).

(d) Summary of contributions and

operating expenditures. Each report

filed under this section shall disclose

for both the reporting period and the

calendar year:

(1)(i) The total contributions to the

reporting committee;

(ii) The total of contribution refunds;

(iii) The net contributions (subtract

total of contribution refunds from total

contributions);

(2)(i) The reporting committee’s total

Federal operating expenditures;

(ii) The total offsets to operating

expenditures; and

(iii) The net Federal operating

expenditures (subtract total offsets from

total Federal operating expenditures).

(e) Reporting debts and obligations.

Each report filed under this section

shall, on Schedule C or D, as

appropriate, disclose the amount and

nature of outstanding debts and

obligations owed by or to the reporting

committee. Where these debts and

obligations are settled for less than their

reported amount or value, each report

filed under this section shall contain a

statement as to the circumstances and

conditions under which the debts or

obligations were extinguished and the

amount paid. See 11 CFR 116.7.

(1) In addition, when a committee

obtains a loan or a line of credit from

a lending institution as described in 11

CFR 100.7(b)(11) and 100.8(b)(12), it

shall disclose in the next due report the

following information on Schedule C–1:

(i) The date and amount of the loan

or line of credit;

(ii) The interest rate and repayment

schedule of the loan or line of credit;

(iii) The types and value of traditional

collateral or other sources of repayment

that secure the loan or the line of credit,

and whether that security interest is

perfected;

(iv) An explanation of the basis upon

which the loan was made or the line of

credit established, if not made on the

basis of either traditional collateral or

other sources of repayment described in

11 CFR 100.7(b)(11)(i) (A) and (B) and

100.8(b)(12)(i) (A) and (B); and

(v) A certification from the lending

institution that the borrower’s responses

to paragraphs (e)(1) (i) through (iv) of

this section are accurate, to the best of

the lending institution’s knowledge; that

the loan was made or the line of credit

established on terms and conditions

(including interest rate) no more

favorable at the time than those imposed

for similar extensions of credit to other

borrowers of comparable credit

worthiness; and that the lending

institution is aware of the requirement

that a loan or line of credit must be

made on a basis which assures

repayment and that the lending

institution has complied with

Commission regulations at 11 CFR

100.7(b)(11) and 100.8(b)(12).

(2) The committee shall submit a copy

of the loan or line of credit agreement

which describes the terms and

conditions of the loan or line of credit

when it files Schedule C–1.

(3) The committee shall file with the

next due report a Schedule C–1 each
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50717

time a loan or a line of credit is

restructured to change the terms of the

repayment.

(4) The committee shall report a

receipt of funds in the next due report,

on Schedule A, each time it makes a

draw on a line of credit.

(f) Use of pseudonyms. (1) To

determine whether the names and

addresses of its contributors are being

used in violation of 11 CFR 104.15 to

solicit contributions or for commercial

purposes, a committee may submit up to

ten (10) pseudonyms on each report

filed under this section.

(2) For purposes of this section, a

pseudonym is a wholly fictitious name

which does not represent the name of an

actual contributor to a committee.

(3) If a committee uses pseudonyms it

shall subtract the total dollar amount of

the fictitious contributions from the

total amount listed on line 11(a)(ii) of

the Detailed Summary page,

‘‘Contributions from Individuals/

Persons, Unitemized’’. Thus the

committee will, for this purpose only,

be overstating the amount of itemized

contributions received and understating

the amount of unitemized contributions

received.

(4) No committee which files reports

under this section shall attribute more

than $5,000 in contributions to the same

pseudonym in any calendar year.

(5) A committee using pseudonyms

shall send a list of the pseudonyms

under separate cover directly to the

Reports Analysis Division, Federal

Election Commission, 999 E Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20463, on or

before the date on which any report

containing such pseudonyms is filed

with the Secretary of the Senate or the

Commission. The Commission shall

maintain the list, but shall exclude it

from the public record. A committee

shall not send any list of pseudonyms

to the Secretary of the Senate or to any

Secretary of State or equivalent State

officer.

(6) A committee shall not use

pseudonyms for the purpose of

circumventing the reporting

requirements or the limitations and

prohibitions of the Act.

(g) Building funds. Gifts,

subscriptions, loans, advances, deposits

of money or anything of value made to

defray costs of construction or purchase

of office facilities received by a political

committee in accordance with 11 CFR

100.7(b)(12) shall be reported as a memo

entry on Schedule A. National party

committees shall report building fund

receipts and disbursements in

accordance with 11 CFR 104.8(f) and

104.9(d).

(h) Legal and accounting services. A

committee which receives legal or

accounting services pursuant to 11 CFR

100.7(b) (13) and (14) during the

reporting period shall report the

services in accordance with paragraphs

(i) (1) or (2) of this section.

(1) If the regular employer of person(s)

who provide the services has paid in

excess of $200 for the services during

the calendar year, the committee shall

report as a memo entry, on Schedule A,

the amounts paid for the services by the

regular employer together with the

date(s) the services were performed.

(2) For each regular employer who has

paid no more than $200 for the services

during the calendar year, the committee

shall report as a memo entry, on

Schedule A, the sum of the amount(s)

paid by each regular employer of

person(s) who provide the services. The

committee shall preserve all records of

these services, for the period required

by 11 CFR 102.9(c), to reflect the name

of each regular employer, the amounts

paid by each, and the date(s) the

services were performed.

(i) Cumulative reports. The reports

required to be filed under 11 CFR 104.5

shall be cumulative for the calendar

year to which they relate, but if there

has been no change in a category

reported in a previous report during that

year, only the amount thereof need be

carried forward.

(j) Earmarked contributions.

Earmarked contributions shall be

reported in accordance with 11 CFR

110.6. See also 11 CFR 102.8(c).

(k) Amending reports. A committee

shall change or correct a report

previously filed under this section, no

later than the next due report, after the

committee discovers an error, omission

or change in the information submitted

in the report. A committee may submit

only those pages that have been changed

or corrected, or it may refile the entire,

amended report. The committee shall

identify the changes, either in a cover

letter or on the amended pages or report,

by specifying the lines on the

Schedule(s) or Form(s) that have been

amended.

(l) Credit card payments. (1) Where a

committee has paid, by credit card, any

disbursement(s) subject to paragraphs

(c) (1) and (2) of this section, the

committee shall report these

disbursements in accordance with this

paragraph. For the purposes of this

section, a credit card represents a credit

account with a depository institution

(see 11 CFR 103.2) or other corporation

that is not a depository institution. A

credit account may permit the

committee to make a partial payment of

each monthly balance or may require

the committee to pay each monthly

balance in full.

(2) The reporting committee shall

itemize on Schedule B each payment to

a credit card issuer by specifying the

depository institution or other

corporation to which payment was

made, the date and amount of payment.

Where the committee has made a partial

payment of a monthly balance, the

committee shall report a memo entry for

the outstanding credit balance on

Schedule B and report the outstanding

balance as a debt to the extent required

by 11 CFR 104.11(b).

(3) Any disbursement reflected on a

monthly account statement for a credit

card, that otherwise is required to be

itemized by paragraph (c)(2) of this

section, shall be reported as a memo

entry on Schedule B in addition to the

information required under paragraph

(l)(2) of this section.

5. New § 104.17 would be added to

read as follows:

§ 104.17 Contents of reports for authorized

committees (2 U.S.C. 434(b), 439a).

(a) Scope. The requirements of this

section apply to all authorized

committees of candidates for Federal

office. All other political committees

shall meet the requirements for

reporting receipts and disbursements set

forth at 11 CFR 104.3.

(b) Reporting of Receipts. (1) General.

Each report filed under this section

shall disclose the total amount of

receipts for the reporting period and for

the calendar year and shall disclose the

information set forth at paragraphs (b)(2)

through (4) of this section. The first

report filed by a committee shall also

include all amounts received prior to

becoming a political committee under

11 CFR 100.5, even if these amounts

were not received during the current

reporting period.

(2) Cash on hand. The amount of cash

on hand at the beginning of the

reporting period, including: currency;

balance on deposit in banks, savings

associations and other depository

institutions; certificates of deposit,

treasury bills and any other committee

investments valued at cost. Non-liquid

assets on hand, if received as in-kind

contributions, should be reported in

accordance with 11 CFR 104.13.

(3) Categories of receipts. Each report

shall disclose the total amount of

receipts received during the reporting

period and during the calendar year for

each of the following categories:

(i) Contributions from persons other

than political committees, including

individuals and committees that do not

qualify as political committees under

the Act, but excluding the candidate
50718 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

who authorized the reporting

committee;

(A) Itemized contributions;

(B) Unitemized contributions;

(ii) Contributions from political

committees;

(A) Party committees, except that

expenditures made under 11 CFR 110.7

(2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) by a party committee

shall not be reported as contributions by

the authorized committee on whose

behalf they are made;

(B) Authorized committees of other

candidates;

(C) Unauthorized committees other

than party committees;

(iii) Contributions from the candidate,

excluding loans which are reported

under paragraph (b)(3)(vi)(A) of this

section;

(iv) Total contributions (add

contributions from persons, political

committees and the candidate);

(v) Transfers from other committee(s)

authorized by the candidate, regardless

of amount;

(vi) Loans received;

(A) Loans made, guaranteed, or

endorsed by the candidate to his or her

authorized committee;

(B) All other loans to the committee;

(C) Total loans;

(vii) For authorized committee(s) of

Presidential candidates, Federal funds

received under chapters 95 and 96 of

the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (Title

26, United States Code);

(viii) Offsets to operating

expenditures, such as vendor refunds

and rebates;

(ix) Refunds of contributions made by

the reporting committee to committees

authorized by other candidates for

Federal office and to other political

committees;

(x) Other receipts (such as dividends,

interest, loan repayments and

reimbursements received pursuant to 11

CFR 113.1(g));

(xi) The total sum of all receipts.

(4) Itemization of receipts. The

identification (as defined at 11 CFR

100.12) of each contributor and the

aggregate year-to-date total for the

contributor in each of the following

categories shall be reported.

(i) Each person other than a political

committee, including individuals and

committees that do not qualify as

political committees under the Act but

excluding the candidate who authorized

the reporting committee, who makes a

contribution to the committee during

the reporting period, whose

contribution(s) aggregate in excess of

$200 per calendar year, together with

the date of receipt, the amount of the

contribution(s) and the election(s) (e.g.

primary or general) for which each

contribution is made, except that the

committee may elect to report this

information for contributors of lesser

amount(s) on a separate schedule;

(ii) All political committees which

make contributions to the reporting

committee during the reporting period,

together with the date of receipt,

amount of the contribution and the

election(s) for which each contribution

is made;

(iii) Each contribution by the

candidate to the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date of receipt and amount of

the contribution;

(iv) Each committee authorized by the

candidate which transfers funds to the

reporting committee during the

reporting period, together with the date

and amount of the transfer;

(v) Each person who makes a loan

during the reporting period to the

reporting committee or to the candidate

acting as an agent of the committee,

together with the identification of any

endorser or guarantor of the loan, the

date the loan was made, the amount or

value of the loan, and, where applicable,

the election(s) for which the loan was

made;

(vi) Each person who makes a loan

repayment to the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount of the

repayment;

(vii) Each person who provides an

offset to operating expenditures, such as

vendor rebates and refunds, to the

reporting committee, in an aggregate

amount in excess of $200 within the

calendar year, together with the date

and amount of the offset;

(viii) Each authorized committee for

other candidates for Federal office and

any other political committee which,

during the reporting period, refunds a

contribution made by the reporting

committee, together with the date of

receipt and amount of the refund; and

(ix) Each person who provides any

dividend, interest, reimbursement

received pursuant to 11 CFR 113.1(g) or

other receipt to the reporting committee,

in an aggregate amount in excess of

$200 within the calendar year, together

with the date and amount of the receipt.

(c) Reporting of Disbursements. Each

report filed under this section shall

disclose the total amount of

disbursements for the reporting period

and for the calendar year and shall

disclose the information set forth at

paragraph (c)(1) and (2) of this section.

If a committee has paid any

disbursements by credit card, the

committee shall report these in

accordance with paragraph (l) of this

section. The first report filed by a

committee shall also include all

amounts disbursed prior to becoming a

political committee under 11 CFR 100.5,

even if these amounts were not

disbursed during the current reporting

period.

(1) Categories of disbursements. Each

report shall disclose the total amount of

disbursements made during the

reporting period and during the

calendar year in each of the following

categories:

(i) Operating expenditures;

(A) Itemized expenditures;

(B) Unitemized expenditures;

(C) Total operating expenditures;

(ii) Transfers to other committees

authorized by the candidate;

(iii) Loan repayments made;

(A) Repayment of loans made by or

guaranteed by the candidate;

(B) Repayment of all other loans;

(C) Total loan repayments;

(iv) For an authorized committee of a

candidate for the office of President,

disbursements not subject to the

limitations of 11 CFR 110.8 (2 U.S.C.

441a(b));

(v) Refunds of contributions to

persons, including individuals but

excluding the candidate and political

committees;

(A) Itemized refunds;

(B) Unitemized refunds;

(vi) Refunds of contributions to

political committees;

(A) Party committees;

(B) Authorized committees for other

candidates for Federal office;

(C) Unauthorized committees other

than party committees;

(vii) Total contribution refunds (add

contribution refunds to persons and

contribution refunds to political

committees);

(viii) Contributions to committees

authorized by other candidates for

Federal office and to other political

committees;

(ix) Other disbursements, including

any disbursements to nonfederal

candidate committees;

(x) Total disbursements.

(2) Itemization of disbursements. Each

report shall disclose the full name and

address of each person in each of the

following categories, as well as the

information required by each category,

whether the disbursement was made by

the reporting committee or the

candidate acting as its agent. For each

disbursement governed by paragraphs

(c)(2)(i) or (viii) of this section, the

report shall disclose this information for

each vendor or other person to whom a

disbursement is made directly by the

committee, and shall contain a memo

entry for each vendor or other person to

whom a disbursement is made by an

agent of the committee.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50719

(i) Each person to whom an

expenditure in an aggregate amount or

value in excess of $200 within the

calendar year is made by the reporting

committee to meet the committee’s

operating expenses, together with the

date, amount, and purpose of the

operating expenditure;

(A) As used in paragraph (c)(2) of this

section, purpose means a brief statement

or description of why the disbursement

was made.

(B) Examples of statements or

descriptions which adequately describe

the purpose of a disbursement include

the following: dinner expenses, media,

salary, polling, travel, party fees, phone

banks, travel expenses, travel expense

reimbursement, and catering costs.

However, statements or descriptions

such as advance, election day expenses,

other expenses, expenses, expense

reimbursement, miscellaneous, outside

services, get-out-the-vote and voter

registration would not meet the

requirements of paragraph (c)(2) of this

section for reporting the purpose of an

expenditure.

(C) In addition to reporting the

purpose described in paragraph (c)(2)(i)

(A) and (B) of this section, whenever the

reporting committee itemizes a

disbursement that is partially or entirely

a personal use for which reimbursement

is required under 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(ii)

(C) or (D), it shall provide a brief

explanation of the activity for which

reimbursement is required.

(ii) Each committee authorized by the

same candidate to which a transfer is

made by the reporting committee during

the reporting period, together with the

date and amount of the transfer;

(iii) Each authorized committee for

other candidates for Federal office and

any other political committee which has

received a contribution from the

reporting committee during the

reporting period, together with the date

and amount of the contribution and, for

any authorized committee that has

received a contribution, the candidate’s

name, the election (e.g. primary or

general) and office sought (including

State or Congressional district, where

applicable);

(iv) Each person who receives a loan

repayment from the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount of the loan

repayment;

(A) All loan repayments from the

reporting committee;

(B) All loan repayments from the

candidate, if the proceeds of the loan

were used in connection with the

candidate’s campaign;

(C) For each loan repayment, the

committee shall either report the

principal and the interest as separate

disbursements, or, it shall report the

sum of these as a single disbursement.

If the committee applies the former

method, the principal shall be reported

on Schedules B and C as a loan

repayment and the interest shall be

reported on Schedule B as an operating

expenditure. If the committee applies

the latter method, the sum of the

principal and the interest shall be

reported on Schedule B as a loan

repayment and only the principal shall

be reported on Schedule C;

(D) The committee shall use one

reporting method for the duration of a

loan;

(v) Each person who has received a

loan from the reporting committee

during the reporting period, together

with the date and amount or value of

the loan, and for any authorized

committee that has received a loan, the

candidate’s name, the election and

office sought (including State or

Congressional district, where

applicable);

(vi) Each person who receives a

contribution refund from the reporting

committee during the reporting period

where the receipt of the contribution

was reported under paragraph (b)(4)(i)

of this section, together with the date

and amount of the refund;

(vii) Each political committee which

receives a contribution refund from the

reporting committee during the

reporting period where the receipt of the

contribution was reported under

paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section,

together with the date and amount of

the refund; and

(viii) Each person, including

nonfederal candidate committees, who

has received any disbursement during

the reporting period not otherwise

disclosed under paragraph (c)(2) of this

section, to whom the aggregate amount

or value of disbursements made by the

reporting committee exceeds $200

within the calendar year, together with

the date, amount, and purpose of the

disbursement(s).

(d) Summary of contributions and

operating expenditures. Each report

filed under this section shall disclose

for both the reporting period and the

calendar year:

(1)(i) The total contributions to the

reporting committee;

(ii) The total of contribution refunds;

(iii) The net contributions (subtract

total of contribution refunds from total

contributions);

(2) (i) The reporting committee’s total

Federal operating expenditures;

(ii) The total offsets to operating

expenditures; and

(iii) The net Federal operating

expenditures (subtract total offsets from

total Federal operating expenditures).

(e) Reporting debts and obligations.

(1) Each report filed under this section

shall, on Schedule C or D, as

appropriate, disclose the amount and

nature of outstanding debts and

obligations owed by or to the reporting

committee. Where these debts and

obligations are settled for less than their

reported amount or value, each report

filed under this section shall contain a

statement as to the circumstances and

conditions under which the debts or

obligations were extinguished and the

amount paid. See 11 CFR 116.7.

(2) A loan obtained by an individual

prior to becoming a candidate for use in

connection with that individual’s

campaign shall be reported as an

outstanding loan owed to the lender by

the candidate’s principal campaign

committee, if the loan is outstanding at

the time the individual becomes a

candidate.

(3) When a candidate or a committee

obtains a loan or a line of credit from

a lending institution as described in 11

CFR 100.7(b)(11) and 100.8(b)(12), it

shall disclose in the next due report the

following information on Schedule C–1

or C-P–1:

(i) The date and amount of the loan

or line of credit;

(ii) The interest rate and repayment

schedule of the loan or line of credit;

(iii) The types and value of traditional

collateral or other sources of repayment

that secure the loan or the line of credit,

and whether that security interest is

perfected;

(iv) An explanation of the basis upon

which the loan was made or the line of

credit established, if not made on the

basis of either traditional collateral or

other sources of repayment described in

11 CFR 100.7(b)(11)(i) (A) and (B) and

100.8(b)(12)(i) (A) and (B); and

(v) A certification from the lending

institution that the borrower’s responses

to paragraphs (e)(1)(i) through (iv) of

this section are accurate, to the best of

the lending institution’s knowledge; that

the loan was made or the line of credit

established on terms and conditions

(including interest rate) no more

favorable at the time than those imposed

for similar extensions of credit to other

borrowers of comparable credit

worthiness; and that the lending

institution is aware of the requirement

that a loan or line of credit must be

made on a basis which assures

repayment and that the lending

institution has complied with

Commission regulations at 11 CFR

100.7(b)(11) and 100.8(b)(12).
50720 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

(4) The committee shall submit a copy

of the loan or line of credit agreement

which describes the terms and

conditions of the loan or line of credit

when it files Schedule C–1 or C–P–1.

(5) The committee shall file with the

next due report a Schedule C–1 or C-P–

1 each time a loan or a line of credit is

restructured to change the terms of the

repayment.

(6) The committee shall report a

receipt of funds in the next due report,

on Schedule A, each time it makes a

draw on a line of credit.

(f) Use of pseudonyms. (1) To

determine whether the names and

addresses of its contributors are being

used in violation of 11 CFR 104.15 to

solicit contributions or for commercial

purposes, a committee may submit up to

ten (10) pseudonyms on each report

filed under this section.

(2) For purposes of this section, a

pseudonym is a wholly fictitious name

which does not represent the name of an

actual contributor to a committee.

(3) If a committee uses pseudonyms it

shall subtract the total dollar amount of

the fictitious contributions from the

total amount listed on line 11(a)(ii) of

the Detailed Summary page,

‘‘Contributions from Individuals/

Persons, Unitemized’’. Thus the

committee will, for this purpose only,

be overstating the amount received and

understating the amount of unitemized

contributions received.

(4) No committee which files reports

under this section shall attribute more

than $5,000 in contributions to the same

pseudonym in any calendar year.

(5) A committee using pseudonyms

shall send a list of the pseudonyms

under separate cover directly to the

Reports Analysis Division, Federal

Election Commission, 999 E Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20463, on or

before the date on which any report

containing such pseudonyms is filed

with the Secretary of the Senate or the

Commission. The Commission shall

maintain the list, but shall exclude it

from the public record. A committee

shall not send any list of pseudonyms

to the Secretary of the Senate or to any

Secretary of State or equivalent State

officer.

(6) A committee shall not use

pseudonyms for the purpose of

circumventing the reporting

requirements or the limitations and

prohibitions of the Act.

(g) Consolidated reports. Each

principal campaign committee shall

consolidate in each report those reports

required to be filed with it. These

consolidated reports shall include

reports submitted to it by any

authorized committees and the

principal campaign committee’s own

report. The consolidation shall be made

on FEC Form 3–Z and shall be

submitted with the reports of the

principal campaign committee and with

the reports, or applicable portions

thereof, of the committees shown on the

consolidation.

(h) Legal and accounting services. A

committee which receives legal or

accounting services pursuant to 11 CFR

100.7(b)(14) during the reporting period

shall report the services in accordance

with paragraphs (i) (1) or (2) of this

section.

(1) If the regular employer of person(s)

who provide the services has paid in

excess of $200 for the services during

the calendar year, the committee shall

report as a memo entry, on Schedule A,

the amounts paid for the services by the

regular employer together with the

date(s) the services were performed.

(2) For each regular employer who has

paid no more than $200 for the services

during the calendar year, the committee

shall report as a memo entry, on

Schedule A, the sum of the amount(s)

paid by each regular employer of

person(s) who provide the services. The

committee shall preserve all records of

these services, for the period required

by 11 CFR 102.9(c), to reflect the name

of each regular employer, the amounts

paid by each, and the date(s) the

services were performed.

(i) Cumulative reports. The reports

required to be filed under 11 CFR 104.5

shall be cumulative for the calendar

year to which they relate, but if there

has been no change in a category

reported in a previous report during that

year, only the amount thereof need be

carried forward.

(j) Earmarked contributions.

Earmarked contributions shall be

reported in accordance with 11 CFR

110.6. See also 11 CFR 102.8(c).

(k) Amending reports. A committee

shall change or correct a report

previously filed under this section, no

later than the next due report, after it

discovers an error, omission or change

in the information submitted in the

report. A committee may submit only

those pages that have been changed or

corrected, or it may refile the entire,

amended report. The committee shall

identify the changes, either in a cover

letter or on the amended pages or report,

by specifying the lines on the

Schedule(s) or Form(s) that have been

amended.

(l) Credit card payments. (1) Where a

committee has paid, by credit card, any

disbursement(s) subject to paragraphs

(c) (1) and (2) of this section, the

committee shall report these

disbursements in accordance with this

paragraph. For the purposes of this

section, a credit card represents a credit

account with a depository institution

(see 11 CFR 103.2) or other corporation

that is not a depository institution. A

credit account may permit the

committee to make a partial payment of

each monthly balance or may require

the committee to pay each monthly

balance in full.

(2) The reporting committee shall

itemize on Schedule B each payment to

a credit card issuer by specifying the

depository institution or other

corporation to which payment was

made, the date and amount of payment.

Where the committee has made a partial

payment of a monthly balance, the

committee shall report a memo entry for

the outstanding credit balance on

Schedule B and report the outstanding

balance as a debt to the extent required

by 11 CFR 104.11(b).

(3) Any disbursement reflected on a

monthly account statement for a credit

card, that otherwise is required to be

itemized by paragraph (c)(2) of this

section, shall be reported section, shall

be reported as a memo entry on

Schedule B in addition to the

information required under paragraph

(l)(2) of this section.

PART 108—FILING COPIES OF

REPORTS AND STATEMENTS WITH

STATE OFFICERS (2 U.S.C. 439)

6. The authority citation for part 108

would continue to read as follows:

Authority: 2 U.S.C. 434(a)(2), 438(a)(8),

439, 453.

7. Section 108.1 would be amended

by redesignating the text as paragraph

(a), revising the first sentence of newly

designated paragraph (a), and adding

new paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 108.1 Filing requirements (2 U.S.C.

439(a)(1)).

(a) Except as provided in paragraph

(b)(1) of this section, a copy of each

report and statement required to be filed

by any person under the Act shall be

filed either with the Secretary of State

of the appropriate State or with the State

officer who is charged by State law with

maintaining state election campaign

reports. * * *

(b)(1) The filing requirements and

duties of State officers under 11 CFR

part 108 shall not apply to a State if the

Commission has determined that the

State maintains a system that can

electronically receive and duplicate

reports and statements filed with the

Commission.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (b)(1)

of this section shall not apply to reports

filed by candidates, and the authorized
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 50721

committees of candidates, for

nomination for election, or election, to

the office of Senator. See 11 CFR

108.3(a)(1).

8. Section 108.2 would be amended

by revising the first sentence to read as

follows:

§ 108.2 Filing copies of reports and

statements in connection with the

campaign of any candidate seeking

nomination for election to the Office of

President or Vice-President (2 U.S.C.

439(a)(2)).

Except as provided in 11 CFR

108.1(b)(1), a copy of each report and

statement required to be filed under the

Act (including 11 CFR part 104) by a

Presidential or Vice Presidential

candidate’s principal campaign

committee, or under 11 CFR 104.4 or

part 109 by any other person making

independent expenditures, in

connection with a candidate seeking

nomination for election to the office of

President or Vice-President, shall be

filed with the State officer of each State

in which an expenditure is made in

connection with the campaign of a

candidate seeking nomination for

election to the office of President or

Vice-President. * * *

9. Section 108.3 would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 108.3 Filing copies of reports and

statements in connection with the

campaign of any congressional candidate

(2 U.S.C. 439(a)(2)).

(a)(1) A copy of each report and

statement required to be filed under 11

CFR part 104 by candidates, and the

authorized committees of candidates,

for nomination for election, or election,

to the office of Senator, shall be filed

with the appropriate State officer of that

State in which an expenditure is made

in connection with the campaign.

(2) Except as provided in 11 CFR

108.1(b)(1), a copy of each report and

statement required to be filed by any

unauthorized committee under 11 CFR

part 104, or by any other person under

11 CFR part 109, in connection with a

campaign for nomination for election, or

election to, the office of Senator, shall

be filed with the appropriate State

officer of that State in which an

expenditure is made in connection with

the campaign.

(b) Except as provided in 11 CFR

108.1(b)(1), a copy of each report and

statement required to be filed under 11

CFR part 104 by candidates, and

authorized committees of candidates,

for nomination for election, or election,

to the office of Representative in,

Delegate or Resident Commissioner to

the Congress, or by unauthorized

committees, or by any other person

under 11 CFR part 109, in connection

with these campaigns shall be filed with

the appropriate State officer of that State

in which an expenditure is made in

connection with the campaign.

(c) Unauthorized committees that file

reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of this

section are required to file, and the

Secretary of State is required to retain,

only that portion of the report

applicable to candidates seeking

election in that State.

10. Section 108.4 would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 108.4 Filing copies of reports by

committees other than principal campaign

committees (2 U.S.C. 439(a)(2)).

Except as provided in 11 CFR

108.1(b)(1), any unauthorized

committee, which makes contributions

in connection with a Presidential

election and which is required to file a

report(s) and statement(s) under the Act,

shall file a copy of the report(s) and

statement(s) with the State officer of the

State in which both the recipient and

contributing committees have their

headquarters.

11. Section 108.6 would be amended

by revising the introductory text to read

as follows:

§ 108.6 Duties of State officers (2 U.S.C.

439(b)).

Except as provided in 11 CFR

108.1(b)(1), the Secretary of State, or the

equivalent State officer, shall carry out

the duties set forth in 11 CFR 108.6(a)

through (d):

* * * * *

12. Section 108.8 would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 108.8 Exemption for the District of

Columbia.

Any copy of a report required to be

filed with the equivalent officer in the

District of Columbia under 11 CFR part

108 shall be deemed to be filed if the

original has been filed with the

Secretary or the Commission, as

appropriate.

Dated: September 22, 1997.

John Warren McGarry,

Chairman, Federal Election Commission.

[FR Doc. 97–25477 Filed 9–25–97; 8:45 am]

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