This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

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REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

77373 

Vol. 79, No. 247 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014 

1 In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

published on the same day, the Commission 

requested comment on whether to begin a 

rulemaking to revise other regulations in light of 

certain language from the McCutcheon decision. 

See Aggregate Biennial Contribution Limits, 79 FR 

62361 (Oct. 17, 2014). That notice will remain open 

for comment until January 15, 2015. Id. 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

11 CFR Part 110 

[Notice 2014–16] 

Aggregate Biennial Contribution Limits 

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is adopting 

as a final rule, without change, an 

interim rule that removed regulatory 

limits on the aggregate amounts that an 

individual may contribute to federal 

candidates and political committees in 

each two-year election cycle. The 

Commission is taking this action in light 

of the Supreme Court’s recent decision 

in McCutcheon v. FEC, which held that 

the aggregate contribution limits are 

unconstitutional. 

DATES: Effective December 24, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Amy L. Rothstein, Assistant General 

Counsel, or Mr. Theodore M. Lutz, 

Attorney, 999 E Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694–1650 

or (800) 424–9530. Documents relating 

to the rulemaking record are available 

on the Commission’s Web site at 

http://www.fec.gov/fosers (REG 2014–07 

Removal of Aggregate Contribution 

Limits (McCutcheon)). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Federal Election Campaign Act, 

52 U.S.C. 30101–45 (formerly 2 U.S.C. 

431–55) (‘‘FECA’’), imposes limits on 

the aggregate amounts that an 

individual may contribute to federal 

candidates, political parties, and other 

political committees during a two-year 

election cycle. 52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(3) 

(formerly 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)). The 

Commission had implemented FECA’s 

aggregate limits in its regulations at 11 

CFR 110.5. 

On April 2, 2014, the United States 

Supreme Court held that the aggregate 

contribution limits are unconstitutional. 

McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. __, 134 S. 

Ct. 1434 (2014) (plurality op.). On 

October 17, 2014, the Commission 

published an interim rule to conform its 

regulations to the McCutcheon decision. 

See Aggregate Biennial Contribution 

Limits, 79 FR 62335 (Oct. 17, 2014). In 

its interim rule, the Commission deleted 

11 CFR 110.5 and made technical and 

conforming changes to 11 CFR 110.1(c), 

110.14(d) and (g), 110.17(b), and 

110.19.1 Id. The Commission sought 

comments on these changes. 

The Commission published the 

interim rule without advance notice and 

comment because it fell under the ‘‘good 

cause’’ exception of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (‘‘APA’’), 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B). The revisions were necessary 

to conform the Commission’s 

regulations to the Supreme Court’s 

holding that the statutory aggregate 

limits are unconstitutional. See 

McCutcheon, 134 S. Ct. at 1442. Because 

this action did not involve any 

Commission discretion or policy 

judgments, notice and comment were 

unnecessary. 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), (d)(3). 

A pre-publication notice and comment 

period would also have been contrary to 

the public interest because the 2014 

election campaigns for federal office 

were ongoing, and so the delay that 

would have resulted from such a period 

might have caused confusion among the 

public as to the enforceability of the 

regulations addressed in the interim 

rule. 

For the same reasons, the revisions 

fell within the ‘‘good cause’’ exception 

to the APA’s delayed effective date 

provision and the requirements of the 

Congressional Review Act. 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), 808(2). Moreover, because the 

interim rule was exempt from the APA’s 

notice and comment procedure under 5 

U.S.C. 553(b), the Commission was not 

required to conduct a regulatory 

flexibility analysis under 5 U.S.C. 603 or 

604. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2), 604(a). Nor 

was the Commission required to submit 

these revisions for congressional review 

under FECA. See 52 U.S.C. 30111(d)(1), 

(4) (formerly 2 U.S.C. 438(d)(1), (4)) 

(providing for congressional review 

when Commission ‘‘prescribe[s]’’ a 

‘‘rule of law’’). Accordingly, the 

revisions were effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register— 

that is, on October 17, 2014. 

Explanation and Justification 

FECA imposes two types of limits on 

the amount that individuals may 

contribute in connection with federal 

elections. The ‘‘base limits’’ restrict how 

much an individual may contribute to a 

particular candidate or political 

committee per election or calendar year. 

See 52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1) (formerly 2 

U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)). The ‘‘aggregate 

limits’’ restrict the amounts that an 

individual may contribute to all 

candidate committees, political party 

committees, and other political 

committees in each two-year election 

cycle. See 52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(3) 

(formerly 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)). Under the 

aggregate limits, as indexed for inflation 

in the 2013–14 election cycle, an 

individual could contribute up to 

$48,600 to candidates and their 

authorized committees, and up to 

$74,600 to other political committees, of 

which no more than $48,600 could be 

contributed to political committees 

other than national party committees. 

See Price Index Adjustments for 

Contribution and Expenditure 

Limitations and Lobbyist Bundling 

Disclosure Threshold, 78 FR 8530, 8532 

(Feb. 6, 2013). 

On April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court 

held that the aggregate contribution 

limits at 52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(3) (formerly 

2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) are 

unconstitutional. See McCutcheon, 134 

S. Ct. at 1442, 1450–59. The Court’s 

decision did not affect the base limits. 

See id. at 1442. 

Accordingly, in the interim rule, the 

Commission removed the regulation at 

11 CFR 110.5 that implemented FECA’s 

aggregate contribution limits. The 

Commission also made technical and 

conforming amendments to 11 CFR 

110.1(c)(3) (contributions to party 

committees), 110.14(d)(1) (contributions 

to delegates), 110.14(g)(2) (contributions 

to delegate committees), 110.17(b) (price 

index increases), and 110.19 

(contributions by minors). 

The Commission received three 

comments on the interim rule. One 

commenter argued in favor of ‘‘limiting 

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77374 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

2Additionally, the comment asked the 

Commission to take action in several other 

rulemakings that are unrelated to the final rule 

addressed here and to refrain from further revising 

its regulations in light of the McCutcheon decision. 

contributions that can be made by one 

person/corporation’’ and by non-profit 

organizations. A second commenter 

urged the Commission to evaluate ‘‘anticorruption and small donation/public 

financing proposals,’’ including those at 

the state and local levels, and to 

‘‘petition the Congress and the 

Administration for a change.’’ In 

response, the Commission notes that, as 

explained above, the revisions made in 

the interim rule were necessary to 

conform the Commission’s regulations 

to the Supreme Court’s holding in 

McCutcheon, see 134 S. Ct. at 1442, and 

did not involve any Commission 

discretion or policy judgments. The 

Commission is considering whether to 

commence a separate rulemaking to 

address other issues related to the 

McCutcheon decision. See supra n.1. 

A third comment, filed by a national 

party committee, supported the 

revisions made in the interim rule. The 

commenter agreed that the changes 

made in the interim rule were necessary 

to conform Commission regulations to 

the McCutcheon decision, and the 

commenter stated that the interim rule 

‘‘completely implements the 

McCutcheon decision.’’ 2

Accordingly, after consideration of 

the comments, and for the reasons set 

forth above and in the interim rule, the 

Commission is adopting, as a final rule 

and without change, the revisions made 

to Commission regulations by the 

interim rule. 

List of Subjects in 11 CFR Part 110 

Campaign funds, Political committees 

and parties. 

PART 110—CONTRIBUTION AND 

EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND 

PROHIBITIONS 

Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 11 CFR part 110, which was 

published at 79 FR 62335 on October 

17, 2014, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

On behalf of the Commission, 

Dated: December 18, 2014. 

Lee E. Goodman, 

Chairman, Federal Election Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30222 Filed 12–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6715–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0759; Directorate 

Identifier 2014–CE–028–AD; Amendment 

39–18052; AD 2014–26–01] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Alpha 

Aviation Concept Limited Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Alpha 

Aviation Concept Limited Model R2160 

airplanes. This AD results from 

mandatory continuing airworthiness 

information (MCAI) issued by an 

aviation authority of another country to 

identify and correct an unsafe condition 

on an aviation product. The MCAI 

describes the unsafe condition as paint 

adherence defects inside the engine air 

intake box and cohesion defects inside 

the laminated ducting from the filter to 

the air intake box. We are issuing this 

AD to require actions to address the 

unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective January 28, 

2015. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in the AD 

as of January 28, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=FAA-2014-0759; or in 

person at Document Management 

Facility, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Alpha Aviation, 59 

Hautapu Road, RD 1, Cambridge 3493, 

New Zealand; telephone: +64 7 827 

0528; fax: +64 7 929 2878; Internet: 

www.alphaaviation.co.nz. You may 

review this referenced service 

information at the FAA, Small Airplane 

Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (816) 329–4148. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl 

Schletzbaum, Aerospace Engineer, 901 

Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329– 

4123; fax: (816) 329–4090; email: 

karl.schletzbaum@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to add an AD that would apply 

to Alpha Aviation Concept Limited 

Model R2160 airplanes. The NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 2, 2014 (79 FR 59465). The 

NPRM proposed to correct an unsafe 

condition for the specified products and 

was based on mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

originated by an aviation authority of 

another country. The MCAI states: 

To prevent loss of engine power due to a 

possible paint adherence defect inside the 

engine air intake box, accomplish the 

following: 

Inspect the engine air intake box (including 

the deflection flap) and the engine air intake 

ducting (include the area downstream of the 

filter) per Alpha Aviation Service Bulletin 

No. AA–SB–71–007 dated August 2014 or 

later approved revisions. 

If any defects are found, replace affected 

parts per SB No. AA–SB–71–007 before 

further flight. 

The MCAI can be found in the AD 

docket on the Internet at: http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=FAA-2014-0759- 

0002. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

received no comments on the NPRM (79 

FR 59465, October 2, 2014) or on the 

determination of the cost to the public. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the relevant data and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

as proposed except for minor editorial 

changes. We have determined that these 

minor changes: 

• Are consistent with the intent that 

was proposed in the NPRM (79 FR 

59465, October 2, 2014) for correcting 

the unsafe condition; and 

• Do not add any additional burden 

upon the public than was already 

proposed in the NPRM (79 FR 59465, 

October 2, 2014). 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

10 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it would take about 1 

work-hour per product to comply with 

the basic requirements of this AD. The 

average labor rate is $85 per work-hour. 

Based on these figures, we estimate 

the cost of this AD on U.S. operators to 

be $850, or $85 per product. 

In addition, we estimate that any 

necessary follow-on actions would take 

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