80 FR 45115 - Rulemaking Petition: Contributions From Corporations and Other Organizations to Political Committees

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 145 (July 29, 2015)

On May 14, 2015, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking that asks the Commission to revise existing rules concerning the reporting of contributions to political committees from corporations and other organizations. The Commission seeks comments on this petition.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 45115]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18495]


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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Parts 102, 104, 110

[Notice 2015-10]


Rulemaking Petition: Contributions From Corporations and Other 
Organizations to Political Committees

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Rulemaking petition; notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On May 14, 2015, the Federal Election Commission received a 
Petition for Rulemaking that asks the Commission to revise existing 
rules concerning the reporting of contributions to political committees 
from corporations and other organizations. The Commission seeks 
comments on this petition.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 27, 2015.

ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters are encouraged 
to submit comments electronically via the Commission's Web site at 
http://www.fec.gov/fosers, reference REG 2015-03, or by email to 
[email protected]. Alternatively, commenters may submit 
comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal Election Commission, 
Attn.: Robert M. Knop, Assistant General Counsel, 999 E Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20463.
    Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name, 
last name, city, state, and zip code. All properly submitted comments, 
including attachments, will become part of the public record, and the 
Commission will make comments available for public viewing on the 
Commission's Web site and in the Commission's Public Records room. 
Accordingly, commenters should not provide in their comments any 
information that they do not wish to make public, such as a home street 
address, personal email address, date of birth, phone number, social 
security number, or driver's license number, or any information that is 
restricted from disclosure, such as trade secrets or commercial or 
financial information that is privileged or confidential.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert M. Knop, Assistant General 
Counsel, or Mr. Sean J. Wright, Attorney, Office of General Counsel, 
999 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694-1650 or (800) 424-
9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 14, 2015, the Federal Election 
Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking from Make Your Laws PAC, 
Inc. and Make Your Laws Advocacy, Inc. The petition asks the Commission 
to modify its regulations requiring disclosure of contributions from 
corporations and other organizations to political committees.
    The Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101-46 (the 
``Act''), and Commission regulations require all political committees 
to abide by certain organizational, record-keeping, and reporting 
requirements. See 52 U.S.C. 30102, 30103, 30104; 11 CFR 102.1, 102.2, 
102.7, 104.3. This includes maintaining records of contribution 
receipts and disbursements, reporting independent expenditures, and 
filing periodic disclosure reports that identify the source of each 
contribution exceeding $200. See 11 CFR 104.3(a)(4)(i), 104.4, 
104.5(c). Commission regulations also require every person who makes 
electioneering communications aggregating in excess of $10,000 in a 
calendar year and every person (other than a political committee) that 
makes independent expenditures in excess of $250 with respect to a 
given election in a calendar year to report certain information to the 
Commission. 11 CFR 104.20(b) and (c), 109.10(b) and (e); 52 U.S.C. 
30104(c)(1) and (2), (f).
    The petition asks the Commission to establish a new rule requiring 
that ``any person, other than a natural person, contributing an 
aggregate of more than $1,000 in any calendar year to any political 
committee, whether directly or indirectly'' (emphasis omitted), must do 
so from an account subject to certain reporting requirements. 
Specifically, the petition asks the Commission to require that these 
accounts disclose ``the original source of all election-related 
contributions and expenditures, traceable through all intermediary 
entities to a natural person, regardless of the amounts or entities 
involved'' (emphasis omitted). The petition also asks the Commission to 
apply to these accounts the identification requirements of 11 CFR 
100.12; the Act's prohibition on foreign national contributions, 52 
U.S.C. 30121; allocation rules for administrative expenses; and, in 
some circumstances, the Act's limitations on contributions to political 
committees.
    The Commission seeks comments on the petition. The public may 
inspect the petition on the Commission's Web site at http://www.fec.gov/fosers, or in the Commission's Public Records Office, 999 E 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20463, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 
5 p.m. Interested persons may also obtain a copy of the petition by 
dialing the Commission's Faxline service at (202) 501-3413 and 
following its instructions. Request document #279.
    The Commission will not consider the petition's merits until after 
the comment period closes. If the Commission decides that the petition 
has merit, it may begin a rulemaking proceeding. The Commission will 
announce any action that it takes in the Federal Register.

    On behalf of the Commission,

    Dated: July 16, 2015.
Ann M. Ravel,
Chair, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-18495 Filed 7-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6715-01-P