81 FR 69721 - Rulemaking Petition: Political Party Rules

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 195 (October 7, 2016)

On June 15, 2016, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to revise existing rules regarding the use of federal funds to pay for certain activities of state, district, or local committees of a political party. The Commission seeks comments on this petition.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69721-69722]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24310]


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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Parts 100, 106, and 109

[Notice 2016-11]


Rulemaking Petition: Political Party Rules

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Rulemaking Petition: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On June 15, 2016, the Federal Election Commission received a 
Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to revise existing rules 
regarding the use of federal funds to pay for certain activities of 
state, district, or local committees of a political party. The 
Commission seeks comments on this petition.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 30, 2017.

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 2016-03, or by email to 
[email protected]. Alternatively, commenters may submit 
comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal Election Commission, 
Attn.: Mr. Neven F. Stipanovic, Acting 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. Neven F. Stipanovic, Acting 
Assistant General Counsel, or Mr. Joseph P. Wenzinger, Attorney, Office 
of General Counsel, 999 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694-
1650 or (800) 424-9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 2016, the Federal Election 
Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking from the Minnesota 
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and its Chair, Ken Martin, requesting 
that the Commission amend several regulations applicable to political 
parties.
    First, the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101-46 (the 
``Act''), as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (``BCRA''), 
and Commission regulations provide that a state, district, or local 
committee of a political party must pay for ``Federal election 
activity'' with either entirely federal funds or, in other instances, a 
mix of federal funds and ``Levin funds.'' See 52 U.S.C. 30125(b); 11 
CFR 300.32. Under Commission regulations, ``Federal election activity'' 
includes certain activities that urge, encourage, or assist people to 
register to vote or to vote. See 11 CFR 100.24; Definition of Federal 
Election Activity, 75 FR 55257, 55260 (Sept. 10, 2010). The petitioners 
request that the Commission narrow this definition.
    Second, Commission regulations provide that political parties must 
use a federal account to pay the salary, wages, and fringe benefits of 
an employee who spends more than 25 percent of that individual's time 
on ``Federal election activities'' or on conduct ``in connection with a 
Federal election.'' See 11 CFR 106.7(d)(1)(i)-(ii). The petitioners ask 
the Commission to amend this rule to omit ``Federal election 
activities'' from the calculation, covering only activities ``in 
connection with a Federal election.''
    Finally, the petitioners ask the Commission to consider additional 
regulatory modifications listed in Commission Agenda Document No. 15-
54-A, a proposed resolution that recommended amending several rules to 
(1) allow political parties ``to discuss issue advertisements with 
candidates,'' ``republish parts of candidate materials in party 
materials,'' and ``distribute volunteer campaign materials without 
triggering coordination limits,'' see 11 CFR 109.37; (2) ``[e]xpand 
political party freedom to engage in volunteer activities such as 
volunteer mail drives, phone banks, and literature distribution,'' see 
id. 100.87, 100.147; and (3) modify the definition of ``Federal 
election activity'' to permit ``political parties to register voters 
and urge citizens to vote on behalf of state and local candidates free 
from FEC regulation'' and to ``employ people to engage in state and 
local get-out-the-vote activities with state funds,'' see id. 100.24.
    The Commission seeks comments on the petition. The public may 
inspect the Petition for Rulemaking on the Commission's Web site at 
http://www.fec.gov/fosers, or in the Commission's Public Records 
Office,

[[Page 69722]]

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 #283.
    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: September 29, 2016.
Matthew S. Petersen,
Chairman, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-24310 Filed 10-6-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6715-01-P