[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42619-42624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17486]


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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Part 104

[Notice 2000-15]


Election Cycle Reporting by Authorized Committees

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Final rules and transmittal of regulations to Congress.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Election Commission is revising its regulations to 
require authorized committees of Federal candidates to aggregate, 
itemize and report all receipts and disbursements on an election-cycle 
basis rather than on a calendar-year-to-date basis. Beginning with 
reporting periods that start on or after January 1, 2001, authorized 
committees must report their receipts and disbursements on an election-
cycle basis. Please note that this change affects only authorized 
committees of Federal candidates and does not affect unauthorized 
committees or other persons. This requirement reflects recent changes 
in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. The intent of these rules 
is to simplify recordkeeping and reporting requirements for authorized 
committees of Federal candidates and to better disclose receipts and 
disbursements that occur during an election cycle. Further information 
is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

DATES: Further action, including the publication of a document in the 
Federal Register announcing an effective date, will be taken after 
these regulations have been before Congress for 30 legislative days 
pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 438(d).

[[Page 42620]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rosemary Smith, Assistant General 
Counsel, or Cheryl Fowle, Attorney, 999 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20463, (202) 694-1650 or (800) 424-9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is publishing today the final 
text of revisions to the regulations at 11 CFR 104.3, 104.7, 104.8 and 
104.9. These rules implement section 641 of Public Law 106-58 (Pub. L. 
No. 106-58, 106th Cong. 1st Sess., Sec. 641, 113 Stat. 430, 477 
(1999)), which amended section 434(b) of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971, 2 U.S.C. 431 et seq. (``FECA'' or ``the Act''), to 
require, inter alia, that the Commission require the authorized 
committees of Federal candidates to aggregate and report their receipts 
and disbursements on an election-cycle-to-date basis, rather than a 
calendar-year-to-date basis, as was previously required. The goals of 
the 1999 amendment to the FECA and the new rules are to simplify 
recordkeeping and reporting for authorized committees by itemizing 
contributions, other receipts, and disbursements on the same election-
cycle-to-date basis, and to provide the public with more relevant 
information for the current election cycle. 145 Cong. Rec. E1896-02, 
September 17, 1999 (statement of Hon. William M. Thomas). The 1999 
amendment to the FECA requires these rules to be effective for reports 
covering periods after December 31, 2000.
    Section 438(d) of Title 2, United States Code requires that any 
rules or regulations prescribed by the Commission to carry out the 
provisions of Title 2 of the United States Code be transmitted to the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate 
30 legislative days before they are finally promulgated. These 
regulations were transmitted to Congress on July 6, 2000.

Explanation and Justification

    The Commission initiated this rulemaking by publishing a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') in the Federal Register on May 3, 2000, 
65 FR 25672 (May 3, 2000). The NPRM contained proposed rules at 11 CFR 
104.3, 104.8 and 104.9 requiring authorized committees of Federal 
candidates to itemize and report their receipts and disbursements on an 
election cycle basis. The proposed rules used the definition of 
election cycle at 11 CFR 100.3(b), under which the election cycle 
begins the day after the general election for a seat or office and ends 
on the day of the next general election for that seat or office. The 
NPRM also contained two alternative approaches to the definition of 
election cycle. Under alternative one, the election cycle, for 
reporting purposes, would begin on January 1 of the year following the 
general election and end on December 31 of the year of the next general 
election. Under alternative two, the election cycle would begin twenty-
one days after the general election for a seat or office and would end 
twenty days after the next general election for that seat or office. 
Additionally, under the second alternative, the contribution limit 
regulations at 11 CFR 110.1 and 110.2 would have been revised to 
require that undesignated contributions made up until the twentieth day 
after the election would aggregate to the contributor's contribution 
limit for the election that was just held.\1\
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    \1\ Issues concerning election cycle are discussed below.
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    The comment period ended on June 2, 2000. The Commission received 
two comments from the Project On Government Oversight and Eliza Newlin 
Carney, a staff correspondent for the National Journal. One commenter 
stated that it has studied the problems with reviewing and searching 
FEC records and has found it very difficult to determine the amounts of 
individual contributions reported for a specific election. The 
commenter stated that the proposed rules directly correct the problem 
and that it fully supports their implementation. The second commenter 
was concerned that the rulemaking would eliminate year-end reports. The 
revised rules do not change the filing of year-end reports, or the 
filing frequency of any other reports, which are mandated by Sec. 434 
of the FECA. The rules simply alter the manner in which authorized 
committees aggregate and disclose their receipts and disbursements 
within the required reports. In addition, a comment from the Internal 
Revenue Service (``IRS'') stated that the proposed rules are not 
inconsistent with IRS regulations or the Internal Revenue Code.
    The final rules are identical to the rules proposed in the NPRM. 
Revisions to 11 CFR 104.3 state that the specified contents of 
authorized committee's reports must be disclosed for the reporting 
period and the election-cycle-to-date. Section 104.7 is being amended 
to change references to authorized committee's itemizations of 
contributions aggregating in excess of $200 per calendar year to $200 
per election cycle and to provide authorized committees with examples 
of clear statements requesting contributor information, which are 
required on written solicitations. Sections 104.8 and 104.9 are being 
revised to require authorized committees to provide identifying 
information for contributors whose contributions total over $200 within 
the election cycle and for persons to whom expenditures and other 
disbursements exceed $200 within the election cycle.

Section 104.3  Contents of Reports (2 U.S.C. 434(b), 439a)

    The Commission's regulations at 11 CFR 104.3 set forth the required 
contents of reports of receipts and disbursements. Section 104.3 is 
being revised to state that the specified contents of authorized 
committee's reports must be disclosed for the reporting period and for 
the election cycle-to-date rather than for the reporting period and 
calendar year-to-date. Please note that this amendment to the FECA does 
not affect unauthorized committees and the Commission is not issuing 
new rules modifying the calendar year reporting system they currently 
use, or changing the forms they file at this time.\2\
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    \2\ On March 10, 2000, the Commission sent a legislative 
recommendation to Congress recommending a clarifying amendment that 
would remove the election cycle language from 2 U.S.C. 
434(b)(6)(B)(iii) and (v) because 2 U.S.C. 434(b)(6)(B) applies 
solely to unauthorized committees.
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    The introductory language of paragraph (a) is being revised to 
state that authorized committees must disclose their receipts for the 
reporting period and for the election cycle.
    Paragraph (a)(3) is being revised to state that authorized 
committees must report the amount of each category of receipt listed in 
that paragraph for the reporting period and the election cycle.
    A parenthetical statement is being added to paragraphs (a)(4)(i) to 
require authorized committees to identify each contributor whose 
election cycle-to-date total contributions exceeds $200.\3\ 
Parenthetical statements are also being added to paragraphs (a)(4)(v) 
and (vi) to require authorized committees to identify each person whose 
election-cycle-to-date total rebates, refunds or other offsets to 
operating expenditures, or total dividends, interest or other

[[Page 42621]]

receipts provided to the authorized committee exceeds $200.
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    \3\ The Commission notes that publicly funded Presidential 
candidates are required to provide in their matching fund 
submissions, contributor information for contributors whose 
aggregate contributions exceed $200 per calendar year. 11 CFR 
9036.1(b)(1)(ii). Since the statutory amendments did not alter the 
matching fund submission process, no changes are being made to the 
Commission's matching fund regulations applicable to the 2000 
election or future elections.
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    Similarly, paragraph (b) is being revised to state that authorized 
committees must disclose their disbursements for the reporting period 
and for the election cycle.
    Paragraph (b)(2) is being amended to state that authorized 
committees must report the amount of each category of disbursement 
listed in this paragraph for the reporting period and the election 
cycle.
    Paragraph (b)(4)(i) is being revised to require authorized 
committees to identify each person to whom expenditures in an aggregate 
amount exceeding $200 within the election cycle are made to meet the 
authorized committee's operating expenditures.\4\
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    \4\ While the amendment requires all disbursements including 
operating expenditures to be aggregated and reported on an election-
cycle basis, it does not require that operating expenditures be 
itemized on an election-cycle basis. Thus, the effect of the 
amendment is that operating expenditures would be reported on the 
summary pages on an election-cycle basis and itemized on Schedule B 
on a calendar-year basis. On March 10, 2000, the Commission 
submitted to Congress a legislative recommendation that Congress 
amend the FECA by requiring operating expenditures to be itemized on 
an election cycle basis rather than on a per calendar year basis. 
The final rules proceed on the assumption that Congress will pass an 
amendment to the Act to correct this inconsistency prior to the 
January 1, 2001, effective date required by Public Law 106-58.
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    Paragraph (b)(4)(vi) is being reworded to require authorized 
committees to identify each person who has received any disbursements 
not otherwise itemized under paragraph (b)(4)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or 
(v) aggregating in excess of $200 within the election cycle.
    Paragraph (i) is being revised to require that all reports filed by 
authorized committees under section 104.5 be cumulative for the 
election cycle rather than for the calendar year.
    New paragraph (k) is being added to ensure the accurate reporting 
of election cycle-to-date activity for those candidates who are in mid-
election cycle on January 1, 2001, when these regulations take effect. 
While receipts and disbursements made between November 8, 2000 (the day 
after the general election) and December 31, 2000, will be reported in 
the year-to-date totals for 2000 in the post-general election report 
and the year-end report, under new paragraph (k) of 11 CFR 104.3, these 
amounts must also be included in the election cycle-to-date aggregation 
totals that are reported beginning in 2001. Similarly, some candidates 
for the U. S. Senate in 2002 and 2004 and possibly some Presidential 
candidates for the 2004 election may have two, three, four or more 
years of previously reported receipts and disbursements. These amounts 
must also be included in the election-cycle-to-date figures reported on 
the first report covering financial activity occurring in 2001.
    On the Detailed Summary Page of each report filed for the first 
election cycle in which these rules are in effect, election-cycle-to-
date totals should be reported for each category of receipts (except 
itemized and unitemized contributions from individuals) and each 
category of disbursements. Please note that the Commission is creating 
a one-time worksheet to assist authorized committees in aggregating 
election-cycle-to-date data because this might require some authorized 
committees to aggregate several years of previously reported receipts 
and disbursements. However, the Commission is not making any changes to 
either the Detailed Summary Page, or the schedules of contributions or 
expenditures, that would necessitate the filing of amendments to 
reports covering pre-2001 financial activity.
    The Commission received no comments on the proposed amendments to 
11 CFR 104.3.

Section 104.7  Best Efforts (2 U.S.C. 432(i))

    Under 11 CFR 104.7, treasurers are required to exercise best 
efforts to obtain, maintain and report certain identifying information 
for contributors whose total contributions exceed $200 in a calendar 
year. An amendment to paragraph (b) of 11 CFR 104.7 revises the 
references to $200 in a calendar year to $200 in an election cycle with 
regard to contributions itemized by authorized committees. This 
revision is consistent with the changes to the regulations at 11 CFR 
104.3 requiring authorized committees to itemize contributions from any 
contributor aggregating in excess of $200 per election cycle. Paragraph 
(b) of 11 CFR 104.7 requires written solicitations to contain a clear 
statement requesting contributor information. The previous regulations 
gave two examples of clear statements. The Commission is adding two new 
examples at 11 CFR 104.7(b)(1)(i)(B) for authorized committees.
    Paragraph (b)(3) of 11 CFR 104.7 requires political committees to 
disclose contributor information not supplied by the contributor if the 
political committees have the information in their records or reports 
filed within the same ``two-year election cycle.'' Paragraph (b)(4)(ii) 
of 11 CFR 104.7 requires that if political committees file an amendment 
containing contributor information received after contributions are 
disclosed, they must amend every report containing itemized 
contributions from those contributors for the ``two-year election 
cycle.'' The Commission sought comments on possibly revising paragraphs 
(b)(3) and (b)(4)(ii) to require authorized committees to supply 
information found in reports filed within the entire election cycle and 
to amend all reports disclosing itemized contributions from the 
contributor during the election cycle. Such a revision would require 
authorized committees to maintain copies of records and reports for the 
entire cycle (two, four or six years for House, Presidential and Senate 
candidates, respectively). Since the FECA requires political committees 
to maintain records and reports for a period of three years (2 U.S.C. 
432(d)), the Commission has decided not to revise paragraph (b)(3) and 
(b)(4)(ii). For purposes of further clarification, ``two-year election 
cycle'' means the most recent two years in the current election cycle.
    The Commission received no comments on this section.

Section 104.8  Uniform Reporting of Receipts

    Section 104.8(a) requires a political committee, if it knows an 
individual contributor's name has changed since an earlier contribution 
reported during the calendar year, to note the exact name or address 
previously used with the first reported contribution from that 
contributor subsequent to the name changes. A parenthetical is being 
added to note that an authorized committee is required to provide such 
information if it knows a contributor's name has changed within the 
election cycle.
    A new parenthetical is being added to paragraph (b) of 11 CFR 104.8 
to require authorized committees to aggregate contributions from an 
individual on an election cycle basis rather than on the calendar year 
basis.
    The Commission received no comments on this section.

Section 104.9  Uniform Reporting of Disbursements

    Paragraph (a) of 11 CFR 104.9 is being revised to require 
authorized committees to report certain identifying information for 
each person to whom disbursements totaling over $200 are made within 
the election cycle, rather than within the calendar year, as previously 
required.
    Revised paragraph (b) of 11 CFR 104.9 requires authorized 
committees to disclose certain identifying information about any 
recipient to whom an expenditures totaling over $200 are made within 
the election cycle, rather

[[Page 42622]]

than for the calendar year, as was previously required.
    The Commission received no comments on this section.

Definition of Election Cycle

    Under 11 CFR 100.3(b), an election cycle begins on the day after 
the general election for the office or seat that the candidate seeks 
and ends on the day of the next general election for that seat or 
office.\5\ For example, for many candidates for the House of 
Representatives, the 2004 election cycle begins the day after the 
general election in 2002 and ends on the day of the general election in 
2004. Please note that the length of the election cycle varies 
depending on the office sought. The election cycle is two years for 
candidates for the House of Representatives, six years for Senate 
candidates and four years for Presidential candidates.
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    \5\ Please note that in the case of a runoff election after the 
general election, the election cycle would end on the day of the 
runoff election. Advisory Opinions 1993-2 and 1983-16.
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    For purposes of the contribution limits of 2 U.S.C. 441a and 11 CFR 
110.1 and 110.2, contributions to candidates and their authorized 
committees are aggregated on per election basis. Contribution 
aggregation regulations at 11 CFR 110.1 and 110.2 state that post-
election contributions can only be made to the extent the recipient 
political committee has net debts outstanding, and these contributions 
must be properly designated for the previous election. 11 CFR 
110.1(b)(3)(i) and 110.2(b)(3)(i). Those regulations further require 
that any undesignated post-election contributions be applied to the 
donor's contribution limit for the next election in which the recipient 
will be a candidate. In FEC v. Haley,\6\ the Ninth Circuit Court of 
Appeals upheld the Commission's aggregation regulations at 11 CFR 
110.1, ruling that post-election loan guarantees for a loan used to 
retire general-election debt were contributions subject to the limits 
and aggregation rules in Part 110 of 11 CFR.\7\
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    \6\ 852 F.2d 1111 (1988).
    \7\ At the time of the Haley loan guarantees in 1983, 11 CFR 
110.1 stated that properly designated post-primary contributions 
were allowed only to the extent that the recipient committee had net 
debts outstanding. AO 1977-24 interpreted these rules to apply also 
to post-general election contributions. The regulations were 
clarified in a 1987 rulemaking. See Explanation and Justification 
for Rules on Contributions by persons other than multicandidate 
committees, 52 FR 761 (January 9, 1987).
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    In addition to the proposed rules, the NPRM also offered two 
alternatives approaches to defining election cycle, neither of which 
was included in the proposed rules.
    Alternative 1. The first alternative was to add a new paragraph (c) 
to 11 CFR 104.1 stating that for reporting purposes only, authorized 
committees shall begin the ``election cycle'' on January 1 of the year 
following the general election for a seat or office and shall end the 
election cycle on December 31 of the calendar year in which the next 
general election for that seat or office is held (e.g., January 1, 
2003, to December 31, 2004, for House candidates). This approach has 
the advantage of causing less change to reporting practices and 
avoiding the need to include election-cycle-to-date figures for two 
different election cycles in post-general election reports (or year-end 
reports where no post-general report is filed). While the Commission 
recognizes that advantage, it is not adopting this alternative because 
it creates a greater discrepancy in the contribution totals reported 
for the election cycle and the contribution totals that actually accrue 
to the election just held. Under this alternative, undesignated 
contributions received after the general election but before January 1 
of the following year are reported in the election cycle to date totals 
for the general election that was just held, even though these 
contributions count toward the contribution limits for the next 
election. Additionally, this approach introduces a definition of 
election cycle into the regulations that is different than the one in 
11 CFR 100.3(b), which relates to determining whether an individual is 
a candidate. The Commission received no comments on this alternative.
    Alternative 2. Under the second alternative approach, for both 
reporting and contribution limit purposes, authorized committees would 
begin the election cycle on the twenty-first day after the general 
election for the seat or office the candidate is seeking (the day after 
the end of the post-general election reporting period) and end the 
election cycle on the twentieth day after the next general election for 
the seat or office the candidate is seeking (the day the post-general 
reporting period ends for that election). Under this alternative, both 
11 CFR 100.3(b) (election cycle definition) and 11 CFR 104.3 
(reporting) would need to be amended. In addition, the contribution 
limit regulations at 11 CFR 110.1 and 110.2 would need to be changed to 
modify the attribution date of undesignated contributions for a general 
election from election day to the twentieth day after the election.
    Under this approach, the post-general election report covers only 
one election cycle. Nevertheless, for candidates who do not participate 
in the general election (and therefore who do not file a post-general 
election report), the year-end report covers activity occurring both 
before the twentieth day after the election and after the twentieth 
day, and thus, spans two election cycles.
    The Commission did not adopt Alternative 2 because it believes 
Congress did not intend to amend the contribution aggregation rules. 
Section 641 of Public Law 106-58 amended only 2 U.S.C. 434(b), 
``Contents or Reports.'' There is no evidence, either on the face of 
the statute or in its legislative history, indicating Congressional 
intent to alter the current regulations upheld in Haley (see 
discussion, supra) that contributions aggregate as of the date of the 
election. The Commission has concluded that the legislative intent was 
simply to change the basis for the contents of reports by authorized 
committees to provide better disclosure of financial activity from the 
beginning of the campaign to date. While neither Haley nor the lack of 
Congressional direction would prohibit the Commission from revising its 
contribution aggregation rules, the Commission has concluded that it is 
unnecessary and undesirable to alter those settled rules in this 
rulemaking. The Commission received no comments on this alternative.

Changes to FEC Forms 3 and 3P

    The Commission recognizes that the 1999 amendment to the FECA and 
the new regulations will necessitate several changes to both the paper 
and electronic FEC Form 3 (used by House and Senate candidates' 
authorized committees to report receipts and disbursements) and FEC 
Form 3P (used by Presidential candidates' authorized committees to 
report receipts and disbursements). While most of the changes to the 
forms will consist of renaming headings and redrafting certain 
instructions, Forms 3 and 3P for the post-general election report (and 
the year-end report, if no post-general election report was filed) will 
have to be substantively changed. Section 434(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the FECA 
and 11 CFR 104.5 require that political committees file post-general 
election reports covering the period from the 19th day before the 
general election to the twentieth day after the general election. Thus, 
the post-general election covers two election cycles. Similarly, two 
election cycles will be covered in the year-end report for candidates 
who did not participate in the most recent general election (and 
therefore did not file a post-general election report). The Commission 
sought comments as to the simplest and easiest way for political 
committees to report separately the financial activity for each cycle, 
given

[[Page 42623]]

that the activity occurred within the time period covered by the post-
general election report or year-end report. The Commission received no 
comments on this issue. The Commission expects to transmit revised 
forms to Congress later this year.

Certification of No Effect Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) (Regulatory 
Flexibility Act)

    These final rules will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only small entities subject 
to these regulations are candidates for Federal office and their 
authorized committees. The rules implement statutory reporting 
requirements that Congress enacted to reduce inadvertent violations of 
the contribution limits. Therefore, there will be no significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects in 11 CFR Part 104

    Campaign funds, Political committees and parties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


    For the reasons set out in the preamble, subchapter A, chapter I of 
title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 104--REPORTS BY POLITICAL COMMITTEES

    1. The authority citation for part 104 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 2 U.S.C. 431(1), 431(8), 431(9), 432(i), 434, 
438(a)(8), 438(b), 439a.


    2. Section 104.3 is amended by revising paragraph (a) introductory 
text, paragraph (a)(3) introductory text, paragraph (a)(4) introductory 
text, paragraphs (a)(4)(i), (v) and (vi), paragraph (b) introductory 
text, paragraph (b)(2) introductory text, paragraphs (b)(4)(i) and 
(vi), paragraph (c) introductory text, and paragraph (i), and by adding 
paragraph (k) to read as follows:


Sec. 104.3  Contents of reports (2 U.S.C. 434(b), 439a).

    (a) Reporting of Receipts. Each report filed under Sec. 104.1 shall 
disclose the total amount of receipts for the reporting period and for 
the calendar year (or for the election cycle, in the case of an 
authorized committee) and shall disclose the information set forth at 
paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this section. The first report 
filed by a political committee shall also include all amounts received 
prior to becoming a political committee under Sec. 100.5 of this 
chapter, even if such amounts were not received during the current 
reporting period.
* * * * *
    (3) Categories of receipts for authorized committees. An authorized 
committee of a candidate for Federal office shall report the total 
amount of receipts received during the reporting period and, except for 
itemized and unitemized breakdowns, during the election cycle in each 
of the following categories:
* * * * *
    (4) Itemization of receipts for all political committees including 
authorized and unauthorized committees. The identification (as defined 
at Sec. 100.12 of this chapter) of each contributor and the aggregate 
year-to-date (or aggregate election-cycle-to-date, in the case of an 
authorized committee) total for such contributor in each of the 
following categories shall be reported.
    (i) Each person, other than any political committee, who makes a 
contribution to the reporting political committee during the reporting 
period, whose contribution or contributions aggregate in excess of $200 
per calendar year (or per election cycle in the case of an authorized 
committee), together with the date of receipt and amount of any such 
contributions, except that the reporting political committee may elect 
to report such information for contributors of lesser amount(s) on a 
separate schedule;
* * * * *
    (v) Each person who provides a rebate, refund or other offset to 
operating expenditures to the reporting political committee in an 
aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the calendar year 
(or within the election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee), 
together with the date and amount of any such receipt; and
    (vi) Each person who provides any dividend, interest, or other 
receipt to the reporting political committee in an aggregate value or 
amount in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or within the 
election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee), together with 
the date and amount of any such receipt.
    (b) Reporting of disbursements. Each report filed under Sec. 104.1 
shall disclose the total amount of all disbursements for the reporting 
period and for the calendar year (or for the election cycle, in the 
case of an authorized committees) and shall disclose the information 
set forth at paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of this section. The 
first report filed by a political committee shall also include all 
amounts disbursed prior to becoming a political committee under 
Sec. 100.5 of this chapter, even if such amounts were not disbursed 
during the current reporting period.
* * * * *
    (2) Categories of disbursements for authorized committees. An 
authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office shall report the 
total amount of disbursements made during the reporting period and, 
except for itemized and unitemized breakdowns, during the election 
cycle in each of the following categories:
* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (i) Each person to whom an expenditure in an aggregate amount or 
value in excess of $200 within the election cycle is made by the 
reporting authorized committee to meet the authorized committee's 
operating expenses, together with the date, amount and purpose of each 
expenditure.
* * * * *
    (vi) Each person who has received any disbursement(s) not otherwise 
disclosed under paragraph (b)(4) of this section to whom the aggregate 
amount or value of such disbursements exceeds $200 within the election 
cycle, together with the date, amount, and purpose of any such 
disbursement.
    (c) Summary of contributions and operating expenditures. Each 
report filed pursuant to Sec. 104.1 shall disclose for both the 
reporting period and the calendar year (or the election cycle, in the 
case of the authorized committee):
* * * * *
    (i) Cumulative reports. The reports required to be filed under 
Sec. 104.5 shall be cumulative for the calendar year (or for the 
election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee) to which they 
relate, but if there has been no change in a category reported in a 
previous report during that year (or during that election cycle, in the 
case of an authorized committee), only the amount thereof need be 
carried forward.
* * * * *
    (k) Reporting Election Cycle Activity Occurring Prior to January 1, 
2001. The aggregate of each category of receipt listed in paragraph 
(a)(3) of this section, except those in paragraphs (a)(3)(i)(A) and (B) 
of this section, and for each category of disbursement listed in 
paragraph (b)(2) of this section shall include amounts received or 
disbursed on or after the day after the last general election for the 
seat or office for which the candidate is running through December 31, 
2000.

[[Page 42624]]


    3. Section 104.7 is amended by revising the introductory text of 
paragraph (b), paragraph (b)(1) and the first sentence of paragraph 
(b)(2) to read as follows:


Sec. 104.7  Best efforts (2 U.S.C. 432(i)).

* * * * *
    (b) With regard to reporting the identification as defined at 11 
CFR 100.12 of each person whose contribution(s) to the political 
committee and its affiliated political committees aggregate in excess 
of $200 in a calendar year (or in an election cycle in the case of an 
authorized committee) (pursuant to 11 CFR 104.3(a)(4)), the treasurer 
and the political committee will only be deemed to have exercised best 
efforts to obtain, maintain and report the required information if:
    (1)(i) All written solicitations for contributions include a clear 
request for the contributor's full name, mailing address, occupation 
and name of employer, and include an accurate statement of Federal law 
regarding the collection and reporting of individual contributor 
identifications.
    (A) The following are examples of acceptable statements for 
unauthorized committees, but are not the only allowable statements: 
``Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report 
the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of 
individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year;'' and 
``To comply with Federal law, we must use best efforts to obtain, 
maintain, and submit the name, mailing address, occupation and name of 
employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 per calendar 
year.''
    (B) The following are examples of acceptable statements for 
authorized committees, but are not the only allowable statements: 
``Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report 
the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of 
individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle;'' and 
``To comply with Federal law, we must use best efforts to obtain, 
maintain, and submit the name, mailing address, occupation and name of 
employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 per election 
cycle.''
    (ii) The request and statement shall appear in a clear and 
conspicuous manner on any response material included in a solicitation. 
The request and statement are not clear and conspicuous if they are in 
small type in comparison to the solicitation and response materials, or 
if the printing is difficult to read or if the placement is easily 
overlooked.
    (2) For each contribution received aggregating in excess of $200 
per calendar year (or per election cycle, in the case of an authorized 
committee) which lacks required contributor information, such as the 
contributor's full name, mailing address, occupation or name of 
employer, the treasurer makes at least one effort after the receipt of 
the contribution to obtain the missing information. * * *
* * * * *

    4. Section 104.8 is amended by revising paragraph (a) and the first 
sentence of paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec. 104.8  Uniform reporting of receipts.

    (a) A reporting political committee shall disclose the 
identification of each individual who contributes an amount in excess 
of $200 to the political committee's federal account(s). This 
identification shall include the individual's name, mailing address, 
occupation, the name of his or her employer, if any, and the date of 
receipt and amount of any such contribution. If an individual 
contributor's name is known to have changed since an earlier 
contribution reported during the calendar year (or during the election 
cycle, in the case of an authorized committee), the exact name or 
address previously used shall be noted with the first reported 
contribution from that contributor subsequent to the name change.
    (b) In each case where a contribution received from an individual 
in a reporting period is added to previously unitemized contributions 
from the same individual and the aggregate exceeds $200 in a calendar 
year (or in an election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee) 
the reporting political committee shall disclose the identification of 
such individual along with the date of receipt and amount of any such 
contribution. * * *
* * * * *

    5. Section 104.9 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 104.9  Uniform reporting of disbursements.

    (a) Political committees shall report the full name and mailing 
address of each person to whom an expenditure in an aggregate amount or 
value in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or within the 
election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee) is made from 
the reporting political committee's federal account(s), together with 
the date, amount and purpose of such expenditure, in accordance with 
paragraph (b) of this section. As used in this section, purpose means a 
brief statement or description as to the reasons for the expenditure. 
See 11 CFR 104.3(b)(3)(i)(A).
    (b) In each case when an expenditure made to a recipient in a 
reporting period is added to previously unitemized expenditures to the 
same recipient and the total exceeds $200 for the calendar year (or for 
the election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee), the 
reporting political committee shall disclose the recipient's full name 
and mailing address on the prescribed reporting forms, together with 
the date, amount and purpose of such expenditure. As used in this 
section, purpose means a brief statement or description as to the 
reason for the disbursement as defined at 11 CFR 104.3(b)(3)(i)(A).
* * * * *

    Dated: July 6, 2000.
Danny L. McDonald,
Vice-Chairman, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 00-17486 Filed 7-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6715-01-U