[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 232 (Monday, December 3, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62282-62283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26107]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2018 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 62282]]



FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

11 CFR Part 100

[Notice 2018-16]


Rulemaking Petition: Definition of Contribution

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.

ACTION: Rulemaking petition; notification of availability.

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SUMMARY: On August 27, 2018, the Federal Election Commission received a 
Petition for Rulemaking, which asks the Commission to amend a 
regulation that defines the term ``contribution'' in light of a recent 
district court decision in Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in 
Washington v. Federal Election Commission. The Commission seeks 
comments on the petition.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters are encouraged 
to submit comments electronically via the Commission's website at 
http://www.fec.gov/fosers, reference REG 2018-03. Alternatively, 
commenters may submit comments in paper form, addressed to the Federal 
Election Commission, Attn.: Robert M. Knop, Assistant General Counsel, 
1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463.
    Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name, 
last name, city, and state. 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 
website and in the Commission's Public Records Office. 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. Tony Buckley, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, 
1050 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694-1650 or (800) 
424-9530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 27, 2018, the Commission received 
a Petition for Rulemaking from the Institute for Free Speech 
(``Petition''), asking the Commission to amend 11 CFR 100.52, which 
defines the term ``contribution.'' Specifically, the Institute for Free 
Speech asks the Commission to amend this regulation in light of the 
decision in Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington v. FEC 
(``CREW''), 316 F. Supp. 3d 349 (D.D.C. 2018), appeal docketed, No. 18-
5261 (DC Cir. Aug. 30, 2018).
    Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101-45 (the 
``Act''), and Commission regulations, persons other than political 
committees that make independent expenditures aggregating over $250 
with respect to a given election in a calendar year must report to the 
Commission certain information regarding their independent 
expenditures. 52 U.S.C. 30104(c)(1); 11 CFR 109.10(b) and (e). The Act 
provides that such reports must include ``the identification of each 
person (other than a political committee) who makes a contribution to 
the reporting committee during the reporting period, whose contribution 
or contributions have an aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 
within the calendar year,'' and ``the identification of each person who 
made a contribution in excess of $200 to the person filing such 
statement which was made for the purpose of furthering an independent 
expenditure.'' 52 U.S.C. 30104(b)(3)(A), (c)(1), (c)(2)(C) (emphasis 
added). Commission regulations implemented these paragraphs by 
requiring persons filing such reports to include the ``identification 
of each person who made a contribution in excess of $200 to the person 
filing such report, which contribution was made for the purpose of 
furthering the reported independent expenditure.'' 11 CFR 
109.10(e)(1)(vi) (emphasis added) (vacated effective September 18, 
2018). Commission regulations define ``contribution'' as including a 
``gift, subscription, loan . . ., advance, or deposit of money or 
anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any 
election for Federal office.'' 11 CFR 100.52; see also 52 U.S.C. 
30101(8)(A)(i) (same).
    In CREW, the court declared invalid and vacated the reporting 
requirement at 11 CFR 109.10(e)(1)(vi) for persons other than political 
committees that make independent expenditures. The court held that the 
regulation failed to implement the statutory disclosure requirements of 
52 U.S.C. 30104(c). CREW, 316 F.Supp.3d at 423.\1\
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    \1\ An appeal of this decision is currently pending before the 
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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    According to the Petition, ``the court [in CREW] extended the scope 
of donations to nonprofit entities that may now be considered 
reportable contributions under the Federal Election Campaign Act . . . 
to include certain funds given to organizations that, while not 
political committees, spend $250 in independent expenditures in a 
calendar year.'' Petition at 1. The Petition argues that ``the current 
definition of `Contribution' is inaccurate and misleading, especially 
as it pertains to groups that are not political committees,'' and 
``[t]o understand which donations [to these groups] are contributions 
and which are not, potential speakers must parse over 40 years of case 
law, because neither the statute nor the regulation defining 
contributions has been updated to reflect existing constitutional 
limits.'' Id. at 5. In light of this, the Petition asks the Commission 
to open a rulemaking ``to amend 11 CFR 100.52 to clarify the definition 
of `Contribution.' '' Id.
    The Commission seeks comments on the petition. The public may 
inspect the petition on the Commission's website at http://www.fec.gov/fosers, or in the Commission's Public Records Office, 1050 First Street 
NE, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20463, Monday through Friday, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m.
    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.


[[Page 62283]]


    On behalf of the Commission.
Caroline C. Hunter,
Chair, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-26107 Filed 11-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6715-01-P