[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 83 (Monday, May 3, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23300-23301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08866]
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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. 86, No. 83 / Monday, May 3, 2021 / Proposed
Rules
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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
11 CFR Part 113
[Notice 2021-07]
Rulemaking Petition: Candidate Salaries
AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.
ACTION: Rulemaking petition; notification of availability.
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SUMMARY: On March 23, 2021, the Federal Election Commission received a
Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to amend its existing
regulations regarding candidate salaries and permissible uses of
campaign funds. The proposed amendments would: Extend the period during
which a candidate can draw a salary from campaign funds; establish a
minimum salary for candidates from campaign funds; and designate the
payment of certain healthcare costs as permissible uses of campaign
funds. The Commission seeks comment on the petition.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 2, 2021.
ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters may submit
comments electronically via the Commission's website at http://sers.fec.gov/fosers/, reference REG 2021-01.
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: Ms. Amy Rothstein, Assistant General
Counsel, or Mr. Kevin Paulsen, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel,
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 23, 2021 the Commission received a
Petition for Rulemaking from Nabilah Islam (``Petition''). The Petition
asks the Commission to amend 11 CFR 113.1(g), which, in part, lists
certain permissible and impermissible expenses for which campaign funds
may and may not be used and sets forth the conditions under which
candidates may pay themselves a campaign salary. Petition at 1. Each of
the Petition's proposals is addressed in turn below.
A. Candidate Salary Period
Existing Commission regulations permit candidates to draw salaries
from their principal campaign committees using campaign funds, subject
to certain conditions. 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I). If these conditions
are met, an eligible candidate may begin receiving a campaign salary on
the date of ``the filing deadline for access to the primary election
ballot for the Federal office that the candidate seeks, as determined
by state law, or in those states that do not conduct primaries, on
January 1 of each even-numbered year.'' Id. ``If the candidate wins the
primary election, his or her principal campaign committee may pay him
or her a salary from campaign funds through the date of the general
election, up to and including the date of any general election
runoff.'' Id. If, however, the candidate loses the primary, withdraws
from the race, or otherwise ceases to be a candidate, no salary may be
paid beyond the date he or she is no longer a candidate. Id. In odd-
numbered years in which a special election for a Federal office occurs,
the candidate's principal campaign committee may pay him or her a
salary from the date the special election is set through the date of
the special election. Id.
The Petition asserts that ballot access deadlines for state
primaries ``vary wildly based on state law.'' Petition at 3-4.
According to the Petition, during the 2018 election cycle, the date on
which a candidate could begin drawing a campaign salary under
Commission regulations ``ranged from December 4, 2017 in Illinois to
July 10, 2018 in Delaware, a difference of 218 days.'' Id. at 4. The
Petition asks the Commission to amend 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I) to
``standardize and expand the ability for candidates to draw a salary''
from their campaigns. Id. The Petition proposes that the regulations be
amended to permit a candidate to begin drawing a campaign salary ``at
least 180 days before the primary election, but a full year would be
optimal.'' Id. (emphasis in original).
B. Minimum Candidate Salary
The same provision of the Commission's existing regulations limits
the amount of salary payments that a candidate may receive from his or
her principal campaign committee. 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I). Under the
regulation, salary payments may not exceed ``the lesser of: The minimum
salary paid to a Federal officeholder holding the Federal office that
the candidate seeks; or the earned income that the candidate received
during the year prior to becoming a candidate.'' Id. The regulation
further states that ``[a]ny earned income that a candidate receives
from salaries or wages from any other source shall count against the
foregoing limit of the minimum salary paid to a Federal officeholder
holding the Federal office that the candidate seeks.'' Id. Any salary
payments must also ``be computed on a pro-rata basis.'' Id.
The Petition alleges that the current maximum salary limitation
``leaves candidates who are full time caretakers or who have had gaps
in employment out in the cold.'' Petition at 4-5. The Petition asks the
Commission to amend 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I) by creating a minimum
``floor'' for the salary that a candidate may draw from his or her
principal campaign committee at an amount ``no less than the annualized
salary of $15 per hour.'' Id.
C. Healthcare Premiums
The Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. 30101-45 (``FECA''),
provides that a candidate's authorized committee may use its funds for
several specific purposes, including ``otherwise authorized
expenditures in connection with the campaign for Federal office of the
candidate.'' 52 U.S.C. 30114(a)(1). An authorized committee may not,
however, convert campaign funds to ``personal use.'' 52 U.S.C.
30114(b); 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(ii). FECA defines
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``personal use'' as the use of campaign funds ``to fulfill any
commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist
irrespective of the candidate's election campaign.'' 52 U.S.C.
30114(b)(2); see also 11 CFR 113.1(g). FECA and Commission regulations
provide a non-exhaustive list of expenses that, when paid using
campaign funds, constitute per se conversion to personal use. 52 U.S.C.
30114(b)(2); 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i). For expenses not listed, the
Commission determines on a case-by-case basis whether the expense would
exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign. 11 CFR.
113.1(g)(1)(ii). Neither FECA nor Commission regulations explicitly
address health insurance premiums.\1\
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\1\ As the Petition notes, the Commission recently determined in
the context of an enforcement matter that the existing candidate
salary provision at 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I) does not permit the use
of campaign funds to reimburse a candidate's out-of-pocket payments
of health insurance premiums. See Factual & Legal Analysis at 10,
MUR 7068 (Mowrer for Iowa, et al.) (Dec. 20, 2017), https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/7068/18044452908.pdf. The Commission
further concluded that the candidate's use of campaign funds to pay
his health insurance premiums was a prohibited ``personal use''
under 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1)(ii), because these expenses would exist
irrespective of the candidate's campaign. Id.
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The Petition alleges that rising healthcare costs act as a barrier
to the prospective candidacies of ``working class people.'' Petition at
5. Accordingly, the Petition asks the Commission to amend 11 CFR
113.1(g) to expressly permit a candidate to use campaign funds to pay
the costs of ``any health benefit plan already provided to other
campaign employees'' beginning on the date on which the candidate is
eligible to receive a campaign salary.\2\ Id. The Petition also
requests that such amendment ``clarify that any payments for health
insurance premiums that are not otherwise taxable under Internal
Revenue Service rules should not count against any compensation cap set
by the Commission.'' Id.
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\2\ The For the People Act of 2021, which was passed by the
House of Representatives this year, would amend Section 30114 of
FECA to expressly permit the use of a candidate's authorized
committee's funds to pay for the candidate's health insurance
premiums. For the People Act of 2021, H.R. 1, 117th Cong. Sec. 5302
(2021). If this legislation becomes law, the Petition notes that
this particular aspect of the request would become moot.
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The Commission seeks comment on the Petition. The public may
inspect the Petition on the Commission's website at http://sers.fec.gov/fosers/.
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.
Dated: April 23, 2021.
On behalf of the Commission,
Ellen L. Weintraub,
Commissioner, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2021-08866 Filed 4-30-21; 8:45 am]
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