[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]
BILLING CODE 6715-01-P