Final rules on the use of campaign funds
On September 24, 2007, the Commission approved final rules that add donations to nonfederal candidates, as permitted by state law, and “any other lawful purpose” other than personal use to FEC regulations’ list of permissible uses of campaign funds.
Background
The Act broadly prohibits the personal use of campaign funds and sets forth six specific permissible uses of funds by a federal candidate or officeholder:
- Expenditures in connection with the candidate’s campaign for federal office;
- Ordinary and necessary expenses incurred by a federal officeholder;
- Donations to charity (organizations defined in 26 U.S.C. §170(c));
- Unlimited transfers to a national, state or local political party;
- Donations to nonfederal candidates as permitted by state law; and
- Any other lawful purpose other than personal use. See 2 U.S.C. §439a(a)(1)-(6).
Prior to the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), the Act permitted candidates and their committees to use their funds for “any other lawful purpose,” as long as that purpose was not personal use of the campaign’s funds by any person. In BCRA, Congress deleted the “any other lawful purpose” language, and the Commission amended its regulations to reflect the change. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005, Congress restored this provision, and added the provision concerning donations to nonfederal candidates. Accordingly, the Commission has amended its regulations at 11 CFR 113.2(d) and (e) to add these permissible uses of campaign funds.
The full text of this final rule is available in the Federal Register (72 FR 56245) and on the FEC web site at http://transition.fec.gov/law/cfr/ej_compilation/2007/notice_2007-18.pdf