Public Hearing Set for March 20 on Internet NPRM

PUBLIC HEARING MARCH 20 ON INTERNET NPRM

WASHINGTON – The Federal Election Commission has set March 20 for a public hearing on issues raised by a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) relating to use of the Internet for campaign-related activity.

The NPRM was published October 3, 2001, with a comment period ending December 3. Twenty-four comments were received by the Commission in response to the NPRM.

The NPRM addresses three issues relating to use of the Internet for campaign-related activity:

(1) The application of the volunteer exemption in federal law (2 U.S.C. §§431(8)(B)(i) and (ii)) to Internet activity by individuals;

(2) The status of hyperlinks placed on corporate and labor organization websites; and

(3) The status of corporate and labor organization press releases that announce candidate endorsements and are made available to the general public on the corporation or labor organization’s website.

The hearing will be in the Commission’s 9^th floor meeting room at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20. Requests to testify must be received on or before March 1, 2002. Persons requesting to testify also must submit written comments by March 1, 2002, if they have not previously filed written comments on the proposed rules.

Requests to testify and any accompanying comments should be addressed to Rosemary C. Smith, Assistant General Counsel, and must be submitted in either written or electronic form. Written comments should be sent to the Federal Election Commission, 999 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20463. Faxed comments should be sent to (202)-219-3923, with printed copy follow-up. Electronic mail comments should be sent to internetnprm@fec.gov.

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