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Introduction to the Federal Election Administration

The Federal Election Commission (FEC), is charged with enforcing federal election laws. Unfortunately, in recent years the FEC has done its best to create as many loopholes as possible in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, otherwise known as the McCain-Feingold/Shays-Meehan law. The attached chart documents some of the many loopholes created by the FEC in the regulations promulgated to implement BCRA.

The FEC’s damage is so significant – and so contrary to congressional intent – that the law’s congressional sponsors have filed a lawsuit against the FEC to overturn the loopholes.

BCRA established a 90-day deadline for the FEC to promulgate new soft money rules (June 25), and a 270-day deadline to promulgate all other rules (December 22). The FEC revised the statutory schedule to provide some additional time to consider its final rules, although it has not fallen far behind the BCRA rulemaking plan.

The rulemaking procedure is generally implemented in three steps. First, the FEC publishes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. The Commission then accepts public comments on the proposed rule within the next 30 days and convenes a public hearing. Finally, the Commission issues the Final Rule with Explanation and Justification (FR EJ).

The FEC’s BCRA Rulemaking Plan calls for promulgating regulations covering six major issues of the new campaign finance law. These issues include:

1. Soft money

2. Electioneering communications

3. Coordinated and independent expenditures

4. Millionaire’s amendment

5. Increases in the contribution limits

6. Other amendments—fraudulent solicitations, civil penalties, and so forth.

At the end of December 2002, the FEC completed the rulemaking process addressing the six sets of regulatory issues noted above. The soft money rules were adopted on June 29th after three days of contentious hearings and the soft money FR EJ published on July 29th. The electioneering communications rules were adopted on October 9. The hard money rules were adopted on October 31, 2002. The contribution limits and prohibition rules were adopted on November 19, and the fruadulent solicitation and civil penalties rules on November 25. Finishing the rulemaking schedule on December 12, the FEC finalized its rules on the millionaire's amendment and consolidated reporting requirements.

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