Comments sought regarding use of campaign funds for candidate and officeholder security
On April 9, 2024, the Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that seeks public comment on a proposed rule to amend its regulations regarding the use of campaign funds to pay for security measures for federal candidates and officeholders.
Background
The Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) prohibits contributions accepted by a candidate from being converted to "personal use” by any person. While the Act and Commission regulations provide a non-exhaustive list of expenses that, when paid using campaign funds, constitute per se conversion of those funds to personal use, the Commission determines on a case-by-case basis whether the use of campaign funds to pay expenses other than those listed would be prohibited.
In several advisory opinions, the Commission has permitted the use of campaign funds to pay for various security measures.
Proposed rule
The Commission’s current regulations at 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1) through (9) address the personal use of campaign funds. The proposed rule adds a new paragraph (g)(10) to address the use of campaign funds for security measures along with subparagraphs listing categories of permissible security measures and examples of such security measures.
Consistent with prior Commission advisory opinions, the proposed rule would provide that the use of campaign funds to pay for the reasonable costs of security measures for a federal candidate or officeholder is not personal use as long as the payments are made for security measures that address ongoing dangers or threats that would not exist irrespective of the individual’s status or duties as a federal candidate or officeholder and would require that the disbursements be for the usual and normal charge for such goods and services.
Additionally, the proposed rule identifies several categories of permissible security measures: non-structural security devices; structural security devices; professional security personnel and services; and cybersecurity software, devices and services.
Comments sought
The NPRM identifies several specific questions regarding each provision of the proposed rule where the Commission invites public comment. Public comments must be submitted by June 10, 2024. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically (reference REG 2024-01) via the Commission’s website.