FEC Seeks Comment on Proposed Rulemaking on Coordinated Communications

FEC SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULEMAKING

Washington - The Federal Election is seeking comments on proposed revisions to its regulations regarding communications that have been coordinated with Federal candidates and political party committees.  The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published today in the Federal Register was prompted by the recent decision of the Court of Appeals in Shays v. FEC.

The Commission’s current rules set out a three prong test for determining whether a communication is coordinated and therefore an in-kind contribution to a Federal candidate or political party committee.  The Court of Appeals invalidated one aspect of one of the prongs having to do with public communications that refer to a federal candidate that are publicly distributed to voters in his or her district within 120 days of the election.  Specifically the Court believed that the Commission had not provided an adequate explanation and justification for the current rule.

To comply with the decision of the Court of Appeals, and to address other issues involving the coordinated communication rules, the Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing a number of alternatives and seeking comment on several issues.  

No final decision has been made by the Commission on the issues presented in this rulemaking. 

Comments are due on or before January 13, 2006.  A hearing on the proposed rules will be held on January 25 or 26, or both depending on the number of people who request to appear.  All comments must be in writing and addressed to Mr. Brad C. Deutsch, Assistant General Counsel, and must be submitted in either email, facsimile, or paper form.  Email comments must be sent to either coordination@fec.gov or submitted through the Federal eRegulations Portal at www.regulations.gov .  If e-mail comments include an attachment, it must be Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft word (doc) format.  Faxed comments must be sent to (202) 219-3823, with paper copy follow-up to ensure legibility.  Written comments should be sent to the Federal Election Commission, 999 E Street NW, Washington DC 20463.

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