Proposed Rule2024-27583
Contributions Through Untraceable Electronic Payment Methods
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Federal Election Commission
Abstract
The Commission announces its receipt of a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas. The Petition asks the Commission to amend its regulations concerning the use of credit cards to make contributions, to address the potential use of prepaid cards to circumvent contribution amount limitations and source prohibitions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 93224-93225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27583]
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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
11 CFR Part 112
[Notice 2024-25]
Contributions Through Untraceable Electronic Payment Methods
AGENCY: Federal Election Commission.
ACTION: Notification of availability of petition for rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Commission announces its receipt of a Petition for
Rulemaking submitted by Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas. The
Petition asks the Commission to amend its regulations concerning the
use of credit cards to make contributions, to address the potential use
of prepaid cards to circumvent contribution amount limitations and
source prohibitions.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: All comments must be in writing. Commenters may submit
comments electronically via the Commission's website at <a href="https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/">https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/</a>, reference REG 2024-08.
Each commenter must provide, at a minimum, his or her first name,
last name, city and state. All properly submitted comments, including
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attachments, will become part of the public record, and the Commission
will make comments available for public viewing on the Commission's
website and in the Commission's Public Records Office. Accordingly,
commenters should not provide in their comments any information that
they do not wish to make public, such as a home street address,
personal email address, date of birth, phone number, social security
number, or driver's license number, or any information that is
restricted from disclosure, such as trade secrets or commercial or
financial information that is privileged or confidential.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert M. Knop, Assistant General
Counsel, or Joanna S. Waldstreicher, Attorney, 1050 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694-1650 or (800) 424-9530.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 2024, the Commission received
a Petition for Rulemaking (``Petition'') from Ken Paxton, Attorney
General of Texas. The Petition asks the Commission to adopt two
amendments to its regulations concerning the use of credit cards to
make contributions, to address the potential use of prepaid cards to
circumvent contribution amount limitations and source prohibitions.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (the ``Act'') limits the total
amount a contributor may contribute to any given political
committee.\1\ The Act and Commission regulations also prohibit certain
persons from making contributions at all.\2\ The Act and Commission
regulations further prohibit any person from making a contribution in
the name of another person.\3\ In addition, the Act and Commission
regulations require political committees to disclose identifying
information from each contributor, including name, address, and--in
some cases--the contributor's occupation and employer.\4\
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\1\ 52 U.S.C. 30116(a); see also 11 CFR 110.1, 110.2.
\2\ 52 U.S.C. 30118, 30119, 30121; see also 11 CFR 110.4,
110.9(a), 110.14(c)(2), 114.2, 115.2, 300.10.
\3\ 52 U.S.C. 30122; see also 11 CFR 110.4(b).
\4\ 52 U.S.C. 30104; 11 CFR 104.3, 104.8.
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The Petition asserts that ``there has been substantial public
reporting regarding potentially fraudulent transactions on political
committee online platforms. Certain platforms appear to facilitate
straw donor transactions, where a contributor disguises his identity by
attributing his contribution to another, unaware person.'' \5\ The
Petition further states that ``prepaid cards are a favorite tool of
fraudsters,'' \6\ and that ``specific security measures can mitigate
this problem,'' such as comparing the identifying information supplied
by contributors to the name, address, and other billing information on
file with the issuer of the credit card used to make the
contribution.\7\
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\5\ Petition at 1.
\6\ Id.
\7\ Petition at 3.
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Accordingly, the Petition states that ``new regulations governing
electronic payment acceptance and related problems are critical to
ensuring the integrity of campaign finance laws.'' \8\ The Petition
asks the Commission to adopt two amendments to 11 CFR 104.14:
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\8\ Petition at 1.
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<bullet> Amend 104.14(b)(5) to provide that records for
contributions made by credit, debit, prepaid, or gift card must include
documentation confirming that a cross-check occurred between the
contributor's self-reported identifying information with the card
issuing institution's own information on the name and billing address
of the cardholder.
<bullet> Amend 104.14(e) to provide that contributions cannot be
accepted from prepaid or gift cards unless the information from those
prepaid or gift cards can be cross-checked with the card issuing
institution to confirm the name and billing address required under
paragraph (b)(5) of this rule.\9\
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\9\ Petition at 7.
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The Commission seeks comment on the Petition. The public may
inspect the Petition on the Commission's website at <a href="http://www.fec.gov/fosers/">http://www.fec.gov/fosers/</a> (reference REG 2024-08).
The Commission will not consider the Petition's merits until after
the comment period closes. If the Commission decides that the Petition
has merit, it may begin a rulemaking proceeding. The Commission will
announce any action that it takes in the Federal Register.
Dated: November 19, 2024.
On behalf of the Commission,
Sean J. Cooksey,
Chairman, Federal Election Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-27583 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6715-01-P
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