[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 11, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2009]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 11CFR106.5]

[Page 137-140]
 
                       TITLE 11--FEDERAL ELECTIONS
 
                 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
 
PART 106_ALLOCATIONS OF CANDIDATE AND COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES--
Table of Contents
 
Sec. 106.5  Allocation of expenses between federal and non-federal
activities by national party committees.

    (a) General rules--(1) Disbursements from Federal and non-Federal 
accounts. National party committees that make disbursements in 
connection with Federal and non-Federal elections shall make those 
disbursements entirely from funds subject to the prohibitions and 
limitations of the Act, or from accounts established pursuant to 11 CFR 
102.5. Political committees that have established separate Federal and 
non-Federal accounts under 11 CFR 102.5(a)(1)(i) shall allocate expenses 
between those accounts according to this section. Organizations that are 
not political committees but have established separate Federal and non-
Federal accounts under 11 CFR 102.5(b)(1)(i), or that make Federal and 
non-Federal disbursements from a single account under 11 CFR 
102.5(b)(1)(ii), shall also allocate their Federal and non-Federal 
expenses according to this section. This section covers:

[[Page 138]]

    (i) General rules regarding allocation of Federal and non-Federal 
expenses by party committees;
    (ii) Percentages to be allocated for administrative expenses and 
costs of generic voter drives by national party committees;
    (iii) Methods for allocation of administrative expenses, costs of 
generic voter drives, and of fundraising costs by national party 
committees; and
    (iv) Procedures for payment of allocable expenses. Requirements for 
reporting of allocated disbursements are set forth in 11 CFR 104.10.
    (2) Costs to be allocated. National party committees that make 
disbursements in connection with Federal and non-Federal elections shall 
allocate expenses according to this section for the following categories 
of activity:
    (i) Administrative expenses including rent, utilities, office 
supplies, and salaries, except for such expenses directly attributable 
to a clearly identified candidate;
    (ii) The direct costs of a fundraising program or event including 
disbursements for solicitation of funds and for planning and 
administration of actual fundraising events, where Federal and non-
Federal funds are collected by one committee through such program or 
event; and
    (iii) [Reserved]
    (iv) Generic voter drives including voter identification, voter 
registration, and get-out-the-vote drives, or any other activities that 
urge the general public to register, vote or support candidates of a 
particular party or associated with a particular issue, without 
mentioning a specific candidate.
    (b) National party committees other than Senate or House campaign 
committees; fixed percentages for allocating administrative expenses and 
costs of generic voter drives--(1) General rule. Each national party 
committee other than a Senate or House campaign committee shall allocate 
a fixed percentage of its administrative expenses and costs of generic 
voter drives, as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, to its 
Federal and non-Federal account(s) each year. These percentages shall 
differ according to whether or not the allocable expenses were incurred 
in a presidential election year. Such committees shall allocate the 
costs of each combined Federal and non-Federal fundraising program or 
event according to paragraph (f) of this section, with no fixed 
percentages required.
    (2) Fixed percentages according to type of election year. National 
party committees other than the Senate or House campaign committees 
shall allocate their administrative expenses and costs of generic voter 
drives according to paragraphs (b)(2) (i) and (ii) as follows:
    (i) Presidential election years. In presidential election years, 
national party committees other than the Senate or House campaign 
committees shall allocate to their Federal accounts at least 65% each of 
their administrative expenses and costs of generic voter drives.
    (ii) Non-presidential election years. In all years other than 
presidential election years, national party committees other than the 
Senate or House campaign committees shall allocate to their Federal 
accounts at least 60% each of their administrative expenses and costs of 
generic voter drives.
    (c) Senate and House campaign committees of a national party; method 
and minimum Federal percentage for allocating administrative expenses 
and costs of generic voter drives--(1) Method for allocating 
administrative expenses and costs of generic voter drives. Subject to 
the minimum percentage set forth in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, 
each Senate or House campaign committee of a national party shall 
allocate its administrative expenses and costs of generic voter drives, 
as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, according to the funds 
expended method, described in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) as follows:
    (i) Under this method, expenses shall be allocated based on the 
ratio of Federal expenditures to total Federal and non-Federal 
disbursements made by the committee during the two-year Federal election 
cycle. This ratio shall be estimated and reported at the beginning of 
each Federal election cycle, based upon the committee's Federal and non-
Federal disbursements in a prior comparable Federal election cycle or 
upon the committee's reasonable prediction of its disbursements for the 
coming two years. In calculating

[[Page 139]]

its Federal expenditures, the committee shall include only amounts 
contributed to or otherwise spent on behalf of specific federal 
candidates. Calculation of total Federal and non-Federal disbursements 
shall also be limited to disbursements for specific candidates, and 
shall not include overhead or other generic costs.
    (ii) On each of its periodic reports, the committee shall adjust its 
allocation ratio to reconcile it with the ratio of actual Federal and 
non-Federal disbursements made, to date. If the non-Federal account has 
paid more than its allocable share, the committee shall transfer funds 
from its Federal to its non-Federal account, as necessary, to reflect 
the adjusted allocation ratio. The committee shall make note of any such 
adjustments and transfers on its periodic reports, submitted pursuant to 
11 CFR 104.5.
    (2) Minimum Federal percentage for administrative expenses and costs 
of generic voter drives. Regardless of the allocation ratio calculated 
under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, each Senate or House campaign 
committee of a national party shall allocate to its Federal account at 
least 65% each of its administrative expenses and costs of generic voter 
drives each year. If the committee's own allocation calculation under 
paragraph (c)(1) of this section yields a Federal share greater than 
65%, then the higher percentage shall be applied. If such calculation 
yields a Federal share lower than 65%, then the committee shall report 
its calculated ratio according to 11 CFR 104.10(b), and shall apply the 
required minimum Federal percentage.
    (3) Allocation of fundraising costs. Senate and House campaign 
committees shall allocate the costs of each combined Federal and non-
Federal fundraising program or event according to paragraph (f) of this 
section, with no minimum percentages required.
    (d)-(e) [Reserved]
    (f) National party committees; method for allocating direct costs of 
fundraising. (1) If Federal and non-Federal funds are collected by one 
committee through a joint activity, that committee shall allocate its 
direct costs of fundraising, as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this 
section, according to the funds received method. Under this method, the 
committee shall allocate its fundraising costs based on the ratio of 
funds received into its Federal account to its total receipts from each 
fundraising program or event. This ratio shall be estimated prior to 
each such program or event based upon the committee's reasonable 
prediction of its Federal and non-Federal revenue from that program or 
event, and shall be noted in the committee's report for the period in 
which the first disbursement for such program or event occurred, 
submitted pursuant 11 CFR 104.5. Any disbursements for fundraising costs 
made prior to the actual program or event shall be allocated according 
to this estimated ratio.
    (2) No later than the date 60 days after each fundraising program or 
event from which both Federal and non-Federal funds are collected, the 
committee shall adjust the allocation ratio for that program or event to 
reflect the actual ratio of funds received. If the non-Federal account 
has paid more than its allocable share, the committee shall transfer 
funds from its Federal to its non-Federal account, as necessary, to 
reflect the adjusted allocation ratio. If the Federal account has paid 
more than its allocable share, the committee shall make any transfers of 
funds from its non-federal to its federal account to reflect the 
adjusted allocation ratio within the 60-day time period established by 
this paragraph. The committee shall make note of any such adjustments 
and transfers in its report for any period in which a transfer was made, 
and shall also report the date of the fundraising program or event that 
serves as the basis for the transfer. In the case of a telemarketing or 
direct mail campaign, the date for purposes of this paragraph is the 
last day of the telemarketing campaign, or the day on which the final 
direct mail solicitations are mailed.
    (g) Payment of allocable expenses by committees with separate 
Federal and non-Federal accounts--(1) Payment options. Committees that 
have established separate Federal and non-Federal accounts under 11 CFR 
102.5(a)(1)(i) or (b)(1)(i) shall pay the expenses of joint Federal and 
non-Federal activities described in paragraph (a)(2) of

[[Page 140]]

this section according to either paragraph (g)(1)(i) or (ii), as 
follows:
    (i) Payment by Federal account; transfers from non-Federal account 
to Federal account. The committee shall pay the entire amount of an 
allocable expense from its Federal account and shall transfer funds from 
its non-Federal account to its Federal account solely to cover the non-
Federal share of that allocable expense.
    (ii) Payment by separate allocation account; transfers from Federal 
and non-Federal accounts to allocation account. (A) The committee shall 
establish a separate allocation account into which funds from its 
Federal and non-Federal accounts shall be deposited solely for the 
purpose of paying the allocable expenses of joint Federal and non-
Federal activities. Once a committee has established a separate 
allocation account for this purpose, all allocable expenses shall be 
paid from that account for as long as the account is maintained.
    (B) The committee shall transfer funds from its Federal and non-
Federal accounts to its allocation account in amounts proportionate to 
the Federal or non-Federal share of each allocable expense.
    (C) No funds contained in the allocation account may be transferred 
to any other account maintained by the committee.
    (2) Timing of transfers between accounts. (i) Under either payment 
option described in paragraphs (g)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section, the 
committee shall transfer funds from its non-Federal account to its 
Federal account or from its Federal and non-Federal accounts to its 
separate allocation account following determination of the final cost of 
each joint Federal and non-Federal activity, or in advance of such 
determination if advance payment is required by the vendor and if such 
payment is based on a reasonable estimate of the activity's final cost 
as determined by the committee and the vendor(s) involved.
    (ii) Funds transferred from a committee's non-Federal account to its 
Federal account or its allocation account are subject to the following 
requirements:
    (A) For each such transfer, the committee must itemize in its 
reports the allocable activities for which the transferred funds are 
intended to pay, as required by 11 CFR 104.10(b)(3); and
    (B) Except as provided in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, such 
funds may not be transferred more than 10 days before or more than 60 
days after the payments for which they are designated are made.
    (iii) Any portion of a transfer from a committee's non-Federal 
account to its Federal account or its allocation account that does not 
meet the requirements of paragraph (g)(2)(ii) of this section shall be 
presumed to be a loan or contribution from the non-Federal account to a 
Federal account, in violation of the Act.
    (3) Reporting transfers of funds and allocated disbursements. A 
political committee that transfers funds between accounts and pays 
allocable expenses according to this section shall report each such 
transfer and disbursement pursuant to 11 CFR 104.10(b).
    (h) Sunset provision. This section applies from November 6, 2002, to 
December 31, 2002. After December 31, 2002, see 11 CFR 106.7(a).

[67 FR 49116, July 29, 2002]