Originating from the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
of 2007, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) promulgated new
rules governing the carriage of Federal political candidates. The
new rules are effective Jan. 6, 2010 and will apply to any
individuals traveling in connection with an election for Federal
office – including candidates, campaign members, security
personnel, media members, authorized committees, and leadership of
Political Action Committees for such candidates. This article will
explore and summarize the new FEC rules and explain how the 2010
Rules alter the existing 2003 Rules.
Background
Effective Dec. 15, 2003, the FEC issued regulations allowing
Federal candidates to travel on private aircraft during election
campaigns. To avoid in-kind contributions for non-commercial air
travel, the 2003 Rules provided uniform reimbursement guidelines.
Accordingly, a Federal candidate could utilize non-commercial
aircraft travel and avoid an in-kind contribution if the service
provider was reimbursed in accordance with the 2003 Rules.
However, due to various indiscretions and the passage of the Honest
Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, the FEC recently
promulgated new rules governing the private carriage of Federal
candidates. The new rules restrict, and in some situations
prohibit, Federal candidates and certain individuals traveling on
behalf of such candidates from utilizing non-commercial air travel.
Further, the new rules provide a new method for calculating the
reimbursement rate for allowable non-commercial air travel.
It is important to note that the FEC rules only apply to candidates
seeking Federal office, not already elected Federal officials.
Generally, elected Federal officials are prohibited from using
non-commercial aircraft. Therefore, service providers should limit
providing air travel to only Federal campaign travelers, defined as
individuals meeting the definition of a candidate and traveling in
connection with an election for Federal office.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
