View all text of Part 110 [§ 110.1 - § 110.20]

§ 110.8 - Presidential candidate expenditure limitations.

(a)(1) No candidate for the office of President of the United States who is eligible under 26 U.S.C. 9003 (relating to conditions for eligibility for payments) or under 26 U.S.C. 9033 (relating to eligibility for payments) to receive payments from the Secretary of the Treasury and has received payments, may make expenditures in excess of—

(i) $10,000,000 in the case of a campaign for nomination for election to the office, except the aggregate of expenditures under this paragraph in any one State shall not exceed the greater of 16 cents multiplied by the voting age population of the State or $200,000; or

(ii) $20,000,000 in the case of a campaign for election to the office.

(2) The expenditure limitations in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be increased in accordance with 11 CFR 110.17.

(3) Voting age population is defined at 11 CFR 110.18.

(b) The expenditure limitations shall not be considered violated if, after the date of the primary or general election, convention or caucus, receipt of refunds and rebates causes a candidate's expenditures to be within the limitations.

(c) For the State limitations in paragraph (a)(1) of this section—

(1) Expenditures made in a State after the date of the primary election, convention or caucus relating to the primary election, convention or caucus count toward that State's expenditure limitation;

(2) The candidate may treat an amount that does not exceed 50% of the candidate's total expenditures allocable to a particular State under 11 CFR 106.2 as exempt fundraising expenses, and may exclude this amount from the candidate's total expenditures attributable to the expenditure limitations for that State. The candidate may treat 100% of the cost of mass mailings as exempt fundraising expenses, unless the mass mailings were mailed within 28 days before the state's primary election, convention or caucus. The total of all amounts excluded for exempt fundraising expenses shall not exceed 20% of the overall expenditure limitation under 11 CFR 9035.1.

(d)(1) If an individual is a candidate for more than one Federal office, or for a Federal office and a State office, he or she must designate separate principal campaign committees and establish completely separate campaign organizations.

(2) No funds, goods, or services, including loans and loan guarantees, may be transferred between or used by the separate campaigns, except as provided in 11 CFR 110.3(c)(5).

(3) Except for Presidential candidates receiving Presidential Primary Matching Funds, see 26 U.S.C. 9032, or General Election Public Financing, see 26 U.S.C. 9002, campaigns may share personnel and facilities, as long as expenditures are allocated between the campaigns, and the payment made from each campaign account reflects the allocation.

(e)(1) A political party may make reimbursement for the expenses of a candidate who is engaging in party-building activities, without the payment being considered a contribution to the candidate, and without the unreimbursed expense being considered an expenditure counting against the limitations in paragraph (a) (1) or (2) of this section, as long as—

(i) The event is a bona fide party event or appearance; and

(ii) No aspect of the solicitation for the event, the setting of the event, and the remarks or activities of the candidate in connection with the event were for the purpose of influencing the candidate's nomination or election.

(2)(i) An event or appearance meeting the requirements of paragraph (e)(1) of this section and occurring prior to January 1 of the year of the election for which the individual is a candidate is presumptively party-related;

(ii) Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (e)(1) of this section, an event or appearance occurring on or after January 1 of the year of the election for which the individual is a candidate is presumptively for the purpose of influencing the candidate's election, and any contributions or expenditures are governed by the contribution and expenditure limitations of this part 110.

(iii) The presumptions in paragraphs (e)(2) (i) and (ii) of this section may be rebutted by a showing to the Commission that the appearance or event was, or was not, party-related, as the case may be.

(f)(1) Expenditures made by or on behalf of any candidate nominated by a political party for election to the office of Vice President of the United States shall be considered to be expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate of such party for election to the office of President of the United States.

(2) Expenditures from personal funds made by a candidate for Vice President shall be considered to be expenditures by the candidate for President, if the candidate is receiving General Election Public Financing, see § 9003.2(c).

(g) An expenditure is made on behalf of a candidate, including a Vice-Presidential candidate, if it is made by—

(1) An authorized committee or any other agent of the candidate for purposes of making any expenditure;

(2) Any person authorized or requested by the candidate, an authorized committee of the candidate, or an agent of the candidate to make the expenditure; or

(3) A committee not authorized in writing, so long as it is requested by the candidate, an authorized committee of the candidate, or an agent of the candidate to make the expenditure.

[41 FR 35948, Aug. 25, 1976, as amended at 45 FR 21210, Apr. 1, 1980; 54 FR 34114, Aug. 17, 1989; 54 FR 48580, Nov. 24, 1989; 56 FR 35911, July 29, 1991; 68 FR 457, Jan. 3, 2003; 68 FR 6346, Feb. 7, 2003]