§ 9038.2 - Repayments.

§ 9038.2 Repayments.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 221, Jan. 2, 2024.

(a) General.

(1) A candidate who has received payments from the matching payment account shall pay the United States Treasury any amounts which the Commission determines to be repayable under this section. In making repayment determinations under this section, the Commission may utilize information obtained from audits and examinations conducted pursuant to 11 CFR 9038.1 and part 9039 or otherwise obtained by the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities under this subchapter.

(2) The Commission will notify the candidate of any repayment determinations made under this section as soon as possible, but not later than 3 years after the close of the matching payment period. The Commission's issuance of the audit report to the candidate under 11 CFR 9038.1(d) will constitute notification for purposes of this section.

(3) Once the candidate receives notice of the Commission's repayment determination under this section, the candidate should give preference to the repayment over all other outstanding obligations of his or her committee, except for any federal taxes owned by the committee.

(4) Repayments may be made only from the following sources: personal funds of the candidate (without regard to the limitations of 11 CFR 9035.2), contributions and federal funds in the committee's account(s), and any additional funds raised subject to the limitations and prohibitions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended.

(b) Bases for repayment —

(1) Payments in excess of candidate's entitlement. The Commission may determine that certain portions of the payments made to a candidate from the matching payment account were in excess of the aggregate amount of payments to which such candidate was entitled. Examples of such excessive payments include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) Payments made to the candidate after the candidate's date of ineligibility where it is later determined that the candidate had no net outstanding campaign obligations as defined in 11 CFR 9034.5;

(ii) Payments or portions of payments made to the candidate which are later determined to have been excessive due to the operation of the Commission's expedited payment procedures as set forth in the Federal Election Commission's Guideline for Presentation in Good Order;

(iii) Payments or portions of payments made on the basis of matched contributions later determined to have been non-matchable;

(iv) Payments or portions of payments made to the candidate which are later determined to have been excessive due to the candidate's failure to include funds received by a fundraising representative committee under 11 CFR 9034.8 on the candidate's statement of net outstanding campaign obligations under 11 CFR 9034.5; and

(v) Payments or portions of payments made to the candidate on the basis of the debts reflected in the candidate's statement of net outstanding campaign obligations, which debts are later settled for an amount less than that stated in the statement of net outstanding campaign obligations.

(2) Use of funds for non-qualified campaign expenses.

(i) The Commission may determine that amount(s) of any payments made to a candidate from the matching payment account were used for purposes other than those set forth in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) (A)–(C) of this section:

(A) Defrayal of qualified campaign expenses;

(B) Repayment of loans which were used to defray qualified campaign expenses; and

(C) Restoration of funds (other than contributions which were received and expended to defray qualified campaign expenses) which were used to defray qualified campaign expenses.

(ii) Examples of Commission repayment determinations under 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2) include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Determinations that a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee(s) or agents have made expenditures in excess of the limitations set forth in 11 CFR part 9035;

(B) Determinations that funds described in 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2)(i) were expended in violation of State or Federal law;

(C) Determinations that funds described in 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2)(i) were expended for expenses resulting from a violation of State or Federal law, such as the payment of fines or penalties; and

(D) Determinations that funds described in 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2)(i) were expended for costs associated with continuing to campaign after the candidate's date of ineligibility.

(iii) The amount of any repayment sought under this section shall bear the same ratio to the total amount determined to have been used for non-qualified campaign expenses as the amount of matching funds certified to the candidate bears to the candidate's total deposits, as of 90 days after the candidate's date of ineligibility. For the purposes of this paragraph (b)(2)(iii)—

(A) Total deposits is defined in accordance with 11 CFR 9038.3(c)(2); and

(B) In seeking repayment for non-qualified campaign expenses from committees that have received matching fund payments after the candidate's date of ineligibility, the Commission will review committee expenditures to determine at what point committee accounts no longer contain matching funds. In doing this, the Commission will review committee expenditures from the date of the last matching fund payment to which the candidate was entitled, using the assumption that the last payment has been expended on a last-in, first-out basis.

(iv) Repayment determinations under 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2) will include all non-qualified campaign expenses paid before the point when committee accounts no longer contain matching funds, including non-qualified campaign expenses listed on the candidate's statement of net outstanding campaign obligations that may result in a separate repayment determination under 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(1).

(v) If a candidate or a candidate's authorized committee(s) exceeds both the overall expenditure limitation and one or more State expenditure limitations, as set forth at 11 CFR 9035.1(a), the repayment determination under 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2)(ii)(A) shall be based on only the larger of either the amount exceeding the State expenditure limitation(s) or the amount exceeding the overall expenditure limitation.

(3) Failure to provide adequate documentationrecords. The Commission may determine that amount(s) spent by the candidate, the candidate's authorized committee(s), or agents were not documented in accordance with 11 CFR 9033.11. The amount of any repayment sought under this section shall be determined by using the formula set forth in 11 CFR 9038.2(b)(2)(iii).

(4) The Commission may determine that the candidate's net outstanding campaign obligations, as defined in 11 CFR 9034.5, reflect a surplus. The Commission may determine that the net income derived from an investment or other use of surplus public funds after the candidate's date of ineligibility, less Federal, State and local taxes paid on such income, shall be paid to the Treasury.

(c) Repayment determination procedures. The Commission's repayment determination will be made in accordance with the procedures set forth at paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4) of this section.

(1) Repayment determination. The Commission will provide the candidate with a written notice of its repayment determination(s). This notice will be included in the Commission's audit report prepared pursuant to 11 CFR 9038.1(d), or inquiry report pursuant to 11 CFR 9039.3, and will set forth the legal and factual reasons for such determination(s), as well as the evidence upon which any such determination is based. The candidate shall repay to the United States Treasury in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section, the amount which the Commission has determined to be repayable.

(2) Administrative review of repayment determination. If a candidate disputes the Commission's repayment determination(s), he or she may request an administrative review of the determination(s) as set forth in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section.

(i) Submission of written materials. A candidate who disputes the Commission's repayment determination(s) shall submit in writing, within 60 calendar days after service of the Commission's notice, legal and factual materials demonstrating that no repayment, or a lesser repayment, is required. Such materials may be submitted by counsel if the candidate so desires. The candidate's failure to timely raise an issue in written materials presented pursuant to this paragraph will be deemed a waiver of the candidate's right to raise the issue at any future stage of proceedings including any petition for review filed under 26 U.S.C. 9041(a).

(ii) Oral hearing. A candidate who submits written materials pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section may at the same time request in writing that the Commission provide such candidate with an opportunity to address the Commission in open session to demonstrate that no repayment, or a lesser repayment, is required. The candidate should identify in this request the repayment issues he or she wants to address at the oral hearing. If the Commission decides by an affirmative vote of four (4) of its members to grant the candidate's request, it will inform the candidate of the date and time set for the oral hearing. At the date and time set by the Commission, the candidate or candidate's designated representative will be allotted an amount of time in which to make an oral presentation to the Commission based upon the legal and factual materials submitted under paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section. The candidate or representative will also have the opportunity to answer any questions from individual members of the Commission.

(3) Repayment determination upon review. In deciding whether to revise any repayment determination(s) following an administrative review pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the Commission will consider any submission made under paragraph (c)(2)(i) and any oral hearing conducted under paragraph (c)(2)(ii), and may also consider any new or additional information from other sources. A determination following an administrative review that a candidate must repay a certain amount will be accompanied by a written statement of reasons supporting the Commission's determination(s). This statement will explain the legal and factual reasons underlying the Commission's determination(s) and will summarize the results of any investigation(s) upon which the determination(s) are based.

(d) Repayment period.

(1) Within 90 calendar days of service of the notice of the Commission's repayment determination(s), the candidate shall repay to the United States Treasury the amounts which the Commission has determined to be repayable. Upon application by the candidate, the Commission may grant an extension of up to 90 calendar days in which to make repayment.

(2) If the candidate requests an administrative review of the Commission's repayment determination(s) under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the time for repayment will be suspended until the Commission has concluded its administrative review of the repayment determination(s). Within 30 calendar days after service of the notice of the Commission's post-administrative review repayment determination(s), the candidate shall repay to the United States Treasury the amounts which the Commission has determined to be repayable. Upon application by the candidate, the Commission may grant an extension of up to 90 calendar days in which to make repayment.

(3) Interest shall be assessed on all repayments made after the initial 90-day repayment period established at paragraph (d)(1) of this section or the 30-day repayment period established at paragraph (d)(2) of this section. The amount of interest due shall be the greater of:

(i) An amount calculated in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1961 (a) and (b); or

(ii) The amount actually earned on the funds set aside under this section.

(e) Computation of time. The time periods established by this section shall be computed in accordance with 11 CFR 111.2.

(f) Additional repayments. Nothing in this section will prevent the Commission from making additional repayment determinations on one or more of the bases set forth at 11 CFR 9038.2(b) after it has made a repayment determination on any such basis. The Commission may make additional repayment determinations where there exist facts not used as the basis for any previous determination. Any such additional repayment determination will be made in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(g) Newly-discovered assets. If, after any repayment determination made under this section, a candidate or his or her authorized committee(s) receives or becomes aware of assets not previously included in any statement of net outstanding campaign obligations submitted pursuant to 11 CFR 9034.5, the candidate or his or her authorized committee(s) shall promptly notify the Commission of such newly-discovered assets. Newly-discovered assets may include refunds, rebates, late-arriving receivables, and actual receipts for capital assets in excess of the value specified in any previously-submitted statement of net outstanding campaign obligations. Newly-discovered assets may serve as a basis for additional repayment determinations under 11 CFR 9038.2(f).

(h) Petitions for rehearing; stays pending appeal. The candidate may file a petition for rehearing of a repayment determination in accordance with 11 CFR 9038.5(a). The candidate may request a stay of a repayment determination in accordance with 11 CFR 9038.5(c) pending the candidate's appeal of that repayment determination.

[56 FR 35945, July 29, 1991, as amended at 60 FR 31886, June 16, 1995; 60 FR 57538, 57539, Nov. 16, 1995; 61 FR 69020, Dec. 31, 1996; 68 FR 47421, Aug. 8, 2003; 89 FR 221, Jan. 2, 2024]