52 U.S.C. § 30114 — Use of contributed amounts for certain purposes
submitted 24 years ago by Pub. L. 92-225 to r/title-52-VOTING-AND-ELECTIONS · 787 words · no verdicts yet
Candidates and officeholders can use campaign contributions for campaign costs, office duties, donations, or party transfers. They cannot use the money for personal expenses like rent or vacations. New rules also limit paying for private plane flights with campaign funds.
(a) Permitted uses
A candidate, or an individual using donations to support their work as a federal officeholder, may use that money for: (1) legitimate campaign expenses; (2) ordinary and necessary costs of doing the job as a federal officeholder; (3) donations to charities described in section 170(c) of title 26; (4) unlimited transfers to national, state, or local party committees; (5) donations to state and local candidates, following state law; or (6) any other lawful purpose that subsection (b) doesn't prohibit.
(b) Prohibited use
(1) Contributions and donations described above cannot be converted to personal use.
(2) Money counts as converted to personal use if it pays for a commitment, obligation, or expense the person would have anyway, regardless of the campaign or officeholder duties — including: (A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility bill; (B) buying clothing; (C) a car expense unrelated to the campaign; (D) a country club membership; (E) a vacation or other trip unrelated to the campaign; (F) household food; (G) tuition; (H) tickets to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other entertainment unrelated to the campaign; and (I) dues or fees for a health club or recreational facility.
(c) Restrictions on use of campaign funds for flights on noncommercial aircraft
(1) Except for House candidates covered by paragraph (2), a candidate or their authorized committee cannot pay for a flight unless: (A) it's on a certificated air carrier or commercial operator flying under air-carrier safety rules (or, for foreign travel, a certificated foreign carrier under equivalent rules); or (B) the candidate or committee pays the plane's owner or lessee a fair, pro-rata share of the flight's market value — the usual charter or rental rate divided by the number of candidates aboard — within a commercially reasonable time.
(2) For House candidates, their authorized committee and leadership PAC cannot pay for a flight unless: (A) it meets the same certificated-carrier rule as above; or (B) the aircraft is operated by the federal government or a state government.
(3) (A) These rules don't apply to a flight on a plane owned or leased by the candidate or their immediate family (including one owned by a private entity the candidate or family member has an ownership stake in), as long as the candidate doesn't use it beyond their proportionate ownership share.
(B) "Immediate family member" means a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.
(4) "Leadership PAC" has the meaning given in section 30104(i)(8)(B).
A contribution accepted by a candidate, and any other donation received by an individual as support for activities of the individual as a holder of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or individual—
for otherwise authorized expenditures in connection with the campaign for Federal office of the candidate or individual;
for ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with duties of the individual as a holder of Federal office;
for contributions to an organization described in section 170(c) of title 26;
for transfers, without limitation, to a national, State, or local committee of a political party;
for donations to State and local candidates subject to the provisions of State law; or
for any other lawful purpose unless prohibited by subsection (b) of this section.
A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by any person to personal use.
For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or individual’s duties as a holder of Federal office, including—
a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment;
a clothing purchase;
a noncampaign-related automobile expense;
a country club membership;
a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip;
a household food item;
a tuition payment;
admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and
dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a candidate for election for Federal office (other than a candidate who is subject to paragraph (2)), or any authorized committee of such a candidate, may not make any expenditure for a flight on an aircraft unless—
the aircraft is operated by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or, in the case of travel which is abroad, by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules; or
the candidate, the authorized committee, or other political committee pays to the owner, lessee, or other person who provides the airplane the pro rata share of the fair market value of such flight (as determined by dividing the fair market value of the normal and usual charter fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of comparable size by the number of candidates on the flight) within a commercially reasonable time frame after the date on which the flight is taken.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the case of a candidate for election for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, an authorized committee and a leadership PAC of the candidate may not make any expenditure for a flight on an aircraft unless—
the aircraft is operated by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or, in the case of travel which is abroad, by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules; or
the aircraft is operated by an entity of the Federal government or the government of any State.
Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to a flight on an aircraft owned or leased by the candidate involved or an immediate family member of the candidate (including an aircraft owned by an entity that is not a public corporation in which the candidate or an immediate family member of the candidate has an ownership interest), so long as the candidate does not use the aircraft more than the candidate’s or immediate family member’s proportionate share of ownership allows.
In this subparagraph (A), the term “immediate family member” means, with respect to a candidate, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.
In this subsection, the term “leadership PAC” has the meaning given such term in section 30104(i)(8)(B) of this title.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 92–225, title III, § 313, as added Pub. L. 107–155, title III, § 301, Mar. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 95; amended Pub. L. 108–447, div. H, title V, § 532, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3272; Pub. L. 110–81, title VI, § 601(a), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 774.)
- 2002Enacted · Pub. L. 92-225 · 116 Stat. 95
- 2004Amended · Pub. L. 108-447 · 118 Stat. 3272
- 2007Amended · Pub. L. 110-81 · 121 Stat. 774
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 92-225 on 2002-03-27.
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