Commission issues notices of disposition on two petitions for rulemaking
The Commission has decided not to initiate rulemakings in response to two petitions for rulemaking.
REG 2016-01 (Comments on Advisory Opinion Drafts)
On February 10, 2016, the Commission received a petition for rulemaking from Make Your Laws PAC, Inc., Make Your Laws Advocacy, Inc., Make Your Laws, Inc., and Dan Backer, Esq. The petition asked the Commission to expand and formalize its procedures for soliciting public comments on draft advisory opinions by committing to strict deadlines for the public release of draft advisory opinions as well as “redlines” – copies of documents showing the differences between drafts – when releasing multiple draft advisory opinions.
After considering the petition and a comment received in response to a notification of availability, the Commission has decided not to initiate a rulemaking at this time. The Commission noted that the Federal Election Campaign Act provides a 10-day window for public comment on complete, qualified advisory opinion requests before the Commission issues a response. Additionally, the Commission highlighted its existing procedures for seeking comments on drafts of advisory opinions, which the Commission regularly releases at least one week before the meeting at which the drafts are considered, as well as its policy of inviting advisory opinion requestors to appear before the Commission to answer questions at the open meeting at which the Commission considers the advisory opinion request.
REG 2018-05 (Size of Letters in Television Disclaimers)
On December 4, 2018, the Commission received a petition for rulemaking from Extreme Reach. The petition asked the Commission to amend its regulation on the size of letters in disclaimers in certain television advertisements such that the required letter size for advertisements broadcast in high definition would be reduced.
After considering the petition and comments received in response to a notification of availability, the Commission has decided not to initiate a rulemaking at this time. The Commission noted that the proposal would create a conflict between FEC regulations and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on the minimum permissible size of disclaimers on political advertisements.