The Federal Election Administration Act of 2003

 

Structure of the FEA

 

§         The Federal Election Administration Act of 2003 (Act) creates a new independent agency, the Federal Election Administration (FEA), to replace the Federal Election Commission (FEC).  The three-member FEA will consist of a chairman and two other members, all of whom are to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.   The Act provides that individuals who are or have been members of the FEC subject to a term limit are not eligible to be appointed to the new agency.

 

§         The FEA chairman will serve a term of ten years and will have broad powers to manage and administer the agency. The two other members will serve staggered six year terms and may not both be from the same political party.  Members of the FEA are not eligible for reappointment (unless originally appointed to fill a vacancy for less than half of an unexpired term) and may be removed from office by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.

 

Enforcement Functions

 

§         Enforcement actions will be initiated by a majority vote of the three-member FEA, based on either information available to the FEA or on a complaint filed by any person.  Prior to initiating an enforcement action, the FEA is required to give any person under investigation notice and the opportunity to make the case that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation has occurred or is about to occur.

 

§         Once an enforcement action is initiated by the FEA, the case will be heard by an administrative law judge (ALJ). The FEA general counsel will represent the agency in such a proceeding. The ALJ will have the authority to make findings of fact and reach conclusions of law. The ALJ also will have the authority to find that violations of law have occurred, and to impose civil penalties and issue cease and desist orders, subject to an appeal to the FEA.

 

§         The general counsel and any respondent in an enforcement proceeding will have the right to appeal a decision made by an ALJ to the three-member FEA. The decision of the FEA regarding such an appeal will constitute final agency action and be subject to judicial review. If a decision by an ALJ is not appealed it will constitute final agency action.

 

§         A party aggrieved by a decision of the FEA in an enforcement proceeding will have the right to obtain judicial review in federal court. A complainant may seek judicial review in federal court of the dismissal of a complaint or the failure to act on a complaint by the FEA.

 

§         The FEA will have the authority to apply to a federal district court for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to prevent violations of law that would result in substantial harm to the public interest.

 

§         A majority vote of the three-member FEA will be required for the FEA to initiate enforcement actions before an ALJ, find that campaign finance violations have occurred, impose penalties and sanctions, apply for restraining orders and injunctions, and issue regulations and advisory opinions.

 

Other Functions

 

§         The FEA will have the responsibilities, previously held by the FEC, to administer the campaign finance disclosure laws and the presidential public financing system, and to issue regulations and advisory opinions. The FEA also will have the authority to conduct a limited number of random audits of campaign committees.

 

§         The budget of the FEA will be established by Congress based on a budget request prepared by the FEA chairman and submitted directly to Congress.  The GAO will conduct periodic studies of the funding for FEA and submit recommendations to Congress on the level of funding necessary to provide adequate resources for the FEA to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.