§9008 Payments for presidential nominating conventions

Summary

The Secretary must keep a separate account in the fund for the national committee of each major party and each minor party. Money put into those accounts comes from amounts people designate under section 6096 and must be deposited before any transfers to candidate accounts under section 9006(a). After the Commission certifies a party’s claim, the Secretary will pay from that party’s account. A major party’s total payments for any presidential nominating convention cannot be more than $4,000,000. A minor party’s total payment is a fraction of that $4,000,000 based on how many popular votes its presidential candidate got in the last election compared to the average votes of the major party candidates. Payments can start on July 1 of the year before the convention. The money can only pay national committee convention costs, deposits, loans used for those costs, or to restore funds the committee used for those costs; it cannot be used to pay candidates’ or delegates’ expenses. A party may not spend more on a convention than its payment allows unless the Commission permits extra spending because of extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances. After a convention, leftover money in a committee’s account goes back to the fund. Parties must file a designation with the Commission, which will verify and certify payments and audit by December 31 of the convention year. The Commission can require repayments under the same rules that apply to candidates in section 9007, and sections 9007(c) and 9007(d) apply. On the day the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act became law, these payment rights ended and all money in those accounts was transferred to the “10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund,” to be used only for the purpose in section 402A(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act and only to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts.