§ 734.503 Allocation and reimbursement of costs associated with political activities.

(a) The costs associated with the political activities described in § 733.502(c) of this chapter may not be paid for by money derived from the Treasury of the United States. Costs associated with a political activity are deemed not to be paid for by money derived from the Treasury of the United States if the Treasury is reimbursed for the costs within a reasonable period of time. (b) For the purposes of this section, costs associated with a political activity do not include any costs that the Government would have or have incurred regardless of whether the activity was political. Examples of such costs are: (1) The compensation of the employee described in § 734.502(a); (2) The value of any office or other real property owned or leased by the Government; (3) The compensation and expenses of any Government employee that is required in the performance of his or her duties to accompany or assist the person engaging in the political activity; and (4) The cost of special security arrangements for the person engaging in the political activity, including special transportation vehicles or methods. (c)(1) An employee covered under this subpart must apportion the costs of mixed travel based on the time spent on political activities and the time spent performing official duties. Prorating the cost of travel involves determining the “total activity time” which is the amount of time actually spent by the employee in meetings, receptions, rallies, and similar activities. Time spent in actual travel, private study, or rest and recreation is not included in the computation of the “total activity time”. The proration of the cost then is determined based on how the “total activity time” was spent. The formula is as follows: (2) The allocation method must be applied to all of the relevant costs of mixed travel. (3) Expenses that are associated specifically with a political activity and not with any official activity must be treated as political, and expenses associated specifically with an official activity and not with any political activity must be treated as official. (4) In allocating the costs of travel other than air travel, the allocation formula should be applied to any Government maximum for that type of expenditure. (5) The determination of the proper amount of allocation must be based on the facts and circumstances involved. (6) In the event that a minor, clearly incidental percentage of the activity of a mixed trip is devoted to either official or political activity, e.g. less than 3%, the entire trip should be treated as if it was wholly of the type represented by the substantial figure. The balance should be treated as de minimis and need not be reimbursed as political or charged as official. (d) For any cost of a political activity of an employee that is required to be reported to the Federal Election Commission under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) or the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act (PECFA), the employee shall use the same method of allocation as used under the FECA or PECFA and regulations thereunder in lieu of the allocation method in paragraph (c) of this section.