The Empower Act of 2024 aims to reform the election process by modifying how primary and general election funds are managed, including changes to matching payment processes, eligibility requirements, and expenditure limits. It establishes a “Freedom From Influence Fund” for financial contributions, sets a uniform date for payment release, and specifies effective dates for these changes.

The section outlines changes to the matching payment system in the Internal Revenue Code related to presidential election campaigns. It increases the matchable contribution percentage to 600%, sets a limit on personal contributions, defines what qualifies as a "direct contribution," and adjusts the maximum payment limit to $250 million, with provisions for future inflation adjustments.

The section outlines changes to the requirements for candidates seeking matching payments for presidential campaigns. It raises the minimum contribution threshold to $25,000 from 20 states, sets a $1,000 per person contribution limit, requires candidates to participate in general election payment systems, and prohibits joint fundraising committees with political committees unless specific conditions are met.

The section outlines changes to the Internal Revenue Code regarding campaign spending for presidential candidates. It repeals existing expenditure limits and requires candidates to follow a new rule that limits their personal and family spending on their campaign to $50,000.

The section changes the timeframe for when candidates can start receiving matching funds for presidential elections. Instead of starting at the beginning of the election year, candidates can now receive funds starting six months before the earliest state primary election.

In this section, an update is made to the Internal Revenue Code to include "matchable contributions" along with "qualified campaign expenses" when examining and auditing campaign finances.

The section changes the Federal Election Campaign Act by modifying the limit on contributions to Presidential primary candidates. Instead of setting the limit for each calendar year, the limit now applies to the entire four-year election cycle.

The section establishes that, starting with the 2028 Presidential election, all payments to candidates are to be made from the Freedom From Influence Fund. It also mandates audits to ensure sufficient funds are available and allows payments to be reduced if necessary, but prohibits using funds from other sources to make such payments.

In this section of the bill, starting in the 2028 Presidential election, all campaign payments to candidates must be made from the "Freedom From Influence Fund." If there isn't enough money in this Fund, payments to candidates will be reduced proportionally, and no other money can be used to make up the difference. However, if more funds become available during the election cycle, the reduced payments may be partially or fully restored.

The bill modifies the rules for public financing eligibility in presidential elections, requiring candidates to have received primary campaign funds, agree to provide campaign expense records for auditing, and prohibits them from creating joint fundraising committees with other political committees unless those committees are exclusively for their authorized campaigns.

The section of the bill eliminates spending limits for presidential campaigns, allowing candidates to use qualified campaign contributions without restriction. It defines "qualified campaign contributions" and sets penalties for accepting unqualified donations, ensuring candidates from all parties face the same rules and penalties for violations.

The section outlines amendments to the Internal Revenue Code regarding presidential campaign funding. It proposes equal payment allocations to major, minor, and new party candidates, caps total eligible funds at $250 million but allows for inflation adjustments after 2029, and further defines “matchable contributions” as individual donations not exceeding $1,000 per election.

The bill proposes increasing the limit on how much a national political party can spend in support of a presidential candidate during a general election to $100,000,000, and it outlines when and how this amount will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2028. It also specifies that any communication or expenditure by the party related to a presidential candidate's campaign will count towards this spending limit.

The section amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a uniform date for the release of payments to eligible political party candidates, specifying the later of either the last Friday before the first Monday in September or 24 hours after certifications for all major political parties are received. It also changes the time frame for certification from 10 days to 24 hours.

In this section, the law is changed to include a rule for calculating the balance in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. The Secretary has to use an estimate of money that will be added to the fund in an election year, but this estimate can't be more than the average of the last three years' deposits.

The amended section of the Internal Revenue Code clarifies that expenses related to legal and accounting compliance for the general election by a candidate or their committee are considered expenses aimed at helping that candidate get elected.

In this section, the law changes to ensure that, starting from the 2028 Presidential election, all campaign payments must come from the "Freedom From Influence Fund." If the fund doesn't have enough money, payments to candidates will be reduced proportionally, and no other money sources can be used. The law also allows for payment restoration if funds become available later.

In the 2028 Presidential election and beyond, the "Freedom From Influence Fund" will be the source for election payments. If the fund doesn't have enough money, payments to candidates will be automatically reduced, but could be partially restored if more money becomes available later in the cycle.

The Freedom From Influence Fund is a special fund established in the U.S. Treasury to support political candidates financially. The money in this fund comes from specific sections of U.S. law and is used to make payments to political candidates according to the rules in the Internal Revenue Code, starting from when the law is enacted.

In this section of the bill, special assessments are added to fines, penalties, and settlements for certain offenses to support the Freedom From Influence Fund. The assessments apply to organizations and corporate officers involved in criminal offenses, civil penalties, and specific tax-related penalties, with a percentage of these amounts being allocated to the fund, while certain exceptions apply.

The section imposes a special assessment of 4.75% on fines for organizations or corporate officers convicted of federal crimes, and on settlements for those alleged to have committed such crimes. This money is collected like fines and transferred from the Treasury's General Fund to the Freedom From Influence Fund.

The section outlines that the federal government will add an extra 4.75% charge on top of any civil or administrative penalties, or settlements, imposed on businesses (excluding individuals who aren't officers or similar authorities) to support the Freedom From Influence Fund. However, this extra charge does not apply to penalties or settlements that fall under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Each person who has to pay certain penalties must also pay an extra 4.75% of that penalty amount, unless they are an individual with income under a certain threshold. The additional money collected is transferred to the Freedom From Influence Fund.

The section states that the law and its changes will start applying to the Presidential election in 2028 and all future Presidential elections. By June 30, 2026, the Federal Election Commission must create any necessary rules to implement this law.