Commission approves 2017 legislative recommendations

At its open meeting of December 14, 2017, the Commission unanimously approved 12 legislative recommendations to send to Congress for consideration. The recommendations were transmitted to Congress on December 14, 2017, and are available at https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/legislation/.

The Commission’s recommendations would:

• Require electronic filing of Senate reports;
  
• Require electronic filing of electioneering communication reports;
  
• Grant the FEC the authority to create Senior Executive Service positions;
  
• Prohibit fraudulent PAC practices;
  
• Revise provisions prohibiting fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority;
  
• Extend the prohibition on conversion of campaign funds to personal use; 
  
• Make permanent the administrative fine program for reporting violations: The current administrative fine program only covers violations that relate to reporting periods through December 31, 2018. Congress has approved several extensions of the program since first enacting it in 2000;
  
• Increase and index for inflation certain registration and reporting thresholds;
  
• Increase the in-home event exemption and unreimbursed travel expense exemption for candidates and political parties;
  
• Permit political committees to make disbursements by methods other than by check;
  
• Update citations to reflect the recodification of the Federal Election Campaign Act; and
  
• Repeal convention funding provisions rendered non-operational by the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act.
  

Resources

• 2017 legislative recommendations [PDF]
  
• Commission discussion of 2017 legislative recommendations [mp3]