FEC Discusses New Initiatives to Improve Compliance and Disclosure

WASHINGTON — The Federal Election Commission today discussed a set of initiatives underway to aid in compliance and public disclosure of campaign finance activity. The Commission requested public comment on proposed changes to campaign finance filing forms.

Alec Palmer, the Commission’s Staff Director and Chief Information Officer, outlined the initiatives. First, he announced a study to define a roadmap for improving and modernizing the Commission’s electronic filing system, including use of a cloud-based platform, in order to increase the consistency and accuracy of reporting.

Second, Mr. Palmer announced the implementation of a new Paper Automation System to capture data disclosed on campaign finance reports filed on paper, including those filed by Senate candidates. The goal of the new system, which went into production last week, is to speed the public disclosure of itemized, transaction-level data reported by paper filers.

Third, Mr. Palmer and Debbie Chacona, Assistant Staff Director, Reports Analysis Division, outlined Proposed Revisions to Forms 3, 3P, 3X, 6 and Instructions. The changes are intended to assist with compliance, provide clearer disclosure, and make the forms more consistent with one another. Chairman Matthew S. Petersen said the Commission would seek public comment on the proposed changes, sent to a dedicated email address, for the next two weeks.

Chairman Petersen also said that Commissioners are working on drafts of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Technological Modernization.

Advisory Opinion Request 2016-05 (Huckabee for President) 

The requestor withdrew the advisory opinion request.

Proposed Statement of Policy Regarding the Public Disclosure of Closed Enforcement Documents 

The Commission held over discussion of a proposed statement of policy that would expand the range of records to be made publicly available on a regular basis.