MUR 5690: reporting joint fundraising proceeds

On April 11, 2007, the Commission announced that the Jim Gerlach for Congress Committee agreed to pay a $120,000 civil penalty for failing to comply with several reporting provisions of the Act.

Background

The Act and Commission regulations require participants in a joint fundraiser to disclose the total amount received from the joint fundraising committee and to itemize individual contributor information for the original sources for each joint fundraising disbursement. 11 CFR 102.17(c)(8)(i)(B) and 2 U.S.C.§ 434(b)(2)(F), (3)(A). Furthermore, each report from an authorized political committee must disclose the total amount of receipts for the election cycle, including contributions, and the total amount of contributions received from persons other than committees for the reporting period. 2 U.S.C. 434(b)(2), 434(b)(2)(A).

Reporting violations

The Commission found reason to believe that the Gerlach Committee and Michael DeHaven, in his official capacity as treasurer ("the Committee"), violated the Act by failing to itemize $8,832 in contributions received from a joint fundraising committee in its 2004 Year End Report. The Committee also incorrectly reported election-cycle-to-date totals by $2,156,770 for contributions in several 2004 and 2005 reports and misreported $8,911.21 of refunded contributions as unitemized contributions received in the 2005 October Quarterly Report.

The Commission also found reason to believe that the Committee incorrectly reported contributions from persons other than a political committee, total election cycle to date contributions for an individual and the committee"s cash on hand. The Commission voted to take no further action regarding those violations, but sent the Committee an admonishment letter.

Conciliation agreement

The Committee agreed to pay $120,000 in civil penalties and will cease and desist from violating the Act.