Week of February 22-26, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

On February 25, the Commission held an open meeting and an administrative review hearing.

On February 23 and 25, the Commission met in executive session.

Advisory Opinions

Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2021-02 (FEN-PAC) On February 25, the Commission approved an advisory opinion request from the Full Employment Now-Political Action Committee (FEN-PAC), an independent expenditure-only committee, regarding whether it may use aggregate data about FEN-PAC contributors in communications with members of Congress and Congressional candidates on matters involving legislative and policy issues. The Commission concluded that FEN-PAC’s proposal is permissible because nothing in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), or the Commission’s regulations prohibit the proposed use of aggregate contributor data in communications with officeholders or candidates. The Commission received one comment on the draft advisory opinion.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Commission made public four closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 972

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: VIGOP (Virgin Islands Republican Party) and John Canegata, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee failed to remedy excessive receipts totaling $32,600 within the permissible timeframe during the 2019 calendar year.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a process to ensure that receipts are reviewed in a timely manner; 2) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual that includes internal controls; and 3) pay a civil penalty of $2,445.

ADR 974

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: SEAL PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders PAC and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee failed to remedy excessive receipts totaling $29,770 within the permissible timeframe during the 2019 calendar year.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to develop and certify implementation of a process to ensure that receipts are reviewed in a timely manner for excessive contributions, and to pay a civil penalty of $2,700.

ADR 978

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Protect Freedom Political Action Committee and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to file in a timely manner a 48-Hour Report, totaling $42,500, that supported an independent expenditure disclosed on its 2020 May Monthly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in an FEC training and to pay a civil penalty of $2,125.

ADR 981

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: ActBlue and Erin Hill, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee failed to remedy $43,676.10 in excessive receipts within the permissible timeframe.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a policy document detailing the process to ensure that receipts are reviewed timely for excessive contributions; 2) perform and certify completion of an internal audit and reconciliation for the 2019-2020 election cycle to identify and remedy any additional excessive contributions; and 3) pay a civil penalty of $3,300.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 20-0730) On February 19, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order granting in part and denying in part Defendant-Intervenor Right to Rise Super PAC Inc.’s motion to dismiss.

FEC v. Rivera (Case No. 17-22643) On February 23, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an Order granting the Commission’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

Press Releases

District Court issues opinion in FEC v. Rivera (issued February 23)

FEC approves advisory opinion, holds administrative review hearing (issued February 25)

Public Disclosure

On February 24, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) made public its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025, providing a road map for oversight of and recommending improvements to FEC programs and operations. The OIG has revamped its public webpage to improve clarity, accessibility, and a better user interface.

Upcoming educational programs

March 3, 2021: The Commission will hold a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

March 10, 2021: The Commission will host a 2021 Filing Dates Overview workshop. The 30-minute, online workshop is free but pre-registration is required to participate.

March 24, 2021: The Commission will hold a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming Commission meetings

March 9, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 11, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

March 23, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 25, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming reporting due dates

March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Status of agency operations

See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on January 4, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors.

Additional research materials

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

The Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.

The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube

Follow @FEC on Twitter to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms currently. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.