Week of January 1 - January 5, 2018

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

 Advisory opinions

 Advisory Opinion Request 2017-13 (NSP and Sorghum PAC)

On January 2, 2018, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2017-13 (National Sorghum Producers and Sorghum PAC).  The requestors, a national trade association and its separate segregated fund (SSF), ask whether (1) the SSF may use a proposed checkoff system to collect contributions from its members; (2) state trade associations may serve as collecting agents for the SSF; and (3) the national trade association and the state trade associations constitute a federation of trade associations.  The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (by no later than January 16) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by February 20, 2018.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7235

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Utah Republican Party and Abram Young, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated findings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee knowingly accepted corporate contributions, knowingly accepted excessive contributions, failed to maintain monthly employee payroll logs, and failed to report debts and obligations.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $17,500. Commissioner Lee E. Goodman issued a Statement of Reasons.
  

Alternative dispute resolution

 The Commission made public one campaign finance enforcement matter that was resolved through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

 ADR 831

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENT: Orentlicher for Congress and Russell Stilwell, in his official capacity as treasurer
  
• SUBJECT: The respondent failed to timely refund or re-designate 2016 General Election contributions totaling $28,950 within the permissible timeframe.
  
• DISPOSITION: The respondent agreed to participate in a one-on-one training regarding reporting requirements and procedures and to pay a civil penalty of $2,150.
  

Litigation

• Doe, et al. v FEC (Case 1:17-cv-02694-ABJ). On January 3, Plaintiffs filed a Reply Memorandum in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Anne Weismann filed a Motion to Intervene.
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• January 9, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
  
•  January 11, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and an executive session.

 Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

Upcoming educational programs

February 21-22: Scottsdale, Arizona Regional Conference for candidates, parties and separate segregated funds. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Additional research materials

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

Federal Elections 2016: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

The 2017 edition of 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.

The 2017 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations can be downloaded from the website.  To order printed copies, call (800) 424-9530 (press 6) or send an email to info@fec.gov.

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 at this time. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other mediums has not been authorized by the FEC.