Week of June 26 – June 30, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

On June 27, the Commission held an executive session.

Advisory opinions

Request Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-06 (Stein/Gottlieb). On June 27, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2017-06. The requestors, Eli Stein and Jeremy Gottlieb, ask several questions about a proposed app that would allow users to round up spare change from the user’s debit or credit card transactions and contribute those amounts to candidates for federal office. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after receipt of the complete request, that is, by August 21, 2017.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6897

• COMPLAINANT: Daniel Sena on behalf of Udall for Us All
  
• RESPONDENTS: Allen E. Weh; and Allen Weh for Senate and Rebecca Sanchez, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that in three reports to the Commission, the Committee disclosed 80 disbursements totaling over $70,000, apparently made to reimburse the candidate for airfare costs, but did not disclose in a memo entry the ultimate payee. As a result, the complaint alleged, it is not possible to determine whether the Committee complied with regulations regarding travel on non-commercial aircraft.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in furtherance of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that the Committee took corrective action by amending its reports, and that based on the amended reports, there is no information to suggest that the Committee violated the Commission’s regulations related to non-commercial travel.
  

MUR 6934

• COMPLAINANT: Saul Escobar
  
• RESPONDENTS: Taddeo for Congress and Ralph Patino, in his official capacity as treasurer (Taddeo Committee); Annette Taddeo; Charlie Crist for Governor 2014 and Stanford B. Horwitz, in his official capacity as treasurer (Crist Committee); and Charlie Crist
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Crist Committee made and the Taddeo Committee accepted and did not report impermissible contributions from nonfederal funds in the form of e-mails sent by the Crist Committee. The complaint alleged further that the e-mails failed to contain the requisite disclaimers. Taddeo was a 2016 primary candidate for Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the respondents violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), or Commission regulations because it appears that at the time the e-mails were sent, Crist, not the Crist Committee, owned the email account at issue and there is no information supporting the conclusion that Crist acted on behalf of the Crist Committee when he sent the e-mails. Thus, Crist’s actions constituted uncompensated Internet activity by an individual.
  

MUR 7024

• COMPLAINANTS: Cause of Action Institute and Daniel Z. Epstein
  
• RESPONDENTS: Van Hollen for Congress and Stacey Maud, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Christopher Van Hollen, Jr.; Democracy 21; The Campaign Legal Center (CLC); and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Door LLP (Wilmer Hale)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Democracy 21, CLC and Wilmer Hale provided and then-Rep. Van Hollen received impermissible in-kind contributions in the form of pro bono legal services and that Van Hollen failed to disclose those services as contributions in reports filed with the Commission. Van Hollen served as the representative for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District from 2003 through 2016. In 2016, he won election to Maryland’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the respondents violated the Act or Commission regulations because the available evidence does not establish that the legal services at issue were contributions or provide a sufficient evidentiary basis to make such an inference.
  

MUR 7101

• COMPLAINANTS: Jeffrey Alan Merkley; Michael Wager; Ted W. Lieu; Walter Jones; John Howe; Zephyr Teachout; Anne L. Weismann; and Robert Fein
  
• RESPONDENTS: House Majority PAC; Access Industries, Inc.; Sheldon G. Adelson; American Alliance PAC; Americans for Shared Prosperity; Bold Agenda; Sarah Chamberlain Resnick; Charles G. Koch 1997 Trust; Chevron Corporation; Congressional Leadership Fund; Caleb Crosby; Keith A. Davis; Defending Main Street SuperPAC Inc.; ESA Fund; Fred Eychaner; Freedom Partners Action Fund, Inc.; Richard Gilliam; Kenneth A. Griffin; Diane Hendricks; Candace Hermsmeyer; John Jordan; Charles Koch; LIUNA Building America; Rebecca Lambe; Alixandria Lapp; Bernard Marcus; George Marcus; Chris Marston; Thomas F. Maxwell; Robert McNair; Robert Mercer; Mountaire Corporation; New York Wins PAC; Sean Parker; Petrodome Energy; Marlene Ricketts; Bernard H. Schwartz; Senate Leadership Fund; Senate Majority PAC; Jim Simons; Paul Singer; Warren Stephens; S. Donald Sussman; Vitreo-Retinal Consultants of the Palm Beaches; Nancy H. Watkins; and Robert Ziff
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the respondent contributors made, and the respondent independent expenditure-only political committees (super PACs) knowingly accepted, contributions in excess of the $5,000 annual limit applicable to political committees that are not authorized committees or political party committees.
  
• ·DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that the respondents made or accepted excessive contributions because (1) the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in SpeechNow.org v. FEC and the Commission’s Advisory Opinion 2010-11 plainly permit the contributions described in the complaint, and (2) there is no basis to conclude that the law remains unsettled in a way that would justify Commission nonacquiescence.
  

MUR 7143

• COMPLAINANT: William C. Love
  
• RESPONDENTS: Thomas Garrett; Tom Garrett for Congress and Christopher Woodfin, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Garrett for Virginia Senate, Garrett’s State Senate committee, paid for the Committee’s initial website costs using “soft money,” not subject to the source restrictions and limitations of the Act, and that the Committee did not disclose this transaction on its FEC reports. Garrett, a member of the Virginia State Senate from 2012 to 2017, was a 2016 candidate for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter. The Commission observed that the Committee contacted the Commission about a month before the complaint was filed and took swift remedial action, reimbursing Garrett’s state committee from the Committee’s federal account, and reporting the transaction on its next FEC report.
  

MUR 7227

• COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and Andris Silins, in his official capacity as treasurer (CLIC); Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America and Randy Thornhill, in his official capacity as treasurer (SW-CLIC); and Southwest Carpenters Vacation Trust (Trust)
  
• SUBJECT: Respondents notified the Commission that (1) CLIC and SW-CLIC knowingly accepted excessive contributions and failed to properly report those contributions in disclosure reports filed with the Commission and (2) the Trust made excessive contributions to CLIC and SW-CLIC.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for respondents to pay a civil penalty of $16,000.
  

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 822

• COMPLAINANT: Julio M. Carbajal
• RESPONDENTS: Maricela Arteaga
• SUBJECT: The respondent allegedly made $70 in prohibited foreign contributions.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed and closed the file.
  

Litigation

• CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case 17-5049). On June 27, the Appellants filed a Brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
  

Educational programs

On June 28, the Commission hosted a FECFile Webinar for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• July 11: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
  
• July 13: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and executive session.
  

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

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Upcoming educational programs

July 12: FECFile Webinar for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• July 15: July Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  
• July 20: July Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  
• July 31: Mid-Year reports are due. For more information on semiannual reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Semiannual Reporting page of the Commission website.
  

Additional research materials

The Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results are available in the Library section of the website. This listing was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

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

The 2017 edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available on the new Commission website. 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 Commission has published the June Record, the last monthly publication of the newsletter. As of next month, The Record will be available solely as a continuously-updated online news source. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

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.