Week of March 6 – March 10, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

• On March 7 and 9, the Commission held an executive session.
  
• On March 9, the Commission held an open meeting.
  

Advisory opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2016-23 (Socialist Workers Party)

On March 9, the Commission held over until its March 23 open meeting discussion of an advisory opinion request from the Socialist Workers Party and certain related committees (SWP). The SWP requests that the Commission extend the partial reporting exemption provided to it in earlier advisory opinions. On March 8, the Commission received an Extension of Time until March 23. On March 9, the Commission made public a new draft.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6975

• COMPLAINANT: Marc E. Elias, General Counsel to Hillary for America
  
• RESPONDENTS: Unknown Respondent
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that an unknown individual or individuals fraudulently solicited funds in the name of Hillary Clinton, who was a 2016 candidate for United States President.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities and resources. The Commission observed that it was unable to locate any public information about people who may have been behind the solicitation and that the circumstances indicated that the scope of the scheme was limited.
  

MUR 6987

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Florida Freedom PAC and Gihan J. Perera, 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 that the Committee failed to file or timely file 24-hour and 48-hour reports of independent expenditures totaling $285,346.08.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission agreed to enter into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $30,000.
  

Audits

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Colorado Republican Committee

On March 9, the Commission discussed and held over an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Colorado Republican Committee, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. The Commission discussed findings related to the misstatement of financial activity, reporting of apparent independent expenditures, recordkeeping for communications, and failure to itemize debts and obligations.

Litigation

• McChesney, et al. v. FEC (Case 17-1179). On March 3, the Appellants filed a Response to Appellees' Motions in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
  

Outreach

• On March 8, Assistant Branch Chief of the Party/Non-Party Branch Dan Buckley and Assistant Branch Chief of the Authorized Branch Brad Matheson led a training session on the Reports Analysis Division review process and common reporting problems for the MBA Consulting Group.
  

Public records

• Chief FOIA Officer Report. On March 9, the Commission held over discussion of the 2017 report of the Chief FOIA Officer to the United States Attorney General, describing steps taken by the agency to improve the Commission’s compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and transparency.
  

Press releases

• FEC Will Not Appeal District Court Decision in Level the Playing Field v. FEC (issued March 8)
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• March 21: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
  
• March 23: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
  
• Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.
  

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube in 2017

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.

Upcoming educational programs

• March 29: Member/Labor Organization Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
  
• April 26: Trade Association Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
  

Upcoming reporting due dates

• March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  
• April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  
• April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  
• The Commission has posted the filing deadlines for Special General Election in Montana’s At-Large Congressional District. For information on reporting dates for this election, refer to the Special Election Report Notice.
  

Disclosure initiatives

Commission staff, together with our partners at 18F, continue to add new features to the agency's beta.fec.gov website. The Commission encourages website visitors to submit comments and questions by clicking on the “Feedback” tab at the bottom of each page.

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 latest edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available in the Public Records section of the 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 March Record newsletter. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

The latest 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.