Week of May 14 - May 18, 2018

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7108

• COMPLAINANT: Mary Patricia Dorsey
  
• RESPONDENTS: Chappelle-Nadal for Congress and George Lenard, in his official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Citizens for Maria Chapelle-Nadal and Neva Taylor, in her official capacity as treasurer (State Committee); Citizens to Elect Gray and Angela Mosley, in her official capacity as treasurer (Gray Committee); Citizens to Elect Jay Mosley State Committee LLC and Angela D. Mosley, in her official capacity as treasurer (Mosley Committee); and Linda Weaver
  
•  SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Federal Committee directed state and local candidates, including Jay Mosley and Rochelle Walton Gray, to spend federally impermissible funds (known as soft money) to print and distribute a a door hanger supporting the candidate’s federal candidacy. The complaint alleged further that the Federal Committee coordinated the communication with the non-federal candidates, making expenditures for the door-hanger in-kind contributions that the Federal Committee failed to report. Chappelle-Nadal, a Missouri State Senator, was a 2016 primary candidate for Missouri’s 1^st Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the nonfederal committee directed any other nonfederal candidates to spend soft money on the door hanger, or that the Federal Committee coordinated the communication at issue or failed to report an in-kind contribution because there was insufficient information to support the allegations. 
  

MUR 7257

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENT: TeaPartyExpress.org and Kelly Lawler in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated an enforcement matter to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to disclose in a timely manner independent expenditures and committee debts in the 2011-2012 election cycle.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe the Committee failed to properly disclose (1) certain independent expenditures and (2) debts and obligations totaling $310,561. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $15,000.
  

Audits

McSally for Congress-2014. 

On May 15, the Commission made public the Final Audit Report of the Commission on McSally for Congress, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2014. The approved findings relate to the misstatement of financial activity, disclosure of occupation/name of employer, receipt of contributions in excess of the limit, failure to file 48-hour notices, and failure to itemize contributions from political committees.

Litigation

• Holmes et al., v. FEC (Case no. 17-1297) On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court denied certiorari.
  
•  Doe et al., v. FEC (Case no. 18-5099) On May 14, 2018, the Plaintiffs-Appellants filed a Brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
  

Administrative Fines

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

AF 3350

Byrne for Congress and Bruce Neilson in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

•  May 22, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
  
• May 24, 2018: 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.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• May 20: May Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2018 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  

The Commission has posted the filing deadlines for the Special election in Pennsylvania’s 7^th Congressional District. For information on reporting dates for this election, refer to the Special Election Report Notice.

Upcoming educational programs

• On May 23, the Commission will host a webinar for trade associations and their political action committees (PACs).
  
• On June 6, the Commission will host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their political action committees (PACs).
  

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.

Printed copies of the 2018 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are now available. Contact the Commission's Information Division at (202) 694-1100 or (800) 424-9530 (press 6, when prompted) to order printed copies of the CFR at no charge. You may also email the Information Division to place an order at info@fec.gov.

The 2017 Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations is available. Other Campaign Guides are available, as well.

The 2018 Congressional Primary Election Dates list is available.

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. To order a printed copy, please contact the FEC’s Public Records Office at 800/424-9530 (option 2) or 202/694-1120, or send an email to pubrec@fec.gov.

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.

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.