Week of October 9 – October 13, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

• On October 11 and 12, the Commission held an executive session.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7200

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Joni for Iowa and Cabell Hobbs, 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 accurately disclose debts on its original 2014 July Quarterly Report, knowingly accepted excessive and prohibited contributions, and failed to timely refund excessive and prohibited contributions.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission agreed to enter into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $14,500.

MUR 7211

• COMPLAINANT: Loren Collins
  
• RESPONDENTS: Thomas H. Patrick
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Patrick failed to report independent expenditures to the Commission and to include a required disclaimer in a public communication containing express advocacy.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe Patrick failed to file independent expenditure reports and failed to include proper disclaimers in his mailer. The Commission then closed the file.
  

MUR 7247

• COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Bell Nursery USA, LLC (Bell Nursery); and Gary L. Mangum
  
• SUBJECT: Bell Nursery and Mangum notified the Commission that Bell Nursery made $17,587 in contributions in the name of Mangum, its president, Chief Executive Officer and part owner.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission agreed to enter into a conciliation agreement providing for Bell Nursery and Mangum to pay a civil penalty of $6,700.
  

Administrative fines

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

AF 3324

Loretta Sanchez for Senate and Jane Leiderman, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $949.

Litigation

• Center for Public Integrity v. FEC (Case 1:17-cv-01162-CRC). On October 12, the Commission filed its Opposition to Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply in Support of the Commission’s Motion for Summary Judgment (link) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  

Outreach

• On October 5, Press Officer Judith Ingram and Deputy Press Officer Christian Hilland met with a group of students from George Washington University to discuss the Commission's disclosure systems.

• On October 13, Deputy Press Officer Christian Hilland and Data Architect Paul Clark presented an overview of the Commission's new website to reporters participating in the Professional Development program at the National Press Club.

Federal Register

• REG 2011-02: On October 10, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice to reopen the comment period on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Internet Disclaimers. The Commission will accept comments until November 9, 2017.
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• October 24: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• October 26: 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.

Upcoming educational programs

• November 14-15: Washington, DC Regional Conference for candidates, parties and separate segregated funds. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.

• October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly 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 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.