Week of August 2-6, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7791

COMPLAINANT: Daniel Caruso
RESPONDENTS: Patriots for Perry and Lisa Stone, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); First Capital PAC and Lisa Stone, in her official capacity as treasurer (First Capital PAC); Koch Industries, Inc. Political Action Committee and Lacye R. Tennille, in her official capacity as treasurer (KOCHPAC); and Scott Perry
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that 1) the Committee reported a contribution received from KOCHPAC that KOCHPAC did not report making; 2) the Committee made a prohibited transfer of the KOCHPAC contribution to First Capital PAC, which is Scott Perry’s leadership PAC; and 3) First Capital PAC failed to report the contribution from KOCHPAC. Perry was a 2020 candidate for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.

MUR 7354 Friends of Chris McDaniel and Richard Conrad, in his official capacity as treasurer (McDaniel Committee); Chris McDaniel; and Remember Mississippi and Tommy Barnett, in his official capacity as treasurer (Remember PAC) On August 3, Vice Chair Allen Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor III issued a Statement of Reasons.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 935

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: South Dakota Democratic Party and Marcia Bunger, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee committed a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2017-2018 election cycle, including excessive, prohibited, and other contributions or transfers, mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize disbursements, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) complete an FEC-approved training; 2) redevelop and recertify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission; 3) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual that includes internal controls; and 4) pay a civil penalty of $7,200.

ADR 993

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Alliance for a Better Minnesota Federal PAC and Joe Davis, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee failed to timely file one 48-Hour Report totaling $230,756 supporting one independent expenditure disclosed on its 2020 October Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC training, and 2) pay a civil penalty of $11,535.

Litigation

The Patriots Foundation v. FEC (Case No. 20-2229) On August 3, Plaintiff filed a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Defendant-Intervenors filed a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Judgment Against Defendant Federal Election Commission in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2021-02 (Subvendor Reporting) On August 5, the Commission published a Notification of Availability in the Federal Register that seeks public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the Campaign Legal Center and the Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University. The petitioners ask the Commission to amend its existing regulations to require political committees and persons who make independent expenditures and electioneering communications to itemize all expenditures or disbursements made on behalf of the reporting entity, including those made by an agent, independent contractor, vendor, or subvendor. Public comments on the petition are due by October 4, 2021. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically (reference REG 2021-02) via the Commission’s website.

Upcoming educational programs

August 17-18, 2021: The Commission will host a Virtual Conference online via Zoom.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming Commission meetings

August 10 and 11, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

August 11, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming reporting due dates

August 20: August Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Status of agency operations

See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on April 15, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors. See also the agency’s Workplace Safety Plan, dated May 6, 2021.

Additional research materials

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

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

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.

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

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 currently. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.