Week of August 29 – September 2, 2016

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory opinions

Request received

Advisory Opinion Request 2016-10 (Parker).

On August 29, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2016-10 (Parker). The requester, a U.S. citizen residing abroad, asks several questions regarding her intent to send emails and text messages to friends and family encouraging them to make contributions to state and local party committees. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than September 8, 2016) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by October 25.

Administrative fines

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

AF 3038

Americans Socially United and Cary L. Peterson, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $7,150.

AF 3039

August Wolf for Senate and Bradley Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $9,800.

AF 3040

Claitor for Congress and Chelsea Bonnecaze, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $8,662.

AF 3041

Eddie Bernice Johnson for Congress and Randy Whitaker, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,760.

AF 3042

Edward Troy Holliday and Nancy Sharon Young, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $90.

AF 3043

Foundation for a Greater America, Inc., and Anastasia Ault, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $8,937.

AF 3045

Orman for U.S. Senate, Inc., and Wynne Royce Jennings, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $160.

AF 3046

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 74 and Mark R. Permar, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,655.

AF 3047

USA First PAC and Cabell Hobbs, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $620.

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 798

Cotton for Senate and Theodore V. Koch, in his official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual that includes internal controls consistent with the Commission’s Internal Controls and Political Committees advisory document and Best Practices for Committee Management, and (2) pay a civil penalty of $2,000.

Litigation

• Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:16-cv-00752-JDB). On August 26, the Commission filed its Reply in Support of Its Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• September 13: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• September 15: 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 educational programs

• September 22: Roundtable Workshop/Webinar on Reporting for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• September 22: Roundtable Workshop/Webinar on FECFile for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• September 28: Roundtable Workshop/Webinar on Reporting for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• September 28: Roundtable Workshop/Webinar on FECFile for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• September 20: September Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2016 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

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

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

The 2016 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 September Record newsletter. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

The 2016 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.