Week of December 1 - December 5, 2014

Weekly Digest

Week of December 1 – 5

COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

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

ADVISORY OPINIONS

Requests Received

AOR 2014-19 (ActBlue). On December 3, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2014-19. ActBlue, a non-connected political committee that provides Internet-based tools for candidates and committees to solicit and receive contributions, asks whether certain types of proposed draft and nominee funds are consistent with the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, and Commission regulations. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after receipt of the complete request, that is, by February 2, 2015.

AOR 2014-20 (Make Your Laws PAC). On December 5, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2014-20, submitted by Make Your Laws PAC.  The requestor, a nonconnected political committee, asks whether foreign nationals may volunteer their services to the requestor to develop the requestor''''s website. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after receipt of the complete request, that is, by January 23, 2015.

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 733 – FaegreBD PAC and Frederick Garver, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee). The respondent agreed to (1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual, (2) certify that a Committee representative participated in an FEC conference, and (3) pay a civil penalty of $3,100.

LITIGATION 

Rufer, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:14-cv-00837-CRC). On December 2, the plaintiffs filed a Stipulation of Dismissal in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Republican National Committee, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:14-cv-00853-CRC). On December 3, the plaintiffs filed a Stipulation Dismissing Plaintiffs and Action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Rufer, et al. v. FEC (Case 14-5240) and Republican National Committee, et al., v. FEC (Case 14-5241). On December 2, the plaintiffs in No. 14-5240 filed a Joint Dismissal Agreement in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

OUTREACH

On December 5, Communications Specialist Zainab Smith discussed the role of the Commission with a group of governmental officials from Indonesia as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

On December 2, the Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) made public its November 2014 Semiannual Report to Congress.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

December 4: Post-General Reports were due. For information on general election reporting dates, refer to the 2014 General Election Reporting page of the Commission website.

UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETINGS

December 9: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.

December 11: 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

January 31, 2015: Year-End Reports are due. For information on general election reporting dates, refer to the 2014 Reporting Dates page  of the Commission website.

OTHER RESOURCES

The 2014 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 2014 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.

The 2013 Legislative Recommendations are available on the Commission’s website.

The 2014 edition of the Federal Election Commission Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees is available on the Commission’s website.

The August 2013 edition of the Federal Election Commission Campaign Guide for Political Party Committees is available on the Commission’s website.

The Official 2012 Presidential General Election Results are available in the Library section of the website. This listing was compiled from the official election results published by state election offices.

An index to Record news articles published is available on the Commission website. The Record news page is available in the Publications section of the Commission website. Sign up to receive email notification when new articles are posted.

The FEC Annual Reports from 1975-2006 are available on the website. Beginning in 2007, the Commission consolidated its Annual Report with its Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) to provide a single account of the agency’s activities for each fiscal year.

Instructional videos are available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/FECTube?feature=watch. These videos are also available on the Commission’s E-Learning resources page at http://www.fec.gov/info/elearning.shtml.

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