Week of December 12-16, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On December 13 and 15, the Commission met in executive session.

On December 15, the Commission held an open meeting.

Election of Officers

On December 15, the Commission elected Dara Lindenbaum as Chair and Sean J. Cooksey as Vice Chairman for 2023.

Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinions Issued

Advisory Opinion Request 2022-22 (Data Vault I) On December 15, the Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to a request from DataVault. The Commission concluded that DataVault’s proposal to create and sell nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to political committees for use in the committees’ fundraising activities would be permissible under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations because DataVault proposes to sell the NFTs to the committees in the ordinary course of business, at the usual and normal charge, and under the same terms and conditions as its non-political clients, which would not result in prohibited corporate in-kind contributions to the committees.

Advisory Opinion Request 2022-23 (Data Vault II) On December 15, the Commission approved a second advisory opinion in response to a request from DataVault. The Commission concluded that DataVault’s proposal to license a patented audio technology to political committees for use in their fundraising activities is permissible under the Act and Commission regulations because DataVault would do so in the ordinary course of business, at the usual and normal charge and on the same terms and conditions as its non-political clients. As a result, the proposal would not result in prohibited corporate in-kind contributions to the political committees.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7954

COMPLAINANT: Michael Harris
RESPONDENT: Kevin Mullin, Kevin Mullin for Congress and Stacy Owens, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2022
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Mullin, the Committee, and Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2022 used funds in connection with a federal election that were not raised subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), when Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2022 paid for two mass mailers. Mullin was a 2022 candidate for California’s 15th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the respondents spent or transferred nonfederal funds in connection with a federal election or that it failed to report an in-kind contribution from Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2022 because the mailers at issue appeared to have been directed to constituents of Mullin’s state assembly district, and did not appear to have been “in connection with an election,” which would implicate the Act’s prohibition on the use or transfer or nonfederal funds.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public eight closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine Search System.

AF 4332 Aja Smith for Congress 2022 and Aja Smith, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $748.

AF 4333 Ferrara for America and Nancy Marks, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $706.

AF 4334 Greg Raths for Congress Greg Raths, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $6,358.

AF 4335 Dr Myron Hall for Senate and Peggy J. Sturdivant, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $744.

AF 4337 Krystle Matthews for Senate and Brande Guillory, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $248.

AF 4338 Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn Inc Political Action Committee (AKA OOIDA-PAC) and Angela Burnell, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $256.

AF 4395 Rob Wittman for Congress and Chris Marston, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $7,170.

AF 4396 Families for James Lankford and Terri Lynn Miller, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,010.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2021-01: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Candidate Salaries. On December 12, the Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Candidate Salaries in the Federal Register. The Commission seeks written comment on the Notice, which may be submitted electronically. Comments must be received by February 10, 2023.

REG 2022-06 Draft Notification of Availability (Disgorgement) On December 15, the Commission approved a Draft Notification of Availability on a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by Campaign Legal Center. The petitioner requests that the Commission amend its regulations regarding the disposal of illegal contributions to include disgorgement to the United States Treasury. The Commission seeks comment on the Petition and will consider whether to initiate a rulemaking after the comment period has closed. A Notice that includes the comment deadline will be published in the Federal Register at a future date.

Legislative Recommendations

On December 15, the Commission approved its Legislative Recommendations to Congress for 2022. The Commission received one comment on the draft Legislative Recommendations.

Litigation

CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-5161) On December 12, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a per curiam order, denying Plaintiffs-Appellants’ petition for rehearing en banc.

Public Disclosure

On December 14, the Office of the Inspector General released an Investigative Summary on an Allegation of Improper Hiring Practices in the Office of General Counsel.

Press releases

Appeals Court issues opinion in CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-5161) (issued December 13)

FEC Elects Officers for 2023, Approves Legislative Recommendations and Advisory Opinions (issued December 15)

Dara Lindenbaum elected Chair, Sean J. Cooksey elected Vice Chair for 2023 (issued December 15)

Upcoming Commission meetings

January 10, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

January 12, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

January 24, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

January 26, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

January 24, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host FECFile and reporting webinars for PACs and party committees.

January 25, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host FECFile and reporting webinars for candidate committees.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

January 31, 2023: Year-End Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Quarterly and Monthly Reporting schedules.

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.

Federal Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is now 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 Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

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