Week of December 23 - December 27, 2013

Weekly Digest

Week of December 23 - 27

COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

No Commission 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 6703
COMPLAINANT: Daniel Fishman
RESPONDENTS: WCVB-TV, Channel 5; and Hearst Stations, Inc.
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that WCVB-TV, Channel 5, (WCVB) unlawfully excluded Fishman from a televised debate among candidates, based on selection criteria that were not pre-established and objective. Fishman was a 2012 candidate for Massachusetts’s 6th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe a violation occurred because the record indicates that at least one of the required selection criteria was pre-established and objective and there was no indication that WCVB used major party affiliation as a criterion for participation in the debate.  On December 19, Vice Chairman Lee E. Goodman and Commissioners Caroline C. Hunter and Matthew S. Petersen issued a Statement of Reasons.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The Commission made public two campaign finance enforcement matters that were resolved through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 649– American Postal Workers Union Committee on Political Action and Elizabeth Powell, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission closed the file.

ADR 653 – Edwin Peacock for Congress and David Wofford Millen, Jr., in his official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to work with Commission staff to terminate the Committee.

LITIGATION

Garcia for Congress, et al. v. FEC (Case 3:13-cv-02401-K). On December 20, the Commission filed its Reply to the Plaintiffs’ Response to Commission''''s Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETINGS

January 16, 2014: The Commission is scheduled to hold both an open meeting and an executive session.

UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

February 11-12, 2014, Tampa, Florida, Regional Conference for House & Senate Campaigns, Political Party Committees and Corporate/Trade/Labor PACs. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

UPCOMING REPORTING DUE DATES

January 31, 2014: Year-End Reports are due. For more information on reporting dates, refer to the 2013 Reporting Dates page of the Commission website.

OTHER RESOURCES

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

The 2013 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 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 the Record news articles published in 2013 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 now 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.

The 2012 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.

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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