Week of December 6-10, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2021-13 (Matthew Hoh) On December 9, the Commission made public two drafts of an advisory opinion (Draft A and Draft B). The requestor intends to run for U.S. Senate in the 2022 election cycle. Hoh is a combat veteran who receives disability compensation from the Veterans Administration. Hoh asks whether his disability compensation constitutes “earned income” for purposes of the Commission’s candidate salary regulation at 11 C.F.R. § 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I). On December 10, the Commission received supplemental material from the requestor.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7572

COMPLAINANT: Eric Ryan
RESPONDENTS: Hawaii Republican Party and Mary Smart, in her official capacity as treasurer (HRP); Cam Cavasso 4 Congress and Sandra Lee Ahn, in her official capacity as treasurer (Cavasso Committee); Melba Cavasso; Mikio Izuka; Shirlene Ostrov; Miriam Hellreich; Celyn Chong Kee; Greg Lussier; David Ross; Steve Yoder; Gary Grimmer; Andresen Blom; Pam Smith; Gene Ward; Bob McDermott; Jane Tatibouet; and Gwen Honjo
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that HRP and several of its executives made a prohibited or excessive contribution to the Cavasso Committee when it accepted contributions from donors Melba Cavasso and Izuka, and then made payments totaling $9,800 to two vendors on behalf of the Cavasso Committee. Cam Cavasso was a 2018 candidate for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission voted to dismiss the allegations as to Ostrov, Hellreich, Kee, Lussier, Ross, Yoder, Grimmer, Blom, Smith, Ward, McDermott, Tatibouet, and Honjo. The Commission closed the file in connection with the remaining respondents. On December 10, Commissioners Ellen L. Weintraub and Steven T. Walther issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7859

COMPLAINANT: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
RESPONDENTS: Citizens for a Working America, Inc. (CWA); Joel Riter; and Norman Cummings
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that CWA, formed in 2009 and incorporated in August 2010 as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt social welfare organization, did not register as a political committee as required despite its allegedly heavy campaign-related spending. The complaint also named Riter, the current president of the CWA, and former CWA President Cummings as respondents.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1035

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Ditch Fund and Jennifer May, in 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 the Committee failed to timely file five 48-Hour Reports totaling $54,673.43 to support 36 independent expenditures disclosed on its 2020 October Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $2,750.

ADR 1041

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: PACRONYM and Vernon Gair, in 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 the Committee failed to disclose $161,815.16 in receipts on its original 2020 12-Day Pre-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify the closure of its federal account and terminate its political committee status and reporting obligations with the Commission within 60 days; and 2) pay a civil penalty of $5,575.

ADR 1043

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Action for a Progressive Future
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the respondent failed to file (1) one 48-Hour Report totaling $101,701.46 supporting two independent expenditures disclosed on its 2020 October Quarterly Report; (2) five 48-Hour Reports supporting 32 independent expenditures totaling $56,706.43 disclosed on its 2020 Year-End Report, and (3) 17 24-Hour Reports totaling $28,083.42 supporting 19 independent expenditures disclosed on its 2020 Year-End Report.
DISPOSITION: The respondent agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $9,950.

Outreach

On December 7, Chair Shana M. Broussard spoke at the Council on Government Ethics and Laws 2021 Virtual Conference.

On December 8, the Commission hosted a webinar for nonconnected PACs.

Upcoming educational programs

December 15, 2021: The Commission will host an FECConnect On Topic session to preview the San Diego Regional Conference.

January 12 and 19, 2022: The Commission will host Year-End Reporting and FECFile webinars.

February 8-9, 2022: The Commission will host a Regional Conference in San Diego, CA.

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

Upcoming Commission meetings

December 14 and 16, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

December 16, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming reporting due dates

December 20: December 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.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission recently updated its Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2014 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and their campaign committees.

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