Week of February 12-16, 2024
Commission meetings and hearings
No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.
Advisory Opinions
Opinion Issued
Advisory Opinion 2024-02 (Waters) The Commission considered four drafts of an advisory opinion in response to a request from Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Citizens for Waters concerning a proposal to design, publish, and mail brochures featuring the Congresswoman’s endorsements of federal and non-federal candidates, together with her positions of support for or opposition to ballot measures to be voted on the March 5, 2024, California primary ballot. On February 15, the Commission approved an advisory opinion, which concluded that the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations would not prohibit Requestors from soliciting or receiving reimbursement of funds from the non-federal sources indicated in their request because the reimbursement of funds as proposed would comply with the source prohibitions, amount limitations, and reporting requirements of the Act. The Commission made public three comments that it received on the advisory opinion drafts and an extension of time from the requestor. Chairman Sean J. Cooksey issued a Concurring Statement and Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub and Commissioner Shana M. Broussard issued a Statement.
Request Received
Advisory Opinion Request 2024-03 (PoliticalMeetings.com, LLC) On February 12, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from PoliticalMeetings.com, LLC. The request asks whether PoliticalMeetings.com, LLC may use its website and mobile application platforms to provide to the general public information about public meetings with candidates and to its subscribers the ability to make $1.00 per month contributions to participating candidates and/or $0.50 contributions to participating national party committees. As a condition of participating on the platforms, candidates must agree to provide the platforms with information about their “contributors only” political meetings for the subscribers making contributions to them. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than February 22, 2024) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete advisory opinion request, that is, by April 1, 2024.
Enforcement
The Commission made public eight closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.
COMPLAINANT: Stephanie Mickelson
RESPONDENTS: Bonneville County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC); Bryan Smith; and Bryan Smith for Idaho Inc. and Ron Crane, in his official capacity as treasurer (Smith Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the BCRCC, a local party committee in Idaho that is not registered with the Commission, made and Smith and the Smith Committee accepted an impermissible $1,000 contribution not subject to the source prohibitions and amount limitations of the Act. The complaint alleged further that the BCRCC funded the production and distribution of a sample ballot that included Smith and 16 other federal and state candidates from non-federally compliant sources and did not include the legally required federal disclaimer. Finally, the complaint suggested that Smith impermissibly coordinated with the BCRCC in connection with the sample ballot. Smith was a 2022 candidate for Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Stephen L. Taggart
RESPONDENTS: Bonneville County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC); Bryan Smith; and Bryan Smith for Idaho Inc. and Ron Crane, in his official capacity as treasurer (Smith Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the BCRCC, a local party committee in Idaho that is not registered with the Commission, made and Smith and the Smith Committee accepted an impermissible $1,000 contribution not subject to the source prohibitions and amount limitations of the Act. The complaint alleged further that the BCRCC funded the production and distribution of a sample ballot that included Smith and 16 other federal and state candidates from non-federally compliant sources and did not include the legally required federal disclaimer. Finally, the complaint suggested that Smith impermissibly coordinated with the BCRCC in connection with the sample ballot.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Paul Berry III
RESPONDENT: Heartland Resurgence and Christian Morgan, in his official capacity as treasurer (Heartland Resurgence)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Heartland Resurgence, an independent expenditure-only political committee, failed to file independent expenditure reports with the Commission during the 2022 election cycle in connection with a website “purchased, developed, curated, and maintained” by the Committee for the purpose of opposing Berry, a 2022 candidate for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Raymond A. Lauk
RESPONDENTS: Andy Barr for Congress, Inc., and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (Barr Committee); and Andy Barr
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Barr, a Member of Congress from Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District who ran for reelection in 2022, improperly paid for a campaign advertisement in a newspaper with official funds from his congressional office.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Heather C. Kaiser
RESPONDENT: Clark County Panel to Protect Democracy (Clark County Panel)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Clark County Panel failed to register and report as a political committee and failed to report independent expenditures against Joe Kent, a 2022 and 2024 candidate for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, in the form of website hosting and the cost of developing the content on a website attacking Kent.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Tiffany Muller, End Citizens United
RESPONDENTS: KirkmeyerforCongress.com and Barbara Kirkmeyer, in her official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Committee to Elect Barb Kirkmeyer to State Senate (State Committee); and Barbara Kirkmeyer
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Kirkmeyer and the Federal and State Committees violated the source prohibitions of the Act when Kirkmeyer made two transfers of funds totaling $2,000 from the State Committee to the Federal Committee. Kirkmeyer was a 2022 candidate for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Kelly Dickson
RESPONDENTS: John Duarte for Congress and Kelly Lawler, in her official capacity as treasurer; Matt Stoll for Congress and Jen Slater, in her official capacity as treasurer; John Duarte; and Matthew Stoll
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Duarte, a 2022 candidate for California’s 13th Congressional District, bribed his opponents including Stoll to withdraw from the primary election.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
COMPLAINANT: Tiffany Muller, End Citizens United
RESPONDENT: Timothy E. Scott
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Scott untimely failed to file a Statement of Candidacy after becoming a 2024 primary candidate for U.S. president.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Commission made public eight closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Republican Party of Iowa and David Barker, in official capacity of treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, Federal Election Activity/Levin Funds, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that it amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with the FEC’s Reports Analysis Division (RAD), certify that a Committee representative participated in an FEC training program, certify annually, for two years, that the Committee continued to retain the services of a compliance team, and pay a civil penalty of $5,800.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Activate America and Stacy E. Owens, in official capacity of treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize disbursements, and independent expenditure reporting problems.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that it amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with RAD, certify that a Committee representative participated in an FEC training program, certify annually, for two years, that the Committee continued to retain the services of a compliance team, and pay a civil penalty of $5,000.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Great Lakes PAC and Tim Kaltenbach, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, excessive, prohibited and other impermissible contributions or transfers, mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, and failure to properly itemize contributions and transfers to political committees.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify the Committee amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with RAD, develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission, certify that a Committee representative participated in an FEC training program, and pay a civil penalty of $5,225.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Kentucky State Democratic Central Executive Committee and M. Melinda Karns, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions or transfers, mathematical and cash-on-hand discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that it amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with RAD, update and certify re-implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission, retain an outside consultant to review its compliance procedures and conduct a training with those responsible for preparing and filing its reports, and pay a civil penalty of $6,500.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Republican Party of Minnesota – Federal and Kathy Latham, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, mathematical discrepancies, failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, federal election activity/Levin funds, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to develop and certify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission, certify the Committee amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with RAD, certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC training program, and pay a civil penalty of $6,625.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Massachusetts Republican Party and Patrick Crowley, in official capacity of treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, failure to provide supporting schedules, Federal Election Activity/Levin funds, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify annually, for two years, that the Committee continued to retain the services of a compliance team, certify that the Committee amended relevant 2021-2022 reports or filed a Form 99 (Miscellaneous Electronic Submission) after consultation with RAD, certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC training program, and pay a civil penalty of $6,450.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Idaho State Democratic Party and Nan Cluss, in official capacity of treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including, among other items, excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions, mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, and allocated federal and non-federal activity.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify the Committee amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with RAD, certify annually for two years that the Committee continued to retain the services of a compliance firm, certify that a Committee representative participated in an FEC training program, and pay a civil penalty of $5,475.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Jon Ossoff for Senate and Steven Mele, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to remedy excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible 2020 general and runoff election contributions, totaling $363,272.43, within the permissible timeframe.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to develop and certify the implementation of a policy document to be provided to the Committee’s external compliance vendor detailing the Committee’s procedures for identifying and remedying prohibited and excessive contributions to ensure timely and accurate reporting, retain an outside consultant to review all compliance procedures and conduct a training for those responsible for preparing and filing Committee reports, and pay a civil penalty of $27,000.
Regulations and agency procedures
REG 2014-10 and REG 2019-04 - Notice of Inquiry for Segregated Party Accounts On February 14, the Commission published a Notice of Inquiry in the Federal Register requesting comment on two Petitions received by the Commission regarding the segregated accounts of national party committees, which were enacted into law in 2014. The Commission is considering whether to initiate a rulemaking in response to the two petitions and invites comments on the issues raised in the petitions and the Notice, though it has not made a final decision on whether to do so at this time. In particular, the Commission requests comments from national party committees with experience in administering party segregated accounts. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically via the Commission’s website, referencing REG 2014-10 and REG 2019-04. Alternatively, comments may be submitted on paper to the Commission’s Washington, DC headquarters. The Commission will accept comments on the petitions and the Notice through March 15, 2024.
Commissioner Statements
On February 14, Chairman Cooksey issued an Interpretive Statement on the application of soft-money regulations to ballot initiatives.
Litigation
CREW v. FEC (Case No. 22-0035) On February 9, Plaintiff filed a Reply in Support of the Motion to Compel Production in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Outreach
On February 21, Commissioner Broussard will host a panel discussion to celebrate Black History Month, “Bringing Our Seat to the Table: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Black Women Leaders.” In the third Black History Month celebration she has hosted at the Commission, Commissioner Broussard will speak with three women who are notable leaders in politics, labor, and government about their professional careers, the influence of the generations that preceded them, and the legacy they hope to leave for those who follow.
Additional information and registration details are available on the Commissioner’s webpage.
Public Disclosure
This week, the Office of the Inspector General released a report on the Evaluation of Staffing, Hiring, and Retention at the FEC.
Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings
February 27, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
February 29, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
March 12, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
March 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming educational opportunities
February 27-28, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for candidates and their campaign committees.
March 12-13, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.
Upcoming reporting due dates
February 20: February Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.
Additional research materials
Election Dates. The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.
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.
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.
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- Judith Ingram
- Press Officer
- Judith Ingram
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- Myles Martin
- Public Affairs Specialist
- Myles Martin