Week of February 17 - February 21, 2014

Weekly Digest

Week of February 17 - 21

COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

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

ADVISORY OPINIONS

Drafts

AO 2013-18 (Revolution Messaging, LLC). On February 21, the Commission made public a revised draft of Advisory Opinion 2013-18 in response to a request from Revolution Messaging, LLC. The requestor asks whether the proposed mobile phone banner advertisements are exempt from the disclaimer requirement of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act).

ENFORCEMENT

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

MUR 6610
COMPLAINANT: David Wolfson
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Cliff Stearns and Joan Stearns, in her official capacity as treasurer; and Clifford B. “Cliff” Stearns
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Friends of Cliff Stearns and Joan Stearns, in her official capacity as treasurer, (the Committee) failed to include a proper disclaimer on its website and on three email communications. The complaint also alleged that the website failed to provide required information pertaining to contributions.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the Committee failed to include proper disclaimers because (1) the Commission’s disclaimer requirements apply to substantially similar e-mails sent by a political committee numbering in excess of 500 and (2) the Committee’s website does not appear to have lacked the requisite disclaimer at the time the complaint was filed. The Commission also found no reason to believe as to the allegation concerning the Committee website''''s contribution information, because the Committee fell outside the scope of the regulations at issue. The Commission found no reason to believe Stearns violated the Act or Commission regulations.

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 641 – Andre Bauer for Congress and Randall Cole, in his official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) send a representative to an FEC conference and (2) pay a civil penalty of $3,100.

LITIGATION

Libertarian National Committee, Inc. v. FEC (Case 13-5088). On February 3, the Commission filed a Suggestion of Mootness in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On February 18, the plaintiff filed an Opposition to the Commission’s Suggestion of Mootness.

OUTREACH

On February 19, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub discussed recent developments in campaign finance with a group of students from American University.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

February 20: February Monthly Reports were due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2014 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

On February 19, the Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) made public its FEC OIG Peer Review 2013 and Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of December 2013.

UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETINGS

February 25: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.

February 27: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

UPCOMING REPORTING DUE DATES

March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2014 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

March 19, Federal Election Commission, Washington, D.C. Seminar/Webinar for House and Senate Campaigns and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

OTHER RESOURCES

The 2013 Legislative Recommendations are 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 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.

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.

Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/fec

Users of smartphones and other mobile devices may access our mobile interface at http://www.fec.gov/mobile/