Week of February 29 – March 4, 2016

Commission meetings and hearings

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

Enforcement

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

MURs 6931 and 6933

• COMPLAINANT: Daniel G. Hinnenkamp; and C.T. Marhula
• RESPONDENTS: Laffen 4 Senate; Senator Lonnie Laffen (ND State Senate); Leo Ledohowski; Governor Jack Dalrymple (North Dakota); Dalrymple for Governor (a.k.a. Friends of Jack Dalrymple); John Pfeffer; ND Oil PAC; and Dean Potter
• SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that Ledohowski made and Senator Laffen and Laffen 4 Senate, a state committee (Laffen Committee), accepted prohibited contributions from a foreign national. MUR 6931 alleged that Governor Dalrymple and Dalrymple for Governor (Dalrymple Committee) also accepted a prohibited foreign national contribution from Ledohowski and one from Pfeffer, and that ND Oil PAC received a prohibited contribution from Potter.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Pfeffer made and the Dalrymple Committee accepted a prohibited contribution because Pfeffer provided evidence demonstrating he is a U.S. citizen. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matters in connection with the remaining allegations surrounding contributions from Ledohowski and Potter, both Canadian citizens. The Commission observed that the violations may have been inadvertent, and that the contributions in question were refunded within the 30-day time period required by Commission regulations.

MUR 6967

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
• RESPONDENT: Kentucky State Democratic Central Executive Committee and M. Melinda Karns, in her official capacity as treasurer
• SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether the Kentucky State Democratic Central Executive Committee and Karns, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee), did not maintain payroll logs documenting the percentage of time each employee spent in connection with federal elections during the 2012 election cycle for payroll disbursements that it paid through an allocation of federal and non-federal funds.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $4,200. On March 3, Commissioner Lee E. Goodman issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 6979

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
• RESPONDENT: Republican Majority Campaign and Randy Goodwin, in his official capacity as treasurer
• SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether the Republican Majority Campaign and Randy Goodwin, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee), did not disclose a total of $658,349.09 in additional receipts and a total of $670,461.08 in additional disbursements on its original 2014 April Quarterly Report.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $17,000.

MURs 6391 and 6471

Commission on Hope Growth and Opportunity

• On March 3, Commissioner Goodman issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 6966

Democratic Party of Wisconsin

• On March 3, Commissioner Goodman issued a Statement of Reasons.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public six campaign finance enforcement matters that were resolved through its Administrative Fine (AF) Program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

AF 3016

Chambliss for Senate and David Tyndall, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,090.

AF 3017

Claitor for Congress and Chelsea Bonnecaze, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,950.

AF 3018

Edward Troy Holliday and Nancy Sharon Young, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,950.

AF 3019

Raye for Congress and Nichi S. Farnham, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3020

Tom Carter for Congress and Thomas Carter, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3023

South Dakota Republican Party and Justin Bell, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,735.

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 781

Sharon Sund for Congress and Eugene Roberson, in his official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) participate in a teleconference with FEC staff regarding debt reporting, and (2) file appropriate amendments to relevant reports regarding this debt.

Litigation

• CREW v. FEC (Case 1:14-cv-01419-CRC). On March 1, the Commission and theIntervenor-Defendant American Action Network individually filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
• FEC v. Craig for U.S. Senate, et al. (Case 14-5297). On March 4, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an Opinion and Judgment.
• Independence Institute v. FEC (Case 14-5249). On March 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an Opinion and Dissenting Opinion and Judgment.
• Van Hollen v. FEC (Case 15-5016 & 15-5017). On March 4, Appellee Van Hollen filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Outreach

• On February 29, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub spoke at the launch of Kevin Casas-Zamora and Daniel Zovatto's new book entitled, "The Cost of Democracy: Essays on Political Finance in Latin America" in Washington, DC.

Press releases

• FEC Cites Committees for Failure to File 12-Day Pre-Primary Financial Reports (February 26)
• Court of Appeals Issues Opinion in Independence Institute v. FEC (issued March 1)
• FEC Cites Committee for Failure to File 12-Day Pre-Primary Financial Report (March 4)
• Court of Appeals Issues Opinion in FEC v. Craig (issued March 4)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• March 15: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• March 16: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

Upcoming educational programs

• March 23: Webinar for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on theEducational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2016 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2016 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2016 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Disclosure initiatives

Commission staff, together with our partners at 18F, continue to add new features to the agency's beta.fec.gov website. The Commission encourages website visitors to submit comments and questions by clicking on the "Feedback" tab at the bottom of each page.

Additional research materials

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

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