Week of January 27 – 31, 2025
Commission meetings and hearings
On January 28 and 30, the Commission met in executive session.
On January 30, the Commission held an open meeting.
Advisory Opinions
Comments Received
Advisory Opinion Request 2025-01 (Sherrill) This week, the Commission received two comments on the request.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Commission made public three closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Search System.
COMPLAINANT: Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee; and FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Marvin Abney for Congress and Michael J. Tsandilas, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged, and the Commission, in the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee accepted an excessive contribution in the form of a $50,000 loan from an individual. The Commission further questioned an additional $550 in apparent prohibited contributions from unregistered organizations.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to (1) pay a civil penalty of $3,800 and (2) certify the closure of the Committee’s federal account and file a termination report.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: D'Esposito for New York and Claudia Armendinger, 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 the Committee failed to disclose all financial activity on its original 2022 30-Day Post-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to (1) develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to its compliance vendors, consultants, and staff detailing FEC reporting procedures and debt tracking procedures to ensure timely and accurate reporting, (2) certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC training program, and (3) pay a civil penalty of $6,075.
COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee and Lance Chappell, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The Committee (1) disclosed incorrect cash-on-hand amounts on its 2023 April Quarterly Report and 2023 July Quarterly Report, (2) reported that it had inadvertently reported a $1,000 disbursement to a vendor as $10,000 on its 2022 Pre-General Report, and (3) stated it mistakenly failed to report approximately $192,276 in expenditures and $38,336 in donations/transfers between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to (1) certify that it performed reconciliation of the Committee’s accounts for each required FEC report for a year, (2) develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to its compliance vendors and staff detailing FEC reporting procedures to ensure timely and accurate reporting, and (3) certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC training program.
Litigation
Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-2336) On January 28, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order denying Plaintiffs’ motion to declare that the Commission had failed to conform to a remand order.
Regulations and agency procedures
Sample Donor Response Form for Contributions by LLCs On January 30, the Commission approved a sample donor response form that can be used as an example for committees that seek and accept contributions from limited liability companies (LLCs) and that would satisfy the recipient committee’s “best efforts” to report certain attribution information for contributions from LLCs.
Two-Year Renewal of Directive 74 On January 30, the Commission voted to renew Directive 74 for two years, allowing it to remain in force until June 30, 2027. The directive requires the Office of General Counsel to provide the Commission with a proposed investigation plan, in matters where the Commission finds reason to believe, for the Commission’s approval. The investigation plan is required to lay out the proposed scope and conduct of the anticipated investigation and, upon approval, governs the conduct of the investigation, subject to modification in light of new information or changed circumstances.
REG 2024-08 (Untraceable Electronic Payment Methods) This week, the Commission made public comments it received on the Notification of Availability of a Petition for Rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on November 26, 2024, in response to a Petition filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Petition asks the Commission to amend regulations concerning the use of credit cards to make contributions, addressing the potential use of prepaid cards to circumvent contribution amount limitations and source prohibitions. To access the comments, visit the Commission’s website and reference REG 2024-08.
Public Disclosure
Updated Contribution and Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits and Lobbyist Bundling Threshold. On January 30, the Commission published updated contribution limits for the 2025-2026 election cycle in the Federal Register. During the current two-year election cycle the limit for contributions by individuals to federal candidates for President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives will increase to $3,500 per election. The limit for contributions by individuals and nonmulticandidate PACs to national party committees has risen to $44,300 ($132,900 to their special accounts), per calendar year. The Commission also updated the coordinated party expenditure limits and the lobbyist bundling threshold for 2025.
Outreach
On January 28, Vice Chairman James E. “Trey” Trainor, III discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with students from Texas A&M University - Bush School of Government & Public Service.
On January 28, the Commission issued the Statistical Summary of 21-Month Campaign Activity of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle.
On January 29, the Office of the Inspector General issued its FY2025 Work Plan.
Press releases
District Court issues Memorandum Opinion and Order in Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (issued January 29)
FEC approves sample form, renewal of directive regarding investigation plans (issued January 30)
Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings
February 11, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
February 13, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
February 25, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
February 27, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming educational opportunities
March 11-12, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.
March 25-26, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.
April 8-9, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for trade associations and their PACs.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.
Upcoming reporting due dates
January 31, 2025: Year-End Reports are due. For more information, see the 2025 Quarterly and Monthly Reporting schedules.
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.
Federal Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is 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 X and YouTube
Follow @FEC on X 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.