Week of January 31-February 4, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Public Disclosure

The Commission has posted the 2022 coordinated party expenditure limits and updated the lobbyist bundling disclosure reporting threshold for 2022.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7510 Katie Arrington for Congress and Kathleen Randall, in her official capacity as treasurer; Katherine E. Arrington; Fix Our Flooding, Inc.; 1st Street Foundation, Inc.; and Matthew Eby. On January 24, Chairman Allen Dickerson and Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1045

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: American Liberty Fund and Paula Yvonne Edwards, 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 that the Committee failed to timely file one 48-Hour Report, totaling $36,100, supporting one independent expenditure disclosed on its 2020 October Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to all staff and compliance vendors detailing independent expenditure reporting procedures to ensure timely and accurate reporting; and 2) pay a civil penalty of $1,800.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 20-730) On February 2, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Reconsideration.

End Citizens United PAC v. FEC (Case No. 21-2128) On February 1, Intervenor-Defendant New Republican PAC filed a Reply in Support of Intervenor-Defendant’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Free Speech for People, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 21-3206) On January 31, the Commission made public a Vote Certification .

FEC v. LatPAC (Case No. 21-6095) On February 3, the Commission filed a Motion for Default Judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Upcoming Commission meetings

February 15, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

February 17, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

February 8-9, 2022: The Commission will host a Virtual Conference. This conference was previously scheduled to be held in San Diego, CA, but will now be held virtually.

February 23, 2022: the Commission will host an FECConnect On Topic session on 2022 filing dates.

March 9, 2022: the Commission will host a webinar on independent expenditures.

March 23, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for candidate 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 2022 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 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.