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  • Weekly Digests

Week of June 20 – June 24, 2016

June 24, 2016

Commission meetings and hearings

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

Advisory opinions

Drafts

Advisory Opinion 2016-05 (Huckabee for President)

On June 17, the Commission made public a second draft of Advisory Opinion 2016-05. The requestor, the principal campaign committee for 2016 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, asks whether a separate legal defense fund may be used to pay the amount the Committee has agreed to pay in settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit. Public comments on the draft are due by noon on June 29, 2016.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7076

  • COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
  • RESPONDENT: Richard Tisei; and Tisei Congressional Committee and Brian Cresta, in his official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee)
  • SUBJECT: Tisei and the Federal Committee notified the Commission that Tisei’s state campaign committee made $30,540 in payments to staff and consultants during the 2012 election cycle for work that may qualify as federal “testing the waters” activity that should have been paid for, in part, and reported by the Federal Committee. Tisei was a 2012 and 2014 candidate for Massachusetts’s 6th Congressional District.
  • DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Tisei and the Federal Committee to pay a civil penalty of $4,000 and to amend its disclosure reports.

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 793

Ohio Democratic Party and Fran Alberty, in her official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC conference, webinar, or other program developed in consultation with the FEC’s Information Division and (2) pay a civil penalty of $3,850.

Litigation

Outreach

  • On June 21, Commissioner Ann M. Ravel spoke about campaign finance and the 2016 elections at the "Is Your Company RNC Ready?" education mini-series organized by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and American Association of Corporate Counsel in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • On June 22, Communications Specialist Zainab Smith discussed the Commission's administration and enforcement of campaign finance laws with visitors from Armenia as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
  • On June 22, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub participated in an online discussion on campaign finance with Purple, a discussion-via-messaging service.
  • On June 23, Reports Analysis Division Party/Non-Party Assistant Branch Chief Rosa Marshall and Senior Campaign Finance Analyst Brian Jones discussed updates to reporting and regulations at the California Political Treasurers Association Seminar in Washington, D.C.

Educational programs

  • On June 22, the Commission hosted a Webinar on Reporting for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
  • On June 22, the Commission hosted a Webinar on FECfile for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Press releases

Forum

  • On June 23, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub hosted a forum at the FEC on Corporate Political Spending and Foreign Influence. Presenting were: Richard Briffault of Columbia Law School; John Coates of Harvard Law School; Jared DeMarinis, Director of the Candidacy and Campaign Finance Division of the Maryland State Board of Elections; Robert Jackson of Columbia Law School; Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics; Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute; John Pudner of Take Back Our Republic; Mace Rosenstein of Covington & Burling; Donald Tobin of the University of Maryland Carey School of Law; Ciara Torres-Spelliscy of Stetson University College of Law; and Melissa Yeager of the Sunlight Foundation.

Federal Register

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

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

Upcoming educational programs

  • June 29: Webinar on FECfile for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

The 2016 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 Commission has published the June Record newsletter. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

The 2016 edition of 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.