Week of June 8 - June 12, 2015

Weekly Digest

Week of June 8 – 12

COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

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

ENFORCEMENT

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

MUR 6864
COMPLAINANT: Lisa Selmon Vance
RESPONDENT: Nicholas Ruiz III for Congress and Danielle Ruiz, in her official capacity as treasurer and in her personal capacity
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Nicholas Ruiz III for Congress and Danielle Ruiz, in her official capacity as treasurer and in her personal capacity (the Committee), converted campaign funds to personal use when the Committee made salary payments to Danielle Ruiz in excess of the fair-market value of the services she provided to the campaign. Nicholas Ruiz III was a 2012 primary candidate for Florida’s 24th Congressional District and then its 7th Congressional District, and a 2014 primary candidate in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the payments constituted personal use under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), because it appears that Danielle Ruiz provided bona fide services to the campaign and that the payments at issue did not exceed the fair market value of her services.

MUR 6361
COMPLAINANT: Dena Stebbins DeCamp
RESPONDENTS: Tea Party and Frederic B. O’Neal, in his official capacity as treasurer (a terminated federal committee) (Tea Party [Federal]); and Tea Party (a minor political party/party executive committee) (Tea Party [Florida])
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Tea Party [Florida] lacked a federal committee or account and that two outdoor billboards it funded constituted impermissible contributions to federal candidates because those billboards apparently were financed with state and corporate funds.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the Tea Party [Federal] and O’Neal, in his official capacity as treasurer, violated the Act or Commission regulations because that entity did not engage in any of the activities of the Tea Party [Florida], a separate judicial entity, at issue in this matter. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations that the Tea Party [Florida] (1) impermissibly used non-federal funds to conduct federal election activity, (2) failed to register and report with the Commission as a political committee, and (3) failed to report the cost of a billboard and certain other printed materials containing express advocacy and failed to include appropriate disclaimers in those materials, in light of the fact that the Tea Party [Florida] engaged in relatively limited activity and in light of the relatively low amount in violation.

ADMINISTRATIVE FINES                                                                                                                         

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

AF 2874– Committee to Elect Joyce Dickerson for US Senate and Joyce Dickerson, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $660.

AF 2875– Friends of Tate MacQueen and Lori Murphy, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $180.

AF 2878– Ron Leach for Congress Campaign Committee and Theresa Drake, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $550.

AF 2879– Stephen H. Shogan for Senate and Lisa Chaiken, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $180.

AF 2880– Wade for US Senate 14 and Kevin Wade, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,090.

AF 2999– Virgin Islands for Plaskett and Jonathan Buckney Small, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $7,855.

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 749– Local 32BJ Service Employees International Union American Dream Political Action Fund and Alison E. Hirsh, in her official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) perform an annual audit of the Committee’s accounts, (2) certify that the Committee performed a reconciliation of the Committee’s accounts for each required FEC report for one year, and (3) pay a civil penalty of $3,900.

UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

June 16: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.

June 18: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session and 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    

June 24: FECFile Webinar for Candidates.  Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

UPCOMING REPORTING DUE DATES

June 20: June Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2015 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.


OTHER RESOURCES

The 2015 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 2015 edition of the Federal Election Campaign Finance Laws is available on the Commission website and in print. The compilation contains all federal campaign finance laws (including a conversion table showing the recent changes from Title 2 U.S.C. to Title 52 U.S.C.). To order a copy at no charge, contact the Commission''''s Information Division at (800) 424-9530 (press 6, when prompted) or email info@fec.gov.

The 2015 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.

The 2014 Legislative Recommendations are available on the Commission’s website.

The 2014 edition of the Federal Election Commission Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees is 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 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.

The Commission has published the 2015 Record Index page. An index to previously published Record news articles 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 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.

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.

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