Week of March 18 – 22, 2019

Commission meetings and hearings

On March 19, the Commission met in executive session.

Advisory opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2019-05 (System73)

On March 22, 2019, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2019-05 from System73, which asks whether it may pay a political committee a licensing fee for the right to be the exclusive livestream provider of that committee’s political event. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than April 1) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by May 20, 2019.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6928

• COMPLAINANTS: Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21
• RESPONDENTS: Richard John “Rick” Santorum; Santorum for President 2016 and Greg Rothman, in his official capacity as treasurer; Patriot Voices PAC and Nadine Maenza, in her official capacity as treasurer; and Patriot Voices, Inc.
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that in the months before becoming a presidential candidate, Santorum used impermissible funds to test the waters in January 2015, including funds from Patriot Voices, Inc., a non-profit corporation he founded, and from Patriot Voices PAC. The complaint alleged further that Santorum became a candidate prior to April 2015, when he established a testing-the-waters account, and thus failed to timely register and to file timely disclosure reports. The complaint alleged that he accepted excessive and/or prohibited contributions and that he violated the prohibition on non-federal funds. Santorum was a 2016 primary candidate for president.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chair Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

Litigation

• Crossroads GPS v. CREW (Case No. 18-5261). On March 18, Amicus Curiae Briefs were filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Free Speech Coalition, et al., Institute for Free Speech, and Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.
• Lieu, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 16-2201). On March 18, Plaintiffs filed a Civil Notice of Appeal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• Pursuing America's Greatness v. FEC (Case No. 15-01217). On March 21, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order, granting the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and denying the Commission’s motion for summary judgment. The court also declared 11 CFR 102.14(a) unconstitutional and permanently enjoined the Commission from enforcing it.

Audits

Final Audit Report on Tony Cardenas for Congress. On March 20, the Commission issued the Final Audit Report for Tony Cardenas for Congress, covering campaign finance activity from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. The Commission approved findings pertaining to misstatement of financial activity and receipt of contributions in excess of the limit.

Outreach

On March 18, Chair Weintraub spoke at a workshop discussion “Campaign 2020: How to Follow the Money and Report Essential, Untold Election Stories” at the National Press Club.

Press releases

District Court issues opinion in Pursuing America’s Greatness v. FEC (issued March 21)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• March 26 and 28: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• March 28: 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 reporting due dates

• April 15, 2019: April Quarterly reports are due. For more information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• April 20, 2019: April Monthly reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Upcoming educational programs

• On March 27, Commission staff will host a compliance webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.
• On April 3, Commission staff will host a FECFile webinar for candidate committees.
• On April 24, Commission staff will host a webinar for trade associations and their PACs.

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.

Printed copies of the 2018 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are now available. Contact the Commission's Information Division at (202) 694-1100 or (800) 424-9530 (press 6, when prompted) to order printed copies of the CFR at no charge. You may also email the Information Division to place an order at info@fec.gov.

The 2017 Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations is available. Other Campaign Guides are available, as well.

Federal Elections 2016: 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. To order a printed copy, please contact the FEC’s Public Records Office at 800/424-9530 (option 2) or 202/694-1120, or send an email to pubrec@fec.gov.

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 FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

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 at this time. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.