Week of March 18-22, 2024

Agency operations

On March 22, the Commission published an updated Plan for Agency Operations in the Absence of the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation.

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2024-01 (Texas Majority PAC) On March 20, the Commission approved on tally vote an advisory opinion in response to a request from Texas Majority PAC (TMP) concerning its proposal to hire vendors to canvass potential voters. The Commission concluded that (1) the canvassing literature and scripts outlined in the proposal are not public communications, and as a result are not coordinated communications under Commission regulations, (2) the costs to produce and distribute the canvassing literature and scripts are not coordinated expenditures, and (3) if TMP provides the data that arises from its paid canvass to a federal candidate or party committee at less than its fair market value, it would be an in-kind contribution. The Commission received two comments on the request and six comments on the two draft advisory opinions.

Draft Advisory Opinion

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-03 (PoliticalMeetings.com, LLC) On March 20, the Commission made public a draft advisory opinion.

Supplemental Information Received and Extension of Time

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-05 (Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom) On March 15, the Commission received supplemental material from the requestor and on March 19, the requestor granted an extension of time.

Extension of Time

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-04 (Independence Blue Cross LLC Political Action Committee) On March 12, the requestor granted an extension of time.

Enforcement

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

MUR 8015

COMPLAINANT: Jeff Feahr
RESPONDENT: Dr. Sherry O’Donnell for Congress and Patrick Krason, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee knowingly accepted an excessive contribution, failed to properly dispose of anonymous cash contributions totaling $3,016, failed to report address, employer, and/or occupation information for 70 itemized contributions totaling $59,852.26; and failed to disclose an address for an individual to whom a disbursement of $1,950 was made. O’Donnell was a 2022 candidate for Michigan’s 5th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 8190

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Anibal Comisionado 2020 and Jose Luis Mendoza, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee overstated reported receipts by $44,455 in calendar year 2020. Anibal Acevedo-Vila was a 2020 candidate for Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $6,000.

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 1146
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Americans for Constitutional Liberty dba The Conservative Caucus
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe Respondent failed to timely file two 48-Hour Reports to support 10 independent expenditures disseminated between May 15-May 26, 2023, totaling $144,522.47.
DISPOSITION: Respondent agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual, 2) certify that a representative participated in an FEC training program, and 3) pay a civil penalty of $7,225.

Regulations and agency procedures

Technical Amendment: ZIP Code Correction On March 20, the Commission published a Final Rule in the Federal Register to correct the Commission’s address in the regulations. The technical change clarifies that for purposes of U.S. Postal Service delivery, the Commission’s ZIP Code is 20463, and for purposes of physical location as well as for all other deliveries, including by courier or by private delivery service, the Commission’s ZIP Code is 20002. The rule is effective immediately.

Statement of Policy Regarding Commission Action in Matters at the Initial Stage in the Enforcement Process On March 20, the Commission published a Policy Statement in the Federal Register providing that the Commission generally will either dismiss a matter or find “reason to believe” concerning an alleged violation. The Policy Statement is effective on April 19, 2024.

Litigation

Stein, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 23-771) On March 18, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari and on March 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Mandate.

Commissioner statements

On March 18, Commissioners Allen J. Dickerson and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement on the Petitions for Rehearing En Banc in Campaign Legal Center v. Federal Election Commission and End Citizens United PAC v. Federal Election Commission.

Outreach

On March 19, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub participated in a panel discussion hosted by Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance of New York entitled “Social Media: We Know There Are Problems, But What Are The Answers?”

Press releases

FEC cites committee for failure to file 12-Day Pre-Convention Financial Report (issued March 20)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

March 26, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 27, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

April 16, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

April 18, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

April 3, 2024: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for PACs and party committees.

April 4, 2024: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for candidate committees.

April 16-17, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming reporting due dates

April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

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 now 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 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.