Week of November 29-December 3, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

On December 2, the Commission held an open meeting and an audit hearing, and met in executive session.

Advisory Opinions

Supplemental Material Received and Extension of Time

Advisory Opinion 2012-11 (DSCC and DCCC) On December 1, the Commission received Supplemental Material from the requestors and one comment on the draft advisory opinions. The requestor agreed to 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 7754

COMPLAINANTS: Campaign Legal Center and Margaret Christ
RESPONDENTS: Pacific Atlantic Action Coalition (PAAC); Pacific Environmental Coalition (PEC); SMP and Rebecca Lambe, in her official capacity as treasurer (SMP); Unite the Country and Michael Morris, in his official capacity as treasurer (Unite the Country); VoteVets PAC and Rick Hegdahl, in his official capacity as treasurer (VoteVets); Tom Van Loben Sels; Melissa Carrig; Matt Cohler; and James P. Joseph
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that PAAC and PEC, two 501(c)(4) public benefit corporations, made contributions in the name of one or more unidentified persons to three independent expenditure-only political committees—SMP, Unite the Country, and VoteVets— in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act).
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chair Shana M. Broussard and Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub and Vice Chair Allen Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7860

COMPLAINANTS: Marc Kruman and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
RESPONDENTS: Jobs and Progress Fund, Inc. (JPF); Vaughn Church; Thomas Norris; and Mark Miller
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that JPF, a 501(c)(4) organization, failed to register with the Commission and file disclosure reports as required after becoming a political committee. The complaint further alleged that JPF’s present and former officers Church, Norris, and Miller, violated the Act in their individual capacities by failing to register JPF as a political committee and file required disclosure reports.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Commissioner Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1032

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Change Campaign Super PAC and Adam Green, 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 the Committee failed to timely file one 24-Hour Report totaling $104,995.30 to support four independent expenditures disclosed on its 2020 30-Day Post-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) retain an outside consultant or counsel to review its compliance procedures and conduct a training with those responsible for preparing and filing its reports; and 2) pay a civil penalty of $7,850.

ADR 1037

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Sharice for Congress and Jay Petterson, 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 during the 2019-2020 election cycle the Committee failed to remedy excessive contributions totaling $33,040 within the permissible timeframe.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual which includes internal controls; and 2) pay a civil penalty of $2,475.

Audits

On December 2, the Commission held an audit hearing on proposed findings in the Draft Final Audit Report on Democracy Engine, Inc. PAC.

On December 2, the Commission discussed, but did not approve by the required four affirmative votes, an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Republican Party of Minnesota – Federal, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018.

Commissioner Statements

On November 30, Commissioner Cooksey issued an Interpretive Statement on the regulation of republished campaign materials.

Public Disclosure

On November 30, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an Investigative Summary and on December 1, OIG released its Semiannual Report to Congress April 1, 2021-September 30, 2021.

Litigation

FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. (Case No. 21-12) On November 19, Public Citizen filed a Brief of Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant and Vacatur. On November 22, Constitutional Accountability Center filed a Brief as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant; Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, and Democracy 21 filed a Brief as Amici Curiae in Support of Appellant; and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law filed a Brief as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant.

Outreach

On December 1, the Commission hosted an FECConnect On Topic session on How to Contact Your Committee’s Analyst.

Upcoming educational programs

December 8, 2021: The Commission will host a webinar for nonconnected PACs.

December 15, 2021: The Commission will host an FECConnect On Topic session on the San Diego Regional Conference Preview.

February 8-9, 2022: The Commission will host a Regional Conference in San Diego, CA.

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

Upcoming Commission meetings

December 14, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

December 16, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming reporting due dates

December 20: December Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 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.

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 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.