Week of October 21 - October 25, 2013
| For Immediate Release | Contact: |
Judith Ingram |
| October 25, 2013 | Julia Queen | |
| Christian Hilland | ||
ISSUE 2013-43 |
Weekly Digest Week of October 21 – 25
COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
On October 22, the Commission held an executive session.
No Commission open meetings were held this week. Click here for agendas and related documents for open meetings. Click here for audio recordings for selected meetings, hearings and presentations.
ADVISORY OPINIONS
Drafts AO 2013-11 (Citizens for Joe Miller). On October 25, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion 2013-11. Citizens for Joe Miller (the Committee) is an authorized committee of Joseph Miller, a former federal candidate for Senate from Alaska. The Committee asks whether it can use campaign funds as a deposit with an Alaska state court pending an appeal of an Alaskan judgment assessing attorneys’ fees in litigation involving Mr. Miller and/or to pay the judgment should his appeal be unsuccessful. On October 17, the Commission received a comment on Advisory Opinion Request 2013-11.
Comment Received AOR 2013-17 (The Tea Party Leadership Fund). On October 18, the Commission received a comment on Advisory Opinion Request 2013-17. The Tea Party Leadership Fund (TPLF) seeks an exemption from the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, (the Act) and Commission regulations requiring reporting to the FEC contributors to the TPLF and to the recipients of TPLF disbursements.
Request Received
AOR 2013-18 (Revolution Messaging). On October 24, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2013-18. Revolution Messaging proposes to place ads that satisfy the definition of independent expenditures and ads for political committees in mobile phone applications and websites formatted for viewing on mobile phones. It asks whether such ads satisfy either the small items or impracticable exception to the Act''''s disclaimer requirements. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after receipt of the complete request, that is, by December 23, 2013. On October 24, the Commission received a comment on the Advisory Opinion Request.
ADMINISTRATIVE FINES
The Commission made public one campaign finance enforcement matter that was resolved through its Administrative Fines (AF) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.
AF 2748 – Mosler for Congress 2012 and Mario Aiello, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,859.
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 635 – Friends of Anna Little and Robert Lee Little, III, in his official capacity as treasurer. The respondent agreed to (1) send a representative to an FEC conference, (2) develop and certify implementation of compliance measures, and (3) pay a civil penalty of $6,500.
LITIGATION
Free Speech v. FEC (Case 13-8033). On October 8, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its Mandate.
La Botz v. FEC (Case 1:13-cv-00997-RC). On October 24, the Commission filed a Reply in Support of its Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
OUTREACH
On October 22, Judith Ingram and Christian Hilland of the Press Office discussed the role of the Commission and campaign finance law with Georgetown University graduate students.
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
On September 26, the Commission made public its Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2014-2019 on the Commission website. Comments may be submitted to StrategicPlanComments@fec.gov through November 11, 2013.
On October 24, the Commission made public the Investigative Peer Review Report conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On October 24, the Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) made public its Fiscal Year 2014 Work Plan.
COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS On October 22, Lee E. Goodman was sworn in as a member of the Federal Election Commission. President Barack Obama nominated Commissioner Goodman on June 21, 2013, and the United States Senate confirmed his nomination on September 23, 2013. Commissioner Goodman, a Republican, replaced Vice Chairman Donald F. McGahn, who left the Commission in September. Commissioner Goodman’s term will expire on April 30, 2015.
On October 25, Ann M. Ravel will be sworn in as a member of the Federal Election Commission. President Obama nominated Commissioner Ravel on June 21, 2013, and the United States Senate confirmed her nomination on September 23, 2013. Commissioner Ravel, a Democrat, replaces Commissioner Cynthia L. Bauerly, who left the Commission in February. Commissioner Ravel’s term will expire on April 30, 2017.
FEDERAL REGISTER
On October 23, the Commission published a Policy Statement Regarding a Program for Requesting Consideration of Legal Questions by the Commission in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted on or before November 22. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
On October 23-24, the Commission hosted a Regional Conference for House & Senate Campaigns, Political Party Committees and Corporate/Trade/Labor PACs in San Francisco, California.
UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETINGS
October 31: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS November 13, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC. Seminar/Webinar for Nonconnected Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website. UPCOMING REPORTING DUE DATES OTHER RESOURCES
The 2013 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 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.
An index to the Record news articles published in 2013 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 now 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.
The 2012 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.
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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