Week of September 24 - September 28, 2012
Weekly Digest
COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
On September 27, 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 Requests Received AOR 2012-32 (Tea Party Leadership Fund, Bielat, and Raese). On September 25, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2012-32, submitted by federal candidates Sean Bielat and John Raese and the Tea Party Leadership Fund (TPLF), which registered with the Commission in May 2012. The requestors ask whether TPLF, a non-connected political committee, may make contributions to candidates of up to $5,000 per election before the six-month waiting period required for it to qualify as a multicandidate committee has ended (see 2 U.S.C. 441a (a)(4)) and whether Bielat and Raese may accept contributions from TPLF of more than $2,500, but not more than $5,000, per election before the end of the waiting period. The Commission must issue a response no later than 20 days after receipt of the complete request, that is, by October 11, 2012, because this request was submitted by a Federal candidate within 60 days before a Federal election.
AOR 2012-33 (Pennsylvania Democratic Party). On September 27, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2012-33. The requestor, a state party committee, asks whether a mailer it intends to distribute falls within the Commission''''s definition of Federal Election Activity. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party requests expedited consideration of its Advisory Opinion Request pursuant to the Commission''''s Advisory Opinion Procedure. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, specifically by November 26, 2012.
Advisory Opinions and Requests are available through the Advisory Opinions search page in the Law and Regulations section of the Commission website.
AUDITS
Final Audit Report on the Democratic Executive Committee of Florida. On September 24, 2012, the Commission made public the Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Democratic Executive Committee of Florida (the Committee), covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008. The Commission approved a finding related to excessive coordinated party expenditures; the Commission noted, however, that the combined coordinated expenditure limit on behalf of the House candidate was not exceeded. The Commission also approved findings related to the Committee’s failure to itemize coordinated party expenditures, allocation of expenditures, misstatement of Levin Fund financial activity and the disclosure of disbursement information. The report also addressed an additional issue related to the allocation of rent paid for the Committee headquarters, noting that the Commission did not approve a proposed finding by the required four votes.
Click here for general information about Final Audit Reports. Audits are broken down into three categories: Authorized Committees, Unauthorized Committees, and Title 26 Audit Reports.
LITIGATION
Beam v. Hunter (formerly Beam v. Petersen) (Case 11-3386). Oral Argument is scheduled for October 2, 2012 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
FEC v. Craig for U.S. Senate (Case 1:12-cv-00958-ABJ). On September 24, the defendants filed a Reply to the Commission''''s Opposition to Defendants'''' Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Free Speech v. FEC (Case 2:12-cv-127-SWS). On September 24, the Commission filed its Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming.
Miller v. FEC (Case 1:12-cv-00242-SJD). On September 21, the Commission filed its Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Nader v. FEC (Case 12-5134). On September 24, the appellant filed a Corrected Reply Brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Shaun McCutcheon, et al. v FEC (Case 1:12-cv-01034-JEB-JRB-RLW). On September 28, a three-judge court of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued its Memorandum Opinion in Shaun McCutcheon, et al. v FEC. The text of the Memorandum Opinion may be found here.
Vroom v. FEC (Case 1:12-cv-0143-RMC). On September 21, the Commission filed its Reply in Support of Its Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
OUTREACH
On September 26, Communications Specialist Travis Drake discussed campaign finance law and Commission operations with students from American University. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
On September 21, the Commission’s Office of Inspector General made public its Final Report, Quality Assessment Audit of the Commission’s Audit Division report.
PRESS RELEASES
FEC Summarizes 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2012 Election Cycle (issued September 26)
Federal Election Commission Certifies Federal Matching Funds for Jill Stein for President (issued September 28)
District Court Issues Opinion in Shaun McCutcheon, et al. v. FEC (issued September 28)
UPCOMING COMMISSION MEETING
October 2: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
October 4: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
December 12: On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., the Commission will hold a public hearing to discuss several key issues related to its enforcement process, including issues relating to the documents that were released to the public recently. Any general questions and comments related to the documents can be sent to Documents_Feedback@fec.gov.
UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
October 3, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC. Roundtable Workshops on Reporting for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
October 3, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC. Roundtable Workshops on FECFiling & E-Filing for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
October 3, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC. Roundtable Workshops on Reporting for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
October 3, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC. Roundtable Workshops on FECFiling & E-Filing for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
UPCOMING REPORTING DUE DATES
October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2012 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2012 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
OTHER RESOURCES
The 2012 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 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.
Printed copies of the 2012 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations are now available. To order, call (800)424-9530 (press 6) or send an email to info@fec.gov. Follow Us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/fec
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