Week of September 11 – September 15, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

• On September 12 and 14, the Commission held an executive session.
• On September 14, the Commission held an open audit hearing on Freedom's Defense Fund and the Conservative Majority Fund.
• On September 14, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory opinions

Advisory opinions issued

Advisory Opinion 2017-06 (Stein/Gottlieb).

On September 14, the Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to an advisory opinion request from Eli Stein and Jeremy Gottlieb, as modified at the table. The Commission concluded that the requestors’ proposed mobile app, which would allow users to round up spare change from the user’s debit or credit card transactions and contribute those amounts to candidates for federal office, is permissible and complies with all applicable provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations. During the discussion the Commission heard from counsel for the requestors.
Advisory Opinion 2017-09 (Libertarian Association of Massachusetts).

On September 14, the Commission approved an advisory opinion, concluding that the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts qualifies as a state committee of a political party.

Advisory opinions considered and extension of time received

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-05 (Great America PAC and The Committee to Defend the President).

On September 14, the Commission voted on two drafts in response to an advisory opinion request from two non-connected political committees but was unable to reach consensus on all issues presented by the required four affirmative votes. The Commission instructed the Office of General Counsel to develop a consensus draft addressing the issues on which there was agreement. The request asks several questions with respect to the use of Twitter handles in disclaimers and whether disclaimers are required on Twitter pages. During the discussion, the Commission heard from Counsel for the requestors. Also, on September 14, the Commission received an Extension of Time until September 20.

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-10 (Citizens Against Plutocracy).

On September 14, the Commission held over an advisory opinion request from Citizens Against Plutocracy. The requestor, an independent expenditure-only committee, asks whether its proposal to ask candidates to sign a “Contract for American Renewal” and to use the signed Contracts in emails from the requestor to supporters or to place them on the requestor’s website would constitute coordination under Commission regulations.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6566

• COMPLAINANTS: Mike Clark
• RESPONDENTS: Lisa Wilson-Foley for Congress and Lisa Wilson-Foley, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Lisa Wilson-Foley, in her individual capacity; Brian Foley; John Rowland; and Apple Health Care, Inc. (Apple Health)
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that (1) Foley made and the Committee accepted and did not properly disclose a $30,000 excessive in-kind contribution in the form of payments to former Connecticut Governor Rowland for services he provided to the Committee, (2) Foley reimbursed four individuals for contributions they made to the Committee totaling $30,000, and (3) Apple Health made in-kind contributions to the Committee by paying Rowland as a “consultant” while he provided campaign work for the Committee. Wilson-Foley was a 2012 candidate for Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe the Committee knowingly and willfully accepted and did not properly disclose the excessive contribution. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $35,000. The Commission also found reason to believe Foley knowingly and willfully made contributions in the name of another and in doing so made an excessive contributions to the Committee totaling $30,000. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Foley to pay a civil penalty of $90,000. The Commission found no reason to believe Apple Health or Rowland made a prohibited corporate contribution to a federal candidate committee because Foley admitted to personally paying Rowland for his work with the Committee. The Commission agreed to take no further action as to Wilson-Foley in her individual capacity.

MUR 6924

• COMPLAINANT: Benjamin J. Cayetano
• RESPONDENTS: Andrew Winer; Pacific Resource Partnership and John White, in his official capacity as treasurer (PRP State PAC); Friends of Mazie Hirono and Carol Puetto, in her official capacity as treasurer (Hirono Committee); and Democratic Party of Hawaii (State Party)
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that PRP State PAC, a Hawaii state political committee, coordinated a 2012 independent expenditure campaign with the State Party and the Hirono Committee, based on the fact that Winer worked as a political consultant for PRP State PAC, the State Party and the Hirono Committee. The complaint apparently alleged further that the State Party paid Winer with nonfederal funds.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the respondents made coordinated communications because there was insufficient information to establish that the conduct prong of the coordination regulations was met. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegation that the State Party paid Winer with nonfederal funds. The Commission observed that there was insufficient basis in the complaint to conclude that the State Party’s payments to Winer were inappropriate.

MURs 7093 and 7145

• COMPLAINANTS: Fergus Cullen; and Raymond C. Buckley, Chairman, New Hampshire Democratic Party
• RESPONDENTS: Friends of Frank Guinta and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Frank Guinta
• SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that Guinta converted campaign funds to personal use by failing to return loan repayments he received from the Committee before entering into a conciliation agreement with the Commission and by maintaining access to $355,000 that the Committee had refunded to Guinta’s parents. The complaints allege further that the loan repayments to Guinta caused the Committee to have less cash on hand than general election contributions received. Guinta was a 2016 candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Guinta or the Committee violated terms of the conciliation agreement or converted the funds at issue to personal use because once the Committee repaid the Guinta Family Fund, the $355,000 was no longer “a contribution accepted by a candidate” or “any other donation received by an individual as support for the activities of the individual as a holder of Federal office,” and as a result the funds in the Guinta Family Fund would not be subject to the personal use restrictions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act). The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations concerning Guinta’s failure to return loan repayments he received from the Committee in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission also dismissed the allegations regarding general election funds. The Commission observed that (1) because Guinta was a general election candidate there was no issue concerning whether the Committee would have enough cash on hand to refund its general election contributors, (2) the disbursement at issue here was not made to pay for primary election expenses, and (3) any potential violation was created because the Committee complied with the terms of the conciliation agreement and refunded the money to the Guinta Family Fund prior to the primary election.

MUR 7198

• ·COMPLAINANT: American Democracy Legal Fund
• ·RESPONDENTS: Ronald Harold Johnson; and Ron Johnson for Senate, Inc., and James J. Malczewski, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
• ·SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Johnson aired a television ad that failed to include a written “stand by your ad” disclaimer at the end of the ad. Johnson was a 2016 candidate for Wisconsin’s United States Senate seat.
• ·DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that the violation was technical in nature and that the general public was unlikely to have been confused as to who had sponsored and paid for the ad.

Administrative fines

The Commission made public two campaign finance enforcement matters that were resolved through its Administrative Fines (AF) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

AF 3234

Stutzman for Senate and Christopher M. Marston, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,032.

AF 3302

John Carroll for US Senate 2016 and Winona Kalakau-Hatayama, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

Litigation

CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:16-cv-00259-BAH). On September 11, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Pursuing America's Greatness v. FEC (Case 1:15-cv- 01217-TSC). On September 11, the Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and a Memorandum in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Rulemaking and agency procedures

REG 2011-12 (Internet Communication Disclaimers). On September 14, the Commission approved a motion to reopen the comment period for an additional period of 30 days.

Outreach

On September 13, Chairman Steven T. Walther and Communications Specialist Myles Martin discussed campaign finance disclosure rules and the role of the Commission with a group of leaders from various countries. The group is visiting the United States as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program's Transparency and Accountability in Government.

Publications

Draft Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations. On September 14, the Commission held over discussion of a draft campaign guide.

Press releases

FEC Approves Two Advisory Opinions (issued September 14)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• September 19: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• September 20: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and executive session.
• Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

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 mediums has not been authorized by the FEC.

Upcoming educational programs

November 14-15: Washington, DC Regional Conference for candidates, parties and separate segregated funds. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• September 20: September Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  

Additional research materials

The Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results are available in the Library section of the website. This listing was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

The 2017 edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available on the new 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 FEC Record is available as a continuously-updated online news source.

The 2017 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.