Week of September 4 – September 8, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory opinions

Drafts

Advisory Opinion 2017-09 (Libertarian Association of Massachusetts).

On September 7, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion 2017-09 (Libertarian Association of Massachusetts). The requestor asks whether it qualifies as a state party committee of the Libertarian National Party.

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

On September 7, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion 2017-10 (Citizens Against Plutocracy). The requestor, an independent expenditure-only committee, asks whether its proposal to ask candidates to sign a “Contract for American Renewal” would constitute coordination under Commission regulations.

Enforcement

The Commission made public four closed cases and one Concurring Statement of Reasons, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7069

• COMPLAINANT: Tom Garrett for Congress
  
• RESPONDENT: Ron Hedlund
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Hedlund sent out a mass mailing that lacked an appropriate disclaimer.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that it was unlikely the public would have been misled as to who was responsible for the mailing.
  

MUR 7103

• COMPLAINANT: Nia Robinson
  
• RESPONDENTS: Stronger Together NYC and Grant Lincoln, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to report independent expenditures in support of a 2016 federal primary candidate.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission resources, given the apparently low level of spending by the Committee. The Commission observed that the available record lacks information indicating the Committee actually made independent expenditures as alleged in the complaint.
  

MUR 7156

• COMPLAINANT: Homar G. Hernandez
  
• RESPONDENTS: Will Hurd for Congress and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and William Hurd
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint and a supplement alleged that Hurd and the Committee paid for two television ads containing written disclaimers that were not clearly readable. The complaint alleged further that in one of the ads the candidate’s image was missing during his audio statement of approval. Hurd was a 2016 candidate in Texas’s 23^rd Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that the alleged violations were technical in nature, and the public was unlikely to have been confused as to who sponsored and paid for the ads in question.
  

MUR 7232

• COMPLAINANT: Conor Dunphy
  
• RESPONDENTS: Unknown
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that an unidentified party may have defrauded Dunphy, Hillary for America (HFA), or both, claiming that HFA notified Dunphy that he had paid or contributed $100 to HFA and he denied making the payment.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed the low amount at issue and lack of available information on the public record to support the allegations in the complaint.
  

MUR 6753

• Representative Stevan Pearce; People for Pearce and James Francis, in his official capacity as treasurer, and GOAL WestPAC and Philip G. Pearce, in his official capacity as treasurer. On September 6, Commissioner Lee E. Goodman issued a Concurring Statement of Reasons.

Litigation

• Center for Public Integrity v. FEC (Case 1:17-cv-01162-CRC). On September 7, the Commission filed its Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  
• Lieu, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:16-cv-02201-EGS). On September 5, the Commission filed its Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint for Lack of Jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  
• Libertarian National Committee, Inc. v. FEC (Case 1:16-cv-00121-BAH). On September 5, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Certify Facts and Questions and a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Plaintiff's Motion to Certify Facts and Questions in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

• On September 7, Vice Chair Caroline C. Hunter participated in a Question &Answer session at the annual conference for the Practicing Law Institute entitled "Corporate Political Activities 2017: Complying with Campaign Finance, Lobbying and Ethics Laws,” in Washington, DC.
  
• On September 8, Acting General Counsel Lisa Stevenson spoke at the Practicing Law Institute conference.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• September 12: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• September 14: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and executive session.
• September 14: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open audit hearing on Freedom's Defense Fund and the Conservative Majority Fund.
• 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.