Week of April 22 - 26, 2024

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Draft Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-04 (Independence Blue Cross LLC Political Action Committee) On April 24, the Commission made public a draft advisory opinion.

Advisory Opinion Request 2024-05 (Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom) On April 24, the Commission made public a draft advisory opinion.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7988

COMPLAINANT: Mark Rosenberg
RESPONDENTS: Severino for Congress and Joseph Severino, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Joseph Severino
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that as of the time it was filed, the Committee had filed no disclosure reports for the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. Severino was a 2022 candidate for Illinois’s 10th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 8054

COMPLAINANT: Caleb Slater
RESPONDENTS: Steve Wells for Congress and Janna Rutland, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Benedicte Doran
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee and Doran produced and distributed a mailer without a required disclaimer. Wells was a 2022 candidate for New York’s 22nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 8175

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Straight Talk Politics PAC and Wesley Smith, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to file the required 24-hour report for an independent expenditure totaling $525,000,as disclosed on its 2022 30-Day Post-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $37,700.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1147

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Rodney for Congress and Thomas Charles Datwyler, in official capacity as Treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to remedy excessive 2022 primary and general election contributions, totaling $3,625.00, within the permissible timeframe, and received $479,783.82 in 2022 general election contributions that were not refunded within the permissible timeframe. Rodney Davis was a 2022 candidate for reelection in Illinois’s 15th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to pay a civil penalty of $43,475 and, in view of the Committee’s intention to terminate its activity, to certify the closure of its federal account.

ADR 1150

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Steve Daines for Montana and Lisa Lisker, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to correctly disclose receipts, totaling $945,418, during calendar years 2019 and 2020.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in an FEC training program and to pay a civil penalty of $1,000.

ADR 1152

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Make America Great Again, Again! Inc. and Charles Gantt, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to disclose all financial activity on its 2022 April Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document for Committee staff, detailing procedures for identifying in-kind contributions to ensure timely and accurate reporting, and to pay a civil penalty of $6,075.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2019-01 (Valuable Information) - Notice of Disposition On April 24, the Commission published a Notice of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The Petition asked the Commission to amend its existing regulation defining “contribution” by adding a new section to include within the definition of contribution certain “valuable information.” The Petition would have further required the Commission to initiate investigations and report to a law enforcement agency “automatically” and without a vote whenever the Commission received notice that any person has received certain “foreign information” or “compromising information.” The Commission voted not to initiate a rulemaking at this time for the reasons detailed in the notice which include the Commission’s lack of statutory authority to do so.

REG 2015-03 (Contributions from Corporations and Other Organizations) - Notice of Disposition On April 24, the Commission published a Notice of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The Petition asked the Commission to revise its existing rules concerning the reporting of contributions to political committees from corporations and other organizations. The Commission voted not to initiate a rulemaking at this time for the reasons detailed in the notice including because (1) it lacks the statutory authority to do so and (2) the vast majority of the commenters opposed the Petition.

Outreach

On April 24, Public Affairs Specialist Myles Martin spoke with a group of Bloomberg Industry Group reporters on accessing FEC disclosure systems and using campaign finance data.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission has updated its Campaign Guide for Political Party Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2013 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to party committees that have registered (or may need to register) as federal political committees with the FEC. The updated Guide is only available online as a PDF.

Website maintenance

Between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Eastern Time on Saturday, April 27, the FEC’s eFiling and report image retrieval will be offline for system maintenance.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

April 30, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 1, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

May 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 16, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational opportunities

May 7-8, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.

May 21-22, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for trade associations and their PACs.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

May 20: May Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Additional research materials

Election Dates. The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

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.

Federal Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is now 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.

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 Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

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.