ADR program update

The Commission has successfully resolved six campaign finance enforcement matters through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. The Commission assessed civil penalties totaling $11,450 for these six cases. The respondents, the alleged violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and the final disposition of the cases are listed below.

1. The Commission reached an agreement with the Van Taylor for Congress committee and Roy Giddens, as treasurer, regarding failure to disclose all financial activity on its 2006 12-Day Pre-General and 2006 30-Day Post-General reports. The committee filed amended reports in January 2007, disclosing additional disbursements of $102,808.40 for the Pre-General report and $58,836.58 on the Post-General. The respondents acknowledged the inadvertent errors on both reports. According to the committee, the omission on the Pre-General was the result of an omitted media buy and two electronic funds transfers, and was corrected after discovery during an internal audit. The committee contended that the Post-General omissions were due to staff turnover. The respondents agreed to pay a civil penalty of $5,300 and work with FEC staff to terminate the committee. (ADR 413*)
2. The Commission reached an agreement with Blue America PAC and Howard Klein, as treasurer, regarding failure to file six 24-Hour notices for independent expenditures totaling $25,005.84. The committee later disclosed the expenditures on its 30-Day Post-General report. The committee acknowledged the inadvertent violation and agreed to pay a $900 civil penalty, develop a compliance manual for internal use and participate in training with FEC staff. (ADR 409*)
3. The Commission reached an agreement with several contributors to Terrell for Senate, the principal campaign committee of 2002 Republican Senate candidate Suzanne Haik Terrell (LA). The Commission conducted an audit of the committee and found that the committee received numerous prohibited contributions from limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations. The following respondents made a prohibited corporate contribution of $250 and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $125: S.J. Deshotels, Jr., M.D.; Todd J. Guerin, Professional Accounting Corporation; LaPorte, Sehrt, Romig & Hand, Professional Accounting Corporation; and Mirabeau Apartments, LLC. Each of the following respondents made a prohibited corporate contribution totaling $500 and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $250: Clovis & Roche, Inc.; Delta Medical Equipment & Supply, Co.; Gryon, LLC; and Schofield, Gerard, Veron, Singletary & Pohorelsky, P.C. Each of the following respondents made a $1,000 prohibited corporate contribution and agreed to pay a $500 civil penalty: Bayou Boeuf Electric, LLC; Paul T. Finger, M.D., P.C.; Hollander Properties, Inc.; and Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, LLC. Additionally, Dorignac’s Food Center, LLC, made prohibited corporate contributions totaling $2,500 to Terrell for Senate and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,250. (ADR 255*)
4. The Commission reached an agreement with Richard Pombo for Congress and David Bauer, as treasurer, concerning excessive contributions. An FEC audit of Pombo for Congress revealed that the committee accepted contributions from individuals and Native American tribes that exceeded the Act’s contribution limits by $24,400. In response to the audit, the respondents provided documentation showing that they had refunded excessive contributions totaling $22,400 and presumptively reattributed a $2,000 contribution to another donor. The Commission dismissed the matter. (ADR 421*)
5. and 6. The Commission reached an agreement with David Mejias, Mejias for Congress and Michael Norman, as treasurer of the committee, for failure to disclose accurate receipts and acceptance of corporate contributions. The matters were initiated by complaints filed with the Commission, alleging inaccurate reporting and failure to obtain information about the corporate status of some contributors. The respondents contended that the errors were inadvertent and due to inexperienced staff. The committee also contended that they made efforts to amend and correct the reports. The Commission determined that the matters did not merit further use of the Commission’s resources and exercised its prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the matters. (ADR 371/365)

*Cases marked with an asterisk were internally generated within the FEC.