Week of March 7-11, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On March 8 and 10, the Commission met in executive session.

On March 10, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2022-01 (Joan Farr for U.S. Senate OK and KS) On March 10, the Commission approved Advisory Opinion 2022-01 in response to a request from Joan Farr concerning whether the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, (the Act) and Commission regulations would allow her or her committees, Joan Farr for U.S. Senate OK and Joan Farr for U.S. Senate KS, to provide copies of a book she had written and currently owns as rewards to contributors. The Commission concluded that the proposed activity is permissible because a candidate may make unlimited expenditures from personal funds, including making in-kind contributions of assets, to his or her candidate committee.

Enforcement

The Commission made public two closed cases and two additional Statements of Reasons, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7707

COMPLAINANT: Robert Burns
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Bill Posey and Nancy H. Watkins, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Bill Posey; American Muscle Car Museum, Inc. (the Museum); Mark Judson Pieloch and Tetiana Pieloch
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the respondents violated the Act and Commission regulations when the Committee accepted prohibited in-kind and excessive contributions from the Museum and the Pielochs in connection with campaign events held at the Museum in 2018 and 2019. The complaint also alleged that the Committee failed to report contributions received and expenditures made in connection to these events. The complaint further alleged that the Museum denied a request from a representative for Posey’s opponent to host a similar campaign event. Posey was a 2018 and 2020 candidate for Florida’s 8th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission voted to dismiss the allegations that the Committee’s use of the Museum resulted in prohibited or excessive contributions from the Museum or the Pielochs and that the Committee failed to report these contributions on disclosure reports. The Commission found no reason to believe the Committee failed to report contributions raised and expenditures made in connection with these events as there was no available information brought forward to substantiate this allegation. Chairman Allen Dickerson issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7949

COMPLAINANT: Self-Reported
RESPONDENTS: Crown Products & Services, Inc.; Steven Douglas Simmons; and Douglas Schane
SUBJECT: This matter was generated by a sua sponte submission identifying potential violations of the Act and Commission regulations resulting from Crown Products & Services, Inc. reimbursing Simmons and Shane, two corporate executives, for nine political contributions they made to federal candidates totaling $13,500 in 2018.
DISPOSITION: Based on the available information, the Commission found reason to believe that Crown Products & Services, Inc. and Simmons violated the Act by making prohibited contributions in the name of another and that Simmons consented to making prohibited contributions, and by allowing his name to be used for the purpose of making a contribution in the name of another. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Crown Products & Services, Inc. and Simmons to 1) jointly pay a civil penalty of $5,000, 2) request a refund of the $13,500 in un-refunded contributions made to the recipient Committees, and 3) cease and desist from violating the named provisions of the Act. The Commission also issued a letter of admonishment and closed the file with respect to Schane.

MUR 7465 (Freedom Vote, Inc.; Fighting for Ohio Fund and Christopher M. Marston, in his official capacity as treasurer; and James S. Nathanson) On March 7, Chairman Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons. On March 9, Commissioner Cooksey issued a Supplemental Statement of Reasons.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1038

COMPLAINANT: Self-Reported
RESPONDENT: REBUILDING AMERICA NOW and Chris Marston, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The Committee filed a sua sponte submission claiming that the Committee’s former treasurer misappropriated $278,169.45 of Committee funds between September 2016 and January 2019, resulting in the filing of inaccurate reports with the FEC. The Committee subsequently filed amended reports from the 2016, 2018, and 2020 election cycles to disclose the previously unreported transactions and correct the public record.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify internal control procedures as recommended by the Commission.

ADR 1046

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Trust the People and Kevin Harris, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee failed to timely file two 48-Hour Reports totaling $32,950 to support two independent expenditures disclosed on its 2021 12-Day Louisiana Pre-Special Report, and two 24-Hour Reports totaling $55,000 to support two independent expenditures disclosed on its 2021 12-Day Louisiana Pre-Runoff Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify that a representative participated in an FEC training program; 2) certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to external compliance vendors detailing independent expenditure reporting procedures; and 3) pay a civil penalty of $5,750.

Audits

Resubmission: Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Mike Braun for Indiana On March 10, the Commission approved five findings in the Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Mike Braun for Indiana, covering campaign finance activity from August 7, 2017 to December 31, 2018. The Commission approved findings on misstatement of financial activity, failure to file 48-hour notices, disclosure of occupation and/or name of employer, receipt of apparent prohibited contributions – loans, and disclosure of memo entries and candidate loans. The Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum recommended that, in light of the potential impact of a future decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. v. Federal Election Commission, the Commission refrain from acting on two proposed findings: receipt of contributions in excess of the limit and prohibited candidate personal loan repayments until the Supreme Court issues its decision. The Commission did not agree by at least four votes to refrain from acting on those two proposed findings and, as a result, those two proposed findings will be placed in the Additional Issues section of the Final Audit Report of the Commission.

Regulations and agency procedures

Revisions to FEC Form 1 (Statement of Organization). On March 10, the Commission approved revisions to Form 1, the Statement of Organization for political committees, as well as to the instructions for the form and an Explanation and Justification for the revisions. The revised form introduces voluntary provisions for registering independent expenditure-only political committees (commonly known as “Super PACs”) and hybrid PACs, which intend to establish separate bank accounts to make contributions and to raise unlimited amounts to make independent expenditures. The revised form would enter into effect 10 legislative days after the Form 1 Revisions package is received by Congress, barring congressional objections to the revisions.

Outreach

On March 9, the Commission hosted a webinar on independent expenditures.

Press releases

FEC approves advisory opinion, revised Statement of Organization form, and Audit Division recommendations (issued March 10)

Upcoming Commission meetings

March 22, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 24, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

March 16, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar independent expenditures.

March 23, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for candidate committees.

March 30, 2022: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for candidates, PACs, and party committees.

April 6, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Monthly Reporting schedule.

The Commission has posted filing deadlines for the Oklahoma Senate Special Election. For information on the reporting dates for these elections, refer to the Special Election Report Notice.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission recently updated its Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2014 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and their campaign committees.

Additional research materials

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.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are 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.

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

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.