Week of April 17-21, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On April 18, the Commission met in executive session.

On April 19, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory Opinions

Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2023-01 (Barragán) On April 19, the Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to a request from U.S. Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán. The Commission concluded that the proposed use of campaign funds for certain travel expenses as outlined in the request is permissible under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations because the expenses are ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with Rep. Barragán’s duties as a federal officeholder. On April 18, the Commission received three ex parte communications on the advisory opinion request.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1093

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Davis for Congress/Friends of Davis and Vera G. Davis, 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 the Committee failed to disclose $59,132 in additional disbursements on its 2022 12-Day Pre-Primary Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to participate in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $3,200.

Administrative Fines

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

AF 4490 Walorski for Congress and Mr. Christopher M. Marston, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,966.

AF 4491 DocRobForCongress and Gary Thomas Robinson, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $5,270.

Regulations and agency procedures

Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and the Department of Justice. On April 19, the Commission approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Justice and the accompanying draft Federal Register Notice, which will be published at a future date. The MOU repeals and supersedes the MOU the Commission and the Department of Justice approved in 1978. One comment was received on the Memorandum and Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement.

Press Office Acknowledgment of Complaints. On April 19, the Commission voted to direct the Press Office to decline to either confirm or deny the agency’s receipt of complaints in response to future inquiries. The Commission received two comments on the agenda item.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 21-406) On April 14, Heritage Action for America filed a Reply in Support of the Motion for Relief from Orders and Judgment and Motion to Defer Consideration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Castro v. FEC (Case No. 22-5323) On April 17, Plaintiff-Appellant filed a Petition for Panel Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Freedman v. FEC (Case No. 22-1542) On April 6, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On April 19, the Commission hosted an FECConnect OnTopic session on navigating FEC website resources.

On April 21, Disclosure Business Architect Paul Clark and Deputy Press Officer Christian Hilland met virtually with a group of researchers to discuss the FEC’s data collection process.

Press releases

Commission approves advisory opinion, Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Justice (issued April 19)

Public Disclosure

The Commission has debuted its 2024 Presidential Map, listing data for presidential candidates who have reported more than $100,000 in receipts from sources outside of the candidate’s own funds. The map displays each candidate's overall receipts, including contributions from the candidate, individuals, and other political committees as well as transfers from the candidate's prior federal campaigns.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

May 2, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 4, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

May 16, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 18, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

May 2-3, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for political party committees.

May 16-17, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for candidate committees.

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 2023 Monthly Reporting schedule.

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.

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.

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.