Week of September 25 – 29, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Agency operations

On September 26, the Commission published an updated Plan for Agency Operations in the Absence of the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation.

Advisory Opinions

Comment Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2023-06 (Texas Majority PAC) On September 25, the Commission received a comment on the advisory opinion request from Campaign Legal Center.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7986

COMPLAINANT: Charles Dudek
RESPONDENTS: Nathan Magsig; Magsig for Congress and Melissa Allen, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Andrew Tuell Concrete, Inc.; Borges Brothers, Inc., dba All American Construction & Roofing Group; Buckingham Property Management; Cen Cal Title, Inc.; Coehlo West; Community Vocation Services Inc.; Efrain Yanez Construction, Inc.; Finegan Dealer Group North dba Clovis Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram; Fresno Plumbing and Heating, Inc.; Gill Insurance Agency, Inc.; Ginder Real Estate; HSG Farmers, Inc.; The Indart Group, Inc.; The Red Caboose Café, Inc.; Valley Metal Finishing, Inc.; WA Funding, Inc.; Beal Developments, LLC; Cooper River Ranch Villages, LLC; Palm Place Investments, LLC; River Ranch Citrus, LLC; TriValley Development Group, LLC; and Westech Systems, LLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Magsig and the Committee knowingly accepted prohibited corporate contributions from 16 registered corporations and six LLCs. Magsig was a 2022 candidate for California’s 5th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that the LLCs and a partnership, Coelho West, that had been incorrectly identified as a corporation, committed a violation because they were apparently eligible to make contributions. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations concerning Magsig, the Committee, and the remaining individual corporate respondents.

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 1108

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: BlackPAC and Adrianne R. Shropshire, 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 file one 24-Hour Report to support three independent expenditures totaling $13,303.20, and one 48-Hour Report to support one independent expenditure totaling $55,000 disclosed on its 2022 30-Day Post-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to vendors detailing independent expenditure reporting procedures, and 2) pay a civil penalty of $3,725.

ADR 1109

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: NATSO Inc. NATSO PAC and Lisa J. Mullings, 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 $58,000 in additional disbursements on its 2022 October Monthly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual which includes internal controls, 2) participate in an FEC training program, and 3) pay a civil penalty of $1,350.

ADR 1116

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Medicare for All and Lauren Lalonde, 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 one 48-Hour Report to support one independent expenditure totaling $27,759.12, disclosed on its 2022 12-Day Pre-General Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to external compliance vendors detailing independent expenditure reporting procedures, and 2) pay a civil penalty of $1,525.

Regulations and agency procedures

Proposed Directive Regarding Investigations Conducted by the Office of General Counsel. On September 22, the Commission made public a comment on the proposed directive that it received from the Campaign for Accountability.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 22-3319) On September 26, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order denying the Commission’s Motion to Dismiss.

Palmer v. FEC (Case No. 22-2876) On September 26, Plaintiff filed a Civil Notice of Appeal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On September 24-26, Chair Dara Lindenbaum attended the XVI Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Bodies (RAE) in Ottawa, Canada.

On September 27, the Commission hosted a seminar for Separate Segregated Funds (SSFs) at its headquarters in Washington, DC.

On September 29, the Commission published the Statistical Summary of Six-Month Campaign Activity of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle.

Public disclosure

On September 28, the FEC’s Office of Inspector General published Inspector General Christopher Skinner’s Statement Before the Committee on House Administration.

Press releases

District Court issues opinion in Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (issued September 27)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

October 3, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session. This meeting will be cancelled if the Commission is not open due to a funding lapse.

October 5, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting. This meeting will be cancelled if the Commission is not open due to a funding lapse.

Upcoming educational programs

October 4, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a FECFile webinar for candidate committees.

October 25, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a full-day Seminar for Candidate and Political Party Committees at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In-person attendance is limited, but virtual attendance is also available.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

October 15: October Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 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.