FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

Washington, DC 20463 

AGENDA DOCUMENT NO. 

AGENDA ITEM 

For meeting of Oct. 20, 2022

SUBMITTED LATE 

October 18, 2022 

MEMORANDUM 

TO: 

FROM: 

The Commission 

Lisa J. Stevenson Mr:5 £&1., L<Js 

Acting General Counsel {) v' -

Neven F. Stipanovic Mr:5 

Associate General Counsel 

Robert M. Knop RMK

Assistant General Counsel 

Heather Filemyr

Attorney 

Subject: Draft AO 2022-21 (DSCC, et al.) - Draft C 

We have been asked to place this draft on the Agenda by one or more Commissioners. 

Members ofthe public may submit written comments on the draft advisory opinion. We 

are making this draft available for comment until 9:00 am (Eastern Time) on September 

20, 2022. 

Members of the public may also attend the Commission meeting at which the draft will 

be considered. The advis01y opinion requestor may apperu· before the Commission at 

this meeting to answer questions. 

For more inf01mation about how to submit comments or attend the Commission meeting, 

go to https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/advis01y-opinions-process/. 

Attachment 

22-51-C
1 ADVISORY OPINION 2022-21 

2 

3 Jacquelyn K. Lopez, Esq. 

4 Rachel L. Jacobs, Esq.

5 Shanna M. Reulbach, Esq. DRAFT C

6 Jonathan A. Peterson, Esq. 

7 Elias Law Group

8 10 G Street, NE 

9 Suite 600 

10 Washington D.C. 20002 

11 Dear Counsel: 

12 We are responding to your advisory opinion request on behalf of the DSCC, 

13 Bennet for Colorado, and People for Patty Murray concerning the application of the 

14 Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 30101-45 (the “Act”), and Commission 

15 regulations to requestors’ proposal for the DSCC to pay for two types of television 

16 advertisements, labeled Solicitation 1 and 2 in the request, using funds in the DSCC’s

17 account established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C) (“Legal Proceedings Account”). 

18 The proposed television advertisements would feature federal candidates, including 

19 Senators Bennet and Murray, and solicit donations to the Legal Proceedings Account. 

20 Requestors ask whether the proposal to pay for these advertisements using the Legal 

21 Proceedings Account is permissible and whether Bennet for Colorado and People for 

22 Patty Murray (collectively “Candidate Committees”) may coordinate the timing, content, 

23 and placement of these advertisements with the DSCC. 

24 The Commission concludes that the DSCC may use funds from the Legal 

25 Proceedings Account to pay for television advertisements described in Solicitations 1 and 

26 2 because those advertisements would solicit donations to the Legal Proceedings 

27 Account, which is a permissible use of funds in that account. The Commission further 

28 concludes that the Candidate Committees may coordinate Solicitations 1 and 2 with the 
AO 2022-21 (DSCC, et. al) 

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1 DSCC because limitations on coordinated expenditures by a national party committee do 

2 not apply to disbursements from a separate, segregated account established under 52 

3 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C).

4 Background 

5 The facts presented in this advisory opinion are based on your letter dated 

6 September 20, 2022, your email dated September 23, 2022, and disclosure reports and 

7 other public documents filed with the Commission. 

8 The DSCC is a national political party committee whose purpose is electing 

Democrats to the U.S. Senate.1 9 Bennet for Colorado is the principal campaign committee 

of Michael Bennet, the sitting Democratic senator from Colorado,2 10 and People for Patty 

11 Murray is the principal campaign committee of Patty Murray, the sitting Democratic 

senator from Washington state.3 12 Both senators are seeking re-election in the November 

13 2022 general election. 

14 The DSCC established the Legal Proceedings Account under 52 U.S.C. 

15 § 30116(a)(9)(C), and it represents that the account is used to pay for expenses in

connection with recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings.4 16 Requestors provide two 

17 alternate proposals under which the DSCC would use this Legal Proceedings Account to 

1 See DSCC, Statement of Organization, FEC Form 1(Sept. 19, 2022), https://docquery.fec.gov/cgibin/forms/C00042366/1630498/. 

2 See Bennet for Colorado, Statement of Organization, FEC Form 1 (Aug. 17, 2022), 

https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00458398/1624593/. 

3 See People for Patty Murray, Statement of Organization, FEC Form 1 (Sept. 15, 2022), 

https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00257642/1629812/. 

4 Advisory Opinion Request (“AOR”) at AOR001.
AO 2022-21 (DSCC, et. al) 

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1 pay for television advertisements soliciting donations to the Legal Proceedings Account; 

2 the advertisements would feature Senators Bennet and Murray and other federal 

3 candidates. Under both proposals, the requestors represent that all advertisements would 

4 “comply fully” with the disclaimer requirements of 52 U.S.C. § 30120 and 11 C.F.R. 

§ 110.11.5 5 Further, under both proposals, if any donation exceeded a donor’s limit to the 

6 Legal Proceedings Account, the DSCC would refund the excess portion of the donation. 

7 Any funds raised through either proposed solicitation “would be spent exclusively on 

8 legal proceedings that comply with the permissible uses of the Legal Proceedings 

Account.”6 9

10 For Solicitation 1, the advertisements purchased using funds from the Legal 

11 Proceedings Account would feature one or more candidates, including Senator Bennet 

12 and Senator Murray. The ads would air “in states across the country,” including 

13 Colorado and Washington, and may air in the jurisdiction in which the featured 

14 candidate(s) are candidate(s) for re-election as well as in other jurisdictions where the 

featured candidate(s) are not candidates.7 15 Solicitation 1 would “[i]nclude a clear 

16 solicitation asking viewers to donate to the Legal Proceedings Account so that [the] 

17 DSCC can protect the right to vote in court and prepare for potential recounts and 

election contests.”8 18 The solicitation included in these advertisements would be both oral 

19 and written, with the written solicitation appearing as an easily readable weblink. The 

5 AOR006.

6 AOR006. 

7 AOR002.

8 AOR002.
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1 weblink would direct viewers to a contribution page, which would clearly state that 

2 donations would be allocated to the DSCC’s Legal Proceedings Account.

3 The DSCC “wants to include recognizable political figures in the communications 

4 because it believes [doing so would] make viewers of the communications more likely to 

donate to the cause.”9 5 The advertisements would “focus on the issue of voter suppression 

and [would] make no mention of any political party.”10 6 The advertisements would also 

7 not contain express advocacy or publish or republish any candidate materials. The ads, 

8 however, would “[b]e coordinated, including timing, content, and placement” with the 

candidates appearing in the ads.

11 9

10 For Solicitation 2, the advertisements purchased using funds from the Legal 

11 Proceedings Account would feature “a single candidate seeking re-election . . . in the 

12 jurisdiction where the advertisement is disseminated” and would be “coordinated, 

13 including the timing, content, and placement with the Democratic Senate candidate 

whose race is featured” in the ad.12 14 Each ad would focus on “one or more policy issues 

15 central to the . . . general election in the jurisdiction of distribution” and “would either 

16 discuss a Democratic candidate and promote or support the candidate and [the 

17 candidate’s] policy position(s), or discuss a Republican candidate and attack or oppose 

the candidate and [the candidate’s] policy positions.”13 18 The advertisement would not 

9 AOR002.

10 AOR006.

11 AOR002.

12 AOR003.

13 AOR003.
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1 publish or republish candidate materials, but “[m]ight in some circumstances expressly 

advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for federal office.”14 2 The 

3 advertisements would not mention the Legal Proceedings Account or any legal 

4 proceedings, but would include a written link to an online webpage such as 

5 dscc.org/urgent and that website would “clearly state that all funds accepted through the 

page are allocated to [the] DSCC’s Legal Proceedings Account.”15 6

7 Questions Presented

8 1a. May the DSCC use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

9 television advertisements following the description for Solicitation 1? 

10 1b. May the Candidate Committees coordinate with the DSCC on such 

11 communications by having input on the content, timing, and placement of the 

12 communications for Solicitation 1?

13 2a. May the DSCC use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

14 television advertisements following the description for Solicitation 2? 

15 2b. May the Candidate Committees coordinate with the DSCC on such 

16 communications by having input on the content, timing, and placement of the 

17 communications for Solicitation 2?

14 AOR003.

15 AOR003.
AO 2022-21 (DSCC, et. al) 

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1 Legal Analysis

2 1a. May the DSCC use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

3 television advertisements following the description for Solicitation 1?

4 2a. May the DSCC use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

5 television advertisements following the description for Solicitation 2? 

6 Yes, the DSCC may use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

7 television advertisements following the descriptions for Solicitations 1 and 2 because 

8 funds in an account established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C) may be used to pay for 

9 the solicitation of donations to that account.

10 As added to the Act by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations 

11 Act, 2015 (“Appropriations Act”), 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C) authorizes a national party 

12 committee, including a national congressional campaign committee, to establish a 

13 “separate, segregated account” to “defray expenses incurred with respect to the 

14 preparation for and conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal 

proceedings.”16 15

16 Notably, in the Appropriations Act, which authorized separate, segregated 

17 national party accounts “used to defray expenses incurred with respect to the preparation 

18 for and the conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings” under 

19 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C), Congress also authorized two additional separate, segregated 

16 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 113-235, § 101, 

128 Stat. 2130, 2772-73 (2014).
AO 2022-21 (DSCC, et. al) 

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national party committee accounts, codified at 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(A) and (B).17 1 

2 Congress limited those two additional accounts to be “used solely” for the statutorily 

3 listed purposes related to the payment of expenses for presidential nominating 

conventions and party headquarters buildings.18 4 Congress did not, however, include 

5 similar limiting language for accounts established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C) to be 

6 used for election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings. This omission suggests 

7 that Congress intended a wider scope of permissible uses for funds in accounts 

8 established under subsection (C) and did not intend to strictly limit the use of funds in an 

9 account authorized by that subsection to solely the listed legal expenses. Accordingly, 

10 the Commission concludes that funds in the Legal Proceedings Account are not limited 

11 solely to expenses for election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings, and may 

12 be used for other purposes. 

13 Furthermore, as the Requestor notes, the drafters of the Appropriations Act 

14 explained that “a national party committee of a political party committee (including a 

15 national congressional campaign committee of a political party) [may] defray expenses 

16 incurred with respect to the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts and 

17 contests and other egal proceedings, including the costs of fundraising for [the LPA], 

using funds raised under a separate limit.”19 18

17 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 113-235, § 101, 

128 Stat. 2130, 2772-73 (2014).

18 Id.; 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(A), (B).

19 Request at 4 (citing 106 Cong. Rec. H9286 (daily ed. Dec. 11, 2014) (statement of Rep. Boehner); 

106 Cong. Rec. S6814 (daily ed. Dec. 13, 2014) (statement of Sen. Reid). 
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1 In 2016, the Commission received a petition for rulemaking asking it to issue 

2 regulations governing accounts established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C), as well as 

3 the additional separate, segregated national party accounts authorized by the 

Appropriations Act.20 4 The Commission subsequently published a notice of availability 

5 seeking public comment on that petition for rulemaking and received four comments in 

response.21 6 To date, the Commission has not issued a notice of disposition, nor has it 

7 issued a notice of proposed rulemaking or final rule governing these accounts, and the 

8 Commission has not previously addressed the question of whether LPA funds may be 

9 spent on communications soliciting funds for the LPA.

10 Although the Commission has not previously addressed the issue of payment for 

11 solicitations in the context of an account established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C), 

12 the Commission has explained in previous advisory opinions that “Commission 

13 regulations generally permit (and in some cases require) the proceeds of fundraising 

activities to be used to defray the costs of those activities.”22 14 Likewise, in the case of 

15 publicly funded presidential campaign committees, general election legal and accounting 

16 compliance funds may be used to defray the cost of soliciting and contributions to the 

GELAC fund.23 17

20 Perkins Coie LLP Political Law Group, Petition for Rulemaking (Jan. 8, 2016), 

http://sers.fec.gov/fosers/showpdf.htm?docid=351581 (beginning at page 705). 

21 Rulemaking Petition: Implementing the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act, 2015, 81 

Fed. Reg. 69,722 (Oct. 7, 2016). Comments are available on the Commission’s website. FEC Online 

Rulemaking System, http://sers.fec.gov/fosers/.

22 See Advisory Opinion 2010-14 (DSCC) at 5 (“The DSCC may also use recount funds to defray 

the costs of soliciting donations to the recount fund.”) (citing 11 C.F.R. §§ 102.17(c)(7)(i)(A), 

9003.3(a)(2)(i)(E), Advisory Opinion 2003-15 (Majette)).

23 11 C.F.R. § 9003.3(a)(2)(i)(E). 
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1 Here, the DSCC may use funds in its Legal Proceedings Account to pay for 

2 television advertisements following the descriptions for Solicitations 1 and 2 because 

3 both advertisements would solicit contributions to the Legal Proceedings Account, as that 

term is used in the Commission’s existing regulatory definition of “to solicit.”24 4 Unless 

5 and until the Commission duly promulgates regulations on the use of funds in the 

6 additional separate, segregated national party accounts authorized by the Appropriations 

7 Act, it would be inappropriate for the Commission to attempt to fill any statutory gaps or 

8 ambiguity created by Congress when it authorized these accounts. Accordingly, because 

9 funds in the Legal Proceedings Account may be used to pay for solicitations for 

donations to that account,25 10 the proposal is permissible whether the solicitation follows 

11 the description for Solicitation 1 or Solicitation 2. 

12 Because the advertisements as described in Solicitations 1 and 2 would solicit 

13 donations to the Legal Proceedings Account, and funds in an account established under 

14 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C) may be used to pay for the solicitation of donations to that 

15 account, the Commission concludes that the proposal is permissible.

16 1b. May the Candidate Committees coordinate with the DSCC on such 

17 communications by having input on the content, timing, and placement of the 

18 communications for Solicitation 1?

24 See 11 C.F.R. § 300.2(m) (defining “to solicit”). 

25 See Advisory Opinion 2010-14 (DSCC) at 5.
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1 2b. May the Candidate Committees coordinate with the DSCC on such 

2 communications by having input on the content, timing, and placement of the 

3 communications for Solicitation 2?

4 Yes, the Candidate Committees may coordinate with the DSCC on the content, 

5 timing, and placement of the advertisements for Solicitations 1 and 2. 

6 The Act limits on coordinated expenditures by a national party committee on

behalf of a federal candidate of that party.

26 7 However, the Act expressly provides that 

8 those limitations “shall not apply” to disbursements from a national party committee’s 

separate, segregated account established under 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(9)(C).27 9 Because 

10 the Act expressly excludes disbursements from an account established under 52 U.S.C. 

11 § 30116(a)(9)(C) from the limitations on a national party committee’s coordinated

12 expenditures on behalf of candidates the proposal is permissible. 

13 This response constitutes an advisory opinion concerning the application of the 

14 Act and Commission regulations to the specific transaction or activity set forth in your 

request.28 15 The Commission emphasizes that, if there is a change in any of the facts or 

16 assumptions presented, and such facts or assumptions are material to a conclusion 

17 presented in this advisory opinion, then the requestors may not rely on that conclusion as 

18 support for its proposed activity. Any person involved in any specific transaction or 

19 activity that is indistinguishable in all its material aspects from the transaction or activity 

26 52 U.S.C. § 30116(d)(3).

27 52 U.S.C. § 30116(d)(5).

28 See 52 U.S.C. § 30108. 
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1 with respect to which this advisory opinion is rendered may rely on this advisory 

opinion.29 2 Please note that the analysis or conclusions in this advisory opinion may be 

3 affected by subsequent developments in the law including, but not limited to, statutes, 

4 regulations, advisory opinions, and case law. Any advisory opinions cited herein are 

5 available on the Commission’s website. 

6 On behalf of the Commission, 

7 Allen J. Dickerson

8 Chairman

9

29 See 52 U.S.C. § 30108(c)(1)(B).