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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019

Perrin

With regard to the agenda, Chair Weintraub stated that Item II. (AUDIT

DIVISION RECOMMENDATION MEMORANDUM ON TONY CARDENAS FOR

CONGRESS (A17-01)) will be held over due to the unforeseen illness of staff, and
the Proposed Final Audit Reports in Items IV. and V. were resolved on tally.

lll. AUDIT DIVISION RECOMMENDATION MEMORANDUM ON TONY
CARDENAS FOR CONGRESS (A17-01)

Memorandum the Chief Compliance Officer and Audit Division dated
December 6, 2018

Agenda Document No. 19-01-A

This matter was held over to a future meeting.

Iv. PROPOSED FINAL AUDIT REPORT ON FRIENDS OF ERIK
PAULSEN (A17-06)

Memorandum from the Chief Compliance Officer and Audit
Division dated December 17, 2018

Agenda Document No. 19-02-A

(Resolved on tally)

Vv. PROPOSED FINAL AUDIT REPORT ON MARSHA BLACKBURN FOR
CONGRESS, INC. (A17-02)

Memorandum from the Chief Compliance Officer and Audit
Division dated December 21, 2018

Agenda Document No. 19-03-A

(Resolved on tally)


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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019

The Chair thanked those staff members who worked over the shutdown
without pay and those that worked hard to catch the Agency up after the

shutdown. She specifically recognized the 21 staff members who ensured the

Commission’s computer systems and data were secure; Mr. Greg Baker and Mr.

Robert Kahn of the General Counsel’s Office who served as legal advisors; Ms.

Kim Humphries of the Information Technology Division (ITD); and especially Mr.
Alec Palmer, the Agency’s Staff Director, Head of ITD, and Furlough Manager
who did his best to keep staff informed during the shutdown and coordinated
the recovery from it.

With the 30 Day Post-General Reports that arrived during the shutdown

and the Year-End Reports filed by the end of January, Chair Weintraub noted

that the Reports Analysis Division found itself with 17.6 million pages of reports

to review. She stated that the Reports Analysts are very efficient, and while

backlogged, Ms. Debbie Chacona and her staff dived right in. She thanked them

for their efforts.

Lastly, Chair Weintraub stated that the Commission’s long-time head of
Enforcement, Ms. Kathleen Guith, was departing the Agency fo be a partner at
Holtzman Vogel. The Chair stated that Ms. Guith was an incredibly dedicated
public servant and worked very hard every day for the Commission and the
American people. She wished Ms. Guith well and noted that she will be missed

and successful.



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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019

wee KEE

Chair Weintraub recognized Vice Chairman Petersen who
MOVED to suspend the rules on the timely submission of
agenda documents in order that the Commission may
consider Agenda Document No. 19-04-A, the Draft

Notice of Availability on REG 2018-05.

The motion carried by a vote of 4-0 with Commissioners Hunter, Petersen,

Walther, and Weintraub voting affirmatively for the decision.

RRRREE

i. DRAFT NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY ON REG 2018-05 (SIZE OF
LETTERS IN DISCLAIMERS)

Agenda Document No. 19-04-A
(Submitted Late)

Chair Weintraub recognized Mr. Tony Buckley of the General Counsel’s
Office who stated that the Draft Notice of Availability (Notification) before the
Commission contained a Petition for Rulemaking (Petition) submitted by
Extreme Reach, a company that manages the distribution of commercials to
television broadcasters. The Petition asks the Commission to revise the
regulation regarding the size of letters in certain television ad disclaimers. The
Notification seeks comment on whether the Commission should commence a
Rulemaking based on this Petition. The comment period will run for 60 days

following publication of the Notification in the Federal Register. After the



AGENDA DOCUMENT NO. 19-06-A

PRESENT:

APPROVED MARCH 28, 2019

MINUTES OF AN OPEN MEETING

OF THE

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Ellen L. Weintraub, Chair, presiding
Matthew S. Petersen, Vice Chairman
Steven T. Walther, Commissioner
Caroline C. Hunter, Commissioner

Alec Palmer, Staff Director

Lisa Stevenson, Acting General Counsel

Dayna C. Brown, Secretary and Clerk



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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019
comment period has concluded and the comments are considered, the
Commission may decide whether to initiate a Rulemaking.
Chair Weintraub recognized Vice Chairman Petersen who
MOVED to approve the Draft Notice of Availability on
REG 2018-05 (Size of Letters in Disclaimers), as set

forth in Agenda Document No. 19-04-A.

The motion carried by a vote of 4-0 with Commissioners Hunter, Petersen,

Walther, and Weintraub voting affirmatively for the decision.

Vi. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

There being no further business to come before the Commission, the
meeting adjourned at 10:27 A.M.

Signed:

Elin. Wotan ~

Ellen L. Weintraub
Chair of the Commission

Attest:

yD CBD

Dayna C. Brown
Secretary and Clerk of the Commission


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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019

Chair Ellen L. Weintraub called the Federal Election Commission to order
in an open meeting at 10:13 A.M. on Thursday, February 7, 2019 with a quorum

present.

1. WELCOMING REMARKS BY CHAIR ELLEN L. WEINTRAUB

Chair Weintraub welcomed everyone to the first open meeting of the year.
She noted that the recent government shutdown resulted in the Commission
starting the year off behind in fulling the important mission of the Agency, that
the 2020 presidential election is already underway, and that the election is
almost certain to involve the raising and spending of billions of dollars. The
Chair stated that she was proud to take the Agency’s helm at this important
time, and that the Commission is able to do its important job through the
dedication, hard work, and public service of each employee of the Agency.

Chair Weintraub highlighted the work before the Commission, including:
continuing to confront ongoing attacks on our democracy by foreign
adversaries; 326 cases on the Enforcement docket, over 50 of which are
imperiled by the statute of limitations; and keeping up with the review,
processing, and disclosure of an ever-increasing volume of political activity.

The Chair articulated her pleasure to be serving in a leadership capacity
this year with her colleague Vice Chairman Petersen, and noted that this was

the first time the two have served together as Chair and Vice Chairman.



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Minutes of an Open Meeting
February 7, 2019

In addition to the tackling the Enforcement backlog, Chair Weintraub

highlighted potential opportunities for bipartisan action, including moving

forward to take stronger measures against SCAM PACs, and the hope that the

Commission can come to consensus on new rules for internet advertising |
disclaimers.

For 2019, the Chair expressed her desire to provide a space for serious

discussion on the important issues facing our democracy. To that end, she will
be inviting provocative and thoughtful speakers to come to the Commission to
share their perspectives with the Commission and the public. Two such events
will take place on the afternoon of Thursday, February 21, 2019. The first will
be a panel discussion on how money was raised and spent during the 2018 mid-
term. The Chair expressed her delight that Shelia Krumhoiz from the Center of
Responsive Politics, and Michael Malbin of the Campaign Finance Institute, now
part of the National Institute on Money and Politics, had agreed to attend. The
second event of the afternoon will be a reception hosted at the Commission by
the Chair from 3:00 - 5:00pm for the campaign finance community.

Chair Weintraub stated that she and Vice Chairman Petersen have agreed

to partner in going to Capitoi Hill to meet with the Agency’s oversight
committees and appropriators to advocate for the Commission’s legislative
recommendations. The recommendations have been carefully considered and

have the unanimous, bipartisan support of the Commission.