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      FEC Record: Litigation
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      McChesney v. FEC (District court)

FEC Record: Litigation*McChesney v. FEC* (District court)January 4, 2017 On December 22, 2016, the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska granted the Commission’s motion to dismiss in the matter of *McChesney v. FEC*. Bart McLeay for U.S. Senate, Inc., and Robert McChesney, in his official capacity
    as Treasurer, had filed suit alleging that a final determination and civil money penalty assessed against them under the Commission''s Administrative Fine Program (AFP) were invalid. They alleged that the Commission did not follow proper procedures
    to extend the AFP penalties schedule that expired on December 31, 2013. The Court found that there had been "good cause" for the Commission to bypass ordinary notice and comment procedures when extending the AFP regulation, because notice and comment "are unnecessary when the amendments are minor or merely technical," and
    the AFP regulatory extension "did not make any substantive changes." Instead, the changes made "were mere technical changes and were not an exercise of substantive agency decision-making." It also found that pre-adoption notice and comment procedures
    would have been contrary to the public interest, because such procedures would have delayed the Commission’s extension of its AFP regulation and required prolonged use of the "more extensive" regular enforcement process for routine reporting violations.
    Further delay in implementing the extension of the AFP would contravene Congress’s purpose of establishing streamlined procedures for efficiently imposing fines for certain routine filing and recordkeeping violations, "such as the late filings at
    issue here." Finally, the Court reviewed the record and found no evidence that the Commission violated the tally vote procedure or the Sunshine Act that would invalidate the AFP extension. And it explained that, in any event, the remedy for such alleged
    procedural violations would be "increased transparency, not invalidation of agency action." **Resources** *McChesney v FEC* litigation page
 Author
          Christopher BergCommunications Specialist


Read next: Pending advisory opinion requests as of December 31, 2016
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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