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      Week of February 26-March 1, 2024

Weekly DigestsWeek of February 26-March 1, 2024March 1, 2024 Commission meetings and hearings On February 27 and 29, the Commission met in executive session. On February 29, the Commission held an open meeting. Advisory Opinions Draft Opinion Discussed Advisory Opinion Request 2024-01 (Texas Majority PAC) On February 29, the Commission discussed two drafts (Draft A and Draft B) of an advisory opinion in response to a request from Texas Majority PAC concerning its proposal to hire vendors to canvass potential voters and held over consideration of the drafts. Texas Majority PAC asks whether canvassing literature and scripts, and their associated costs, would be public communications, coordinated communications, or coordinated expenditures, and about the provision of data resulting from the canvass to a federal candidate or party committee at less than fair market value. During the discussion, the Commission heard from Counsel for the requestor. This week, the Commission received three comments on the draft advisory opinions. Enforcement The Commission made public four closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System. MUR 7543 COMPLAINANT: Committee to Elect Jesse Schmidt RESPONDENT: Jefferson United, Inc. SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Jefferson United, Inc. produced and distributed a mailer without a proper disclaimer that advocated the defeat of Jesse Schmidt, a 2018 primary election candidate for Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. DISPOSITION: On April 8, 2021, the Commission found reason to believe that Jefferson United, Inc. failed to include proper disclaimers and report the mailer to the Commission. After further considering the circumstances of the matter, the Commission voted on January 25, 2024, to take no further action as to Jefferson United, Inc. and closed the file. MURs 7772 and 8204 COMPLAINANTS: Oficina del Contralor Electoral; Comité Amigos Wanda Vazques; and Jorge Davila RESPONDENTS: Foundation for Progress, Inc.; Fundación Pro Igualdad, Inc.; Salvemos a Puerto Rico and Joseph Fuentes Fernandez, in his official capacity as Treasurer; Joseph Fuentes-Fernandez in his personal capacity; Alejandro Brito-Zubizarreta; Andrew Keys; AP Engineering, Inc.; Augustos McCloskey; BAE FE, LLC; Beam, Longest and Neff, LLC; Essential Insurance Services, Inc.; Jaap, LLC; LAS Enterprises; Little Pictures Corp.; Michael McCloskey; National Strategies Group, LLC; NGX Military Store; Northshore Management Corp.; and Richard Machado-Gonzalez SUBJECT: The complaint and a referral from Puerto Rico’s Oficina del Contralor Electoral alleged that at least $250,000 in contributions in the name of another were made through two nonprofit corporations, Fundación Pro Igualdad, Inc. and Foundation for Progress, Inc., to Salvemos a Puerto Rico, an independent expenditure-only political committee, and Fuentes-Fernandez in his official capacity as Treasurer. DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Commissioners Allen Dickerson and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III and Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub and Commissioner Shana M. Broussard issued Statements of Reasons. MUR 8174 COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated RESPONDENT: OkieWay and Steven Martin, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee) SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to file a 48-Hour pre-election report of a $344,875 independent expenditure it made in connection with the June 28, 2022 Oklahoma U.S. Senate special primary election. DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $5,000. Alternative Dispute Resolution The Commission made public two closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System. ADR 1137 COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated RESPONDENT: Latinos for America First and Moni Casarez, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee) SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions, failure to provide supporting schedules, and failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals. DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that it amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with the FEC’s Reports Analysis Division, develop and certify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission, develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual, and pay a civil penalty of $4,325. ADR 1139 COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated RESPONDENT: United Rural Democrats of America and Amelia Johnson, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee) SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee made a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2021-2022 election cycle including mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, failure to properly itemize contributions and transfers from political committees, failure to properly itemize contributions and transfers to political committees, failure to properly itemize disbursements, and two Non-filer Notices for failure to file reports and late filing. DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that it amended relevant 2021-2022 reports after consultation with the FEC’s Reports Analysis Division, develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual, certify that a representative of the Committee participated in an FEC education program, and pay a civil penalty of $5,200. Administrative Fines The Commission made public six closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine Search System. AF 4662 Corinne Brown for Congress and Corey Bradford, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $5,887. AF 4663 Castro for America and Alfonso Garza, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1. AF 4664 Cori Bush for Congress and Amy Vilela, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,964. AF 4665 Harbin for Georgia Inc and Blake Harbin, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty. AF 4666 Holly McCormack for Congress and Holly McCormack, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $20,338. AF 4667 Reed for Missouri and Christina Lynch, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $11,562. Audits Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Federal Political Action Fund On February 28, the Commission approved on tally vote an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Federal Political Action Fund covering campaign finance activity from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020, subject to proposed edits. The Commission approved findings related to Misstatement of Financial Activity, Reporting of Apparent Independent Expenditures, and Recordkeeping for Communications. Regulations and agency procedures REG 2021-01 (Candidate Salaries) On March 1, the Commission’s Final Rules on candidate salaries became effective, revising the Commission’s regulations concerning the use of campaign funds by a candidate’s principal campaign committee to pay compensation to the candidate. The new rules make amendments to the criteria for determining whether a candidate is eligible to receive compensation from campaign funds, the maximum amount of compensation that a candidate may receive from campaign funds, and the period during which a candidate may receive compensation from campaign funds. REG 2013-01 (Technological Modernization) On March 1, the Commission’s Final Rules on technological modernization became effective, amending the Commission’s regulations in light of technological advances in communications, recordkeeping, and financial transactions. The new rules eliminate and update references to outdated technologies and address similar technological issues. Litigation America First Legal Foundation v. FEC (Case No. 24-517) On February 25, Plaintiff filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Outreach On February 27-28, the Commission hosted a webinar for candidates and their campaign committees. On March 1-2, Commissioner Dickerson participated in the Georgetown Center for the Constitution’s annual Salmon P. Chase Faculty Colloquium in Tampa, FL. Press releases FEC cites committees for failure to file 12-Day Pre-Primary Financial Report (published March 1) Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings March 12, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session. March 14, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting. March 26, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session. March 27, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting. Upcoming educational opportunities March 12-13, 2024: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees. For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page. Upcoming reporting due dates March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 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.
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Read next: Week of February 19-23, 2024
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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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