Week of December 12 – December 16, 2016

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6909

• COMPLAINANT: Dennis E. Norwood
  
• RESPONDENTS: Chuck Fleischmann for Congress Committee, Inc., and Randall B. Hebert, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee accepted prohibited and excessive contributions and used contributions designated for the 2014 general election during the 2014 primary. Fleischmann was a 2014 candidate for reelection in Tennessee’s 3^rd Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities and the Committee’s timely corrective actions.

MUR 7000

• COMPLAINANT: Nicholas Carper
  
• RESPONDENTS: Ron DeSantis for Florida and Timothy Koch, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to report in-kind contributions, in the form of copies of a book written by the candidate that were given away at campaign events. DeSantis was a 2016 candidate for reelection in Florida’s 6^th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities and the Committee’s remedial action.

MUR 7029

• COMPLAINANT: Republican Party of Pennsylvania
  
• RESPONDENTS: Katie McGinty for Senate and Roberta Golden, in her official capacity as treasurer (McGinty Committee); Ed Rendell; EMILY’s List and Ranny Cooper, in her official capacity as treasurer (EMILY’s List); Women Vote! And Denise Feriozzi, in her official capacity as treasurer (Women Vote!); League of Conservation Voters, Inc. (LCV); League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and Patrick Collins, in his official capacity as treasurer (LCV Action Fund); and League for Conservation Voters Victory Fund and Patrick Collins, in his official capacity as treasurer (LCV Victory Fund)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the McGinty Committee received excessive and prohibited in-kind contributions as a result of coordinated expenditures made by five outside groups: EMILY’s List, Women Vote!, LCV, LCV Action Fund and LCV Victory Fund. The complaint alleged further that public comments by Rendell proved that the expenditures were coordinated. McGinty was a 2016 candidate for Pennsylvania’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the five outside groups made and McGinty received excessive and prohibited contributions because there was no basis to conclude that they coordinated expenditures.

MUR 7032

• COMPLAINANT: Jed Whittaker
  
• RESPONDENTS: Lisa Murkowski; and Lisa Murkowski for US Senate and Catherine Straub, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee improperly used official Senate funds to pay for Murkowski and six other senators to travel on a military aircraft on a purportedly election-related trip. Murkowski was a 2016 candidate for reelection to Alaska’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the Committee violated the Act or Commission regulations because the available information established that the trip in question was not campaign related.
  

Outreach

Between December 11 and 14, Commissioners Ann M. Ravel and Ellen L. Weintraub and several senior Commission staff members participated in the annual conference of the Council of Government Ethics Laws (COGEL), a professional organization for government agencies, organizations, and individuals with responsibilities in governmental ethics, elections, campaign finance, lobbying laws and freedom of information. The conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Commissioners Ravel and Weintraub and staff members participated in panels throughout the conference. On December 13, Commissioner Ravel addressed the conference upon receiving the 2016 COGEL Award.

Upcoming educational programs

• January 18, 2017: Webinar on Year-End Reporting for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• January 18, 2017: Webinar on FECFile for PACs and Party Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• January 25, 2017: Webinar on Year-End Reporting for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
• January 25, 2017: Webinar on FECFile for Candidate Committees. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting deadlines

• January 31, 2017: Year-End Reports are due. For information on reporting dates, refer to the 2016 Reporting Dates page of the Commission website.

Disclosure initiatives

Commission staff, together with our partners at 18F, continue to add new features to the agency's beta.fec.gov website. The Commission encourages website visitors to submit comments and questions by clicking on the “Feedback” tab at the bottom of each page.

Additional research materials

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

The 2016 edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available in the Public Records section of the Commission website. 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 Commission has published the December Record newsletter. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

The 2016 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations can be downloaded from the website. To order printed copies, call (800) 424-9530 (press 6) or send an email to info@fec.gov.