Week of December 19 - December 23, 2016

COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HEARINGS

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

ADVISORY OPINIONS

Request Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2016-25 (Mike Pence for Indiana)

On December 19, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2016-25 (Mike Pence for Indiana). The requestor asks whether, despite Mike Pence’s status as a federal candidate, it may use nonfederal funds to pay for storing state campaign assets, complying with Indiana’s campaign disclosure requirements on state committees, and winding down the state campaign. The Commission must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by February 10, 2017.

ENFORCEMENT

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

MUR 6498

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Edward J. Lynch, Sr.; and Lynch for Congress and Edward J. Lynch, Sr., 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 Lynch used Committee funds to pay for personal expenses and the Committee filed inaccurate reports with the Commission. Lynch was a 2008 and 2010 candidate for Florida’s 19th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: On October 1, 2015, the Commission found probable cause to believe Lynch used Committee funds to pay for personal expenses and the Committee filed inaccurate disclosure reports. On December 10, 2015, the Commission authorized the Office of General Counsel to commence civil enforcement action in United States District Court for violations of the personal use restrictions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act).On November 7, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a Consent Judgment that Lynch converted $1,374 of Lynch for Congress' campaign funds to personal use. The judgment ordered that Lynch disgorge the converted funds back to the Committee and assessed a $10,000 civil penalty.
  

MUR 7018

• COMPLAINANT: American Democracy Legal Fund
  
• RESPONDENTS: Reform Washington PAC and Nancy H. Watkins, in her official capacity as treasurer (Reform Washington); Rick Wilson;Carlos Lopez-Cantera;and Carlos Lopez-Cantera for Senate and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee).
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Reform Washington, an independent expenditure-only political committee, made a prohibited in-kind contribution to the Committee by coordinating its expenditures with the Committee through Wilson, a common vendor or former employee/independent contractor. Lopez-Cantera was a 2016 candidate for Florida’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe a prohibited contribution occurred becausethere is no information that Reform Washington ever paid for any public communications or electioneering communications supporting Lopez-Cantera.
  

LITIGATION

McChesney, et al. v. FEC (Case 8:16-cv-00168-LSC-FG3). On December 22, the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska issued its Judgment and Memorandum and Order, granting the Commission’s motion to dismiss.

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 DUE DATES

• 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.