Week of January 24-28, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On January 25 and 27, the Commission met in executive session.

On January 27, the Commission held an open meeting.

Advisory Opinions

Opinion Issued

Advisory Opinion 2021-13 (Matthew Hoh) On January 27, the Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to a request from Matthew Hoh, a combat veteran who receives disability compensation from the Veterans Administration. Hoh asked whether his disability compensation constitutes "earned income" for purposes of the Commission's candidate salary regulation at 11 C.F.R. § 113.1(g)(1)(i)(I). The Commission concluded that the requestor's disability benefits do not constitute "earned income" and, therefore, cannot be used to calculate the amount of any candidate salary that he might receive under the regulation. During the discussion, the Commission heard from the requestor. Commissioner Shana M. Broussard issued a Statement.

Regulations and agency procedures

Proposed Rule of Agency Procedure Concerning the Treatment of Foreign State Respondents at the Initiation of the Enforcement Process. On January 27, the Commission held over discussion of a proposed rule submitted by Chairman Allen Dickerson that would require the Commission to notify the United States Department of State at the inception of Commission enforcement matters involving foreign state respondents.

Audits

Proposed Final Audit Report on the Republican Party of Minnesota - Federal. In a tally vote on January 26, the Commission approved the Proposed Final Audit Report on the Republican Party of Minnesota - Federal report, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. The Commission approved findings relating to recordkeeping for employees, recordkeeping for communications, disclosure of transfers and allocation ratios, and disclosure of loans and loan repayments.

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Democracy Engine, Inc. PAC. On January 27, the Commission held over discussion of the matter until the next open meeting.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 20-0809) On January 21, Plaintiff filed an Opposition to 45Committee, Inc.'s Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief, and on January 24, 45Committee, Inc. filed an Amicus Curiae Brief Suggesting Mootness in Light of Newly Discovered Material Information Obtained from the FEC and in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Order Declaring Defendant Has Failed to Conform in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

End Citizens United PAC v. FEC (Case No. 21-2128) On January 25, Intervenor-Defendant New Republican PAC filed a Reply in Support of Intervenor-Defendant's Renewed Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint, and Plaintiff filed a Combined Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to New Republican PAC's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment or, in the Alternative, Summary Judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Wisconsin Family Action v. FEC (Case No. 21-1373) On January 14, the Commission filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction and on January 21, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Brief of Amicus Curiae in Support of Defendant FEC's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Green Bay Division.

Press releases

Commission approves advisory opinion, proposed final audit report (issued January 27)

Upcoming Commission meetings

February 15, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

February 17, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

February 8-9, 2022: The Commission will host a Virtual Conference. This conference was previously scheduled to be held in San Diego, CA, but will now be held virtually.

On March 9, the Commission will host a webinar on independent expenditures.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission's Trainings page.

Upcoming reporting due dates

January 31, 2022: Year-end Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Quarterly and Monthly Reporting schedules.

Status of agency operations

See the Commission's statement on the status of agency operations, updated on April 15, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission's office remains closed to visitors. See also the agency's Workplace Safety Plan, dated May 6, 2021.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission recently updated its Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2014 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and their campaign committees.

Additional research materials

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.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are 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.

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

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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