On November 17, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) will consider updating regulations concerning disclaimers on public communications on the internet.

The 48-page draft to be considered relates to adopting final regulatory rules “in light of technological advances since the Commission last revised its rules governing internet disclaimers in 2006, and to address questions from the public about the application of those rules to internet communications,” according to the memorandum submitted for the upcoming FEC meeting.

The goal of these proposals is to apply the Federal Election Campaign Act’s disclaimer requirements to general public political advertising on the internet and to revise the definition of “public communication” to clarify how it applies to such advertising.

On August 2, Dara Lindenbaum was sworn in as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

FEC Vice Chair Steven T. Walther, whom Lindenbaum is replacing, retired from the commission on August 1.

Lindenbaum, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May, has worked as an attorney with Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C., and with the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

With the appointment of Lindenbaum, the FEC will consist of three registered members of the Republican Party, and three registered members of the Democratic Party. No more than three members of the FEC may be registered with the same political party.

On May 24, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Dara Lindenbaum to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

In January, FEC Vice Chair Steven T. Walther announced he would be stepping down as commissioner upon the nomination and confirmation of his replacement.

Lindenbaum, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on January 21, is currently an attorney with Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C., previously worked with the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. According to her profile on her law firm’s website, she also currently serves as General Counsel to Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Governor of Georgia.

With the appointment of Lindenbaum, there will be three registered members of the Republican Party, and three registered members of the Democratic Party.

On May 17, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) made available its updated FEC Form 1, the Statement of Organization for Political Committees, which now includes designations for superPACs and Hybrid Committees.

SuperPACs, which are technically independent expenditure-only political committees, and Hybrid Committees, which in turn are committees with separate non-contribution accounts, were required to file separate letters along with the old FEC Form 1 to receive those designations.

Additionally, the FEC has also released a new version of FECFile, its Windows-based software system committees can use for electronic filing, and a new version of its online webform.

On May 3, the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration favorably reported to the full Senate its approval of the nomination of Dara Lindenbaum to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

In January, FEC Vice Chair Steven T. Walther announced he would be stepping down as commissioner upon the nomination and confirmation of his replacement.

Lindenbaum, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on January 21, is currently an attorney with Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C., previously worked with the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. According to her profile on her law firm’s website, she also currently serves as General Counsel to Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Governor of Georgia.

With the appointment of Lindenbaum, there will be three registered members of the Republican Party, and three registered members of the Democratic Party. No more than three members of the FEC may be registered with the same political party.

To become a commissioner, Lindenbaum must now be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

“Going forward,” the Federal Election Commission (FEC) will require disclosure requirements for contributions received from limited liability companies (LLCs) be applied to independent expenditure-only political committees (i.e., Super PACs) in the same manner in which they are applied to all other political committees.

On April 15, four of the six commissioners issued a “Statement of Reasons” for their conclusion of a closeout of a complaint. In the statement, which refers to Matters Under Review (MUR) 7454, Chairman Allen Dickerson, Vice Chair Steven T. Walther, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard, and Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub assert, “contributions from LLCs to committees must be attributed pursuant to Commission regulations, and those regulations apply to all committees, including [Super PACs]. The Commission will apply that understanding going forward, and may seek civil penalties in appropriate future cases.”

In MUR 7454, the Super PAC in question had not obtained the required attribution information for two contributions made by LLCs. The Super PAC attributed the contributions only to the LLCs. Regulations require committees to report certain attribution information for contributions from LLCs.

An LLC that has a single natural-person member and is not taxed as a corporation must be attributed only to the natural person member, and not the LLC. A contribution by an LLC that is disregarded for tax purposes and does not have a single natural-person member is treated as a partnership contribution; and, a partnership contribution must be attributed to both the partnership and each partner, either in proportion to his or her share of the partnership profits or by agreement among the partners.

In prior cases premised on similar facts, the FEC could not agree whether, following the Citizens United and SpeechNow.org v. FEC court decisions, LLC reporting rules and conduit contribution rules applied to contributions made to the newly formed Super PACs authorized by those judicial rulings. The commissioners determined that “with the passage of time, [Super PACs] have become a regular part of the campaign finance landscape, and…there is no longer a lack of clarity concerning the application of LLC reporting rules and conduit contribution rules in these circumstances.”

Because the FEC has not previously made this conclusion under similar cases, they did not seek a civil penalty against the Super PAC.

Today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) published its price index adjustments for expenditure limitations and the federal lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold.

The lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold has increased for 2022 from $19,300 to $20,200. This threshold amount is adjusted annually.

Federal law requires authorized committees of federal candidates, leadership political action committees (PACs), and political party committees to disclose contributions bundled by lobbyists and lobbyists’ PACs.

Additionally, the FEC published its adjusted Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits for political parties for 2022.

On January 21, President Joe Biden nominated Dara Lindenbaum to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC). FEC Vice Chair Steven T. Walther announced last week he would be stepping down as commissioner upon the nomination and confirmation of his replacement.

Lindenbaum, currently an attorney with Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C., previously worked with the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. According to her profile on her law firm’s website, she also currently serves as General Counsel to Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Governor of Georgia.

With the appointment of Lindenbaum, there will be three registered members of the Republican Party, and three registered members of the Democratic Party. No more than three members of the FEC may be registered with the same political party. To become a commissioner, Lindenbaum must now be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

On January 21, Federal Election Commission (FEC) Vice Chair Steven T. Walther announced he would be stepping down as commissioner. In his press release, Walther stated he will step down upon the nomination and confirmation of his replacement.

Serving on the FEC since 2006, Commissioner Walther is a politically independent appointee. No more than three members of the FEC may be registered with the same political party.

The remaining FEC commissioners are Republicans Allen Dickerson, current chair, James E. “Trey” Trainor III, and Sean J. Cooksey; and Democrats Ellen L. Weintraub and Shana M. Broussard.

On January 13, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) decided to revise its PAC registration form to explicitly include designations for superPACs and Hybrid Committees.

At its open meeting, the FEC approved a motion instructing the agency’s staff to expand Form 1 (Statement of Organization).

SuperPACs, which are technically independent expenditure-only political committees, and Hybrid Committees, which in turn are committees with separate non-contribution accounts, are currently required to file separate letters along with Form 1 to receive those designations.

The Commission hopes to have the amended form for their review by February 14.

On January 11, the Federal Election Commission announced its civil monetary penalty amounts adjusted for inflation. The potential fines for civil violations of federal campaign finance laws have increased to range from $6,523 to $76,280, from the previous range of $6,141 to $71,812.

The amounts are calculated through a statutory formula applying the most recent “cost-of-living adjustment multiplier,” issued by the Office of Management and Budget, to the current amounts. The amended civil monetary penalties took effect as of December 28, 2021, the publication date in the Federal Register.

On December 16, the Federal Election Commission elected Commissioner Allen Dickerson as its chairman for 2022.

Dickerson will replace current Chairwoman Shana M. Broussard.

The chairmanship is a rotating, one-year position.No commissioner may serve as chair more than once during his or her term.

Additionally, Commissioner Steven T. Walther was elected to the position of vice chair.

On May 6, a unanimous Federal Election Commission (FEC) sent a message to the U.S. Congress: prohibit political campaigns from using tactics that unwittingly enter donors into recurring contributions.

As part of a package of legislative recommendations approved at its open meeting, the bipartisan commission asked Congress to amend current federal campaign finance law to require “affirmative consent” by donors if a political entity wants the donors enrolled in a program of recurring contributions.

As reported by the New York Times last month, campaigns involved with former President Donald J. Trump steered large numbers of their political contributors, without the contributors’ realization, into repeated periodic donations though prechecked boxes (for authorization) included on what many donors thought was a one-time payment form. The tactic has also been used by groups supporting Democratic candidates, including Actblue and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In its legislative recommendation, the FEC stated “that many contributors are unaware of the ‘pre- checked’ boxes and are surprised by the already completed transactions appearing on account statements.”

On February 25, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved an advisory opinion allowing certain PACs to use aggregated data collected from the PAC’s contributors to advance the PAC’s political interests.

Advisory Opinion 2021-02 holds an independent expenditure-only PAC may inform a member of Congress or congressional candidate of the number of its contributors who live in the relevant state or district and the collective dollar amount that they give to the PAC. The request for the opinion was made by FEN-PAC, an independent expenditure-only political committee engaging lawmakers and candidates to advocate on certain legislative and policy issues. FEN-PAC, in its request, said it would not disclose any contributor’s contact information, nor would FEN-PAC or any third parties use any individual contributor information to solicit contributions or to sell other products or services.

The FEC held such use of aggregate data does not violate the Federal Election Campaign Act or any FEC regulations because it is not being sold or used for either soliciting contributions or commercial purposes.

The FEC specifically did not address any other federal laws or regulations could be affected by the PAC’s use of the aggregated data.