On December 27, the Federal Election Commission published its civil monetary penalty amounts adjusted for inflation in the Federal Register.

The potential fine for civil violations of federal campaign finance laws now ranges from $5,817 to $68,027.

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 each December, to the current amounts.

The amended civil monetary penalties took effect as of December 27, the publication date.

On December 14, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) elected Caroline C. Hunter as its chairwoman for 2018. Hunter replaces Steven T. Walther, who was appointed to the commission in 2006.

The chairmanship is a rotating, one-year position. Ellen L. Weintraub was elected as Vice Chair for next year.

Additionally, at the same regularly held open meeting, the FEC unanimously approved 12 legislative recommendations be submitted for consideration to the U.S. Congress.

The recommendations concern subject matters such as electronically filing senate reports, increasing and indexing for inflation registration and reporting thresholds, and prohibiting fraudulent practices of PACs.

Contributions by federal contractors to federal independent expenditure-only political action committees, also known as super PACs, may violate the federal pay-to-play prohibition.

On September 25, 2017, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) entered into a Conciliation Agreement with a federal contractor after finding the contractor had violated pay-to-play prohibitions by making contributions to a federal independent expenditure-only political action committee.

The FEC fined the contractor, Suffolk Construction Company, $34,000 for making two $100,000 contributions in 2015 to Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Because the matter was resolved by agreement between the FEC and the contractor, there was no challenge made to the FEC’s fine.

On October 19, two bipartisan bills allowing increased monitoring of online political advertising were introduced in the U.S. Congress. Companion bills House Resolution 4077, The Honest Ads Act, and Senate Bill 1989 direct the Federal Election Commission to enact rules for online advertisements similar to currents rules for television and radio. Larger digital platforms would be required to make available to the public requests to run political advertisements costing more than $500.

The bills were introduced by U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer and Mike Coffman and Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, and John McCain in response to “revelations that a Russian company purchased upwards of 3,000 political advertisements on Facebook in an effort to influence the 2016 Presidential election,” according to a press release by Kilmer.

“Our bipartisan bill makes sure our laws are as up to date as the latest technology, and makes it harder for foreign actors to use the internet to attack our democracy,” Kilmer said in his press release.

On October 10, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) extended the comment period concerning internet communications disclaimers regulations to November 9. The FEC is specifically requesting comments addressing advertisements on internet-enabled applications and devices.

Originally the FEC had published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on October 13, 2011, and then again on October 18, 2016, “in light of legal and technological developments since [the 2011 notice] was published,” according to the FEC. This week, the Commission has decided to again reopen the comment period to receive additional comments once more because of technological changes since the last comment period ended.

The FEC is also seeking comments addressing “possible regulatory approaches that could minimize the need for serial revisions of regulations in order to adapt to new or emerging technologies,” according to the FEC notice of October 10.

Federal regulations require disclaimers identifying who paid for a political campaign communication and whether the communication was authorized by a candidate. The FEC is not proposing changes to any other rules adopted in the Internet Communications rulemaking of 2006.

On September 12, President Donald J. Trump nominated Trey Trainor to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Trainor is a lawyer licensed in Texas who specializes in election law, campaign finance, and ethics. Trainor previously served in the president’s administration as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, in the Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel.

Last week it was announced Commissioner Matthew Spencer Petersen would be stepping down after being nominated by the president to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

With the appointment of Trainor, and with Petersen’s absence, there will be three registered members of the Republican Party, one registered member of the Democratic Party, and one Independent, Chairman Steven T. Walther. One seat still remains vacant. The FEC requires at least four commissioners to agree for any official action.

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

On September 7, President Donald J. Trump nominated Matthew Spencer Petersen, a commissioner with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Petersen, a Republican, is one of the five remaining FEC commissioners.

Without Peterson, the FEC will have only four of the six required commissioners serving, all with expired terms. With Petersen’s absence from the FEC there will remain two registered members of the Republican Party, one registered member of the Democratic Party, and one Independent, Chairman Steven T. Walther.

The FEC requires at least four commissioners to agree for any official action. A replacement for Petersen will be selected by the president and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate. No more than three members of the FEC may be registered with the same political party.

On September 5, the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) filed a lawsuit arguing federal contribution limits of bequests are unconstitutional.

In Libertarian National Committee v. Federal Election Commission, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the LNC argues federal political contribution limits applied to bequests, in the absence of any evidence of corruption, violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The LNC also claims Congress cannot regulate “the content of a political party’s expression under the guise of combating corruption.”

In 2014, the LNC was bequeathed $235,575 by a party contributor when he died. The Federal Election Commission’s position is the money must be dispersed in the amount of $33,900 a year. The LNC is asking its proposed facts and questions be certified to the en banc D.C. Circuit.

On July 28, Rep. David E. Price introduced a 252-page bill which would reform campaign finance laws, amend the current federal lobbying laws, and address integrity and transparency problems in the Executive Branch.

House Resolution 3537, We the People Act of 2017, is a comprehensive attempt to address issues such as federal lobbying, campaign finance, redistricting imbalances, and voter eligibility in order to focus on “major structural problems facing our democracy,” according to Price’s press release.

The law would change lobbying registration requirements and no longer exempt an individual who spends less than 20 percent of his or her time serving as a lobbyist for a particular client if he or she meets the other thresholds for registration. In addition, the legislation would require U.S. presidents to divest assets with potential conflicts of interest, require states to allow eligible individuals to register to vote on the same day of a federal election, and replace the Federal Election Commission with a new enforcement agency.

In the bill, other pending legislation currently in Congress dealing with ethics and transparency are referenced and incorporated. The bill also provides suggested solutions to be used in state and local legislative reform efforts.

Today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) launched a newly revamped website. The new website has been in public beta form since October 2015.

The organization of the website is broken down into three main areas: campaign finance data, candidate and committee information and help, and legal resources. Included in the redesigned website’s new infrastructure is increased HTTPS security and database synchronization and new search functions and visual graphics meant to create an easier user experience.

An archive of the old FEC website is still available at http://classic.fec.gov and is still being used for links not yet brought forward into the updated website.

On May 22, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s finding of summary judgement upholding the constitutionality of the Federal Election Campaign Act’s regulation of the use of so-called soft money.

In Republican Party of Louisiana v. FEC, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a challenge to federal campaign finance provisions requiring state and local political parties to abide by federal regulations concerning certain political activities such as get-out-the-vote and voter registration drives and the resulting reporting requirements.

In response to an appeal from the plaintiffs, the Supreme Court affirmed the District Court’s decision.

Today, the United States Supreme Court affirmed electioneering communication disclosure requirements under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).

In Independence Institute v. FEC, the Supreme Court affirmed, without a written opinion, a lower court’s summary judgement against Independence Institute, a Colorado based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Independence Institute argued the BCRA’s disclosure requirements for electioneering communications were overbroad and violated the First Amendment.

Electioneering communication is defined as any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication referring to a clearly identified federal candidate, made within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general, special, or runoff election, and targeted to the relevant electorate.

On November 3, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had rejected the Independence Institute’s challenge to the BCRA’s electioneering communication provisions and granted the Federal Election Commission’s motion for summary judgment.

On March 1, Commissioner Ann M. Ravel will resign from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). In her February 19 resignation letter to the president, Commissioner Ravel urged he prioritize campaign finance reform, strengthen disclosure law, and “reduce reliance on the wealthy.”

With Ravel’s absence, there will be three registered members of the Republican Party and two registered members of the Democratic Party on the Commission. The FEC requires at least four commissioners to agree for any official action. A replacement for Ravel will be selected by President Trump and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

While not more than three members of the commission may be registered with the same political party, the president is not obligated to nominate a member of the Democratic Party, of which Ravel is a registered member.

On January 12, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was unable to agree on a policy to clarify when and if a U.S. domestic subsidiary corporation of a foreign national is illegally involved in political activity.

Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly making contributions, donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements in connection with federal, state, or local elections. FEC regulations also prohibit foreign nationals from directing, controlling, or participating in the decision-making process of any person, such as a corporation, with regards to decisions concerning the making of contributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements in connection with elections in the U.S.

Additionally, the FEC was unable to reach an agreement on the creation of a safe harbor for political committees to accept corporate contributions deemed not to have come from foreign national sources.

In response, Vice Chair Caroline C. Hunter and Commissioners Matthew S. Petersen and Lee E. Goodman issued a statement.

A previous attempt to reach an agreement on this issue in September also failed.