ENFORCEMENT
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) released for
comment a proposed enforcement policy about reporting errors made by
campaigns and other political committees that stem from embezzlement
of funds by committee officials. A companion document proposes
internal controls political committees could use to guard against
embezzlement. Under the proposed policy, committees that implement
certain minimum safeguards would not be held liable by the FEC if a
misappropriation led to reporting errors.
The proposal is in response to a recent increase in the number of enforcement cases involving misappropriation of committee funds, often by committee employees. The FEC could implement the policy as early as this month, said FEC Audit Division Director Joseph Stoltz.
The proposed policy and the internal controls document are available at www.fec.gov/law/policy/embezzlepolicy.pdf .
