We've launched another file at data.fec.gov. This one contains information about Commission actions penalizing committees that have failed to file required financial reports or submitted reports after the filing deadline.
This program for "traffic ticket" like penalties was initiated by legislation enacted in 2000 that permitted a formula driven administrative process for assessing fines for failure to file on time. Information is available on the nearly 2,000 cases that have been completed since the program began.
The website also has more information about the program itself, including a calculator that shows how the elements in the formula for computing the penalties work.
The file for each closed case includes information about the committee and the report for which the penalty was assessed, the amount of the fine and information about the candidate if the violation was committeed by a campaign committee. As with all the files in our catalog, you can search through the material by clicking the "customize data" button and sorting the results as you like.
You can also take the data in either XML or CSV formats for further analysis. Be sure to look at the metadata page for more detailed information.
The goal of the program is to encourage committees to file their reports on time. A quick look at this file indicates to me that we're having the desired effect (fewer cases of late filing over the years), but the beauty of the files is that you can take a look for yourselves and draw your own conclusions.
FEC Election Fines at FindTheBest
One thing we've noticed is there seems to be a lot of repeat offenders...who don't pay their fines. In any case, great to see you putting this data online.
Posted by Kevin on April 02, 2010 at 07:07 PM EDT #