Election Reform in Campaigns Act

Summary: Election Reform in Campaigns Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit House candidates from accepting contributions in an election cycle from persons in excess of the total of contributions accepted from individuals who reside in the State involved. 
(Sec. 3) Modifies the term "contribution or expenditure" (as defined for the purposes of FECA and the Public Utility Holding Company Act) to include contributions and expenditures made to political committees by national banks, corporations, and labor organizations. 
Prohibits applying current FECA requirements regarding certain permissible political activities by national banks, corporations, and labor organizations to labor organizations unless specified conditions are met.  Sets a limitation on communications made by labor organizations to their members and families. 
(Sec. 4) Eliminates thresholds for the reporting of identification information of certain persons. 
(Sec. 5) Equalizes the separate individual multicandidate political committees limits on contributions to candidates. 
(Sec. 6) Indexes the amount of the limitation on aggregate annual annual individual contributions. 
(Sec. 7) Revises requirements relating to the administrative duties of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to require the FEC to post FECA reports on the Internet within 48 hours of receipt by the FEC.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Election Reform in Campaigns Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATE FUNDS 
              TO COME FROM INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN DISTRICT.

    Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
441a) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) A candidate for the office of Senator or the office of 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress may not accept contributions with respect to an election cycle 
from persons other than individuals who reside in the State involved in 
excess of the total of contributions accepted from individuals who 
reside in the State involved.''.

SEC. 3. WORKER RIGHT TO KNOW.

    (a) Contributions of Labor Organizations to All Political 
Committees Included.--Paragraph (2) of section 316(b) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(2)) is amended by 
inserting ``political committee,'' after ``campaign committee,''.
    (b) Applicability of Requirements to Labor Organizations.--Section 
316(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
    ``(8)(A) Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not 
apply to a labor organization unless the organization meets the 
requirements of subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D).
    ``(B) The requirements of this subparagraph are met only if the 
labor organization provides, at least once annually, to all employees 
within the labor organization's bargaining unit or units (and to new 
employees within 30 days after commencement of their employment) 
written notification presented in a manner to inform any such 
employee--
            ``(i) that an employee cannot be obligated to pay, through 
        union dues or any other mandatory payment to a labor 
        organization, for the political activities of the labor 
        organization, including, but not limited to, the maintenance 
        and operation of, or solicitation of contributions to, a 
        political committee, political communications to members, and 
        voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns;
            ``(ii) that no employee may be required actually to join 
        any labor organization, but if a collective bargaining 
        agreement covering an employee purports to require membership 
        or payment of dues or other fees to a labor organization as a 
        condition of employment, the employee may elect instead to pay 
        an agency fee to the labor organization;
            ``(iii) that the amount of the agency fee shall be limited 
        to the employee's pro rata share of the cost of the labor 
        organization's exclusive representation services to the 
        employee's collective bargaining unit, including collective 
        bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment;
            ``(iv) that an employee who elects to be a full member of 
        the labor organization and pay membership dues is entitled to a 
        reduction of those dues by the employee's pro rata share of the 
        total spending by the labor organization for political 
        activities;
            ``(v) that the cost of the labor organization's exclusive 
        representation services, and the amount of spending by such 
        organization for political activities, shall be computed on the 
        basis of such cost and spending for the immediately preceding 
        fiscal year of such organization; and
            ``(vi) of the amount of the labor organization's full 
        membership dues, initiation fees, and assessments for the 
        current year; the amount of the reduced membership dues, 
        subtracting the employee's pro rata share of the organization's 
        spending for political activities, for the current year; and 
        the amount of the agency fee for the current year.
    ``(C) The requirements of this subparagraph are met only if the 
labor organization provides all represented employees an annual 
examination by an independent certified public accountant of financial 
statements supplied by such organization which attests that the 
expenditures which the union claimed it made for certain expenses were 
actually made for those expenses. Such examination shall be conducted 
in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
    ``(D) The requirements of this subparagraph are met only if the 
labor organization--
            ``(i) maintains procedures to promptly determine the costs 
        that may properly be charged to agency fee payors as costs of 
        exclusive representation, and explains such procedures in the 
        written notification required under subparagraph (B); and
            ``(ii) if any person challenges the costs which may be 
        properly charged as costs of exclusive representation--
                    ``(I) provides a mutually selected impartial 
                decisionmaker to hear and decide such challenge 
                pursuant to rules of discovery and evidence and subject 
                to de novo review by the National Labor Relations Board 
                or an applicable court; and
                    ``(II) places in escrow amounts reasonably in 
                dispute pending the outcome of the challenge.
    ``(E)(i) A labor organization that does not satisfy the 
requirements of subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) shall finance any 
expenditures specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph 
(2) only with funds legally collected under this Act for its separate 
segregated fund.
    ``(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, subparagraph (A) of 
paragraph (2) shall apply only with respect to communications expressly 
advocating the election or defeat of any clearly identified candidate 
for elective public office.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall apply to contributions and expenditures made after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. PROMOTING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN SPENDING BY 
              ELIMINATING THRESHOLDS FOR REPORTING.

    Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
434) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$200'' each place it appears in 
        subsections (b)(3)(A), (b)(3)(F), (b)(3)(G), (b)(5)(A), 
        (b)(6)(A), (b)(6)(B)(iii), (b)(6)(B)(v), and (c)(2)(C) and 
        inserting ``$1''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``$250'' and 
        inserting ``$1''.

SEC. 5. EQUALIZATION OF LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES BY 
              INDIVIDUALS AND PACS.

    Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 441a(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``$1,000'' and 
        inserting ``$2,500''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``$5,000'' and 
        inserting ``$2,500''.

SEC. 6. INDEXING OF AMOUNT OF LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE ANNUAL INDIVIDUAL 
              CONTRIBUTIONS.

    Section 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(3)'' and inserting ``(3)(A)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(B) For calendar years beginning with 1999, the amount in effect 
under this paragraph shall be equal to the amount in effect in the 
previous calendar year, increased (in a compounded manner) by the 
percentage increase in the price index (as defined in subsection 
(c)(2)) for the previous calendar year. In the case of any amount 
adjusted under this subparagraph which is not a multiple of $100, the 
amount shall be rounded to the nearest highest multiple of $100.''.

SEC. 7. REQUIRING FEC TO MAKE REPORTS AVAILABLE ON INTERNET WITHIN 48 
              HOURS OF RECEIPT.

    Section 311(a)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 438(a)(4)) is amended by striking ``make them available for 
public inspection,'' and inserting ``post them on the Internet and 
otherwise make them available for public inspection,''.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply with respect to election occurring after January 1999.