II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1107

To reform the conduct of Federal elections.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 24, 1999

Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To reform the conduct of Federal elections.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Constitutional and Effective Reform of Campaigns Act

6 of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Effective date.

TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

Sec. 101. Prohibition of contributions and donations by foreign nationals and

other individuals not eligible to register to vote; additional restrictions on foreign nationals.
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Sec. 102. Update of individual contribution limit and indexing of limits.

Sec. 103. Encouraging small contributions to local congressional candidates.

TITLE II—LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR CANDIDATES

Sec. 201. Seed money to encourage new candidates and competitive campaigns.

Sec. 202. Modification of contribution limits in response to expenditures from

personal funds.

Sec. 203. Limit on Senate use of the franking privilege.

TITLE III—VOLUNTARINESS OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 301. Consent for use of dues and fees of labor organizations.

Sec. 302. Corporate shareholder notification.

TITLE IV—ELIMINATION OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN EXCESSES

Sec. 401. Prohibition of fundraising on Federal property and other criminal

prohibitions.

Sec. 402. Deposit of certain contributions and donations in Treasury account.

Sec. 403. National political party committees; ‘‘soft’’ and ‘‘hard’’ money.

Sec. 404. Prohibition of conversion of campaign funds to personal use.

TITLE V—ENHANCED DISCLOSURE

Sec. 501. Reporting requirements for candidates.

Sec. 502. Access to information on the Internet.

Sec. 503. Reporting requirements for independent expenditures within 20 days

before an election.

Sec. 504. Required lobbyist disclosure of contributions and donations.

TITLE VI—FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION REFORM

Sec. 601. Filing of reports using computers and facsimile machines.

Sec. 602. Term limits for Federal Election Commission.

Sec. 603. Increase in penalty for knowing and willful violations.

Sec. 604. Civil penalties for minor reporting violations.

Sec. 605. Oral arguments; index of actions.

Sec. 606. Change in certain reporting from a calendar year basis to an election

cycle basis.

Sec. 607. Confirmation of general counsel and executive director.

TITLE VII—IMPROVEMENTS TO THE NATIONAL VOTER

REGISTRATION ACT

Sec. 701. Repeal of requirement for States to provide for voter registration by

mail.

Sec. 702. Requiring applicants registering to vote to provide certain additional

information.

Sec. 703. Removal of certain registrants from official list of eligible voters.

Sec. 704. Permitting State to require voters to produce additional information

prior to voting.

Sec. 705. Repeal of requirement that States permit registrants changing residence to vote at polling place for former address.
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1 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend3 ments made by, and the provisions of, this Act shall take

4 effect on January 1, 2001.

5 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF

6 CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

7 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA8 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS AND OTHER

9 INDIVIDUALS NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO

10 VOTE; ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON FOR11 EIGN NATIONALS.

12 (a) PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA13 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS

14 NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE; ADDITIONAL RE15 STRICTIONS ON FOREIGN NATIONALS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a) of the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

18 441e(a)) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUALS NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER

21 TO VOTE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), it shall be unlawful for—

24 ‘‘(i) an individual who is not eligible

25 to register to vote in a Federal election (in26 cluding a foreign national) to make a con-
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1 tribution or donation or to promise ex2 pressly or impliedly to make a contribution

3 or donation; or

4 ‘‘(ii) any person to solicit, accept, or

5 receive a contribution or donation from an

6 individual who is not eligible to register to

7 vote in a Federal election (including a for8 eign national).

9 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A)

10 shall not apply in the case of an individual who

11 is not eligible to register to vote solely by rea12 son of a residency requirement under State law.

13 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN NATIONAL.—

14 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS

15 AND DONATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

17 (ii), it shall be unlawful for—

18 ‘‘(I) a foreign national, or an en19 tity that is a domestic subsidiary of a

20 foreign national, to make, directly or

21 through any other person, any con22 tribution of money or other thing of

23 value, or promise expressly or

24 impliedly to make any such contribu25 tion, in connection with an election to
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1 any political office or in connection

2 with any primary election, convention,

3 or caucus held to select a candidate

4 for any political office or make any

5 donation, or promise expressly or

6 impliedly to make any such donation;

7 or

8 ‘‘(II) any person to solicit, ac9 cept, or receive any such contribution

10 or donation from a foreign national.

11 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall

12 not apply to an entity that is a domestic

13 subsidiary of a foreign national if the enti14 ty can demonstrate through a reasonable

15 accounting method that the entity has suf16 ficient funds in the entity’s account, other

17 than funds given or loaned by the foreign

18 national parent of the entity, from which

19 the contribution or donation is made.

20 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—It

21 shall be unlawful for a foreign national to make

22 an independent expenditure.

23 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITED PARTICIPATION.—A for24 eign national shall not direct, dictate, control,

25 or directly or indirectly participate in the deci-
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1 sion-making process of any person with regard

2 to such person’s election-related activities, in3 cluding decisions concerning the making of con4 tributions, donations, or expenditures in connec5 tion with elections for any local, State, or Fed6 eral office or decisions concerning the adminis7 tration of a political committee.’’.

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 319

9 of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

10 431 et seq.) is amended by striking the heading and

11 inserting ‘‘RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN NA12 TIONALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS NOT

13 ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE’’.

14 (b) DEFINITION OF DONATION.—Section 301 of the

15 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)

16 is amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(20) DONATION.—The term ‘donation’ means

18 a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of

19 money or anything else of value made by any person

20 to a national committee of a political party or a Sen21 atorial or Congressional Campaign Committee of a

22 national political party for any purpose, but does not

23 include a contribution (as defined in paragraph

24 (8)).’’.
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1 SEC. 102. UPDATE OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION LIMIT

2 AND INDEXING OF LIMITS.

3 (a) UPDATE OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION

4 LIMIT.—Section 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election

5 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(A)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’.

7 (b) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is

9 amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (1)—

11 (A) by striking the second and third sen12 tences;

13 (B) by inserting before ‘‘At the beginning’’

14 the following: ‘‘(A)’’; and

15 (C) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(B) Each limitation established by subsection (a),

17 (b), (d), or (i) shall be increased by the percent difference

18 determined under subparagraph (A), and the increased

19 amount, if not a multiple of $100, shall be rounded to

20 the next higher multiple of $100.

21 ‘‘(C) Each amount increased under subparagraph (B)

22 shall remain in effect for the calendar year in which the

23 amount is increased.

24 ‘‘(D) The Commission shall publish each year in the

25 Federal Register any change made to a limit under this

26 subsection.’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘means the

2 calendar year 1974.’’ and inserting ‘‘means—

3 ‘‘(i) for purposes of subsections (b) and

4 (d), calendar year 1974; and

5 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of subsections (a) and

6 (i), calendar year 1999.’’.

7 SEC. 103. ENCOURAGING SMALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO

8 LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES.

9 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Subpart A of part IV of sub10 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

11 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is

12 amended by inserting after section 25A the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 25B. IN-STATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONGRESSIONAL

14 CANDIDATES.

15 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of an individual,

16 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed

17 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to

18 the aggregate amount of contributions made during the

19 taxable year by the individual to any local congressional

20 candidate.

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The credit allowed by

23 subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed

24 $100 ($200 in the case of a joint return).
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1 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—No credit

2 shall be allowed under subsection (a) for a taxable

3 year if the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross in4 come (as defined in section 25A(d)(3)) exceeds

5 $60,000 ($120,000 in the case of a joint return).

6 ‘‘(3) VERIFICATION.—The credit allowed by

7 subsection (a) shall be allowed with respect to any

8 contribution only if the contribution is verified in

9 such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by reg10 ulation.

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section—

12 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATE.—The term ‘candidate’ has

13 the meaning given the term in section 301 of the

14 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

15 431).

16 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘contribution’

17 has the meaning given the term in section 301 of the

18 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

19 431).

20 ‘‘(3) LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE.—The

21 term ‘local congressional candidate’ means a can22 didate in a primary, general, runoff, or special elec23 tion seeking nomination for election to, or election to

24 the Senate or the House of Representatives for the
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1 State in which the principal residence of the tax2 payer is located.

3 ‘‘(4) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin4 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used

5 in section 121.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) Section 642 of the Internal Revenue Code

8 of 1986 (relating to special rules for credits and de9 ductions of estates or trusts) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(j) CREDIT FOR CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS NOT AL12 LOWED.—An estate or trust shall not be allowed the credit

13 against tax provided by section 25B.’’.

14 (2) The table of sections for subpart A of part

15 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 25A the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 25B. In-State contributions to congressional candidates.’’.

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

20 December 31, 1999.
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1 TITLE II—LEVELING THE PLAY2 ING FIELD FOR CANDIDATES

3 SEC. 201. SEED MONEY TO ENCOURAGE NEW CANDIDATES

4 AND COMPETITIVE CAMPAIGNS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec6 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘No per8 son’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub9 section (i), no person’’;

10 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘No multi11 candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

12 subsection (i), no multicandidate’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(i) MODIFICATION OF LIMITS.—

15 ‘‘(1) SEED MONEY.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a nomi17 nation for election to, or election to, the Senate

18 or House of Representatives, the limits under

19 paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) of subsection (a)

20 for any calendar year shall be 4 times such

21 limit determined without regard to this section

22 until such time as the aggregate amount of con23 tributions accepted exceed the applicable limit

24 for a candidate.
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1 ‘‘(B) CANDIDATE’S APPLICABLE LIMIT.—

2 The applicable limit under subparagraph (A)

3 shall be—

4 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to—

5 ‘‘(I) in the case of a candidate

6 for the Senate, $300,000; and

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of a candidate

8 for the House of Representatives,

9 $100,000,

10 reduced (but not below zero) by

11 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount deter12 mined under subsection (j)(1) that the can13 didate and the candidate’s authorized com14 mittees have available to transfer from a

15 previous election cycle to the current elec16 tion cycle.

17 ‘‘(C) TIME TO ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS

18 UNDER MODIFIED LIMIT.—A candidate and the

19 candidate’s authorized committees shall not ac20 cept a contribution under the modified limits of

21 this subsection until the candidate has received

22 notification of the aggregate amount under sub23 section (j)(2).’’.

24 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TRANS25 FERRED FROM PREVIOUS ELECTION CYCLE.—Section
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1 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

2 U.S.C. 441a) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(j) DETERMINATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TRANS5 FERRED FROM PREVIOUS ELECTION CYCLES.—

6 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of sub7 section (i)—

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual elected to

9 the House of Representatives or the Senate,

10 after the receipt of the individual’s post-general

11 election report under section 304(a)(2)(A)(ii)

12 for the election cycle in which the individual

13 was elected, the Commission shall determine the

14 aggregate amount of contributions that is avail15 able to be transferred from 1 or more previous

16 election cycles to the current election cycle of

17 the candidate (regardless of whether the

18 amount has been so transferred); and

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other individual,

20 the amount shall be zero.

21 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—The Commission shall

22 notify the candidate of the amount that is deter23 mined under paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—On receipt of notification

25 under paragraph (2), the limits under paragraphs
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1 (1)(B) and (2)(B) of subsection (i) shall be adjusted

2 accordingly.’’.

3 SEC. 202. MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN RE4 SPONSE TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL

5 FUNDS.

6 (a) MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN RE7 SPONSE TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL FUNDS.—

8 Section 315(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

9 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) (as added by section 201) is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN LIMIT TO ALLOW RESPONSE

12 TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL FUNDS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicable limit

14 under paragraph (1) for a particular election

15 shall be increased by the personal funds

16 amount.

17 ‘‘(B) PERSONAL FUNDS AMOUNT.—The

18 personal funds amount is an amount equal to

19 the excess (if any) of—

20 ‘‘(i) the greatest aggregate amount of

21 expenditures from personal funds (as de22 fined in section 304(a)(6)(B)) in excess of

23 $25,000 that an opposing candidate in the

24 same election makes; over
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1 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount of expendi2 tures from personal funds made by the

3 candidate in the election.’’.

4 (b) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES FROM PER5 SONAL FUNDS.—Section 304(a)(6) of the Federal Elec6 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub9 paragraph (D); and

10 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE FROM PER13 SONAL FUNDS.—

14 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF EXPENDITURE FROM PER15 SONAL FUNDS.—In this subparagraph, the term ‘ex16 penditure from personal funds’ means—

17 ‘‘(I) an expenditure made by a candidate

18 using personal funds; and

19 ‘‘(II) a contribution made by a candidate

20 using personal funds to the candidate’s author21 ized committee.

22 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than

23 24 hours after a candidate seeking nomination for

24 election to, or election to, the Senate makes or obli25 gates to make an aggregate amount of expenditures
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1 from personal funds in excess of $25,000 in connec2 tion with any election, the candidate shall file a noti3 fication stating the amount of the expenditure

4 with—

5 ‘‘(I) the Commission; and

6 ‘‘(II) each candidate in the same election.

7 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATION.—After a

8 candidate files an initial notification under clause

9 (ii), the candidate shall file an additional notification

10 each time expenditures from personal funds are

11 made or obligated to be made in an aggregate

12 amount of $5,000 with—

13 ‘‘(I) the Commission; and

14 ‘‘(II) each candidate in the same election.

15 ‘‘(iv) CONTENTS.—A notification under clause

16 (ii) or (iii) shall include—

17 ‘‘(I) the name of the candidate and the of18 fice sought by the candidate;

19 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of each expendi20 ture; and

21 ‘‘(III) the total amount of expenditures

22 from personal funds that the candidate has

23 made, or obligated to make, with respect to an

24 election as of the date of the expenditure that

25 is the subject of the notification.’’.
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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec2 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) (as amended

3 by section 101(c)) is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(21) ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘election cycle’

6 means the period beginning on the day after the date of

7 the most recent general election for the specific office or

8 seat that a candidate is seeking and ending on the date

9 of the next general election for that office or seat.

10 ‘‘(22) PERSONAL FUNDS.—The term ‘personal

11 funds’ means an amount that is derived from—

12 ‘‘(A) any asset that, under applicable State law,

13 at the time the individual became a candidate, the

14 candidate had legal right of access to or control

15 over, and with respect to which the candidate had—

16 ‘‘(i) legal and rightful title; or

17 ‘‘(ii) an equitable interest;

18 ‘‘(B) income received during the current elec19 tion cycle of the candidate, including—

20 ‘‘(i) a salary and other earned income from

21 bona fide employment;

22 ‘‘(ii) dividends and proceeds from the sale

23 of the candidate’s stocks or other investments;

24 ‘‘(iii) bequests to the candidate;
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1 ‘‘(iv) income from trusts established before

2 the beginning of the election cycle;

3 ‘‘(v) income from trusts established by be4 quest after the beginning of the election cycle of

5 which the candidate is the beneficiary;

6 ‘‘(vi) gifts of a personal nature that had

7 been customarily received by the candidate

8 prior to beginning of the election cycle; and

9 ‘‘(vii) proceeds from lotteries and similar

10 legal games of chance; and

11 ‘‘(C) a portion of assets that are jointly owned

12 by the candidate and the candidate’s spouse equal to

13 the candidate’s share of the asset under the instru14 ment of conveyance or ownership but if no specific

15 share is indicated by an instrument of conveyance or

ownership, the value of 1 16 ⁄2 of the property.’’.

17 SEC. 203. LIMIT ON SENATE USE OF THE FRANKING PRIVI18 LEGE.

19 Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code,

20 is amended—

21 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

22 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

23 striking ‘‘Congress may not’’ and inserting ‘‘the

24 House of Representatives may not’’; and
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1 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days (or,

2 in the case of a Member of the House, fewer

3 than 90 days)’’ and inserting ‘‘90 days’’; and

4 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(C)(i) A Member of the Senate shall not

7 mail any mass mailing as franked mail during

8 a year in which there will be an election for the

9 seat held by the Member during the period be10 tween January 1 of that year and the date of

11 the general election for that office, unless the

12 Member has made a public announcement that

13 the Member will not be a candidate for reelec14 tion to that office in that year.

15 ‘‘(ii) A Member of the Senate shall not

16 mail any mass mailing as franked mail if the

17 mass mailing is postmarked fewer than 60 days

18 before the date of any primary election or gen19 eral election (whether regular, special, or run20 off) for any national, State, or local office in

21 which the Member is a candidate for election.’’.
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1 TITLE III—VOLUNTARINESS OF

2 POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

3 SEC. 301. CONSENT FOR USE OF DUES AND FEES OF LABOR

4 ORGANIZATIONS.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) workers who pay dues or fees to a labor or7 ganization may not, as a matter of law, be required

8 to pay to that organization any dues or fees sup9 porting activities that are not necessary to perform

10 the duties of the exclusive representative of employ11 ees in dealing with the employer on labor-manage12 ment issues;

13 (2) many labor organizations use portions of

14 the dues or fees they collect from the workers they

15 represent for activities that are not necessary to per16 form those duties, such as supporting political, so17 cial, or charitable causes or other non-collective bar18 gaining activities;

19 (3) unfortunately, many workers who pay such

20 dues or fees have insufficient information about the

21 workers’ rights regarding the payment of dues or

22 fees to a labor organization and how labor organiza23 tions spend employee dues or fees; and

24 (4) it is a fundamental tenet of this Nation that

25 all men and women have a right to make individual
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1 and informed choices about the political, social, or

2 charitable causes they support, and the law should

3 protect that right to the greatest extent possible.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en5 sure that—

6 (1) all workers have sufficient information

7 about their rights regarding the payment of dues or

8 fees to labor organizations and the uses of employee

9 dues and fees by labor organizations; and

10 (2) the right of all workers to make individual

11 and informed choices about the political, social, or

12 charitable causes they support is protected to the

13 greatest extent possible.

14 (c) WRITTEN CONSENT.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—

16 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—Before accepting

17 payment of any dues or fees from an employee

18 as a condition of employment, under an agree19 ment authorized by Federal law, a labor organi20 zation shall obtain from each employee vol21 untary, written authorization for any portion of

22 the dues or fees that will be used for an activity

23 that is not necessary to perform the duties of

24 the exclusive representative of the employees in
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1 dealing with the employer on labor-management

2 issues.

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An authorization

4 under subparagraph (A) shall clearly state

5 that—

6 (i) an employee may not be required

7 to provide the authorization; and

8 (ii) if the authorization is provided,

9 the employee agrees to allow any dues or

10 fees paid to the labor organization to be

11 used for activities that are not necessary to

12 perform the duties of the exclusive rep13 resentative and that may be political, so14 cial, or charitable in nature.

15 (2) REVOCATION.—An authorization under

16 paragraph (1) is effective until revoked by written

17 notice to the labor organization and a revocation

18 shall be effective on the date that is 30 days after

19 the date of receipt of the notice by the labor organi20 zation.

21 (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—An affected employee

23 may bring a civil action against a labor organi24 zation that violates this subsection in any Fed-
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1 eral or State court of competent jurisdiction

2 for—

3 (i) damages equal to—

4 (I) twice the amount of the dues

5 or fees accepted in violation of this

6 subsection; and

7 (II) the interest on the amount

8 described in subclause (I) calculated

9 at the prevailing rate; and

10 (ii) such equitable relief as may be ap11 propriate.

12 (B) FEES AND COSTS.—The court shall, in

13 addition to any judgment awarded to the plain14 tiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, reason15 able expert witness fee, and other costs of the

16 civil action.

17 (C) LIMITATION.—

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

19 in clause (ii), a civil action may be brought

20 under this paragraph not later than the

21 date that is 2 years after the date on

22 which the employee knew or should have

23 known that dues or fees were accepted or

24 spent by a labor organization in violation

25 of this subsection.
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1 (ii) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the

2 case of a willful violation of this sub3 section, clause (i) shall be applied by sub4 stituting ‘‘3 years’’ for ‘‘2 years’’.

5 (d) NOTICE.—An employer shall post a notice, of

6 such size and in such form as the Secretary of Labor shall

7 prescribe, in conspicuous places on the employer’s prop8 erty (including plants, offices, and all places where notices

9 to employees are customarily posted) informing employees

10 that any labor organization accepting payment of any dues

11 or fees from an employee as a condition of employment

12 under an agreement authorized by Federal law must ob13 tain from each employee prior, written authorization if any

14 portion of such dues or fees will be used for activities not

15 necessary to perform the duties of the exclusive represent16 ative of the employees in dealing with the employer on

17 labor-management issues.

18 (e) DISCLOSURE TO WORKERS.—

19 (1) EXPENSES REPORTING.—Section 201(b)(6)

20 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure

21 Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(b)(6)) is amended by

22 inserting ‘‘and attributing the disbursements in such

23 detail as necessary to allow members and employees

24 required to pay any dues or fees to the labor organi25 zation to determine whether the disbursements were
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1 necessary to perform the duties of the exclusive rep2 resentative of the employees in dealing with the em3 ployer on labor-management issues’’ before ‘‘there4 of’’.

5 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Section 201(c) of the Labor6 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959

7 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended in the first

8 sentence—

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘and employees required

10 to pay any dues or fees to the labor organiza11 tion’’ after ‘‘members’’; and

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘or employee required to

13 pay any dues or fees to the labor organization’’

14 after ‘‘member’’ each place it appears.

15 (3) WRITTEN REQUESTS.—Section 205 of the

16 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of

17 1959 (29 U.S.C. 435) is amended—

18 (A) by striking subsection (b) and insert19 ing the following:

20 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION, EXAMINATION, AND COPYING OF

21 INFORMATION AND DATA.—The Secretary shall by regula22 tion make reasonable provision for—

23 ‘‘(1) on the request of any person, the inspec24 tion and examination of the information and data

25 contained in any report or other document filed with
26

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1 the Secretary under section 201, 202, 203, or 211;

2 and

3 ‘‘(2) on written request of any person, the avail4 ability of complete copies of any report or other doc5 ument filed under section 201.’’; and

6 (B) in subsection (c), in the first sentence,

7 by inserting ‘‘(except as provided in subsection

8 (b)(2))’’ before the period.

9 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall

10 promulgate a regulation as necessary to carry out—

11 (1) the amendments made by subsection (d),

12 not later than the date that is 60 days after the date

13 of enactment of this Act; and

14 (2) the amendments made by subsection (e),

15 not later than the date that is 120 days after the

16 date of enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 302. CORPORATE SHAREHOLDER NOTIFICATION.

18 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

19 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

20 section 316 the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 316A. CORPORATE SHAREHOLDER NOTIFICATION.

22 ‘‘A corporation required by any law of Congress to

23 submit an annual report to the corporation’s shareholders

24 shall disclose—
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1 ‘‘(1) the aggregate amount of donations (as de2 fined in section 301(20)) made by the corporation

3 during the year; and

4 ‘‘(2) the name of the political committee to

5 which each donation was made.’’.

6 TITLE IV—ELIMINATION OF

7 ELECTION CAMPAIGN EXCESSES

8 SEC. 401. PROHIBITION OF FUNDRAISING ON FEDERAL

9 PROPERTY AND OTHER CRIMINAL PROHIBI10 TIONS.

11 (a) PROHIBITION OF FUNDRAISING ON FEDERAL

12 PROPERTY.—Section 607 of title 18, United States Code,

13 is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘within the

15 meaning of section 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or dona16 tion within the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20)

17 of section 301(8)’’; and

18 (2) in subsection (b)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘or donations’’ after ‘‘con20 tributions’’ each place it appears;

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘or donation’’ after ‘‘con22 tribution’’; and

23 (C) by inserting ‘‘donor’’ after ‘‘contrib24 utor’’.
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1 (b) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 18 TO INCLUDE PROHI2 BITION OF DONATIONS.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United

3 States Code, is amended—

4 (1) in section 602(a)(4), by striking ‘‘within the

5 meaning of section 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or dona6 tion within the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20)

7 of section 301’’; and

8 (2) in section 603(a)—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘within the meaning of sec10 tion 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or donation within

11 the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20) of sec12 tion 301’’; and

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘or donation’’ after con14 tribution the second and third time it appears.

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

16 this section shall apply to violations occurring on or after

17 the date of enactment of this Act.

18 SEC. 402. DEPOSIT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND DO19 NATIONS IN TREASURY ACCOUNT.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election

21 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended

22 by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘SEC. 324. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND

24 DONATIONS TO BE RETURNED TO DONORS.

25 ‘‘(a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision of this Act, if a political committee intends

3 to return any contribution or donation given to the

4 political committee, the committee shall transfer the

5 contribution or donation to the Commission if—

6 ‘‘(A) the contribution or donation is in an

7 amount equal to or greater than $500 (other

8 than a contribution or donation returned within

9 60 days of receipt by the committee); or

10 ‘‘(B) the contribution or donation was

11 made in violation of section 315, 316, 317, 319,

12 320, or 325 (other than a contribution or dona13 tion returned within 30 days of receipt by the

14 committee).

15 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION INCLUDED WITH TRANS16 FERRED CONTRIBUTION OR DONATION.—A political

17 committee shall include with any contribution or do18 nation transferred under paragraph (1)—

19 ‘‘(A) a request that the Commission return

20 the contribution or donation to the person mak21 ing the contribution or donation; and

22 ‘‘(B) information regarding the cir23 cumstances surrounding the making of the con24 tribution or donation and any opinion of the po25 litical committee concerning whether the con-
30

•S 1107 IS

1 tribution or donation may have been made in

2 violation of this Act.

3 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESCROW ACCOUNT.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

5 establish a single interest-bearing escrow ac6 count for deposit of amounts transferred under

7 paragraph (1).

8 ‘‘(B) DISPOSITION OF AMOUNTS RE9 CEIVED.—On receiving an amount from a polit10 ical committee under paragraph (1), the Com11 mission shall—

12 ‘‘(i) deposit the amount in the escrow

13 account established under subparagraph

14 (A); and

15 ‘‘(ii) notify the Attorney General and

16 the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue

17 Service of the receipt of the amount from

18 the political committee.

19 ‘‘(C) USE OF INTEREST TO COVER ADMIN20 ISTRATIVE COSTS.—Any interest earned on

21 amounts in the escrow account established

22 under subparagraph (A) shall be applied toward

23 the administrative costs incurred by the Com24 mission in establishing and administering the
31

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1 account, and any remaining interest shall be de2 posited in the general fund of the Treasury.

3 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF RETURNED CONTRIBU4 TION OR DONATION AS A COMPLAINT.—The transfer

5 of any contribution or donation to the Commission

6 under this section shall be treated as the filing of

7 a complaint under section 309(a).

8 ‘‘(b) USE OF AMOUNTS PLACED IN ESCROW TO

9 COVER FINES AND PENALTIES.—The Commission or the

10 Attorney General may require any amount deposited in

11 the escrow account under subsection (a)(3) to be applied

12 toward the payment of any fine or penalty imposed under

13 this Act or title 18, United States Code against the person

14 making the contribution or donation.

15 ‘‘(c) RETURN OF CONTRIBUTION OR DONATION

16 AFTER DEPOSIT IN ESCROW.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall re18 turn a contribution or donation deposited in the es19 crow account under subsection (a)(3) to the person

20 making the contribution or donation if—

21 ‘‘(A) within 180 days after the date the

22 contribution or donation is transferred, the

23 Commission has not made a determination

24 under section 309(a)(2) that the Commission

25 has reason to believe that the making of the
32

•S 1107 IS

1 contribution or donation was made in violation

2 of this Act; or

3 ‘‘(B)(i) the contribution or donation will

4 not be used to cover fines, penalties, or costs

5 pursuant to subsection (b); or

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a contribution or dona7 tion that will be used for a purpose described

8 in clause (i), the amounts required for such

9 purpose have been withdrawn from the escrow

10 account and subtracted from the returnable

11 contribution or donation.

12 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATUS OF INVESTIGA13 TION.—The return of a contribution or donation by

14 the Commission under this subsection shall not be

15 construed as having an effect on the status of an in16 vestigation by the Commission or the Attorney Gen17 eral of the contribution or donation or the cir18 cumstances surrounding the contribution or dona19 tion, or on the ability of the Commission or the At20 torney General to take future actions with respect to

21 the contribution or donation.’’.

22 (b) AMOUNTS USED TO DETERMINE AMOUNT OF

23 PENALTY FOR VIOLATION.—Section 309(a) of the Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is

25 amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
33

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1 ‘‘(10) For purposes of determining the amount of a

2 civil penalty imposed under this subsection for a violation

3 of section 324, the amount of the donation involved shall

4 be treated as the amount of the contribution involved.’’.

5 (c) DISGORGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Section 309 of the

6 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g)

7 is amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(e) DISGORGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Any conciliation

9 agreement, civil action, or criminal action entered into or

10 instituted under this section may require a person to for11 feit to the Treasury any contribution, donation, or expend12 iture that is the subject of the agreement or action for

13 transfer to the Commission for deposit in accordance with

14 section 324.’’.

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

16 subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to con17 tributions or donations returned on or after the date of

18 enactment of this Act, without regard to whether the Fed19 eral Election Commission or Attorney General has issued

20 regulations to carry out section 324 of the Federal Elec21 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a))

22 by that date.
34

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1 SEC. 403. NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES;

2 ‘‘SOFT’’ AND ‘‘HARD’’ MONEY.

3 (a) ‘‘SOFT’’ MONEY OF NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY

4 COMMITTEES.—Title III of the Federal Election Cam5 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) (as amended

6 by section 402) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘SEC. 325. ‘SOFT’ MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT9 TEES.

10 ‘‘A national committee of a political party, any subor11 dinate committee of a national committee, a Senatorial or

12 Congressional Campaign Committee of a national political

13 party, or an entity that is directly or indirectly established,

14 financed, maintained, or controlled by a national com15 mittee or a Senatorial or Congressional Campaign Com16 mittee of a national political party or that is an entity

17 acting on behalf of a national committee or a Senatorial

18 or Congressional Campaign Committee of a national polit19 ical party shall not accept donations from any person dur20 ing a calendar year in an aggregate amount that exceeds

21 $100,000.’’.

22 (b) INCREASE IN ‘‘HARD’’ LIMITS ON CONTRIBU23 TIONS.—Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign

24 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)) is amended—

25 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘$20,000’’

26 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; and
35

•S 1107 IS

1 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’

2 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’.

3 SEC. 404. PROHIBITION OF CONVERSION OF CAMPAIGN

4 FUNDS TO PERSONAL USE.

5 Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 313. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN

8 PURPOSES.

9 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A contribution accepted by

10 a candidate, and any other amount received by an indi11 vidual as support for activities of the individual as a holder

12 of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or

13 individual—

14 ‘‘(1) for expenditures in connection with the

15 campaign for Federal office of the candidate or indi16 vidual;

17 ‘‘(2) for ordinary and necessary expenses in18 curred in connection with duties of the individual as

19 a holder of Federal office;

20 ‘‘(3) for a charitable contribution (as defined in

21 section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of

22 1986) to an organization described in section

23 170(c)(2) of such Code; or

24 ‘‘(4) for transfers to a national, State, or local

25 committee of a political party.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED USE.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contribution or amount

3 described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by

4 any person to personal use.

5 ‘‘(2) CONVERSION.—For the purposes of para6 graph (1), a contribution or amount shall be consid7 ered to be converted to personal use if the contribu8 tion or amount is used to fulfill any commitment,

9 obligation, or expense of a person that would exist

10 irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or

11 individual’s duties as a holder of Federal office,

12 including—

13 ‘‘(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility pay14 ment;

15 ‘‘(B) a clothing purchase;

16 ‘‘(C) a noncampaign-related automobile ex17 pense;

18 ‘‘(D) a country club membership;

19 ‘‘(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-re20 lated trip;

21 ‘‘(F) a household food item;

22 ‘‘(G) a tuition payment;

23 ‘‘(H) admission to a sporting event, con24 cert, theater, or other form of entertainment

25 not associated with an election campaign; and
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1 ‘‘(I) dues, fees, and other payments to a

2 health club or recreational facility.’’.

3 TITLE V—ENHANCED

4 DISCLOSURE

5 SEC. 501. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES.

6 (a) WEEKLY REPORTS.—Section 304(a)(2)(A) of the

7 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

8 434(a)(2)(A)) is amended—

9 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

10 and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(iv) beginning on the date that is 30 days

13 before the date of the general election and end14 ing on the date of the general election, addi15 tional weekly reports which shall be filed not

16 later than Monday of each week; and’’.

17 (b) EXPEDITED REPORTING FOR LARGE CONTRIBU18 TIONS MADE TO PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

19 WITHIN 90 DAYS OF ELECTION.—Section 304(a)(6)(A)

20 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

21 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘after the 20th day’’

22 and inserting ‘‘after the 90th day before an election’’.

23 (c) WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR

24 INFORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTORS.—
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1 Section 302(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

2 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) When the treasurer’’ and

4 inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph

5 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

6 (2) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

8 information regarding the identification of any person who

9 makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more

10 than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro11 vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.

12 SEC. 502. ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.

13 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

14 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by adding at the

15 end the following:

16 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE TO THE PUBLIC.—

17 The Commission shall make the information contained in

18 a report submitted under this section available to the pub19 lic on the Internet and at the offices of the Commission

20 as soon as practicable after the information is received by

21 the Commission.’’.
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1 SEC. 503. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT

2 EXPENDITURES WITHIN 20 DAYS BEFORE AN

3 ELECTION.

4 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) (as added

7 by section 502) as subsection (e); and

8 (2) in subsection (c)—

9 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking the un10 designated matter after subparagraph (C);

11 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

12 paragraph (7); and

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(d) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI16 TURES.—

17 ‘‘(1) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $1,000.—

18 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person that

19 makes independent expenditures aggregating

20 $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more

21 than 24 hours, before the date of an election

22 shall file a report describing the expenditures

23 within 24 hours after that amount of inde24 pendent expenditures has been made.

25 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per26 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the
40

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1 person shall file an additional report each time

2 that independent expenditures aggregating an

3 additional $1,000 are made with respect to the

4 same election as that to which the initial report

5 relates.

6 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $10,000.—

7 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person that

8 makes independent expenditures aggregating

9 $10,000 or more at any time up to and includ10 ing the 20th day before an election shall file a

11 report describing the expenditures within 48

12 hours after that amount of independent expend13 itures is made.

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per15 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

16 person shall file an additional report each time

17 that independent expenditures aggregating an

18 additional $10,000 are made with respect to the

19 same election as that to which the initial report

20 relates.

21 ‘‘(3) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS; TRANS22 MITTAL.—

23 ‘‘(A) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS.—A re24 port under this subsection—
41

•S 1107 IS

1 ‘‘(i) shall be filed with the Commis2 sion; and

3 ‘‘(ii) shall contain the information re4 quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii).

5 ‘‘(B) TRANSMITTAL TO CANDIDATES.—Not

6 later than 2 business days after receipt of a re7 port under this subsection, the Commission

8 shall transmit a copy of the report to each can9 didate seeking nomination for election to, or

10 election to, the office in question.

11 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION TO MAKE EXPENDITURE.—

12 For purposes of this subsection, an expenditure shall

13 be treated as being made on the making of any pay14 ment or the taking of any action to incur an obliga15 tion for payment.’’.

16 SEC. 504. REQUIRED LOBBYIST DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBU17 TIONS AND DONATIONS.

18 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2

19 U.S.C. 1604) is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, contribu21 tions, and donations’’ after ‘‘lobbying activities’’;

22 and

23 (2) in subsection (b)—

24 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’

25 at the end;
42

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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (C) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(5) if the registrant, the registrant’s employer,

5 or a separate segregated fund of such employer has

6 made a contribution or donation (as defined in sec7 tion 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

8 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) to a covered executive branch

9 official, covered legislative branch official, or political

10 committee (as defined in section 301 of the Federal

11 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)), the

12 amount of the contribution or donation, the official

13 or political committee to whom the contribution or

14 donation was made, and the date on which the con15 tribution or donation was made.’’.

16 TITLE VI—FEDERAL ELECTION

17 COMMISSION REFORM

18 SEC. 601. FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

19 FACSIMILE MACHINES.

20 Section 304(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

21 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking para22 graph (11) and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘(11) FILING REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

24 FACSIMILE MACHINES.—
43

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1 ‘‘(A) SOFTWARE.—The Commission

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(i) develop software for use to file a

4 designation, statement, or report under

5 this Act; and

6 ‘‘(ii) provide a copy of the software at

7 no cost to a person required to file a des8 ignation, statement, or report under this

9 Act.

10 ‘‘(B) COMPUTERS.—The Commission shall

11 promulgate a regulation under which a person

12 required to file a designation, statement, or re13 port under this Act—

14 ‘‘(i) is required to maintain and file

15 the designation, statement, or report for

16 any calendar year in electronic form acces17 sible by computers if the person has, or

18 has reason to expect to have, aggregate

19 contributions or expenditures in excess of a

20 threshold amount determined by the Com21 mission; and

22 ‘‘(ii) may maintain and file a designa23 tion, statement, or report in that manner

24 if not required to do so under a regulation

25 promulgated under clause (i).
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1 ‘‘(C) FACSIMILE MACHINE.—The Commis2 sion shall promulgate a regulation which allows

3 a person to file a designation, statement, or re4 port required by this Act through the use of a

5 facsimile machine.

6 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURE.—In

7 promulgating a regulation under this para8 graph, the Commission shall provide methods

9 (other than requiring a signature on the docu10 ment being filed) for verifying a designation,

11 statement, or report covered by the regulation.

12 A document verified under any of the methods

13 shall be treated for all purposes (including pen14 alties for perjury) in the same manner as a doc15 ument verified by signature.’’.

16 SEC. 602. TERM LIMITS FOR FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS17 SION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(2)(A) of the Fed19 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

20 437c(a)(2)(A)) is amended in the matter preceding clause

21 (i) by striking ‘‘6 years’’ and inserting ‘‘8 years’’.

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

23 subsection (a) shall apply to appointments made after the

24 date of enactment of this Act.
45

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1 SEC. 603. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR KNOWING AND WILL2 FUL VIOLATIONS.

3 Section 309(a)(5)(B) of the Federal Election Cam4 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(5)(B)) is amended

5 by striking ‘‘the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal

6 to 200 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘the greater of $15,000 or

7 an amount equal to 300 percent’’.

8 SEC. 604. CIVIL PENALTIES FOR MINOR REPORTING VIOLA9 TIONS.

10 Section 309(a)(4)(A) of the Federal Election Cam11 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(4)(A)) is amended—

12 (1) in the first sentence of clause (i) by striking

13 ‘‘clause (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’;

14 and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(iii) MINOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(I) DEFINITION OF MINOR REPORTING

18 VIOLATION.—The Commission shall by regula19 tion establish a definition of the term ‘minor re20 porting violation’ for the purposes of this

21 clause.

22 ‘‘(II) ASSESSMENT BY THE COMMISSION.—

23 After notice and hearing, the Commission may,

24 without following the procedure of subpara25 graph (A) or paragraph (5) or (6), assess a civil
46

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1 penalty against a person that commits a minor

2 reporting violation.

3 ‘‘(III) SCHEDULE OF AMOUNTS OF CIVIL

4 PENALTIES.—The Commission shall by regula5 tion establish a schedule of the amounts (or

6 ranges of amounts) of civil penalties (not to ex7 ceed $5,000) that shall be assessed for different

8 categories of minor reporting violations.

9 ‘‘(IV) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining

10 the amounts of civil penalties, the Commission

11 shall consider the effect that a violation could

12 be expected to have on the conduct of an elec13 tion campaign or on the outcome of an election,

14 the previous compliance record of the violator,

15 and other appropriate factors.

16 ‘‘(V) LIMITATION.—A civil penalty as17 sessed by the Commission under this clause

18 shall not be made public within 30 days before

19 the date of an election.

20 ‘‘(VI) ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL RE21 VIEW.—The Commission, acting through its

22 own attorneys, may bring a civil action in

23 United States district court for payment of, and

24 a person against whom a civil penalty has been

25 assessed may bring a civil action in United
47

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1 States district court to review, a civil penalty

2 under subclause (II). Paragraph (7) shall apply

3 to a civil action under this subclause.

4 ‘‘(VII) ELECTION OF REMEDY.—If the

5 Commission elects to proceed under this clause

6 against a person for a minor reporting viola7 tion, the Commission shall be precluded from

8 seeking enforcement with respect to that viola9 tion under any other provision of this Act or

10 other law.’’.

11 SEC. 605. ORAL ARGUMENTS; INDEX OF ACTIONS.

12 (a) OPPORTUNITY FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS BEFORE

13 COMMISSION.—Section 309(a)(3) of the Federal Election

14 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(3)) is

15 amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3)(A)’’;

17 and

18 (2) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(B) ORAL ARGUMENT.—

20 ‘‘(i) REQUEST.—If a respondent sub21 mits a brief under subparagraph (A), the

22 respondent may submit, with the brief, a

23 request to present an oral argument before

24 the Commission in support of the respond25 ent’s brief.
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1 ‘‘(ii) PRESENTATION.—

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If at least 2

3 members of the Commission approve

4 of a request submitted under clause

5 (i), the respondent or the respondent’s

6 representative shall appear before the

7 Commission in an open session and

8 make an oral presentation in support

9 of the brief and respond to questions

10 of members of the Commission.

11 ‘‘(II) TIME.—The appearance

12 shall take place at a time specified by

13 the Commission during the 30-day pe14 riod that begins on the date the re15 quest is approved, and the Commis16 sion may limit the length of the re17 spondent’s appearance to a period of

18 time that the Commission considers

19 appropriate.

20 ‘‘(III) CONSIDERATION.—Infor21 mation provided by the respondent

22 during the appearance shall be consid23 ered by the Commission before pro24 ceeding under paragraph (4).’’.
49

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1 (b) INDEX OF ADVISORY OPINIONS, REGULATIONS,

2 AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—Section 311 of the Fed3 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(g) COMPILATION OF INDEX.—The Commission

6 shall compile, publish, and regularly update a complete

7 and detailed index of the advisory opinions issued under

8 this section 308, enforcement actions under section 309,

9 and regulations issued under this Act.’’.

10 SEC. 606. CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL11 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE

12 BASIS.

13 Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) of section

14 304(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

15 U.S.C. 434(b)) are each amended by inserting ‘‘(election

16 cycle, in the case of a candidate’s authorized committee)’’

17 after ‘‘calendar year’’ each place it appears.

18 SEC. 607. CONFIRMATION OF GENERAL COUNSEL AND EX19 ECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

20 Section 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign

21 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1)) is amended in the first

22 sentence by striking ‘‘Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Presi23 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate’’

24 before the period.
50

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1 TITLE VII—IMPROVEMENTS TO

2 THE NATIONAL VOTER REG3 ISTRATION ACT

4 SEC. 701. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR STATES TO PRO5 VIDE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION BY MAIL.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the National Voter

7 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–2(a)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the

10 end;

11 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and

12 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para13 graph (2).

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO UNI15 FORM MAIL VOTER REGISTRATION FORM.—

16 (1) The National Voter Registration Act of

17 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.) is amended by

18 striking section 9.

19 (2) Section 7(a)(6)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

20 1973gg – 5(a)(6)(A)) is amended by striking

21 ‘‘assistance—’’ and all that follows and inserting the

22 following: ‘‘assistance, a voter registration applica23 tion form which meets the requirements described in

24 section 5(c)(2) (other than subparagraph (A) of
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1 such section), unless the applicant, in writing, de2 clines to register to vote;’’.

3 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The

4 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

5 1973gg et seq.) is amended by striking section 6.

6 (2) Section 8(a)(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

7 6(a)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘5, 6, and 7’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘5 and 7’’.

9 SEC. 702. REQUIRING APPLICANTS REGISTERING TO VOTE

10 TO PROVIDE CERTAIN ADDITIONAL INFOR11 MATION.

12 (a) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(c)(2) of the Na14 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

15 1973gg–3(c)(2)) is amended—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub17 paragraph (D);

18 (B) by striking the period at the end of

19 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (C) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(F) shall require the applicant to provide

22 the applicant’s Social Security number.’’.

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

24 5(c)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

25 3(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘subpara-
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1 graph (C)’’ the following: ‘‘, or the information de2 scribed in subparagraph (F)’’.

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

4 by this section shall take effect January 1, 2000,

5 and shall apply with respect to applicants registering

6 to vote in elections for Federal office on or after

7 such date.

8 (b) ACTUAL PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.—

9 (1) REGISTRATION WITH APPLICATION FOR

10 DRIVER’S LICENSE.—Section 5(c) of the National

11 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

12 3(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(3) The voter registration portion of an application

14 for a State motor vehicle driver’s license shall not be con15 sidered to be completed unless the applicant provides to

16 the appropriate State motor vehicle authority proof that

17 the applicant is a citizen of the United States.’’.

18 (2) REGISTRATION WITH VOTER REGISTRATION

19 AGENCIES.—Section 7(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

20 1973gg–5(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(8) A voter registration application received by a

23 voter registration agency shall not be considered to be

24 completed unless the applicant provides to the agency

25 proof that the applicant is a citizen of the United States.’’.
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1 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

2 8(a)(5)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

3 6(a)(5)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including the

4 requirement that the applicant provide proof of citi5 zenship’’ after ‘‘requirements’’.

6 SEC. 703. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN REGISTRANTS FROM OFFI7 CIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(d) of the National Voter

9 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(d)) is

10 amended—

11 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para12 graph (4); and

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol14 lowing new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(3)(A) At the option of the State, a State may re16 move the name of a registrant from the official list of eligi17 ble voters in elections for Federal office (and, if necessary,

18 correct the registrar’s record of the registrant’s address)

19 on the ground that the registrant has changed residence

20 if—

21 ‘‘(i) the registrant has not voted or appeared to

22 vote in an election during the period beginning on

23 the day after the date of the second previous general

24 election for Federal office held prior to the date the
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1 confirmation notice described in subparagraph (B) is

2 sent and ending on the date of such notice;

3 ‘‘(ii) the registrant has not voted or appeared to

4 vote in any of the first two general elections for Fed5 eral office held after the confirmation notice de6 scribed in subparagraph (B) is sent; and

7 ‘‘(iii) during the period beginning on the date

8 the confirmation notice described in subparagraph

9 (B) is sent and ending on the date of the second

10 general election for Federal office held after the date

11 such notice is sent, the registrant has failed to notify

12 the State in response to the notice that the reg13 istrant did not change his or her residence, or

14 changed residence but remained in the registrar’s ju15 risdiction.

16 ‘‘(B) A confirmation notice described in this subpara17 graph is a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card,

18 sent by forwardable mail, on which a registrant may state

19 his or her current address, together with information con20 cerning how the registrant can continue to be eligible to

21 vote if the registrant has changed residence to a place out22 side the registrar’s jurisdiction and a statement that the

23 registrant may be removed from the official list of eligible

24 voters if the registrant does not respond to the notice (dur25 ing the period described in subparagraph (A)(iii)) by stat-
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1 ing that the registrant did not change his or her residence,

2 or changed residence but remained in the registrar’s juris3 diction.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8(i)(2) of

5 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(d)) is amended by insert6 ing ‘‘or subsection (d)(3)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’.

7 SEC. 704. PERMITTING STATE TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

8 PRODUCE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PRIOR

9 TO VOTING.

10 (a) PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION.—Section 8 of

11 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

12 1973gg–6) is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub14 section (k); and

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol16 lowing new subsection:

17 ‘‘(j) PERMITTING STATES TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

18 PRODUCE PHOTO IDENTIFICATION.—A State may require

19 an individual to produce a valid photographic identifica20 tion before receiving a ballot for voting in an election for

21 Federal office.’’.

22 (b) SIGNATURE.—Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C.

23 1973gg–6), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub25 section (l); and
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol2 lowing new subsection:

3 ‘‘(k) PERMITTING STATES TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

4 PROVIDE SIGNATURE.—A State may require an individual

5 to provide the individual’s signature (in the presence of

6 an election official at the polling place) before receiving

7 a ballot for voting in an election for Federal office, other

8 than an individual who is unable to provide a signature

9 because of illiteracy or disability.’’.

10 SEC. 705. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT THAT STATES PERMIT

11 REGISTRANTS CHANGING RESIDENCE TO

12 VOTE AT POLLING PLACE FOR FORMER AD13 DRESS.

14 Section 8(e)(2) of the National Voter Registration

15 Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(e)(2)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’;

17 and

18 (2) by striking ‘‘election, at the option of the

19 registrant—’’ and all that follows and inserting the

20 following: ‘‘election shall be permitted to correct the

21 voting records for purposes of voting in future elec22 tions at the appropriate polling place for the current

23 address and, if permitted by State law, shall be per24 mitted to vote in the present election, upon con-
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1 firmation by the registrant of the new address by

2 such means as are required by law.’’.

Æ