I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4010 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and 

other entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2012 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. HOYER, Mr. 

CLYBURN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 

BECERRA, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 

MARKEY, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Mr. WELCH, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. PASCRELL, 

Mr. FARR, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HOLT, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. 

ANDREWS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. NADLER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. TONKO, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. STARK, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. HAHN, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. 

SPEIER, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ

of California, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JACKSON of 

Illinois, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. POLIS, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. DICKS, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 

RANGEL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. FILNER, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. 

DEGETTE, Mr. OLVER, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

ELLISON, and Ms. BASS of California) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 


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A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and other entities, and 

for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disclosure of Informa5 tion on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Se6 cure Elections Act of 2012’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE 2012 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. CAMPAIGN DISBURSEMENT REPORTING. 

9 (a) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED.— 

10 (1) TREATMENT OF FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT

11 OF EXPRESS ADVOCACY AS INDEPENDENT EXPENDI12 TURE.—Subparagraph (A) of section 301(17) of the 

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

14 431(17)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) that, when taken as a whole, ex16 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

17 clearly identified candidate, or is the functional 

18 equivalent of express advocacy because it can be 

19 interpreted by a reasonable person only as ad20 vocating the election or defeat of a candidate, 

21 taking into account whether the communication 


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1 involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, 

2 or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a posi3 tion on a candidate’s character, qualifications, 

4 or fitness for office; and’’. 

5 (2) EXPANSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH

6 COMMUNICATIONS ARE TREATED AS ELECTION7 EERING COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i) 

8 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(3)(A)(i)) is amended— 

9 (A) by redesignating subclause (III) as 

10 subclause (IV); and 

11 (B) by striking subclause (II) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(II) in the case of a communica14 tion which refers to a candidate for an 

15 office other than the President or Vice 

16 President, is made during the period 

17 beginning on January 1 of the cal18 endar year in which a general or run19 off election is held and ending on the 

20 date of the general or runoff election 

21 (or in the case of a special election, 

22 during the period beginning on the 

23 date on which the announcement with 

24 respect to such election is made and 


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1 ending on the date of the special elec2 tion); 

3 ‘‘(III) in the case of a commu4 nication which refers to a candidate 

5 for the office of President or Vice 

6 President, is made in any State dur7 ing the period beginning 120 days be8 fore the first primary or preference 

9 election or a convention or caucus of 

10 a political party which has the author11 ity to nominate a candidate for the of12 fice of President or Vice President is 

13 held in any State and ending on the 

14 date of the general election; and’’. 

15 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION FOR ELEC16 TIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS MADE PRIOR TO EN17 ACTMENT.—The amendment made by paragraph (2) 

18 shall apply with respect to communications made on 

19 or after July 1, 2012, except that no communication 

20 which is made prior to such date shall be treated as 

21 an electioneering communication under section 

22 304(f)(3)(A)(i) (II) or (III) of the Federal Election 

23 Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended by paragraph 

24 (2)) unless the communication would be treated as 

25 an electioneering communication under such section 


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1 if the amendment made by paragraph (2) did not 

2 apply. 

3 (b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORPORA4 TIONS, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER

5 ENTITIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal 

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441k) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE10 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered organization 

13 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre14 gating more than $10,000 in a calendar year shall, 

15 not later than 24 hours after each disclosure date, 

16 file a statement with the Commission made under 

17 penalty of perjury that contains the information de18 scribed in paragraph (2)— 

19 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 

20 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

21 on the first day of the preceding calendar year 

22 and ending on the first such disclosure date; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state25 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 


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1 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

2 ending on such disclosure date. 

3 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa4 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 

6 and the principal place of business of such or7 ganization. 

8 ‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 

9 disbursement made by such organization during 

10 the period covered by the statement of more 

11 than $1,000. 

12 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis13 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

14 election to which the campaign-related disburse15 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

16 for a public communication, the name of any 

17 candidate identified in such communication and 

18 whether such communication is in support of or 

19 in opposition to a candidate. 

20 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 

21 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

22 organization that the campaign-related dis23 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta24 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug25 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 


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1 agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 

2 a political party. 

3 ‘‘(E) If the covered organization makes 

4 campaign-related disbursements using exclu5 sively funds in a segregated bank account con6 sisting of funds that were contributed, donated, 

7 transferred, or paid directly to such account by 

8 persons other than the covered organization 

9 that controls the account, for each contribution, 

10 donation, transfer, payment of dues, or other 

11 payment to the account— 

12 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each 

13 person who made such contribution, dona14 tion, transfer, payment of dues, or other 

15 payment during the period covered by the 

16 statement; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of such 

18 contribution, donation, transfer, payment 

19 of dues, or other payment; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the aggregate amount of all such 

21 contributions, donations, transfers, pay22 ments of dues, and other payments made 

23 by the person during the period beginning 

24 on the first day of the preceding calendar 

25 year and ending on the disclosure date; 


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1 but only if such contribution, donation, trans2 fer, payment of dues, or other payment was 

3 made by a person who made contributions, do4 nations, transfers, payments of dues, or pay5 ments to the account in an aggregate amount 

6 of $10,000 or more during the period beginning 

7 on the first day of the preceding calendar year 

8 and ending on the disclosure date. 

9 ‘‘(F) Subject to paragraph (4), if the cov10 ered organization makes campaign-related dis11 bursements using funds other than funds in a 

12 segregated bank account described in subpara13 graph (E), for each contribution, donation, 

14 transfer, or payment of dues to the covered or15 ganization— 

16 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each 

17 person who made such contribution, dona18 tion, transfer, or payment of dues during 

19 the period covered by the statement; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of such 

21 contribution, donation, transfer, or pay22 ment of dues; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) the aggregate amount of all such 

24 contributions, donations, transfers, and 

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1 ing the period beginning on the first day of 

2 the preceding calendar year and ending on 

3 the disclosure date; 

4 but only if such contribution, donation, trans5 fer, or payment of dues was made by a person 

6 who made contributions, donations, transfers, 

7 or payments of dues to the covered organization 

8 in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 

9 during the period beginning on the first day of 

10 the preceding calendar year and ending on the 

11 disclosure date. 

12 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

14 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in15 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

16 the information described in paragraph (2) 

17 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov18 ered organization in the ordinary course of any 

19 trade or business conducted by the covered or20 ganization or in the form of investments in the 

21 covered organization. 

22 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

23 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state24 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the inforVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:22 Feb 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4010.IH H4010

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1 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para2 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub4 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 

5 the contribution, donation, transfer, pay6 ment of dues, or other payment made by 

7 such person for campaign-related disburse8 ments; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

10 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

11 contribution, donation, transfer, payment 

12 of dues, or other payment in an account 

13 which is segregated from any account used 

14 to make campaign-related disbursements. 

15 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE DATE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), the term ‘disclosure date’ 

18 means— 

19 ‘‘(i) the first date during any calendar 

20 year by which a person has made cam21 paign-related disbursements aggregating 

22 more than $10,000; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) each date following the date de24 scribed in clause (i) during such calendar 

25 year by which a person has made camVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:22 Feb 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4010.IH H4010

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1 paign-related disbursements aggregating 

2 more than $10,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE DATE FOR CERTAIN

4 TRANSFERS.—In the case of a statement filed 

5 with respect to a campaign-related disburse6 ment which is a covered transfer described in 

7 subsection (f)(1)(E), the term ‘disclosure date’ 

8 means the date on which the covered organiza9 tion making such transfer knew or should have 

10 known that the recipient of such transfer made 

11 campaign-related disbursements in an aggre12 gate amount of $50,000 or more during the 2- 

13 year period beginning on the date of the trans14 fer. 

15 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE COM17 MISSION.—Information included in a statement filed 

18 under this section may be excluded from statements 

19 and reports filed under section 304. 

20 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT AS SEPARATE SEGREGATED

21 FUND.—A segregated bank account referred to in 

22 subsection (a)(2)(E) may be treated as a separate 

23 segregated fund for purposes of section 527(f)(3) of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(c) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

2 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec3 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

4 as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 

5 or (g) of section 304. 

6 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE7 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘campaign-related dis8 bursement’ means a disbursement by a covered organiza9 tion for any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) An independent expenditure consisting of a 

11 public communication, as defined in section 301(22). 

12 ‘‘(2) An electioneering communication, as de13 fined in section 304(f)(3). 

14 ‘‘(3) A covered transfer. 

15 ‘‘(e) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

16 section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 

19 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev20 enue Code of 1986). 

21 ‘‘(2) An organization described in section 

22 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

23 under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 

24 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 

25 Code). 


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1 ‘‘(3) A labor organization (as defined in section 

2 316(b)). 

3 ‘‘(4) Any political organization under section 

4 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

5 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

6 provided in paragraph (5)). 

7 ‘‘(5) A political committee with an account es8 tablished for the purpose of accepting donations or 

9 contributions that do not comply with the contribu10 tion limits or source prohibitions under this Act, but 

11 only with respect to the accounts established for 

12 such purpose. 

13 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

16 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

17 the covered organization— 

18 ‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 

19 the amounts be used for— 

20 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

21 (other than covered transfers); or 

22 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

23 person for the purpose of making or pay24 ing for such campaign-related disburse25 ments; 


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1 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re2 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

3 donation or payment for— 

4 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam5 paign-related disbursements (other than 

6 covered transfers); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

8 person for the purpose of making or pay9 ing for such campaign-related disburse10 ments; 

11 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re12 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 

13 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam14 paign-related disbursements (other than 

15 covered transfers); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

17 amount of such transfer or payment to an18 other person for the purpose of making or 

19 paying for such campaign-related disburse20 ments; 

21 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse22 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag23 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

24 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

25 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 


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1 that the person receiving the transfer or pay2 ment made such disbursements in such an ag3 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

4 ‘‘(E) knew or had reason to know that the 

5 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

6 make campaign-related disbursements in an ag7 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

8 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

9 transfer or payment. 

10 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 

11 does not include any of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 

13 organization in the ordinary course of any trade 

14 or business conducted by the covered organiza15 tion or in the form of investments made by the 

16 covered organization. 

17 ‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 

18 organization if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib20 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse21 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

24 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos25 ited the disbursement in an account which 


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1 is segregated from any account used to 

2 make campaign-related disbursements. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANSFERS

4 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANS6 FERS AMONG AFFILIATES.—The term ‘covered 

7 transfer’ does not include an amount trans8 ferred by one covered organization to another 

9 covered organization which is treated as a 

10 transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 

11 (B) if the aggregate amount transferred during 

12 the year by such covered organization to that 

13 same covered organization is equal to or less 

14 than $50,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE16 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

17 from one covered organization to another cov18 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

19 between affiliates if— 

20 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af21 filiate of the other organization; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 

23 affiliate of the same organization; 

24 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

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1 nizations is established for the purpose of mak2 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

3 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA4 TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (B), a 

5 covered organization is an affiliate of another 

6 covered organization if— 

7 ‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 

8 organization requires it to be bound by de9 cisions of the other organization; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga11 nization includes persons who are specifi12 cally designated representatives of the 

13 other organization or are members of the 

14 governing board, officers, or paid executive 

15 staff members of the other organization, or 

16 whose service on the governing board is 

17 contingent upon the approval of the other 

18 organization; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 

20 the other organization. 

21 ‘‘(D) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF22 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA23 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with re24 spect to an amount transferred by a covered or25 ganization to an organization described in paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Feb 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4010.IH H4010

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1 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev2 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

3 section 501(a) of such Code in the same man4 ner as this paragraph applies to an amount 

5 transferred by a covered organization to an6 other covered organization.’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 304(f)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 

10 as provided in section 324(b), any requirement’’. 

11 SEC. 3. STAND BY YOUR AD. 

12 (a) DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RE13 LATED DISBURSEMENTS.—Section 318(a) of the Federal 

14 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d(a)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘for the purpose of financing commu16 nications expressly advocating the election or defeat of a 

17 clearly identified candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘for a cam18 paign-related disbursement, as defined in section 324, con19 sisting of a public communication’’. 

20 (b) STAND BY YOUR AD REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) MAINTENANCE OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PO22 LITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT23 TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

24 441d(d)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT3 TEES’’; 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the ex5 tent provided in the last sentence of this para6 graph) is paid for by a political committee (in7 cluding a political committee of a political 

8 party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

9 (C) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each 

10 place it appears; and 

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

12 ‘‘This paragraph does not apply to a commu13 nication paid for in whole or in part with a pay14 ment which is treated as a campaign-related 

15 disbursement under section 324 and with re16 spect to which a covered organization files a 

17 statement under such section.’’. 

18 (2) SPECIAL DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of such 

20 Act (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS BY OTHERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any communication de24 scribed in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) which is 

25 transmitted through radio or television (other than 


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1 a communication to which subsection (d)(2) applies) 

2 shall include, in addition to the requirements of such 

3 paragraph, the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

5 described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

6 paying for the communication is an individual) 

7 or the organizational disclosure statement de8 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay9 ing for the communication is not an individual). 

10 ‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 

11 through television and is paid for in whole or in 

12 part with a payment which is treated as a cam13 paign-related disbursement under section 324, 

14 the Top Five Funders list (if applicable), un15 less, on the basis of criteria established in regu16 lations issued by the Commission, the commu17 nication is of such short duration that including 

18 the Top Five Funders list in the communication 

19 would constitute a hardship to the person pay20 ing for the communication by requiring a dis21 proportionate amount of the content of the 

22 communication to consist of the Top Five 

23 Funders list. 

24 ‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 

25 through radio and is paid for in whole or in 


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1 part with a payment which is treated as a cam2 paign-related disbursement under section 324, 

3 the Top Two Funders list (if applicable), un4 less, on the basis of criteria established in regu5 lations issued by the Commission, the commu6 nication is of such short duration that including 

7 the Top Two Funders list in the communication 

8 would constitute a hardship to the person pay9 ing for the communication by requiring a dis10 proportionate amount of the content of the 

11 communication to consist of the Top Two 

12 Funders list. 

13 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATE15 MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 

16 described in this subparagraph is the following: 

17 ‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 

18 message.’, with the blank filled in with the 

19 name of the applicable individual. 

20 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE

21 STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 

22 statement described in this subparagraph is the 

23 following: ‘I am llllllll, the 

24 llllllll of llllllll, and 


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1 llllllll approves this message.’, 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 

4 the name of the applicable individual; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 

6 with the title of the applicable individual; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 

9 to be filled in with the name of the organi10 zation or other person paying for the com11 munication. 

12 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE13 MENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

15 THROUGH RADIO.—In the case of a communica16 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

17 transmitted through radio, the disclosure state18 ments required under paragraph (1) shall be 

19 made by audio by the applicable individual in a 

20 clearly spoken manner. 

21 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

22 THROUGH TELEVISION.—In the case of a com23 munication to which this subsection applies 

24 which is transmitted through television, the in25 formation required under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 

2 of the communication or in a crawl along 

3 the bottom of the communication in a 

4 clearly readable manner, with a reasonable 

5 degree of color contrast between the back6 ground and the printed statement, for a 

7 period of at least 6 seconds; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 

9 unobscured, full-screen view of the applica10 ble individual or by the applicable indi11 vidual making the statement in voice-over 

12 accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho13 tograph or similar image of the individual, 

14 except in the case of a Top Five Funders 

15 list. 

16 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

18 ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 

19 communication to which this subsection ap20 plies— 

21 ‘‘(i) if the communication is paid for 

22 by an individual, the individual involved; 

23 ‘‘(ii) if the communication is paid for 

24 by a corporation, the chief executive officer 

25 of the corporation (or, if the corporation 


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1 does not have a chief executive officer, the 

2 highest ranking official of the corporation); 

3 ‘‘(iii) if the communication is paid for 

4 by a labor organization, the highest rank5 ing officer of the labor organization; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) if the communication is paid for 

7 by any other person, the highest ranking 

8 official of such person. 

9 ‘‘(B) COVERED ORGANIZATION AND CAM10 PAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT.—The terms 

11 ‘campaign-related disbursement’ and ‘covered 

12 organization’ have the meaning given such 

13 terms in section 324. 

14 ‘‘(C) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

15 ‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 

16 a communication paid for in whole or in part 

17 with a payment which is treated as a campaign18 related disbursement under section 324, a list 

19 of the five persons who provided the largest 

20 payments of any type in an aggregate amount 

21 equal to or exceeding $10,000 which are re22 quired under section 324(a) to be included in 

23 the reports filed by a covered organization with 

24 respect to such communication during the 12- 

25 month period ending on the date of the disVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:22 Feb 11, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4010.IH H4010

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1 bursement and the amount of the payments 

2 each such person provided. If two or more peo3 ple provided the fifth largest of such payments, 

4 the covered organization involved shall select 

5 one of those persons to be included on the Top 

6 Five Funders list. 

7 ‘‘(D) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

8 ‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 

9 a communication paid for in whole or in part 

10 with a payment which is treated as a campaign11 related disbursement under section 324, a list 

12 of the persons who provided the largest and the 

13 second largest payments of any type in an ag14 gregate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 

15 which are required under section 324(a) to be 

16 included in the reports filed by a covered orga17 nization with respect to such communication 

18 during the 12-month period ending on the date 

19 of the disbursement and the amount of the pay20 ments each such person provided. If two or 

21 more persons provided the second largest of 

22 such payments, the covered organization in23 volved shall select one of those persons to be in24 cluded on the Top Two Funders list.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. SHAREHOLDERS’ RIGHT TO KNOW. 

2 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

3 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 325. DISCLOSURES BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS TO 

6 SHAREHOLDERS, MEMBERS, AND DONORS OF 

7 INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS8 BURSEMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS10 BURSEMENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN PERIODIC RE11 PORTS.—A covered organization which submits regular, 

12 periodic reports to its shareholders, members, or donors 

13 on its finances or activities shall include in each such re14 port, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the information 

15 included in the statements filed by the organization under 

16 section 324 with respect to the campaign-related disburse17 ments made by the organization during the period covered 

18 by the report. 

19 ‘‘(b) HYPERLINK TO INFORMATION INCLUDED IN

20 REPORTS FILED WITH COMMISSION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED POSTING OF HYPERLINK.—If a 

22 covered organization maintains an Internet site, the 

23 organization shall post on such Internet site a 

24 hyperlink from its homepage to the location on the 

25 Internet site of the Commission which contains the 

26 information included in the statements filed by the 


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1 organization under section 324 with respect to cam2 paign-related disbursements. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE; DURATION OF POSTING.—The 

4 covered organization shall post the hyperlink de5 scribed in paragraph (1) not later than 24 hours 

6 after the Commission posts the information de7 scribed in such paragraph on the Internet site of the 

8 Commission, and shall ensure that the hyperlink re9 mains on the Internet site of the covered organiza10 tion until the expiration of the 1-year period which 

11 begins on the date of the election with respect to 

12 which the campaign-related disbursements are made. 

13 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘campaign-related 

14 disbursement’ and ‘covered organization’ have the mean15 ings given such terms in section 324.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. LOBBYISTS’ CAMPAIGN FUNDING DISCLOSURE. 

17 (a) DISCLOSURE OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

18 AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

19 5(d)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

20 1604(d)(1)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara22 graph (F); 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub24 paragraph (I); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol2 lowing new subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(G) the amount of any independent ex4 penditure (as defined in section 301(17) of the 

5 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

6 U.S.C. 431(17)) equal to or greater than 

7 $1,000 made by such person or organization, 

8 and for each such expenditure the name of each 

9 candidate being supported or opposed and the 

10 amount spent supporting or opposing each such 

11 candidate; 

12 ‘‘(H) the amount of any electioneering 

13 communication (as defined in section 304(f)(3) 

14 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(3)) equal to or 

15 greater than $1,000 made by such person or or16 ganization, and for each such communication 

17 the name of the candidate referred to in the 

18 communication and whether the communication 

19 involved was in support of or in opposition to 

20 the candidate; and’’. 

21 (b) DISCLOSURE OF AMOUNTS PROVIDED TO CER22 TAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 5(d)(1)(D) of 

23 such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(d)(1)(D)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘or political party committee,’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘political party committee, or political committee which is 


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1 treated as a covered organization under section 

2 324(f)(1)(D) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

3 1971,’’. 

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

5 this section shall apply with respect to reports for semi6 annual periods described in section 5(d)(1) of the Lob7 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 that begin after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

10 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

11 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

12 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu13 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

14 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 

15 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

16 affected by the holding. 

17 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 Except as provided in section 5, the amendments 

19 made by this Act shall apply with respects to disburse20 ments made on or after July 1, 2012. 

Æ 


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