I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4223

To establish a commission to examine the costs and benefits, and the impact

on voter turnout, of changing the deadline for filing Federal income

tax returns to the date on which Federal elections are held.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 14, 1994

Mr. KYL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Ways and Means

A BILL

To establish a commission to examine the costs and benefits,

and the impact on voter turnout, of changing the deadline for filing Federal income tax returns to the date

on which Federal elections are held.

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 ‘‘Voter Turnout En5 hancement Study Commission Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the right of citizens of the United States to

2 vote is a fundamental right;

3 (2) Federal, State, and local governments have

4 a duty to promote the exercise of the right to vote

5 to the greatest extent possible;

6 (3) the power to tax is only guardedly granted

7 to Federal, State, and local governments by the citi8 zens of the United States;

9 (4) the only regular contact that most Ameri10 cans have with their government consists of filing

11 personal income tax returns and voting in Federal,

12 State, and local elections;

13 (5) in 1992, almost 115,000,000 Federal in14 come tax returns were filed by individuals and cou15 ples, but only approximately 104,000,000 votes were

16 cast in the year’s presidential election; and

17 (6) more closely tying the rights of individuals

18 as voters to their obligations as taxpayers will pro19 vide additional incentives for individuals to both par20 ticipate in the electoral process and scrutinize the

21 costs and benefits of government policies.

22 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

23 There is established a commission to be known as the

24 Voter Turnout Enhancement Study Commission (in this

25 Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).
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1 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

2 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

3 shall be composed of 9 members appointed as follows:

4 (1) 3 members appointed by the President.

5 (2) 3 members appointed by the President pro

6 tempore of the Senate, upon the joint recommenda7 tion of the majority leader and the minority leader

8 of the Senate.

9 (3) 3 members appointed by the Speaker of the

10 House of Representatives, upon the joint rec11 ommendation of the Speaker and the minority leader

12 of the House of Representatives.

13 (b) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 2 of

14 the 3 members of the Commission appointed under any

15 1 paragraph of subsection (a) may be of the same political

16 party.

17 (c) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Com18 mission shall be appointed not later than 30 days after

19 the date of the enactment of this Act.

20 (d) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be

21 appointed to serve for the life of the Commission.

22 (e) VACANCIES.— Any vacancy in the Commission

23 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint24 ment.

25 (f) COMPENSATION.—
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1 (1) RATE OF PAY.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), members of the Commission shall serve

3 without pay.

4 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the

5 Commission shall be entitled to receive travel ex6 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as

7 authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States

8 Code, for persons employed intermittently in the

9 Government service.

10 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

11 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num12 ber of members may hold a hearing.

13 (h) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

14 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair15 person from among its members.

16 (i) MEETINGS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet

18 at the call of the Chairperson or a majority of its

19 members.

20 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall

21 hold its initial meeting not later than 30 days after

22 the date on which all members of the Commission

23 have been appointed.
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1 SEC. 5. DUTIES.

2 (a) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a com3 prehensive study of all matters relating to the possibility

4 of changing the filing date for Federal income tax returns

5 to the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November.

6 The study shall include an analysis of—

7 (1) the costs and benefits of the change in filing

8 date; and

9 (2) the likelihood that establishment of a single

10 date on which individuals can fulfill obligations of

11 citizenship as both electors and taxpayers will in12 crease participation in Federal, State, and local elec13 tions.

14 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Commission shall consult

15 with Governors, Federal and State election officials, the

16 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and any other person,

17 agency, or entity that the Commission determines to be

18 appropriate.

19 SEC. 6. POWERS.

20 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold the hear21 ings, sit and act at the times and places, take the testi22 mony, and receive the information that the Commission

23 considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act.

24 (b) MAILS.—the Commission may use the United

25 States mails in the same manner and under the same con26 ditions as any other Federal department or agency.
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1 (c) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem2 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

3 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au4 thorized to take under this section.

5 (d) REQUESTS FOR OFFICIAL INFORMATION.—The

6 Commission may request from a Federal department or

7 agency information necessary to enable the Commission

8 to carry out this Act. The head of the department or agen9 cy shall provide the information to the Commission unless

10 release of the information to the public by the agency is

11 prohibited by law.

12 SEC. 7. STAFF ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.

13 Upon the request of the Commission or the Chair14 person of the Commission, the head of any Federal depart15 ment or agency may detail any of the personnel of the

16 department or agency to the Commission to assist the

17 Commission to carry out this Act.

18 SEC. 8. REPORT.

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment

20 of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the President

21 and the Congress a report that contains—

22 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and

23 conclusions of the study required by section 5; and
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1 (2) recommendations of the Commission re2 garding any legislation or administrative action the

3 Commission considers appropriate.

4 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

5 The Commission shall terminate upon the submission

6 of the report required by section 8.

7 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

9 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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