I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5596

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform the financing

of campaigns for election for Federal office, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 27, 2000

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

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, 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

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

reform the financing of campaigns for election for Federal office, 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 ‘‘Campaign Finance Im5 provement Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. EXPANDING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CER2 TAIN CONTRIBUTIONS.

3 (a) REQUIRING REPORTING OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

4 OF $200 OR MORE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF RECEIPT.—Sec5 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

6 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(d)(1) Each political committee which receives a

9 contribution of $200 or more shall notify the Commission

10 of the contribution not later than 10 days after receipt,

11 and shall include the identification of the contributor, the

12 date of receipt and amount of the contribution, and (in

13 the case of an authorized committee of a candidate) the

14 name of the candidate and the office sought by the can15 didate.

16 ‘‘(2) The report required under this subsection shall

17 be in addition to all other reports required under this

18 Act.’’.

19 (b) EXPANDING TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRIN20 CIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES SUBJECT TO EXPEDITED

21 REPORTING.—Section 304(a)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

22 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200’’;

24 and

25 (2) by striking ‘‘20th day’’ and inserting ‘‘90th

26 day’’.
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1 SEC. 3. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF AMOUNT OF CONTRIBU2 TIONS ACCEPTED BY CONGRESSIONAL CAN3 DIDATES TO COME FROM IN-STATE RESI4 DENTS.

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

7 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(i)(1) The total amount of contributions accepted

9 with respect to an election by a candidate for the office

10 of Senator or the office of Representative in, or Delegate

11 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress from in-State

12 individual residents shall be at least 50 percent of the total

13 amount of contributions accepted from all sources.

14 ‘‘(2) If a candidate in an election makes expenditures

15 of personal funds (including contributions by the can16 didate or the candidate’s spouse to the candidate’s author17 ized campaign committee) in an amount in excess of

18 $250,000, paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

19 any opponent of the candidate in the election.

20 ‘‘(3) In determining the amount of contributions ac21 cepted by a candidate for purposes of paragraph (1), the

22 amounts of any contributions made by a political com23 mittee of a political party shall be allocated as follows:

24 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amounts shall be

25 deemed to be contributions from in-State individual

26 residents.
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1 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amounts shall be

2 deemed to be contributions from persons other than

3 in-State individual residents.

4 ‘‘(4) As used in this subsection, the term ‘in-State

5 individual resident’ means an individual who resides in the

6 State in which the election involved is held.’’.

7 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of

8 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 2(a), is

9 further amended by adding at the end the following new

10 subsection:

11 ‘‘(e)(1) Each principal campaign committee of a can12 didate for the Senate or the House of Representatives

13 shall include the following information in the first report

14 filed under subsection (a)(2) which covers the period

15 which begins 19 days before an election and ends 20 days

16 after the election:

17 ‘‘(A) The total contributions received by the

18 committee with respect to the election involved from

19 in-State individual residents (as defined in section

20 315(i)(4)), as of the last day of the period covered

21 by the report.

22 ‘‘(B) The total contributions received by the

23 committee with respect to the election involved from

24 all persons, as of the last day of the period covered

25 by the report.
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Each principal campaign committee of a can2 didate for the Senate or the House of Representatives

3 shall submit a notification to the Commission of the first

4 expenditure of personal funds (including contributions by

5 the candidate or the candidate’s spouse to the committee)

6 by which the aggregate amount of personal funds ex7 pended (or contributed) with respect to the election ex8 ceeds $250,000.

9 ‘‘(B) Each notification under subparagraph (A)—

10 ‘‘(I) shall be submitted not later than 24 hours

11 after the expenditure or contribution which is the

12 subject of the notification is made; and

13 ‘‘(II) shall include the name of the candidate,

14 the office sought by the candidate, and the date of

15 the expenditure or contribution and amount of the

16 expenditure or contribution involved.’’.

17 (c) PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF LIMITS.—Section

18 309(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(d)) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(4)(A) Any candidate who knowingly and willfully

21 accepts contributions in excess of any limitation provided

22 under section 315(i) shall be fined an amount equal to

23 the greater of 200 percent of the amount accepted in ex24 cess of the applicable limitation or (if applicable) the

25 amount provided in paragraph (1)(A).
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1 ‘‘(B) Interest shall be assessed against any portion

2 of a fine imposed under subparagraph (A) which remains

3 unpaid after the expiration of the 30-day period which be4 gins on the date the fine is imposed.’’.

5 SEC. 4. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN6 FORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CON7 TRIBUTORS.

8 Section 302(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

9 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is amended—

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

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

12 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new

14 paragraph:

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

16 information regarding the identification of any person who

17 makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more

18 than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro19 vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.

20 SEC. 5. LOWERING THRESHOLD FOR CASH CONTRIBU21 TIONS.

22 Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

23 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by striking ‘‘exceed

24 $100’’ and inserting ‘‘exceed $20’’.
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1 SEC. 6. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOTING

2 AGE.

3 Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end

5 the following new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(9)(A) For purposes of the limitations imposed by

7 this section, any contribution made by a dependent minor

8 shall be treated as follows:

9 ‘‘(i) If the dependent minor is the dependent of

10 one other individual, the contribution shall be treat11 ed as a contribution made by such other individual.

12 ‘‘(ii) If the dependent minor is the dependent of

13 another individual and such other individual’s

14 spouse, the contribution shall be allocated among

15 such individuals in such manner as such other indi16 viduals may determine.

17 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘dependent minor’

18 means an individual who—

19 ‘‘(i) is a dependent of another individual; and

20 ‘‘(ii) has not, as of the time of making the con21 tribution involved, attained the legal age for voting

22 in elections for Federal office in the State in which

23 such individual resides.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. PROHIBITING NON-CITIZEN INDIVIDUALS FROM

2 MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS IN CONNECTION

3 WITH FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

4 Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign

5 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)(2)) is amended by striking

6 ‘‘and who is not lawfully admitted’’ and all that follows

7 and inserting a period.

8 SEC. 8. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SOFT

9 MONEY EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL PAR10 TIES.

11 (a) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS BY NATIONAL POLITICAL

12 PARTIES.—Section 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election

13 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara15 graph (H);

16 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara17 graph (I); and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(J) in the case of a political committee of

21 a national political party, all funds transferred

22 to any political committee of a State or local

23 political party, without regard to whether or not

24 the funds are otherwise treated as contributions

25 or expenditures under this title;’’.
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1 (b) DISCLOSURE BY STATE POLITICAL PARTIES OF

2 INFORMATION REPORTED UNDER STATE LAW.—Section

3 304 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by sections

4 2(a) and 3(b), is further amended by adding at the end

5 the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(f) If a political committee of a State political party

7 is required under a State or local law, rule, or regulation

8 to submit a report on its disbursements to an entity of

9 the State or local government, the committee shall file a

10 copy of the report with the Commission at the time it sub11 mits the report to such an entity.’’.

12 SEC. 9. PROHIBITING INVOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT OF EM13 PLOYEE FUNDS FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal Elec15 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended

16 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(c)(1) Except with the separate, prior, written, vol18 untary authorization of each individual, it shall be

19 unlawful—

20 ‘‘(A) for any national bank or corporation de21 scribed in this section to collect from or assess its

22 stockholders or employees any dues, initiation fee, or

23 other payment as a condition of employment if any

24 part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for
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1 political activity in which the national bank or cor2 poration is engaged; and

3 ‘‘(B) for any labor organization described in

4 this section to collect from or assess its members or

5 nonmembers any dues, initiation fee, or other pay6 ment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will

7 be used for political activity in which the labor orga8 nization is engaged.

9 ‘‘(2) An authorization described in paragraph (1)

10 shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked

11 at any time. Each entity collecting from or assessing

12 amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect

13 under such paragraph shall provide the individual with a

14 statement that the individual may at any time revoke the

15 authorization.

16 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘polit17 ical activity’ means any activity carried out for the pur18 pose of influencing (in whole or in part) any election for

19 Federal office, influencing the consideration or outcome

20 of any Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of

21 any Federal regulations, or educating individuals about

22 candidates for election for Federal office or any Federal

23 legislation, law, or regulations.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall apply to amounts collected or assessed

3 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 10. PROHIBITING AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES OF CAN5 DIDATES FROM ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS

6 FROM AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES OF OTHER

7 CANDIDATES.

8 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

9 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by section 3(a), is

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section:

12 ‘‘(j)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the au13 thorized committee of a candidate for election for Federal

14 office may not accept any contribution from an authorized

15 committee of another candidate for election for Federal

16 office.

17 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the transfer of

18 funds between an authorized committee of a candidate for

19 election for Federal office and an authorized committee

20 of the same candidate for election for another Federal of21 fice.’’.

22 SEC. 11. REQUIRING FEC TO MAKE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE

23 FOR ELECTRONIC FILING.

24 Section 311(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (9);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(11) through competitive bidding, obtain and

8 provide for computer software required to carry out

9 the electronic filing of designations, statements, and

10 reports under this Act.’’.

11 SEC. 12. REQUIRING BROADCASTERS TO PROVIDE FREE

12 RESPONSE TIME TO CANDIDATES SUBJECT

13 TO SOFT MONEY ADVERTISEMENTS.

14 Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

15 U.S.C. 317) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘radio station’’ each place it ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘broadcast station’’; and

18 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the

19 following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(3)(A) A broadcast station may not accept for

21 broadcast any soft money advertisement which contains

22 the image, name, or likeness of a candidate for election

23 for Federal office unless the station agrees to broadcast

24 without charge—
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1 ‘‘(i) if the soft money advertisement referred to

2 or presented the candidate in a critical or negative

3 manner, an advertisement provided by an authorized

4 committee of such candidate, under conditions (such

5 as the time of broadcast) similar to those under

6 which the soft money advertisement was broadcast;

7 or

8 ‘‘(ii) if the soft money advertisement referred to

9 or presented the candidate in a positive manner, an

10 advertisement provided by an authorized committee

11 of the candidate’s opponent in the election, under

12 conditions (such as the time of broadcast) similar to

13 those under which the soft money advertisement was

14 broadcast.

15 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘soft money adver16 tisement’ means an advertisement whose costs are fi17 nanced (in whole or in part) with funds which are not sub18 ject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require19 ments of title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act

20 of 1971, but does not include any advertisement whose

21 costs are entirely financed by an authorized committee of

22 a candidate for election for Federal office.

23 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph, the terms ‘authorized com24 mittee’, ‘candidate’, ‘election’, and ‘Federal office’ have
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1 the meaning given such terms in section 301 of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431).’’.

3 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made

5 by this Act shall apply with respect to elections and trans6 actions occurring after December 31, 2000.

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