Union Calendar No. 212

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3

[Report No. 103–375, Part I]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of

campaigns, and for other purposes.ing limits and benefits for congressional election1971 to provide for a voluntary system of spendNOVEMBER 19, 1993

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the

Union, and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 212

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3

[Report No. 103–375, Part I]

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for a

voluntary system of spending limits and benefits for congressional election campaigns, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. GEJDENSON (for himself, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. DERRICK,

Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. HOYER, Mr. FAZIO, Mr.

ROSE, Mr. KLECZKA, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. SWIFT, Mr. SYNAR, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MAZZOLI, Mr. STARK, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. DIXON, Mr. STUDDS,

Mr. HOAGLAND, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. VENTO, Mr.

ANDREWS of Maine, Mr. OLVER, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

NOVEMBER 17, 1993

Reported with an amendment and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

for a period ending not later than November 19, 1993 for consideration

of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(l), rule X.

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

NOVEMBER 19, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. PENNY, Mr. HALL

of Ohio, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. COYNE, Mr. YATES, Mr. SKAGGS, Mr.

FORD of Michigan, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr.

HASTINGS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FARR, Mr. REED, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr.

JOHNSTON of Florida, and Mr. OBEY

NOVEMBER 19, 1993

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
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[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 5, 1993]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

provide for a voluntary system of spending limits and

benefits for congressional election campaigns, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘House of Representatives Campaign Spending Limit and

6 Election Reform Act of 1993’’.

7 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CONTROL OF CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN SPENDING

Subtitle A—[Reserved]

Subtitle B—Expenditure Limitations, Contribution Limitations, and Voter

Communication Vouchers for Eligible House of Representatives Candidates

Sec. 121. Provisions applicable to eligible House of Representatives candidates.

Sec. 122. Registration as eligible House of Representatives candidate.

Sec. 123. Definitions.

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON POLITICAL COMMITTEE AND LARGE

DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS THAT MAY BE ACCEPTED BY HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES

Sec. 201. Limitations on political committee and large donor contributions that

may be accepted by House of Representatives candidates.

TITLE III—INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Sec. 301. Clarification of definitions relating to independent expenditures.

Sec. 302. Reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures.

Sec. 303. Broadcast and cable independent expenditure communications against

eligible House of Representatives candidates.
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TITLE IV—CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL

PARTY COMMITTEES

Sec. 401. Definitions.

Sec. 402. Contributions to political party committees.

Sec. 403. Provisions relating to national, State, and local party committees.

Sec. 404. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 405. Restrictions on fundraising by candidates and officeholders.

Sec. 406. Increase in authorized political committee contributions to congressional campaign committees.

Sec. 407. Increase in the amount that multicandidate political committees may

contribute to national political party committees.

Sec. 408. Merchandising and affinity cards.

Sec. 409. Increased limitation amount for certain contributions to political committees of State political parties.

TITLE V—CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 501. Restrictions on bundling.

Sec. 502. Contributions by dependents not of voting age.

Sec. 503. Prohibition of acceptance by a candidate of cash contributions from any

one person aggregating more than $100.

Sec. 504. Contributions to candidates from State and local committees of political

parties to be aggregated.

Sec. 505. Prohibition of false representation to solicit contributions.

Sec. 506. Limited exclusion of advances by campaign workers from the definition

of the term ‘‘contribution’’.

Sec. 507. Amendment to section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

1971.

Sec. 508. Prohibition of certain election-related activities of foreign nationals.

TITLE VI—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 601. Change in certain reporting from a calendar year basis to an election

cycle basis.

Sec. 602. Personal and consulting services.

Sec. 603. Reduction in threshold for reporting of certain information by persons

other than political committees.

Sec. 604. Computerized indices of contributions.

Sec. 605. Identification.

Sec. 606. Political committees.

Sec. 607. Use of candidates’ names.

Sec. 608. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 609. Simultaneous registration of candidate and candidate’s principal campaign committee.

Sec. 610. Disclosures by organizations that engage in lobbying.

TITLE VII—FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Sec. 701. Appearance as amici curiae.

Sec. 702. Federal Election Commission public service announcements.

Sec. 703. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 704. Expedited procedures.

Sec. 705. Insolvent political committees.
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TITLE VIII—BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMITTEES

Sec. 801. Definitions relating to ballot initiatives.

Sec. 802. Amendment to definition of contribution.

Sec. 803. Amendment to definition of expenditure.

Sec. 804. Organization of ballot initiative committees.

Sec. 805. Registration of ballot initiative committees.

Sec. 806. Reporting by ballot initiative committees.

Sec. 807. Enforcement for ballot initiative committees.

Sec. 808. Prohibition on contributions and expenditures by ballot initiative committees.

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 901. Broadcast rates and preemption.

Sec. 902. Campaign advertising amendments.

Sec. 903. Telephone voting by persons with disabilities.

Sec. 904. Transfer of presidential election financing provisions to Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

TITLE X—HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAMPAIGN ELECTION

FUNDING AND RELATED MATTERS

Sec. 1001. Make Democracy Work Election Fund.

TITLE XI—EFFECTIVE DATES; SEVERABILITY

Sec. 1101. Effective date.

Sec. 1102. Severability.

Sec. 1103. Expedited review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 1104. Regulations.

Sec. 1105. Budget neutrality.
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1 TITLE I—CONTROL OF CONGRES2 SIONAL CAMPAIGN SPENDING

3 Subtitle A—[Reserved]

4 Subtitle B—Expenditure Limita5 tions, Contribution Limitations,

6 and Voter Communication

7 Vouchers for Eligible House of

8 Representatives Candidates

9 SEC. 121. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ELIGIBLE HOUSE OF

10 REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Campaign

12 Act of 1971 is amended by adding at the end the following

13 new title:

14 ‘‘TITLE VI—EXPENDITURE LIMI15 TATIONS, CONTRIBUTION

16 LIMITATIONS, AND VOTER

17 COMMUNICATION VOUCHERS

18 FOR ELIGIBLE HOUSE OF

19 REPRESENTATIVES CAN20 DIDATES

21 ‘‘SEC. 601. EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible House of Representa23 tives candidate may not, in an election cycle, make expendi24 tures aggregating more than $600,000.
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1 ‘‘(b) RUNOFF ELECTION AND SPECIAL ELECTION

2 AMOUNTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) RUNOFF ELECTION AMOUNT.—If an eligible

4 House of Representatives candidate is a candidate in

5 a runoff election, the candidate may make additional

6 expenditures aggregating not more than $200,000 in

7 the election cycle.

8 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL ELECTION AMOUNT.—An eligible

9 House of Representatives candidate who is a can10 didate in a special election may make expenditures

11 aggregating not more than $600,000 with respect to

12 the special election.

13 ‘‘(c) CLOSELY CONTESTED PRIMARY.—If, as deter14 mined by the Commission, an eligible House of Representa15 tives candidate in a contested primary election wins that

16 primary election by a margin of 20 percentage points or

17 less, the candidate may make additional expenditures ag18 gregating not more than $200,000 in the election cycle.

19 ‘‘(d) NONPARTICIPATING OPPONENT PROVISIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION EXCEPTION.—The limitations

21 imposed by subsections (a) and (b) do not apply in

22 the case of an eligible House of Representatives can23 didate if any other general election candidate seeking

24 nomination or election to that office—
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1 ‘‘(A) is not an eligible House of Representa2 tives candidate; and

3 ‘‘(B) receives contributions or makes ex4 penditures in excess of 25 percent of the limita5 tion under subsection (a).

6 ‘‘(2) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY AND ADDITIONAL

7 MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible House of Representa8 tives candidate referred to in paragraph (1)—

9 ‘‘(A) shall continue to be eligible for all ben10 efits under this title; and

11 ‘‘(B) shall receive voter communication

12 vouchers under section 604.

13 ‘‘(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A candidate

14 for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resi15 dent Commissioner to, the Congress—

16 ‘‘(A) who is not an eligible House of Rep17 resentatives candidate; and

18 ‘‘(B) who makes contributions in excess of

19 $50,000 of personal funds of the candidate and

20 members of the candidate’s immediate family to

21 the authorized committee of the candidate or re22 ceives contributions or makes expenditures in ex23 cess of 25 percent of the limitation under sub24 section (a);
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1 shall report that the threshold has been reached to the

2 Clerk of the House of Representatives not later than

3 48 hours after reaching the threshold. The Clerk shall

4 transmit a report received under this paragraph to

5 the Commission as soon as possible (but no later than

6 4 working hours of the Commission) after such re7 ceipt, and the Commission shall transmit a copy to

8 each other candidate for election to the same office

9 within 48 hours of receipt.

10 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION FOR LEGAL COSTS AND TAXES.—Any

11 costs incurred by an eligible House of Representatives can12 didate or his or her authorized committee, or a Federal of13 ficeholder, for legal services or Federal, State, or local in14 come and payroll taxes with respect to a candidate’s author15 ized committees, or to comply with section 606, shall not

16 be considered in the computation of amounts subject to limi17 tation under this section.

18 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FOR ACCOUNTING OR FUNDRAISING

19 COSTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) Any costs incurred by an eligible House of

21 Representatives candidate or his or her authorized

22 committee in connection with the solicitation of con23 tributions on behalf of such candidate or for account24 ing services to ensure compliance with this Act shall

25 not be considered in the computation of amounts sub-
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1 ject to limitation under subsection (a) to the extent

2 that the aggregate of such costs does not exceed 10

3 percent of the limitation under subsection (a).

4 ‘‘(2) An amount equal to 10 percent of salaries

5 and overhead expenditures of an eligible House of

6 Representatives candidate’s campaign headquarters

7 and offices shall not be considered in the computation

8 of amounts subject to limitation under this section.

9 Any amount excluded under this paragraph shall be

10 applied against the accounting or fundraising ex11 penditure exemption under paragraph (1).

12 ‘‘(g) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) LOW AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDITURES.—

14 Any eligible House of Representatives candidate who

15 makes expenditures that exceed a limitation under

16 subsection (a) or subsection (b) by 2.5 percent or less

17 shall pay to the Commission an amount equal to the

18 amount of the excess expenditures.

19 ‘‘(2) MEDIUM AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI20 TURES.—Any eligible House of Representatives can21 didate who makes expenditures that exceed a limita22 tion under subsection (a) or subsection (b) by more

23 than 2.5 percent and less than 5 percent shall pay to

24 the Commission an amount equal to three times the

25 amount of the excess expenditures.
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1 ‘‘(3) LARGE AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI2 TURES.—Any eligible House of Representatives can3 didate who makes expenditures that exceed a limita4 tion under subsection (a) or subsection (b) by 5 per5 cent or more shall pay to the Commission an amount

6 equal to three times the amount of the excess expendi7 tures plus a civil penalty in an amount determined

8 by the Commission.

9 ‘‘(h) INDEXING.—The dollar amounts specified in sub10 sections (a), (b), and (c) shall be adjusted at the beginning

11 of each calendar year based on the increase in the price

12 index determined under section 315(c), except that, for the

13 purposes of such adjustment, the base period shall be cal14 endar year 1992.

15 ‘‘(i) The limitations of this section do not apply in

16 the case of any recall action held pursuant to State law.

17 ‘‘SEC. 602. CONTRIBUTION LIMITATIONS.

18 ‘‘(a) PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—An eligible House

19 of Representatives candidate may not, with respect to an

20 election cycle, make contributions or loans to his or her own

21 campaign totaling more than $50,000 from the personal

22 funds of the candidate. The amount that the candidate may

23 accept from persons referred to in section 315(i)(2) shall

24 be reduced by the amount of contributions made under the
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1 preceding sentence. Contributions from the personal funds

2 of a candidate may not be matched under section 604.

3 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION EXCEPTION.—The limitation im4 posed by subsection (a) does not apply in the case of an

5 eligible House of Representatives candidate if any other

6 candidate for that office—

7 ‘‘(1) is not an eligible House of Representatives

8 general election candidate; and

9 ‘‘(2) makes contributions or loans to his or her

10 own campaign totaling more than $50,000 from his

11 or her own personal funds.

12 ‘‘SEC. 603. DECLARATION OF PARTICIPATION; CONTINUING

13 ELIGIBILITY.

14 ‘‘The Commission shall determine whether a candidate

15 is eligible under this title and, by reason of such eligibility

16 may receive benefits under this title. Such determination

17 shall—

18 ‘‘(1) in the case of an initial determination, be

19 based on a declaration of participation submitted by

20 the candidate; and

21 ‘‘(2) in the case of a determination of continuing

22 eligibility, be based on relevant additional informa23 tion submitted in such form and manner as the Com24 mission may require.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 604. VOTER COMMUNICATION VOUCHERS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible House of Representa3 tives candidate shall be entitled to receive, with respect to

4 the general election, an amount of voter communication

5 vouchers equal to the amount of contributions from individ6 uals received by the candidate, but not more than $200,000,

7 with not more than $200 to be taken into account per indi8 vidual.

9 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—A candidate for the

10 office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis11 sioner to, the Congress may receive voter communication

12 vouchers under subsection (a) only if the candidate—

13 ‘‘(1) in an election cycle, has received 10 percent

14 of the limit specified in section 601(a) in contribu15 tions from individuals, with not more than $200 to

16 be taken into account per individual;

17 ‘‘(2) qualifies for the general election ballot;

18 ‘‘(3) has an opponent on the general election bal19 lot; and

20 ‘‘(4) files a declaration of participation in which

21 the candidate agrees to—

22 ‘‘(A) comply with the limitations under sec23 tions 601 and 315(i);

24 ‘‘(B) cooperate in the case of any audit by

25 the Commission by furnishing such campaign
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1 records and other information as the Commis2 sion may require; and

3 ‘‘(C) comply with any repayment require4 ment under section 606.

5 ‘‘(c) WRITTEN INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENT.—No con6 tribution in any form other than a gift of money made by

7 a written instrument or a certification by the committee

8 making the request that identifies the individual making

9 the contribution by full name and address may be used as

10 a basis for any matching payment under this section.

11 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION AND PAYMENT.—

12 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—Except as provided in

13 paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) not later than 5 days

14 after receiving a request for payment, the Commission

15 shall certify for payment the amount requested under

16 this section. The request by an eligible candidate to

17 receive voter communications vouchers under this sec18 tion shall contain—

19 ‘‘(A) such information and be made in ac20 cordance with such procedures as the Commis21 sion may provide by regulation; and

22 ‘‘(B) a verification signed by the candidate

23 and the treasurer of the principal campaign

24 committee of such candidate stating that the in25 formation furnished in support of the request, to
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1 the best of their knowledge, is correct and fully

2 satisfies the requirements of this title.

3 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS.—The initial payment of voter

4 communication vouchers under subsection (a) to an

5 eligible candidate shall be an amount equal to at least

6 10 percent of the limit specified in section 601(a). All

7 payments shall be—

8 ‘‘(A) made not later than 48 hours after cer9 tification under paragraph (1); and

10 ‘‘(B) subject to proportional reduction in

11 the case of insufficient funds.

12 ‘‘(3) PARTIAL CERTIFICATION.—If the Commis13 sion determines that any portion of a request does not

14 meet the requirements for certification, the Commis15 sion shall withhold the certification for that portion

16 only and inform the candidate as to how the can17 didate may correct the request.

18 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION WITHHELD.—The Commis19 sion may withhold certification if it determines that

20 a candidate who is otherwise eligible has engaged in

21 a pattern of activity indicating that the promises in

22 the candidate’s statement of participation cannot be

23 relied upon.

24 ‘‘(e) CLOSELY CONTESTED PRIMARY.—If, as deter25 mined by the Commission, an eligible House of Representa-
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1 tives candidate in a contested primary election wins that

2 primary election by a margin of 20 percentage points or

3 less, the candidate shall be eligible to receive matching

4 vouchers totaling not more than $66,600, in addition to any

5 other amount received under this section. The amount

6 available under the preceding sentence is subject to the

7 matching requirements of this section.

8 ‘‘(f) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE PROVISION.—If,

9 with respect to a general election involving an eligible

10 House of Representatives candidate, independent expendi11 tures totaling $10,000 are made against the eligible House

12 of Representatives candidate or in favor of another can13 didate, the eligible House of Representatives candidate shall

14 be entitled, in addition to any amount received under sub15 section (a), to voter communication vouchers equal to the

16 amount of such independent expenditures, and expenditures

17 may be made from such vouchers without regard to the limi18 tations in section 601.

19 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION OF CONVERSION TO PERSONAL

20 USE.—An eligible candidate who receives voter communica21 tion vouchers under this section may not convert any

22 amount to personal use or make any payments, directly or

23 indirectly, to such candidate or to any members of the im24 mediate family of the candidate.
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1 ‘‘(h) INDEXING.—The dollar amount specified in sub2 sections (a) and (e) (other than the amount taken into ac3 count per individual) shall be adjusted at the beginning of

4 the calendar year based on the increase in the price index

5 determined under section 315(c), except that, for the pur6 poses of such adjustment, the base period shall be calendar

7 year 1992.

8 ‘‘(i) USE OF VOTER COMMUNICATION VOUCHERS.—

9 Voter communication vouchers shall be used by an eligible

10 House of Representatives candidate—

11 ‘‘(1) to purchase broadcast time during the gen12 eral election period in the same manner as other

13 broadcast time may be purchased by the candidate;

14 ‘‘(2) to purchase print advertisements during the

15 general election period;

16 ‘‘(3) to purchase voter contact campaign mate17 rials (brochures, bumper stickers, handbills, pins,

18 posters, and yard signs) used during the general elec19 tion period; or

20 ‘‘(4) to pay for postage expenses incurred during

21 the general election period.

22 ‘‘(j) UNEXPENDED VOUCHERS.—Any amount of voter

23 communication vouchers received by an eligible House can24 didate under this title and not expended on or before the

25 date of the general election shall be repaid within 60 days
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1 of the election, except that a reasonable amount may be re2 tained for a period not exceeding 120 days after the date

3 of the general election for the liquidation of obligations to

4 pay expenditures for the general election incurred during

5 the general election period. At the end of the 120-day period,

6 any unexpended vouchers received under this title shall be

7 promptly repaid.

8 ‘‘SEC. 605. CLOSED CAPTIONING REQUIREMENT FOR TELE9 VISION COMMERCIALS OF ELIGIBLE HOUSE

10 OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.

11 ‘‘No eligible House of Representatives candidate may

12 receive amounts under section 604 unless such candidate

13 has certified to the Federal Election Commission that any

14 television commercial prepared or distributed by the can15 didate will be prepared in a manner that contains, is ac16 companied by, or otherwise readily permits closed caption17 ing of the oral content of the commercial to be broadcast

18 by way of line 21 of the vertical blanking interval, or by

19 way of comparable successor technologies.

20 ‘‘SEC. 606. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS; REPAYMENTS.

21 ‘‘(a) GENERAL ELECTION.—After each general elec22 tion, the Commission shall conduct an examination and

23 audit of the campaign accounts of 5 percent of the eligible

24 House of Representatives candidates, as designated by the

25 Commission through the use of an appropriate statistical
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1 method of random selection, to determine whether such can2 didates have complied with the conditions of eligibility and

3 other requirements of this title. No other factors shall be

4 considered in carrying out such an examination and audit.

5 The Commission shall conduct an examination and audit

6 of the accounts of all candidates from a congressional dis7 trict where any eligible candidate is selected for examina8 tion and audit.

9 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL ELECTION.—After each special election,

10 the Commission shall conduct an examination and audit

11 of the campaign accounts of all eligible candidates in the

12 election to determine whether the candidates have complied

13 with the conditions of eligibility and other requirements of

14 this title.

15 ‘‘(c) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE.—The Commission may con16 duct an examination and audit of the campaign accounts

17 of any eligible House of Representatives candidate in a gen18 eral election if the Commission, by an affirmative vote of

19 4 members, determines that there exists reason to believe

20 whether such candidate may have violated any provision

21 of this title.

22 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.—If the Commission determines that

23 any amount of a payment to a candidate under this title

24 was in excess of the aggregate payments to which such can25 didate was entitled, the Commission shall so notify the can-
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1 didate, and the candidate shall pay an amount equal to

2 the excess.

3 ‘‘SEC. 607. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

4 ‘‘(a) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any agency action by the

5 Commission made under the provisions of this title shall

6 be subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals

7 for the District of Columbia Circuit upon petition filed in

8 such court within 30 days after the agency action by the

9 Commission for which review is sought. It shall be the duty

10 of the Court of Appeals, ahead of all matters not filed under

11 this title, to advance on the docket and expeditiously take

12 action on all petitions filed pursuant to this title.

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF TITLE 5.—The provisions of

14 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to judi15 cial review of any agency action by the Commission.

16 ‘‘(c) AGENCY ACTION.—For purposes of this section,

17 the term ‘agency action’ has the meaning given such term

18 by section 551(13) of title 5, United States Code.

19 ‘‘SEC. 608. PARTICIPATION BY COMMISSION IN JUDICIAL

20 PROCEEDINGS.

21 ‘‘(a) APPEARANCES.—The Commission is authorized

22 to appear in and defend against any action instituted

23 under this section and under section 607 either by attorneys

24 employed in its office or by counsel whom it may appoint

25 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States
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1 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

2 and whose compensation it may fix without regard to the

3 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

4 of such title.

5 ‘‘(b) INSTITUTION OF ACTIONS.—The Commission is

6 authorized, through attorneys and counsel described in sub7 section (a), to institute actions in the district courts of the

8 United States to seek recovery of any amounts determined

9 under this title to be payable to the Secretary.

10 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Commission is author11 ized, through attorneys and counsel described in subsection

12 (a), to petition the courts of the United States for such in13 junctive relief as is appropriate in order to implement any

14 provision of this title.

15 ‘‘(d) APPEALS.—The Commission is authorized on be16 half of the United States to appeal from, and to petition

17 the Supreme Court for certiorari to review, judgments or

18 decrees entered with respect to actions in which it appears

19 pursuant to the authority provided in this section.

20 ‘‘SEC. 609. REPORTS TO CONGRESS; CERTIFICATIONS; REG21 ULATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—The Commission shall, as soon as

23 practicable after each election, submit a full report to the

24 House of Representatives setting forth—
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1 ‘‘(1) the expenditures (shown in such detail as

2 the Commission determines appropriate) made by

3 each eligible candidate and the authorized committees

4 of such candidate;

5 ‘‘(2) the aggregate amount of voter communica6 tion vouchers certified by the Commission under sec7 tion 604 for each eligible candidate; and

8 ‘‘(3) the amount of repayments, if any, required

9 under section 606, and the reasons for each repay10 ment required.

11 Each report submitted pursuant to this section shall be

12 printed as a House document.

13 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS BY COMMISSION.—All deter14 minations (including certifications under section 604)

15 made by the Commission under this title shall be final and

16 conclusive, except to the extent that they are subject to ex17 amination and audit by the Commission under section 606

18 or judicial review under section 607.

19 ‘‘(c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission is

20 authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations, in ac21 cordance with the provisions of subsection (d), to conduct

22 such audits, examinations and investigations, and to re23 quire the keeping and submission of such books, records, and

24 information, as it deems necessary to carry out the func25 tions and duties imposed on it by this title.
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1 ‘‘(d) REPORT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—The

2 Commission shall submit to the House of Representatives

3 a report containing a detailed explanation and justification

4 of each rule, regulation, and form of the Commission under

5 this title. No such rule, regulation, or form may take effect

6 until a period of 30 legislative days has elapsed after the

7 report is received. As used in this subsection—

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘legislative day’ means any cal9 endar day on which the House of Representatives is

10 in session; and

11 ‘‘(2) the terms ‘rule’ and ‘regulation’ mean a

12 provision or series of interrelated provisions stating a

13 single, separable rule of law.’’.

14 (b) REPORT ON USING VOTER COMMUNICATION

15 VOUCHERS FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS.—The Commission

16 shall submit to the House of Representatives, not later than

17 January 1, 1997, a report containing an evaluation for ex18 panding the use of voter communication vouchers in pri19 mary elections for eligible candidates to the House of Rep20 resentatives for the election year 2000 and thereafter. The

21 report shall include a detailed cost estimate for such expan22 sion and options for financing the use of Voter Communica23 tion Vouchers in primary elections.
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1 SEC. 122. REGISTRATION AS ELIGIBLE HOUSE OF REP2 RESENTATIVES CANDIDATE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(e) of the Federal Elec4 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended

5 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(6)(A) In the case of a candidate for the office of Rep7 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the

8 Congress, who desires to be an eligible House of Representa9 tives candidate, a declaration of participation of the can10 didate to abide by the limits specified in sections 601 and

11 315(i) and provide the information required under section

12 604(b)(4) shall be included in the designation required to

13 be filed under paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(B)(i) In the case of a candidate referred to in sub15 paragraph (A), if the statement of candidacy does not in16 clude a declaration referred to in that paragraph, the can17 didate may amend the statement to include such declara18 tion, if such amendment is filed under subsection (g) not

19 later than 7 days after the earlier of—

20 ‘‘(I) the date the candidate qualifies for the gen21 eral election ballot under State law; or

22 ‘‘(II) if, under State law, a primary or runoff

23 election to qualify for the general election ballot oc24 curs after September 1, the date the candidate wins

25 the primary or runoff election.
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1 ‘‘(ii) A declaration of participation that is included

2 in a statement of candidacy or has been added by amend3 ment under subparagraph (B) may not thereafter be re4 voked.’’.

5 SEC. 123. DEFINITIONS.

6 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

7 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph (19)

8 and inserting the following new paragraphs:

9 ‘‘(19) The term ‘general election’ means any election

10 which will directly result in the election of a person to a

11 Federal office, but does not include an open primary elec12 tion.

13 ‘‘(20) The term ‘general election period’ means, with

14 respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day

15 after the date of the primary or runoff election for the spe16 cific office the candidate is seeking, whichever is later, and

17 ending on the earlier of—

18 ‘‘(A) the date of such general election; or

19 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate withdraws

20 from the campaign or otherwise ceases actively to seek

21 election.

22 ‘‘(21) The term ‘immediate family’ means—

23 ‘‘(A) a candidate’s spouse;
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1 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grandparent,

2 brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister of the can3 didate or the candidate’s spouse; and

4 ‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in sub5 paragraph (B).

6 ‘‘(22) The term ‘primary election’ means an election

7 which may result in the selection of a candidate for the

8 ballot in a general election for a Federal office.

9 ‘‘(23) The term ‘primary election period’ means, with

10 respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day

11 following the date of the last election for the specific office

12 the candidate is seeking and ending on the earlier of—

13 ‘‘(A) the date of the first primary election for

14 that office following the last general election for that

15 office; or

16 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate withdraws

17 from the election or otherwise ceases actively to seek

18 election.

19 ‘‘(24) The term ‘runoff election’ means an election held

20 after a primary election which is prescribed by applicable

21 State law as the means for deciding which candidate will

22 be on the ballot in the general election for a Federal office.

23 ‘‘(25) The term ‘runoff election period’ means, with re24 spect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day

25 following the date of the last primary election for the spe-
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1 cific office such candidate is seeking and ending on the date

2 of the runoff election for such office.

3 ‘‘(26) The term ‘voting age population’ means the resi4 dent population, 18 years of age or older, as certified pursu5 ant to section 315(e).

6 ‘‘(27) The term ‘eligible House of Representatives can7 didate’ means a candidate for election to the office of Rep8 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the

9 Congress, who, as determined by the Commission under sec10 tion 603, is eligible to receive matching vouchers and other

11 benefits under title VI by reason of filing a declaration of

12 participation under section 302(e) and complying with the

13 continuing eligibility requirements under section 603.

14 ‘‘(28) The term ‘election cycle’ means—

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the authorized

16 committees of a candidate, the term beginning on the

17 day after the date of the most recent general election

18 for the specific office or seat which such candidate

19 seeks and ending on the date of the next general elec20 tion for such office or seat; or

21 ‘‘(B) for all other persons, the term beginning on

22 the first day following the date of the last general elec23 tion and ending on the date of the next general elec24 tion.’’.
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1 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON PO2 LITICAL COMMITTEE AND

3 LARGE DONOR CONTRIBU4 TIONS THAT MAY BE ACCEPT5 ED BY HOUSE OF REPRESENT6 ATIVES CANDIDATES

7 SEC. 201. LIMITATIONS ON POLITICAL COMMITTEE AND

8 LARGE DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS THAT MAY

9 BE ACCEPTED BY HOUSE OF REPRESENTA10 TIVES CANDIDATES.

11 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

12 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end the

13 following new subsections:

14 ‘‘(i)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative in,

15 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may

16 not, with respect to an election cycle, accept contributions

17 from political committees aggregating in excess of $200,000.

18 ‘‘(2) A candidate for the office of Representative in,

19 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may

20 not, with respect to an election cycle, accept contributions

21 aggregating in excess of $200,000 from persons other than

22 political committees whose contributions total more than

23 $200.

24 ‘‘(3) In addition to the contributions under para25 graphs (1) and (2), if an eligible House of Representatives
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1 candidate in a contested primary election wins that pri2 mary election by a margin of 20 percentage points or less,

3 the candidate may accept contributions of—

4 ‘‘(A) not more than $66,600 from political com5 mittees; and

6 ‘‘(B) not more than $66,600 from persons re7 ferred to in paragraph (2).

8 ‘‘(4) In addition to the contributions under para9 graphs (1) and (2), a House of Representatives candidate

10 who is a candidate in a runoff election may accept con11 tributions of (A) not more than $100,000 from political

12 committees; and (B) not more than $100,000 from persons

13 referred to in paragraph (2).

14 ‘‘(j) NONPARTICIPATING OPPONENT PROVISIONS.—The

15 limitations imposed by section 315(i) do not apply in the

16 case of an eligible House of Representatives candidate if

17 any other candidate seeking nomination or election to that

18 office—

19 ‘‘(1) is not an eligible House of Representatives

20 general election candidate; and

21 ‘‘(2) makes contributions or loans to his or her

22 own campaign totaling more than $50,000 from his

23 or her own personal funds.

24 ‘‘(k) CIVIL PENALTIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) LOW AMOUNT OF EXCESS CONTRIBU2 TIONS.—Any eligible House of Representatives can3 didate who accepts contributions that exceed the limi4 tations under this section by 2.5 percent or less shall

5 refund the excess contributions to the persons who

6 made the contributions.

7 ‘‘(2) MEDIUM AMOUNT OF EXCESS CONTRIBU8 TIONS.—Any eligible House of Representatives can9 didate who accepts contributions that exceed the limi10 tations under this section by more than 2.5 percent

11 and less than 5 percent shall pay to the Commission

12 an amount equal to three times the amount of the ex13 cess contributions.

14 ‘‘(3) LARGE AMOUNT OF EXCESS CONTRIBU15 TIONS.—Any eligible House of Representatives can16 didate who accepts contributions that exceed the limi17 tations under this section by 5 percent or more shall

18 pay to the Commission an amount equal to three

19 times the amount of the excess contributions plus a

20 civil penalty in an amount determined by the Com21 mission.

22 ‘‘(l) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN COSTS.—Any

23 amount—

24 ‘‘(1) accepted by a House of Representatives can25 didate; and
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1 ‘‘(2) used for costs incurred under section 601(e)

2 and (f) shall not be considered in the computation of

3 amounts subject to limitation.

4 ‘‘(m) INDEXING.—The dollar amounts specified in sec5 tion 315(i) shall be adjusted at the beginning of the cal6 endar year based on the increase in the price index deter7 mined under section 315(c), except that, for the purposes

8 of such adjustment, the base period shall be calendar year

9 1992.

10 ‘‘(n) TRANSFER PROVISION.—The limitations imposed

11 by section 315(i) apply without regard to amounts trans12 ferred from previous election cycles or other authorized com13 mittees of the same candidate. Candidates shall not be re14 quired to seek the redesignation of contributions in order

15 to transfer such contributions to a later election cycle.’’.

16 TITLE III—INDEPENDENT

17 EXPENDITURES

18 SEC. 301. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS RELATING TO

19 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

20 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE DEFINITION AMEND21 MENT.—Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

22 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraphs

23 (17) and (18) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(17)(A) The term ‘independent expenditure’ means

2 an expenditure for an advertisement or other communica3 tion that—

4 ‘‘(i) contains express advocacy; and

5 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation or co6 operation of, or consultation with, a candidate or a

7 candidate’s representative.

8 ‘‘(B) The following shall not be considered an inde9 pendent expenditure:

10 ‘‘(i) An expenditure made by an authorized com11 mittee of a candidate for Federal office or a political

12 committee of a political party.

13 ‘‘(ii) An expenditure made by a person who,

14 during the election cycle, has made a contribution to

15 a candidate, where the expenditure is in support of

16 that candidate or in opposition to another candidate

17 for the same office.

18 ‘‘(iii) An expenditure made by a person, or a po19 litical committee established, maintained or controlled

20 by such person, who is required to register, under sec21 tion 308 of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act

22 (2 U.S.C. 267) or the Foreign Agents Registration Act

23 (22 U.S.C. 611) or any successor Federal law requir24 ing a person who is a lobbyist or foreign agent to reg25 ister.
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1 ‘‘(iv) An expenditure made by a person who,

2 during the election cycle, has communicated with or

3 received information from a candidate or a represent4 ative of that candidate regarding activities that have

5 the purpose of influencing that candidate’s election to

6 Federal office, where the expenditure is in support of

7 that candidate or in opposition to another candidate

8 for that office.

9 ‘‘(v) An expenditure if, in the same election

10 cycle, the person making the expenditure is or has

11 been—

12 ‘‘(I) authorized to raise or expend funds on

13 behalf of the candidate or the candidate’s author14 ized committees; or

15 ‘‘(II) serving as a member, employee, or

16 agent of the candidate’s authorized committees in

17 an executive or policymaking position.

18 ‘‘(18) The term ‘express advocacy’ means, when a com19 munication is taken as a whole and with limited reference

20 to external events, an expression of support for or opposi21 tion to a specific candidate, to a specific group of can22 didates, or to candidates of a particular political party, or

23 a suggestion to take action with respect to an election, such

24 as to vote for or against, make contributions to, or partici25 pate in campaign activity.’’.
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1 (b) CONTRIBUTION DEFINITION AMENDMENT.—Sec2 tion 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

3 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)) is amended—

4 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semi5 colon at the end;

6 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the

7 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

9 clause:

10 ‘‘(iii) any payment or other transaction referred

11 to in paragraph (17)(A)(i) that does not qualify as

12 an independent expenditure under paragraph

13 (17)(A)(ii).’’.

14 SEC. 302. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDE15 PENDENT EXPENDITURES.

16 Section 304(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

18 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking out the undes19 ignated matter after subparagraph (C);

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para21 graph (8); and

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as amended

23 by paragraph (1), the following new paragraphs:

24 ‘‘(3)(A) Any person (including a political committee)

25 making an independent expenditure (including those de-
34

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1 scribed in subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii) of this section) aggregat2 ing $1,000 or more made after the 20th day, but more than

3 24 hours, before any election shall file a report within 24

4 hours after such independent expenditure is made.

5 ‘‘(B) Any person (including a political committee)

6 making an independent expenditure aggregating $5,000 or

7 more made at any time up to and including the 20th day

8 before any election shall file a report within 48 hours after

9 such independent expenditure is made. An additional re10 port shall be filed each time independent expenditures ag11 gregating $5,000 are made with respect to the same election

12 as the initial report filed under this section.

13 ‘‘(C) Such report shall be filed with the Clerk of the

14 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, or

15 the Commission, whichever is applicable, and the Secretary

16 of State of the State involved and shall contain the informa17 tion required by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii) of this section, in18 cluding whether the independent expenditure is in support

19 of, or in opposition to, the candidate involved. The Clerk

20 of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the

21 Senate shall as soon as possible (but not later than 4 work22 ing hours of the Commission) after receipt of a report trans23 mit it to the Commission. Not later than 48 hours after

24 the Commission receives a report, the Commission shall
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1 transmit a copy of the report to each candidate seeking

2 nomination or election to that office.

3 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, the term ‘made’ in4 cludes any payment and any action taken to incur an obli5 gation for payment.

6 ‘‘(4)(A) If any person (including a political commit7 tee) intends to make independent expenditures totaling

8 $5,000 during the 20 days before an election, such person

9 shall file a report no later than the 20th day before the elec10 tion.

11 ‘‘(B) Such report shall be filed with the Clerk of the

12 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, or

13 the Commission, whichever is applicable, and the Secretary

14 of State of the State involved, and shall identify each can15 didate whom the expenditure is actually intended to sup16 port or to oppose. The Clerk of the House of Representatives

17 and the Secretary of the Senate shall as soon as possible

18 (but not later than 4 working hours of the Commission)

19 after receipt of a report transmit it to the Commission. Not

20 later than 48 hours after the Commission receives a report

21 under this paragraph, the Commission shall transmit a

22 copy of the statement to each candidate identified.

23 ‘‘(5) The Commission may make its own determina24 tion that a person has made, or has incurred obligations

25 to make, independent expenditures with respect to any Fed-
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1 eral election which in the aggregate exceed the applicable

2 amounts under paragraph (3) or (4). The Commission shall

3 notify each candidate in such election of such determination

4 within 24 hours of making it.

5 ‘‘(6) At the same time as an eligible candidate who

6 has qualified under section 604(b) is notified under para7 graph (3), (4), or (5) with respect to expenditures during

8 a general election period, the Commission shall certify eligi9 bility to receive benefits under section 604(b).

10 ‘‘(7) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the

11 Secretary of the Senate shall make any report received

12 under this subsection available for public inspection and

13 copying in the same manner as the Commission under sec14 tion 311(a)(4), and shall preserve such statements in the

15 same manner as the Commission under section 311(a)(5).’’.

16 SEC. 303. BROADCAST AND CABLE INDEPENDENT EXPENDI17 TURE COMMUNICATIONS AGAINST ELIGIBLE

18 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.

19 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

20 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

22 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and

23 (2) by inserting immediately before subsection

24 (e) as redesignated the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(d) If any person makes an independent expenditure

2 through a communication on a broadcasting station or a

3 cable system (as defined in section 602 of this Act) that

4 expressly advocates the defeat of an eligible House of Rep5 resentatives candidate, or the election of the opponent of an

6 eligible House of Representatives candidate (regardless of

7 whether such opponent is an eligible candidate), the licensee

8 or cable operator, as applicable, shall, not later than one

9 week after the communication (or not later than 24 hours

10 after the communication, if the communication occurs not

11 more than one week before the election) transmit to such

12 candidate—

13 ‘‘(1) a statement of the date and time of the com14 munication;

15 ‘‘(2) a script or tape recording of the commu16 nication, or an accurate summary of the communica17 tion if a script or tape recording is not available; and

18 ‘‘(3) an offer of an equal opportunity for such

19 candidate to use the broadcasting station or cable sys20 tem to respond to the communication at a charge de21 termined in accordance with subsection (b).’’.
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1 TITLE IV—CONTRIBUTIONS AND

2 EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL

3 PARTY COMMITTEES

4 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

5 (a) CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE EXCEP6 TIONS.—(1) Clause (xii) of section 301(8)(B) of Federal

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)(xii))

8 is amended—

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘in connection with volunteer

10 activities’’ after ‘‘such committee’’; and

11 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

12 (2), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause (3),

13 and by adding at the end the following new subclause:

14 ‘‘(4) such activities are conducted solely by,

15 and any materials are prepared for distribution,

16 and are distributed solely by, volunteers;’’.

17 (2) Clause (ix) of section 301(9)(B) of Federal Election

18 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)(ix)) is amend19 ed—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘in connection with volunteer

21 activities’’ after ‘‘such committee’’;

22 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

23 (2); and

24 (C) by adding at the end the following new

25 subclause:
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1 ‘‘(4) such activities are conducted solely by,

2 and any materials are prepared for distribution

3 and are distributed solely by, volunteers; and’’.

4 (b) GENERIC ACTIVITIES; STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS

5 FUND.—Section 301 of Federal Election Campaign Act of

6 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by section 123, is further

7 amended by adding at the end the following new para8 graphs:

9 ‘‘(29) The term ‘generic campaign activity’ means any

10 campaign activity conducted by a political party to pro11 mote a political party rather than any Federal or non-Fed12 eral candidate and which does not identify any Federal or

13 non-Federal candidate.

14 ‘‘(30) The term ‘State Party Grassroots Fund’ means

15 a separate segregated fund established and maintained by

16 a State committee of a political party solely for purposes

17 of making expenditures and other disbursements described

18 in section 323(d).’’.

19 SEC. 402. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT20 TEES.

21 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL PARTY

22 COMMITTEES.—Paragraph (1) of section 315(a) of Federal

23 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is

24 amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (B),

25 by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D),
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1 and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new

2 subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(C) to—

4 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab5 lished and maintained by a State committee of

6 a political party in any calendar year which, in

7 the aggregate, exceed $20,000;

8 ‘‘(ii) any other political committee estab9 lished and maintained by a State committee of

10 a political party in any calendar year which, in

11 the aggregate, exceed $5,000,

12 except that the aggregate contributions described in

13 this subparagraph which may be made by a person

14 to the State Party Grassroots Fund and all commit15 tees of a State Committee of a political party in any

16 State in any calendar year shall not exceed $20,000;

17 or’’.

18 (b) MULTICANDIDATE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO

19 STATE PARTY.—Paragraph (2) of section 315(a) of Federal

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

21 amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (B),

22 by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D),

23 and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new

24 subparagraph:

25 ‘‘(C) to—
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1 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab2 lished and maintained by a State committee of

3 a political party in any calendar year which, in

4 the aggregate, exceed $15,000;

5 ‘‘(ii) to any other political committee estab6 lished and maintained by a State committee of

7 a political party which, in the aggregate, exceed

8 $5,000,

9 except that the aggregate contributions described in

10 this subparagraph which may be made by a

11 multicandidate political committee to the State Party

12 Grassroots Fund and all committees of a State Com13 mittee of a political party in any State in any cal14 endar year shall not exceed $15,000; or’’.

15 (c) OVERALL LIMIT.—Paragraph (3) of section 315(a)

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

17 441a(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(3)(A) No individual shall make contributions during

19 any election cycle (as defined in section 301(29)(B)) which,

20 in the aggregate, exceed $60,000.

21 ‘‘(B) No individual shall make contributions during

22 any calendar year—

23 ‘‘(i) to all candidates and their authorized politi24 cal committees which, in the aggregate, exceed

25 $25,000; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) to all political committees established and

2 maintained by State committees of a political party

3 which, in the aggregate, exceed $20,000.

4 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (B)(i), any con5 tribution made to a candidate or the candidate’s authorized

6 political committees in a year other than the calendar year

7 in which the election is held with respect to which such con8 tribution is made shall be treated as made during the cal9 endar year in which the election is held.’’.

10 SEC. 403. PROVISIONS RELATING TO NATIONAL, STATE,

11 AND LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

12 (a) SOFT MONEY OF COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PAR13 TIES.—Title III of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

14 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding after section

15 322 the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 323. POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

17 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON NATIONAL COMMITTEE.—(1) A

18 national committee of a political party and the congres19 sional campaign committees of a political party may not

20 solicit or accept contributions or transfers not subject to the

21 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of

22 this Act.

23 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to contributions—

24 ‘‘(A) that—
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1 ‘‘(i) are to be transferred to a State commit2 tee of a political party and are used solely for

3 activities described in clauses (xi) through (xvii)

4 of paragraph (9)(B) of section 301;

5 ‘‘(ii) are described in section

6 301(8)(B)(viii); and

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to which contributors have

8 been notified that the funds will be used solely for the

9 purposes described in subparagraph (A).

10 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO THIS ACT.—Any

11 amount solicited, received, expended, or disbursed directly

12 or indirectly by a national, State, district, or local commit13 tee of a political party with respect to any of the following

14 activities shall be subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

15 and reporting requirements of this Act:

16 ‘‘(A) Any get-out-the-vote activity conducted dur17 ing a calendar year in which an election for the office

18 of President is held.

19 ‘‘(B) Any other get-out-the-vote activity unless

20 subsection (c)(2) applies to the activity.

21 ‘‘(C) Any generic campaign activity.

22 ‘‘(D) Any activity that identifies or promotes a

23 Federal candidate, regardless of whether—

24 ‘‘(i) a State or local candidate is also iden25 tified or promoted; or
44

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1 ‘‘(ii) any portion of the funds disbursed

2 constitutes a contribution or expenditure under

3 this Act.

4 ‘‘(E) Voter registration.

5 ‘‘(F) Development and maintenance of voter files

6 during an even-numbered calendar year.

7 ‘‘(G) Any other activity that—

8 ‘‘(i) significantly affects a Federal election,

9 or

10 ‘‘(ii) is not otherwise described in section

11 301(8)(B)(xvii).

12 Any amount spent to raise funds that are used, in whole

13 or in part, in connection with activities described in the

14 preceding paragraphs shall be subject to the limitations,

15 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.

16 ‘‘(c) GET-OUT-THE-VOTE ACTIVITIES BY STATE, DIS17 TRICT, AND LOCAL COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PARTIES.—

18 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any get-out-the19 vote activity for a State or local candidate, or for a ballot

20 measure, which is conducted by a State, district, or local

21 committee of a political party shall be subject to the limita22 tions, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.

23 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any activity

24 which the State committee of a political party certifies to

25 the Commission is an activity which—
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1 ‘‘(A) is conducted during a calendar year other

2 than a calendar year in which an election for the of3 fice of President is held,

4 ‘‘(B) is exclusively on behalf of (and specifically

5 identifies only) one or more State or local candidates

6 or ballot measures, and

7 ‘‘(C) does not include any effort or means used

8 to identify or turn out those identified to be support9 ers of any Federal candidate (including any activity

10 that is undertaken in coordination with, or on behalf

11 of, a candidate for Federal office).

12 ‘‘(d) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.—(1) A State

13 committee of a political party may make disbursements and

14 expenditures from its State Party Grassroots Fund only

15 for—

16 ‘‘(A) any generic campaign activity;

17 ‘‘(B) payments described in clauses (v), (x), and

18 (xii) of paragraph (8)(B) and clauses (iv), (viii), and

19 (ix) of paragraph (9)(B) of section 301;

20 ‘‘(C) subject to the limitations of section 315(d),

21 payments described in clause (xii) of paragraph

22 (8)(B), and clause (ix) of paragraph (9)(B), of section

23 301 on behalf of candidates other than for President

24 and Vice President;

25 ‘‘(D) voter registration; and
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1 ‘‘(E) development and maintenance of voter files

2 during an even-numbered calendar year.

3 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 315(a)(4), no funds may

4 be transferred by a State committee of a political party

5 from its State Party Grassroots Fund to any other State

6 Party Grassroots Fund or to any other political committee,

7 except a transfer may be made to a district or local commit8 tee of the same political party in the same State if such

9 district or local committee—

10 ‘‘(A) has established a separate segregated fund

11 for the purposes described in paragraph (1); and

12 ‘‘(B) uses the transferred funds solely for those

13 purposes.

14 ‘‘(e) AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY GRASSROOTS FUND

15 FROM STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEES.—(1)

16 Any amount received by a State Party Grassroots Fund

17 from a State or local candidate committee for expenditures

18 described in subsection (b) that are for the benefit of that

19 candidate shall be treated as meeting the requirements of

20 subsection (b) and section 304(e) if—

21 ‘‘(A) such amount is derived from funds which

22 meet the requirements of this Act with respect to any

23 limitation or prohibition as to source or dollar

24 amount specified in section 315(a) (1)(A) and (2)(A);

25 and
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1 ‘‘(B) the State or local candidate committee—

2 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from which

3 payment is made, records of the sources and

4 amounts of funds for purposes of determining

5 whether such requirements are met; and

6 ‘‘(ii) certifies that such requirements were

7 met.

8 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), in determining

9 whether the funds transferred meet the requirements of this

10 Act described in such paragraph—

11 ‘‘(A) a State or local candidate committee’s cash

12 on hand shall be treated as consisting of the funds

13 most recently received by the committee, and

14 ‘‘(B) the committee must be able to demonstrate

15 that its cash on hand contains sufficient funds meet16 ing such requirements as are necessary to cover the

17 transferred funds.

18 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)—

19 ‘‘(A) any State Party Grassroots Fund receiving

20 any transfer described in paragraph (1) from a State

21 or local candidate committee shall be required to meet

22 the reporting requirements of this Act, and shall sub23 mit to the Commission all certifications received, with

24 respect to receipt of the transfer from such candidate

25 committee; and
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a subordinate committee of

2 a State committee which maintains segregated ac3 counts which are not commingled with other accounts

4 of the State committee and which subordinate com5 mittee is subject to reporting and contribution limita6 tion requirements of State law, the certification re7 quired by this paragraph may be made by such sub8 ordinate committee.

9 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, a State or local

10 candidate committee is a committee established, financed,

11 maintained, or controlled by a candidate for other than

12 Federal office.’’.

13 (b) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—(1) Section

14 301(8)(B) of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

15 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended—

16 (A) in clause (viii), by inserting after ‘‘Federal

17 office’’ the following: ‘‘or any amounts received by

18 any committee of any National or State political

19 party to support the operation of a television and

20 radio broadcast facility’’;

21 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (xiii);

22 (C) by striking clause (xiv); and

23 (D) by inserting after clause (xiii) the following

24 new clauses:
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1 ‘‘(xiv) any amount contributed to a candidate

2 for other than Federal office;

3 ‘‘(xv) any amount received or expended to pay

4 the costs of a State or local political convention;

5 ‘‘(xvi) any payment for campaign activities that

6 are exclusively on behalf of (and specifically identify

7 only) State or local candidates and do not identify

8 any Federal candidate, and that are not activities de9 scribed in section 323(b) (without regard to para10 graph (6)(B)) or section 323(c)(1);

11 ‘‘(xvii) any payment for administrative expenses

12 of a State or local committee of a political party, in13 cluding expenses for—

14 ‘‘(I) overhead, including party meetings;

15 ‘‘(II) staff (other than individuals devoting

16 a significant amount of their time to elections

17 for Federal office and individuals engaged in

18 conducting get-out-the-vote activities for a Fed19 eral election); and

20 ‘‘(III) conducting party elections or cau21 cuses;

22 ‘‘(xviii) any payment for research pertaining

23 solely to State and local candidates and issues;

24 ‘‘(xix) any payment for development and main25 tenance of voter files other than during the 1-year pe-
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1 riod ending on the date during an even-numbered cal2 endar year on which regularly scheduled general elec3 tions for Federal office occur; and

4 ‘‘(xx) any payment for any other activity which

5 is solely for the purpose of influencing, and which

6 solely affects, an election for non-Federal office and

7 which is not an activity described in section 323(b)

8 (without regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or section

9 323(c)(1).’’.

10 (2) Section 301(9)(B) of Federal Election Campaign

11 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as amended by section

12 401, is further amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

13 clause (ix), by striking the period at the end of clause (x)

14 and inserting a semicolon, and by adding at the end the

15 following new clauses:

16 ‘‘(xi) any amounts expended by any committee

17 of any National or State political party to support

18 the operation of a television and radio broadcast fa19 cility;

20 ‘‘(xii) any amount contributed to a candidate for

21 other than Federal office;

22 ‘‘(xiii) any amount received or expended to pay

23 the costs of a State or local political convention;

24 ‘‘(xiv) any payment for campaign activities that

25 are exclusively on behalf of (and specifically identify
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1 only) State or local candidates and do not identify

2 any Federal candidate, and that are not activities de3 scribed in section 323(b) (without regard to para4 graph (6)(B)) or section 323(c)(1);

5 ‘‘(xv) any payment for administrative expenses

6 of a State or local committee of a political party, in7 cluding expenses for—

8 ‘‘(I) overhead, including party meetings;

9 ‘‘(II) staff (other than individuals devoting

10 a significant amount of their time to elections

11 for Federal office and individuals engaged in

12 conducting get-out-the-vote activities for a Fed13 eral election); and

14 ‘‘(III) conducting party elections or cau15 cuses;

16 ‘‘(xvi) any payment for research pertaining sole17 ly to State and local candidates and issues;

18 ‘‘(xvii) any payment for development and main19 tenance of voter files other than during the 1-year pe20 riod ending on the date during an even-numbered cal21 endar year on which regularly scheduled general elec22 tions for Federal office occur; and

23 ‘‘(xviii) any payment for any other activity

24 which is solely for the purpose of influencing, and

25 which solely affects, an election for non-Federal office
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1 and which is not an activity described in section

2 323(b) (without regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or sec3 tion 323(c)(1).’’.

4 (c) LIMITATION APPLIED AT NATIONAL LEVEL.—

5 Paragraph (3) of section 315(d) of Federal Election Cam6 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(3)) is amended by

7 adding at the end the following new flush sentence:

8 ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the applicable

9 congressional campaign committee of a political party shall

10 make the expenditures described in this paragraph which

11 are authorized to be made by a national or State committee

12 with respect to a candidate in any State unless it allocates

13 all or a portion of such expenditures to either or both of

14 such committees.’’.

15 (d) LIMITATIONS APPLY FOR ENTIRE ELECTION

16 CYCLE.—Section 315(d)(1) of Federal Election Campaign

17 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(1)) is amended by adding

18 at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Each limitation

19 under the following paragraphs shall apply to the entire

20 election cycle for an office.’’.

21 SEC. 404. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

22 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of Fed23 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is

24 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(d) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) The national com2 mittee of a political party and any congressional campaign

3 committee of a political party, and any subordinate com4 mittee of either, shall report all receipts and disbursements

5 during the reporting period, whether or not in connection

6 with an election for Federal office.

7 ‘‘(2) A political committee (not described in paragraph

8 (1)) to which section 323 applies shall report all receipts

9 and disbursements including separate schedules for receipts

10 and disbursements for State Grassroots Funds described in

11 section 301(30).

12 ‘‘(3) Any political committee to which section 323 ap13 plies shall include in its report under paragraph (1) or (2)

14 the amount of any transfer described in section 323(d)(2)

15 and shall itemize such amounts to the extent required by

16 section 304(b)(3)(A).

17 ‘‘(4) Any political committee to which paragraph (1)

18 or (2) does not apply shall report any receipts or disburse19 ments which are used in connection with a Federal election.

20 ‘‘(5) If a political committee has receipts or disburse21 ments to which this subsection applies from any person ag22 gregating in excess of $200 for any calendar year, the politi23 cal committee shall separately itemize its reporting for such

24 person in the same manner as subsection (b) (3)(A), (5),

25 or (6).
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1 ‘‘(6) Reports required to be filed by this subsection

2 shall be filed for the same time periods required for political

3 committees under subsection (a).’’.

4 (b) REPORT OF EXEMPT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

5 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

6 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘(C) The exclusion provided in clause (viii) of sub9 paragraph (B) shall not apply for purposes of any require10 ment to report contributions under this Act, and all such

11 contributions aggregating in excess of $200 shall be re12 ported.’’.

13 (c) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304 of

14 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as

15 amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the

16 end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(e) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re18 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

19 allow a State committee of a political party to file with

20 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

21 law if the Commission determines such reports contain sub22 stantially the same information.’’.

23 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

24 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Paragraph (4)

25 of section 304(b) of Federal Election Campaign Act of
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1 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended by striking

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (H), by inserting

3 ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (I), and by adding

4 at the end the following new subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized committee,

6 disbursements for the primary election, the gen7 eral election, and any other election in which the

8 candidate participates;’’.

9 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Subparagraph (A)

10 of section 304(b)(5) of Federal Election Campaign

11 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘within the calendar year’’,

13 and

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and the election to

15 which the operating expenditure relates’’ after

16 ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

17 SEC. 405. RESTRICTIONS ON FUNDRAISING BY CANDIDATES

18 AND OFFICEHOLDERS.

19 Section 315 of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

20 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by section 201, is further

21 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(o) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES OF

23 FEDERAL CANDIDATES AND OFFICEHOLDERS AND CERTAIN

24 POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) For purposes of this Act, a

25 candidate for Federal office, an individual holding Federal
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1 office, or any agent of the candidate or individual may not

2 solicit funds to, or receive funds on behalf of, any Federal

3 candidate or political committee, or any party or other

4 multicandidate committee organized under State law to

5 support more than one candidate for non-Federal office—

6 ‘‘(A) which are to be expended in connection

7 with any election for Federal office unless such funds

8 are subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re9 quirements of this Act; or

10 ‘‘(B) which are to be expended in connection

11 with any election for other than Federal office unless

12 such funds are not in excess of amounts permitted

13 with respect to Federal candidates and political com14 mittees under subsections (a) (1) and (2), and are not

15 from sources prohibited by such subsections with re16 spect to elections to Federal office.

17 The limitations of this subsection do not apply to the solici18 tation or receipt of funds by a Federal candidate on behalf

19 of any committee or organization organized primarily for

20 purposes other than the election of particular candidates for

21 public office.

22 ‘‘(2)(A) The aggregate amount which a person de23 scribed in subparagraph (B) may solicit from a

24 multicandidate political committee for State committees de25 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C) (including subordinate com-
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1 mittees) for any calendar year shall not exceed the dollar

2 amount in effect under subsection (a)(2)(B) for the calendar

3 year.

4 ‘‘(B) A person is described in this subparagraph if

5 such person is a candidate for Federal office, an individual

6 holding Federal office, an agent of such a candidate or indi7 vidual, or any national, State, district, or local committee

8 of a political party (including a subordinate committee)

9 and any agent of such a committee.

10 ‘‘(3) The personal appearance or participation by a

11 candidate for Federal office or individual holding Federal

12 office in any fundraising event conducted by a committee

13 of a political party or a candidate for other than Federal

14 office shall not be treated as a solicitation for purposes of

15 paragraph (1) if such candidate or individual does not re16 ceive, or make disbursements from, any funds resulting

17 from such activity.

18 ‘‘(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the solicitation

19 or receipt of funds, or disbursements, by an individual who

20 is a candidate for other than Federal office if such activity

21 is permitted under State law.

22 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection, an individual

23 shall be treated as holding Federal office if such individ24 ual—

25 ‘‘(A) holds a Federal office; or
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1 ‘‘(B) holds a position described in level I of the

2 Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5,

3 United States Code.’’.

4 SEC. 406. INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMIT5 TEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONGRESSIONAL

6 CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.

7 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

8 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sections 201 and 405

9 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

10 subsection:

11 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE CONTRIBU12 TIONS TO CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE.—For

13 purposes of the limitations imposed by this section and not14 withstanding any other provision of this section, the author15 ized political committees of a House of Representatives or

16 United States Senate candidate shall not make contribu17 tions aggregating more than $10,000 in any calendar year

18 to the congressional campaign committees of a political

19 party.’’.

20 SEC. 407. INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT THAT

21 MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES

22 MAY CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL POLITICAL

23 PARTY COMMITTEES.

24 Section 315(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Election Cam25 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(B)) is amended by
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1 striking out ‘‘$15,000’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

2 ‘‘$25,000’’.

3 SEC. 408. MERCHANDISING AND AFFINITY CARDS.

4 Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or

8 any other provision of this Act to the contrary, an amount

9 received from a corporation (including a State-chartered or

10 national bank) by any political committee (other than a

11 separate segregated fund established under section

12 316(b)(2)(C)) shall be deemed to meet the limitations and

13 prohibitions of this Act if such amount represents a com14 mission or royalty on the sale of goods or services, or on

15 the issuance of credit cards, by such corporation and if—

16 ‘‘(1) such goods, services, or credit cards are pro17 moted by or in the name of the political committee

18 as a means of contributing to or supporting the polit19 ical committee and are offered to consumers using the

20 name of the political committee or using a message,

21 design, or device created and owned by the political

22 committee, or both;

23 ‘‘(2) the corporation is in the business of mer24 chandising such goods or services, or of issuing such

25 credit cards;
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1 ‘‘(3) the royalty or commission has been offered

2 by the corporation to the political committee in the

3 ordinary course of the corporation’s business and on

4 the same terms and conditions as those on which such

5 corporation offers royalties or commissions to non6 political entities;

7 ‘‘(4) all revenue on which the commission or roy8 alty is based represents, or results from, sales to or

9 fees paid by individual consumers in the ordinary

10 course of retail transactions;

11 ‘‘(5) the costs of any unsold inventory of goods

12 are ultimately borne by the political committee in ac13 cordance with rules to be prescribed by the Commis14 sion; and

15 ‘‘(6) except for any royalty or commission per16 mitted to be paid by this subsection, no goods, serv17 ices, or anything else of value is provided by such cor18 poration to the political committee, provided that

19 such corporation may advance or finance costs or ex20 tend credit in connection with the manufacture and

21 distribution of goods, provision of services, or issuance

22 of credit cards pursuant to this subsection if and to

23 the extent such advance, financing, or extension is

24 undertaken in the ordinary course of the corporation’s

25 business and is undertaken on similar terms by such
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1 corporation in its transactions with nonpolitical enti2 ties in like circumstances.’’.

3 SEC. 409. INCREASED LIMITATION AMOUNT FOR CERTAIN

4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL COMMITTEES

5 OF STATE POLITICAL PARTIES.

6 Section 315(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(B)) is amended—

8 (1) by inserting after ‘‘(B)’’ the following: ‘‘not9 withstanding any other provision of law,’’; and

10 (2) by inserting after ‘‘national’’ the following:

11 ‘‘or State’’.

12 TITLE V—CONTRIBUTIONS

13 SEC. 501. RESTRICTIONS ON BUNDLING.

14 Section 315(a)(8) of the Federal Election Campaign

15 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(8)) is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘(8)(A) No person, either directly or indirectly, may

18 act as a conduit or intermediary for any contribution to

19 a candidate.

20 ‘‘(B)(i) Nothing in this section shall prohibit—

21 ‘‘(I) joint fundraising conducted in accordance

22 with rules prescribed by the Commission by 2 or more

23 candidates; or

24 ‘‘(II) fundraising for the benefit of a candidate

25 that is conducted by another candidate.
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1 ‘‘(ii) No other person may conduct or otherwise par2 ticipate in joint fundraising activities with or on behalf of

3 any candidate.

4 ‘‘(C) The term ‘conduit or intermediary’ means a per5 son who transmits a contribution to a candidate or can6 didate’s committee or representative from another person,

7 except that—

8 ‘‘(i) a House of Representatives candidate or

9 representative of a House of Representatives can10 didate is not a conduit or intermediary for the pur11 pose of transmitting contributions to the candidate’s

12 principal campaign committee or authorized commit13 tee;

14 ‘‘(ii) a professional fundraiser is not a conduit

15 or intermediary, if the fundraiser is compensated for

16 fundraising services at the usual and customary rate;

17 ‘‘(iii) a volunteer hosting a fundraising event at

18 the volunteer’s home, in accordance with section

19 301(8)(b), is not a conduit or intermediary for the

20 purposes of that event; and

21 ‘‘(iv) an individual is not a conduit or

22 intermediary for the purpose of transmitting a con23 tribution from the individual’s spouse.

24 For purposes of this section a conduit or intermediary

25 transmits a contribution when receiving or otherwise taking
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1 possession of the contribution and forwarding it directly to

2 the candidate or the candidate’s committee or representa3 tive.

4 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, the term ‘representa5 tive’—

6 ‘‘(i) shall mean a person who is expressly au7 thorized by the candidate to engage in fundraising,

8 and who, in the case of an individual, is not acting

9 as an officer, employee, or agent of any other person;

10 ‘‘(ii) shall not include—

11 ‘‘(I) a political committee with a connected

12 organization;

13 ‘‘(II) a political party;

14 ‘‘(III) a partnership or sole proprietorship;

15 ‘‘(IV) an organization prohibited from mak16 ing contributions under section 316; or

17 ‘‘(V) a person required to register under sec18 tion 308 of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying

19 Act (2 U.S.C. 267) or the Foreign Agents Reg20 istration Act (22 U.S.C. 611) or any successor

21 Federal law requiring a person who is a lobbyist

22 or a foreign agent to register.

23 ‘‘(E) For purposes of this section, the term ‘acting as

24 an officer, employee, or agent of any other person’ includes

25 the following activities by a salaried officer, employee, or
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1 paid agent of a person described in subparagraph

2 (D)(ii)(IV):

3 ‘‘(i) Soliciting contributions to a particular can4 didate in the name of, or by using the name of, such

5 a person.

6 ‘‘(ii) Soliciting contributions to a particular

7 candidate using other than the incidental resources of

8 such a person.

9 ‘‘(iii) Soliciting contributions to a particular

10 candidate under the direction or control of other sala11 ried officers, employees, or paid agents of such a per12 son.

13 For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ‘agent’ shall

14 include any person (other than individual members of an

15 organization described in subparagraph (b)(4)(C) of section

16 316) acting on authority or under the direction of such or17 ganization.’’.

18 SEC. 502. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOT19 ING AGE.

20 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sections 201, 405,

22 and 406, is further amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new subsection:

24 ‘‘(q) For purposes of this section, any contribution by

25 an individual who—
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1 ‘‘(1) is a dependent of another individual; and

2 ‘‘(2) has not, as of the time of such contribution,

3 attained the legal age for voting for elections to Fed4 eral office in the State in which such individual re5 sides,

6 shall be treated as having been made by such other individ7 ual. If such individual is the dependent of another individ8 ual and such other individual’s spouse, the contribution

9 shall be allocated among such individuals in the manner

10 determined by them.’’.

11 SEC. 503. PROHIBITION OF ACCEPTANCE BY A CANDIDATE

12 OF CASH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ANY ONE

13 PERSON AGGREGATING MORE THAN $100.

14 Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

15 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and no

16 candidate or authorized committee of a candidate shall ac17 cept from any one person,’’ after ‘‘make’’.

18 SEC. 504. CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES FROM STATE

19 AND LOCAL COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PAR20 TIES TO BE AGGREGATED.

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

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

23 end the following new paragraph:

24 ‘‘(9) Notwithstanding paragraph (5)(B), a candidate

25 for Federal office may not accept, with respect to an elec-
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1 tion, any contribution from a State or local committee of

2 a political party (including any subordinate committee of

3 such committee), if such contribution, when added to the

4 total of contributions previously accepted from all such

5 committees of that political party, exceeds the limitation

6 on contributions to a candidate under paragraph (2)(A).’’.

7 SEC. 505. PROHIBITION OF FALSE REPRESENTATION TO SO8 LICIT CONTRIBUTIONS.

9 Section 322 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

10 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441h) is amended—

11 (1) by inserting after ‘‘SEC. 322.’’ the following:

12 ‘‘(a)’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(b) No person shall solicit contributions by falsely

15 representing himself as a candidate or as a representative

16 of a candidate, a political committee, or a political party.’’.

17 SEC. 506. LIMITED EXCLUSION OF ADVANCES BY CAMPAIGN

18 WORKERS FROM THE DEFINITION OF THE

19 TERM ‘‘CONTRIBUTION’’.

20 Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

21 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended by section

22 403, is further amended—

23 (1) in clause (xix), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the

24 semicolon at the end;
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1 (2) in clause (xx), by striking the period at the

2 end and inserting: ‘‘; and’’; and

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

4 clause:

5 ‘‘(xxi) any advance voluntarily made on behalf

6 of an authorized committee of a candidate by an in7 dividual in the normal course of such individual’s re8 sponsibilities as a volunteer for, or employee of, the

9 committee, if the advance is reimbursed by the com10 mittee within 10 days after the date on which the ad11 vance is made, and the value of advances on behalf

12 of a committee does not exceed $500 with respect to

13 an election.’’.

14 SEC. 507. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 316 OF THE FEDERAL

15 ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.

16 Section 316(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign

17 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(2)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘(2) For’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(A)

19 Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for’’;

20 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

21 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively;

22 and

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

24 ‘‘(B) Expenditures by a corporation or labor organiza25 tion for candidate appearances, candidate debates, voter
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1 guides, or voting records directed to the general public shall

2 be considered contributions unless—

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of a candidate appearance, the

4 appearance takes place on corporate or labor organi5 zation premises or at a meeting or convention of the

6 corporation or labor organization, and all candidates

7 for election to that office are notified that they may

8 make an appearance under the same or similar con9 ditions;

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a candidate debate, the orga11 nization staging the debate is either an organization

12 described in section 301 whose broadcasts or publica13 tions are supported by commercial advertising, sub14 scriptions or sales to the public, including a non15 commercial educational broadcaster, or a nonprofit

16 organization exempt from Federal taxation under sec17 tion 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue

18 Code of 1986 that does not endorse, support, oppose

19 candidates or political parties and any such debate

20 features at least 2 candidates competing for election

21 to that office;

22 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a voter guide, the guide is pre23 pared and distributed by a corporation or labor orga24 nization and consists of questions posed to at least

25 two candidates for election to that office; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a voting record, the record

2 is prepared and distributed by a corporation or labor

3 organization and such preparation and distribution

4 occurs either without consultation with any candidate

5 whose record is included or in consultation with all

6 such candidates;

7 provided that no communication made by a corporation or

8 labor organization in connection with the candidate ap9 pearance, candidate debate, voter guide, or voting record

10 contains express advocacy, or that no structure or format

11 of the candidate appearance, candidate debate, voter guide,

12 or voting record, nor any preparation or distribution of any

13 such guide or record, reflects a purpose of influencing the

14 election of a particular candidate.’’.

15 SEC. 508. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN ELECTION-RELATED

16 ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN NATIONALS.

17 Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

18 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended by adding at the end the

19 following new subsections:

20 ‘‘(c) A foreign national shall not directly or indirectly

21 direct, control, influence or participate in any person’s elec22 tion-related activities, such as the making of contributions

23 or expenditures in connection with elections for any local,

24 State, or Federal office or the administration of a political

25 committee.
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1 ‘‘(d) A separate segregated fund established in accord2 ance with section 316(b)(2)(C) involved in the making of

3 contributions or expenditures in connection with elections

4 for any Federal, State, or local office shall include the fol5 lowing statement on all printed materials produced for the

6 purpose of soliciting contributions:

7 ‘‘ ‘It is unlawful for a foreign national to make

8 any contribution of money or other thing of value to

9 a political committee.’.’’.

10 TITLE VI—REPORTING

11 REQUIREMENTS

12 SEC. 601. CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL13 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE

14 BASIS.

15 Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) of section 304(b)

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

17 434(b)(2), (3), (4), (6), and (7)), are amended by inserting

18 after ‘‘calendar year’’ each place it appears the following:

19 ‘‘(election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee of

20 a candidate for Federal office)’’.

21 SEC. 602. PERSONAL AND CONSULTING SERVICES.

22 (a) REPORTING BY POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section

23 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

24 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)), as amended by section 405, is fur25 ther amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end
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1 the following: ‘‘, except that if a person to whom an expendi2 ture is made is merely providing personal or consulting

3 services and is in turn making expenditures to other per4 sons (not including employees) who provide goods or serv5 ices to the candidate or his or her authorized committees,

6 the name and address of such other person, together with

7 the date, amount and purpose of such expenditure shall also

8 be disclosed’’.

9 (b) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING BY PERSONS TO

10 WHOM EXPENDITURES ARE PASSED THROUGH.—Section

11 302 of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

12 432) is amended by adding at the end the following new

13 subsection:

14 ‘‘(j) The person described in section 304(b)(5)(A) who

15 is providing personal or consulting services and who is in

16 turn making expenditures to other persons (not including

17 employees) for goods or services provided to a candidate

18 shall maintain records of and shall provide to a political

19 committee the information necessary to enable the political

20 committee to report the information described in section

21 304(b)(5)(A).’’.
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1 SEC. 603. REDUCTION IN THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING OF

2 CERTAIN INFORMATION BY PERSONS OTHER

3 THAN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

4 Section 304(b)(3)(A) of the Federal Election Cam5 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)(A)) is amended by

6 striking ‘‘$200’’ and inserting ‘‘$100’’.

7 SEC. 604. COMPUTERIZED INDICES OF CONTRIBUTIONS.

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

9 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

11 (9);

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new para15 graph:

16 ‘‘(11) maintain computerized indices of contribu17 tions of $200 or more.’’.

18 SEC. 605. IDENTIFICATION.

19 Section 301(13)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(13)(A)) is amended by striking

21 ‘‘mailing address’’ and inserting ‘‘permanent residence ad22 dress’’.

23 SEC. 606. POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

24 Section 303(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 433(b)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and if the

2 organization or committee is incorporated, the State

3 of incorporation’’ after ‘‘committee’’; and

4 (2) by striking the ‘‘name and address of the

5 treasurer’’ in paragraph (4) and inserting ‘‘the names

6 and addresses of the officers, including the treasurer’’.

7 SEC. 607. USE OF CANDIDATES’ NAMES.

8 Section 302(e)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign

9 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)(4)) is amended to read as fol10 lows:

11 ‘‘(4)(A) The name of each authorized committee shall

12 include the name of the candidate who authorized the com13 mittee under paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(B) A political committee that is not an authorized

15 committee shall not—

16 ‘‘(i) include the name of any candidate in its

17 name, or

18 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a national, State, or

19 local party committee, use the name of any candidate

20 in any activity on behalf of such committee in such

21 a context as to suggest that the committee is an au22 thorized committee of the candidate or that the use of

23 the candidate’s name has been authorized by the can24 didate.’’.
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1 SEC. 608. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

2 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

3 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 404, is further

4 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(f) WAIVER.—The Commission may relieve any cat6 egory of political committees of the obligation to file 1 or

7 more reports required by this section, or may change the

8 due dates of such reports, if it determines that such action

9 is consistent with the purposes of this Act. The Commission

10 may waive requirements to file reports in accordance with

11 this subsection through a rule of general applicability or,

12 in a specific case, may waive or change the due date of

13 a report by notifying all political committees affected.’’.

14 SEC. 609. SIMULTANEOUS REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATE

15 AND CANDIDATE’S PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN

16 COMMITTEE.

17 Section 303(a) of Federal Election Campaign Act of

18 1971 (2 U.S.C. 433(a)) is amended in the first sentence by

19 striking ‘‘no later than 10 days after designation’’ and in20 serting ‘‘on the date of its designation’’.

21 SEC. 610. DISCLOSURES BY ORGANIZATIONS THAT ENGAGE

22 IN LOBBYING.

23 (a) DISCLOSURES REQUIRED.—Title III of the Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as

25 amended by section 403, is further amended by adding after

26 section 323 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURES BY ORGANIZATIONS THAT EN2 GAGE IN LOBBYING.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any organization that—

4 ‘‘(1) is described in paragraph (4) or (6) of sec5 tion 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and

6 is exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code,

7 and

8 ‘‘(2) conducts lobbying activities or pays another

9 person compensation to conduct lobbying activities on

10 its behalf,

11 shall provide the same information with respect to contribu12 tions made to such organization, in the same manner and

13 to the same extent as is required for political committees

14 under this Act.

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.— As used in this section—

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘lobbying activities’ means lobby17 ing contacts and efforts in support of such contacts,

18 including—

19 ‘‘(A) preparation and planning activities;

20 ‘‘(B) research and other background work

21 that is intended for use in lobbying contacts;

22 ‘‘(C) coordination with the lobbying activi23 ties of others; and

24 ‘‘(D) grass roots lobbying communications

25 (as defined in regulations implementing section

26 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
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1 to the extent that such communications are made

2 in direct support of lobbying contacts;

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘lobbying contact’—

4 ‘‘(A) means any oral or written commu5 nication with a Member of Congress, an officer

6 or employee of the House of Representatives or

7 the Senate, or an officer or employee of the exec8 utive branch that is made with regard to—

9 ‘‘(i) the formulation, modification, or

10 adoption of Federal legislation (including

11 legislative proposals); or

12 ‘‘(ii) the formulation, modification, or

13 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex14 ecutive order, or any other program, policy,

15 or position of the United States Govern16 ment; and

17 ‘‘(B) does not include any communication

18 that—

19 ‘‘(i) is made by public officials acting

20 in their official capacity;

21 ‘‘(ii) is made by representatives of a

22 media organization if the purpose of the

23 communication is gathering and dissemi24 nating news and information to the public;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(iii) consists of testimony given before

2 a committee or subcommittee of the Con3 gress, or submitted for inclusion in the pub4 lic record of a hearing conducted by any

5 such committee or subcommittee or by a

6 Federal agency; and

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Member of Congress’ means a Sen8 ator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident

9 Commissioner to, the Congress.’’.

10 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 301(8)(A) of Federal Elec11 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)), as

12 amended by section 301, is further amended—

13 (1) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semi14 colon;

15 (2) in clause (iii) by striking the period and in16 serting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

18 clause:

19 ‘‘(iv) any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or de20 posit of money or anything of value made by any per21 son to an organization to which section 323 applies.’’.
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1 TITLE VII—FEDERAL ELECTION

2 COMMISSION

3 SEC. 701. APPEARANCE AS AMICI CURIAE.

4 Section 306(f) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)) is amended by striking out para6 graph (4) and inserting in lieu thereof the following new

7 paragraph:

8 ‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph

9 (2), or of any other provision of law, the Commission is

10 authorized to appear on its own behalf in any action related

11 to the exercise of its statutory duties or powers in any court

12 as either a party or as amicus curiae, either—

13 ‘‘(i) by attorneys employed in its office, or

14 ‘‘(ii) by counsel whom it may appoint, on a tem15 porary basis as may be necessary for such purpose,

16 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United

17 States Code, governing appointments in the competi18 tive service, and whose compensation it may fix with19 out regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub20 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title. The compensa21 tion of counsel so appointed on a temporary basis

22 shall be paid out of any funds otherwise available to

23 pay the compensation of employees of the Commis24 sion.
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1 ‘‘(B) The authority granted under subparagraph (A)

2 includes the power to appeal from, and petition the Su3 preme Court for certiorari to review, judgments or decrees

4 entered with respect to actions in which the Commission

5 appears pursuant to the authority provided in this sec6 tion.’’.

7 SEC. 702. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION PUBLIC SERV8 ICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.

9 Title III of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

10 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by sections 403 and 610,

11 is further amended by inserting after section 324 the follow12 ing new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on January 15, and

15 continuing through April 15 of each year, the Federal Elec16 tion Commission shall carry out a program, utilizing

17 broadcast announcements and other appropriate means, to

18 inform the public of the existence and purpose of the Make

19 Democracy Work Election Fund and the role that individ20 ual citizens can play in the election process by voluntarily

21 contributing to the Fund. The Commission shall seek to

22 broadcast such announcements during prime time viewing

23 hours in 30-second advertising segments equivalent to 200

24 gross rating points per network per week. The Commission

25 shall attempt to ensure that the maximum number of tax-
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1 payers shall be exposed to these announcements. The Federal

2 Election Commission shall attempt to utilize a variety of

3 communications media, including television, cable, and

4 radio networks, and individual television, cable, and radio

5 stations, to provide similar announcements.

6 ‘‘(b) GROSS RATING POINT.—The term ‘gross rating

7 point’ is a measure of the total gross weight delivered. It

8 is the sum of the ratings for individual programs. Since

9 a household rating period is 1 percent of the coverage base,

10 200 gross rating points means 2 messages a week per aver11 age household.’’.

12 SEC. 703. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

13 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

14 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

15 (1) by adding at the end the following new para16 graph:

17 ‘‘(13)(A) If, at any time in a proceeding described in

18 paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4), the Commission believes

19 that—

20 ‘‘(i) there is a substantial likelihood that a viola21 tion of this Act or of chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is occurring or is

23 about to occur;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will result

2 in irreparable harm to a party affected by the poten3 tial violation;

4 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause undue

5 harm or prejudice to the interests of others; and

6 ‘‘(iv) the public interest would be best served by

7 the issuance of an injunction,

8 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a temporary

9 restraining order or a temporary injunction pending the

10 outcome of the proceedings described in paragraphs (1), (2),

11 (3), and (4).

12 ‘‘(B) An action under subparagraph (A) shall be

13 brought in the United States district court for the district

14 in which the defendant resides, transacts business, or may

15 be found or in which the violation is occurring, has oc16 curred, or is about to occur.’’;

17 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(5) or (6)’’

18 and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), or (13)’’; and

19 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in20 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.

21 SEC. 704. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

22 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

23 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)), as amended by section 703, is

24 further amended by adding at the end the following new

25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(14)(A) If the complaint in a proceeding was filed

2 within 60 days immediately preceding a general election,

3 the Commission may take action described in this subpara4 graph.

5 ‘‘(B) If the Commission determines, on the basis of

6 facts alleged in the complaint and other facts available to

7 it, that there is clear and convincing evidence that a viola8 tion of this Act or of chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Reve9 nue Code of 1986 has occurred, is occurring, or is about

10 to occur and it appears that the requirements for relief stat11 ed in paragraph (13)(A)(ii), (iii), and (iv) are met, the

12 Commission may—

13 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shortening the

14 time periods for proceedings under paragraphs (1),

15 (2), (3), and (4) as necessary to allow the matter to

16 be resolved in sufficient time before the election to

17 avoid harm or prejudice to the interests of the parties;

18 or

19 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that there is

20 insufficient time to conduct proceedings before the

21 election, immediately seek relief under paragraph

22 (13)(A).

23 ‘‘(C) If the Commission determines, on the basis of

24 facts alleged in the complaint and other facts available to
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1 it, that the complaint is clearly without merit, the Commis2 sion may—

3 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shortening the

4 time periods for proceedings under paragraphs (1),

5 (2), (3), and (4) as necessary to allow the matter to

6 be resolved in sufficient time before the election to

7 avoid harm or prejudice to the interests of the parties;

8 or

9 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that there is

10 insufficient time to conduct proceedings before the

11 election, summarily dismiss the complaint.’’.

12 SEC. 705. INSOLVENT POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(d) of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 433(d)) is amended

15 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(3) Proceedings by the Commission under paragraph

17 (2) constitute the sole means, to the exclusion of proceedings

18 under title 11, United States Code, by which a political

19 committee that is determined by the Commission to be insol20 vent may compromise its debts, liquidate its assets, and ter21 minate its existence.’’.

22 (b) PROCEDURES.—Section 303(d)(2) of the Federal

23 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 433(d)(2)) is

24 amended by striking out ‘‘Nothing’’ and all that follows
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1 through ‘‘procedures’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The

2 Commission shall establish procedures to allow’’.

3 TITLE VIII—BALLOT INITIATIVE

4 COMMITTEES

5 SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO BALLOT INITIATIVES.

6 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

7 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by sections 123 and 401,

8 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

9 paragraphs:

10 ‘‘(31) The term ‘ballot initiative political committee’

11 means any committee, club, association, or other group of

12 persons which makes ballot initiative expenditures or re13 ceives ballot initiative contributions in excess of $1,000 dur14 ing a calendar year.

15 ‘‘(32) The term ‘ballot initiative contribution’ means

16 any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money

17 or anything of value made by any person for the purpose

18 of influencing the outcome of any referendum or other ballot

19 initiative voted on at the State, commonwealth, territory,

20 or District of Columbia level which involves—

21 ‘‘(A) the election of candidates for Federal office

22 and the permissible terms of those so elected; or

23 ‘‘(B) the regulation of speech or press, or any

24 other right guaranteed under the United States Con25 stitution.
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1 ‘‘(33) The term ‘ballot initiative expenditure’ means

2 any purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit

3 or gift of money or anything of value made by any person

4 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of any referen5 dum or other ballot initiative voted on at the state, com6 monwealth, territory, or District of Columbia level which

7 involves—

8 ‘‘(A) the election of candidates for Federal office

9 and the permissible terms of those so elected; or

10 ‘‘(B) the regulation of speech or press, or any

11 other right guaranteed under the United States Con12 stitution.’’.

13 SEC. 802. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF CONTRIBUTION.

14 Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

15 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended by sections

16 403 and 506, is further amended—

17 (1) in clause (xx), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the

18 semicolon;

19 (2) in clause (xxi), by striking the period and

20 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

22 clause:

23 ‘‘(xxii) a ballot initiative contribution.’’.
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1 SEC. 803. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF EXPENDITURE.

2 Section 301(9)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

3 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as amended by sections

4 401 and 403, is further amended—

5 (1) in clause (xvii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the

6 semicolon;

7 (2) in clause (xviii), by striking the period and

8 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

10 clause:

11 ‘‘(xix) a ballot initiative expenditure.’’.

12 SEC. 804. ORGANIZATION OF BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMIT13 TEES.

14 Section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

15 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432), as amended by section 602, is further

16 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(k) Every ballot initiative committee shall comply

18 with the organizational and recordkeeping requirements of

19 this section, with respect to all ballot initiative contribu20 tions and ballot initiative expenditures.’’.

21 SEC. 805. REGISTRATION OF BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMIT22 TEES.

23 Section 303 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

24 1971 (2 U.S.C. 433) is amended by adding at the end the

25 following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(e) Every ballot initiative committee shall comply

2 with the registration requirements of this section.’’.

3 SEC. 806. REPORTING BY BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMITTEES.

4 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by sections 404 and 608,

6 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

7 subsection:

8 ‘‘(g) Every ballot initiative committee shall comply

9 with the reporting requirements of subsections (a)(1),

10 (a)(4), and (b), with respect to the reporting of all ballot

11 initiative contributions and ballot initiative expenditures.

12 The provisions of subsections (a)(5), (7), and (8) shall

13 apply to reports filed by ballot initiative committees.’’.

14 SEC. 807. ENFORCEMENT FOR BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMIT15 TEES.

16 Section 309 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

17 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g) is amended by adding at the end the

18 following new subsection:

19 ‘‘(e) The Commission may proceed in accordance with

20 the requirements of this section, either on the basis of a com21 plaint filed under subsection (a)(1) or on information

22 ascertained in the normal course of carrying out its super23 visory responsibilities, to determine whether a ballot initia24 tive committee has complied with the requirements of sec25 tions 302, 303, and 304(a)(1), (a)(4) and (b).’’.
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1 SEC. 808. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI2 TURES BY BALLOT INITIATIVE COMMITTEES.

3 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

4 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sections 201, 405,

5 406, and 502, is further amended by adding at the end the

6 following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(r) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection

8 (a)(1), it shall be unlawful for any ballot initiative commit9 tee to make any contribution or expenditure for the purpose

10 of influencing any election for Federal office.’’.

11 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS

12 SEC. 901. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.

13 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

14 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (b)(1)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘30’’;

18 (B) by striking ‘‘sixty’’ and inserting ‘‘45’’;

19 and

20 (C) by striking ‘‘lowest unit charge of the

21 station for the same class and amount of time for

22 the same period’’ and insert ‘‘lowest charge of the

23 station for the same amount of time for the same

24 period’’; and

25 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following

26 new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a licensee

2 shall not preempt the use, during any period specified in

3 subsection (b)(1), of a broadcasting station by a legally

4 qualified candidate for public office who has purchased and

5 paid for such use pursuant to the provisions of subsection

6 (b)(1).

7 ‘‘(2) If a program to be broadcast by a broadcasting

8 station is preempted because of circumstances beyond the

9 control of the broadcasting station, any candidate advertis10 ing spot scheduled to be broadcast during that program

11 may also be preempted.’’.

12 SEC. 902. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING AMENDMENTS.

13 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

14 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended—

15 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1) of sub16 section (a), by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘Whenever a political committee makes a disburse18 ment for the purpose of financing any communication

19 through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga20 zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any

21 other type of general public political advertising, or

22 whenever’’;

23 (2) in the matter before paragraph (1) of sub24 section (a), by striking ‘‘an expenditure’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘a disbursement’’;
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1 (3) in the matter before paragraph (1) of sub2 section (a), by striking ‘‘direct’’;

3 (4) in paragraph (3) of subsection (a), by insert4 ing after ‘‘name’’ the following ‘‘and permanent street

5 address’’; and

6 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub7 sections:

8 ‘‘(c) Any printed communication described in sub9 section (a) shall be—

10 ‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly readable

11 by the recipient of the communication;

12 ‘‘(2) contained in a printed box set apart from

13 the other contents of the communication; and

14 ‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con15 trast between the background and the printed state16 ment.

17 ‘‘(d)(1) Any communication described in subsection

18 (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2) that is provided to and distrib19 uted by any broadcasting station or cable system (as such

20 terms are defined in sections 315 and 602 (respectively) of

21 the Communications Act of 1934) shall include, in addition

22 to the requirements of subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2), an

23 audio statement by the candidate that identifies the can24 didate and states that the candidate has approved the com25 munication.
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1 ‘‘(2) If a communication described in paragraph (1)

2 contains any visual images, the statement required by para3 graph (1) shall—

4 ‘‘(A) appear in a clearly readable manner with

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

7 least 4 seconds at the end of the communication; and

8 ‘‘(B) be accompanied by a clearly identifiable

9 photographic or similar image of the candidate.

10 ‘‘(e) Any communication described in subsection (a)(3)

11 that is provided to and distributed by any broadcasting sta12 tion or cable system (as such terms are defined in sections

13 315 and 602 (respectively) of the Communications Act of

14 1934) shall include, in addition to the requirements of those

15 subsections, in a clearly spoken manner, the following state16 ment—

17 ‘ is responsible for the content of

18 this advertisement.’

19 with the blank to be filled in with the name of the political

20 committee or other person paying for the communication

21 and the name of any connected organization of the payor;

22 and, if such communication contains visual images, shall

23 also appear in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable

24 degree of color contrast between the background and the

25 printed statement, for a period of at least 4 seconds.’’.
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1 SEC. 903. TELEPHONE VOTING BY PERSONS WITH DISABIL2 ITIES.

3 (a) STUDY OF SYSTEMS TO PERMIT PERSONS WITH

4 DISABILITIES TO VOTE BY TELEPHONE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Com6 mission shall conduct a study to determine the fea7 sibility of developing a system or systems by which

8 persons with disabilities may be permitted to vote by

9 telephone.

10 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Federal Election Com11 mission shall conduct the study described in para12 graph (1) in consultation with State and local elec13 tion officials, representatives of the telecommuni14 cations industry, representatives of persons with dis15 abilities, and other concerned members of the public.

16 (3) CRITERIA.—The system or systems developed

17 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—

18 (A) propose a description of the kinds of

19 disabilities that impose such difficulty in travel

20 to polling places that a person with a disability

21 who may desire to vote is discouraged from un22 dertaking such travel;

23 (B) propose procedures to identify persons

24 who are so disabled; and

25 (C) describe procedures and equipment that

26 may be used to ensure that—
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1 (i) only those persons who are entitled

2 to use the system are permitted to use it;

3 (ii) the votes of persons who use the

4 system are recorded accurately and remain

5 secret;

6 (iii) the system minimizes the possibil7 ity of vote fraud; and

8 (iv) the system minimizes the financial

9 costs that State and local governments

10 would incur in establishing and operating

11 the system.

12 (4) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—In developing

13 a system described in paragraph (1), the Federal

14 Election Commission may request proposals from pri15 vate contractors for the design of procedures and

16 equipment to be used in the system.

17 (5) PHYSICAL ACCESS.—Nothing in this section

18 is intended to supersede or supplant efforts by State

19 and local governments to make polling places phys20 ically accessible to persons with disabilities.

21 (6) DEADLINE.—The Federal Election Commis22 sion shall submit to Congress the study required by

23 this section not later than 1 year after the date of en24 actment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 904. TRANSFER OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FINANC2 ING PROVISIONS TO FEDERAL ELECTION

3 CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.

4 (a) GENERAL RULE.—The Federal Election Campaign

5 Act of 1971 is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘TITLE VIII—FINANCING OF

7 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

8 CAMPAIGNS

9 ‘‘Subtitle A—Presidential Election

10 Campaign Fund

11 ‘‘Subtitle B—Presidential Primary

12 Matching Payment Account’’.

13 (b) TRANSFER OF PROVISIONS FROM INTERNAL REVE14 NUE CODE.—

15 (1) Sections 9001 through 9012 of the Internal

16 Revenue Code of 1986 are hereby transferred to the

17 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, inserted

18 after the heading for subtitle A of title VIII of such

19 Act (as added by subsection (a)), and redesignated as

20 sections 801 through 812, respectively.

21 (2) Sections 9031 through 9042 of the Internal

22 Revenue Code of 1986 are hereby transferred to the

23 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, inserted

24 after the heading for subtitle B of title VIII of such

25 Act, and redesignated as sections 831 through 842, re26 spectively.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REVE2 NUE CODE.—The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend3 ed—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘section 9006(a)’’ in section

5 6096(a) and inserting ‘‘section 806(a) of the Federal

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971’’,

7 (2) by striking subtitle H, and

8 (3) by striking the item relating to subtitle H in

9 the table of subtitles.

10 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TRANSFERRED

11 SECTIONS.—

12 (1) Each section transferred under subsection (b)

13 is amended by striking each reference contained there14 in to another provision transferred and redesignated

15 by subsection (b) and inserting a reference to the re16 designated provision.

17 (2) Title VIII of the Federal Election Campaign

18 Act of 1971 (as amended by the foregoing provisions

19 of this section) is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘This chapter’’ each place it

21 appears and inserting ‘‘This subtitle’’,

22 (B) by striking ‘‘this chapter’’ each place it

23 appears and inserting ‘‘this subtitle’’,

24 (C) by striking ‘‘of the Federal Election

25 Campaign Act of 1971’’ each place it appears,
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1 (D) by striking ‘‘chapter 96’’ in section

2 803(e) and inserting ‘‘subtitle B’’,

3 (E) by striking ‘‘section 6096’’ in sections

4 806(a), 808(a), and 810(c) and inserting ‘‘sec5 tion 6096 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’,

6 and

7 (F) by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ in section

8 810(c) and inserting ‘‘this title’’.

9 (e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—

10 (1) CONTINUATION OF FUNDS.—The fund estab11 lished under section 806(a) of the Federal Election

12 Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended by this section)

13 shall be treated for all purposes of law as a continu14 ation of the fund established by section 9006(a) of the

15 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as in effect on the

16 day before the date of the enactment of this Act). A

17 similar rule shall apply to the accounts required

18 under sections 808 and 837 of the Federal Election

19 Campaign Act of 1971 (as so amended).

20 (2) REFERENCES TO TRANSFERRED PROVI21 SIONS.—Any reference in any law, rule, regulation,

22 or other official paper to a provision of the Internal

23 Revenue Code of 1986 which was transferred under

24 subsection (b) shall be treated as reference to the ap-
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1 propriate provision of the Federal Election Campaign

2 Act of 1971.

3 TITLE X—HOUSE OF REP4 RESENTATIVES CAMPAIGN

5 ELECTION FUNDING AND RE6 LATED MATTERS

7 SEC. 1001. MAKE DEMOCRACY WORK ELECTION FUND.

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

9 431 et seq.), as amended by section 121, is further amended

10 by adding at the end the following new title:

11 ‘‘TITLE VII—MAKE DEMOCRACY

12 WORK ELECTION FUND

13 ‘‘SEC. 701. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE FUND.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established on the

15 books of the Treasury of the United States a special fund

16 to be known as the Make Democracy Work Election Fund

17 (hereinafter in this title referred to as the ‘Fund’). The

18 amounts designated for the Fund shall remain available

19 without fiscal limitation for purposes of providing benefits

20 under title VI and making expenditures for the administra21 tion of the Fund. The Secretary shall maintain such ac22 counts in the Fund as may be required by this title or which

23 the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the

24 provisions of this title.
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1 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS UPON CERTIFICATION.—Upon receipt

2 of a certification from the Commission under section 604,

3 except as provided in subsection (c), the Secretary shall

4 issue within 48 hours to an eligible candidate the amount

5 of voter communication vouchers certified by the Commis6 sion to the eligible candidate out of the Fund.

7 ‘‘(c) REDUCTIONS IN PAYMENTS IF FUNDS INSUFFI8 CIENT.—If on June 1, 1996, or on June 1 of a Federal elec9 tion year thereafter, the Secretary determines that the mon10 eys in the account are not, or may not be, sufficient to sat11 isfy the full entitlement of all eligible candidates, the Sec12 retary shall withhold from such payment the amount nec13 essary to assure that each eligible candidate will receive a

14 pro rata share of the candidate’s full entitlement. Amounts

15 so withheld shall be paid when the Secretary determines

16 that there are sufficient moneys in the account to pay such

17 amounts, or portions thereof, to all eligible candidates from

18 whom amounts have been withheld, but, if there are not suf19 ficient moneys in the account to satisfy the full entitlement

20 of an eligible candidate, the amounts so withheld shall be

21 paid in such manner that each eligible candidate receives

22 a pro rata share of the full entitlement, except that—

23 ‘‘(1) in special elections, a candidate shall re24 ceive the full entitlement not a pro rata share; and
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1 ‘‘(2) a candidate who receives vouchers from the

2 Fund in response to an independent expenditure as

3 provided in section 604(f) shall receive the full entitle4 ment not a pro rata share.

5 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall notify the

6 Commission and each eligible candidate by registered mail

7 of any reduction of any payment by reason of subsection

8 (c).

9 ‘‘(e) REDEEMABILITY OF VOUCHERS.—Voter commu10 nication vouchers issued and used as provided in this sec11 tion shall be redeemable at face value by the Secretary

12 through the facilities of the Treasury of the United States.

13 The Secretary shall issue regulations providing for the re14 demption of voter communication vouchers through finan15 cial institutions which are insured by the Federal Deposit

16 Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan

17 Insurance Corporation. No financial institution may im18 pose a fee or other charge for the redemption of voter com19 munication vouchers.’’.

20 TITLE XI—EFFECTIVE DATES;

21 SEVERABILITY

22 SEC. 1101. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend24 ments made by, and the provisions of, this Act shall take

25 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act but shall not
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1 apply with respect to activities in connection with any elec2 tion occurring before January 1, 1995.

3 SEC. 1102. SEVERABILITY.

4 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), if any provi5 sion of this Act (including any amendment made by this

6 Act), or the application of any such provision to any person

7 or circumstance, is held invalid, the validity of any other

8 provision of this Act, or the application of such provision

9 to other persons and circumstances, shall not be affected

10 thereby.

11 (b) If title VI of the Federal Election Campaign Act

12 of 1971, section 315(i) through (j) (as added by this Act),

13 or section 701 (as added by this Act), or any part thereof,

14 is held to be invalid, all provisions of, and amendments

15 made by title VI, section 315(i) through (j) of this Act, or

16 section 701 of this Act shall be treated as invalid.

17 SEC. 1103. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL IS18 SUES.

19 (a) DIRECT APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—An appeal

20 may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United

21 States from any final judgment, decree, or order issued by

22 any court finding any provision of this Act, or amendment

23 made by this Act to be unconstitutional.

24 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND EXPEDITION.—The Supreme

25 Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question
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1 addressed in the ruling below, accept jurisdiction over, ad2 vance on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the greatest

3 extent possible.

4 SEC. 1104. REGULATIONS.

5 The Federal Election Commission shall prescribe any

6 regulations required to carry out the provisions of this Act

7 within 12 months after the effective date of this Act.

8 SEC. 1105. BUDGET NEUTRALITY.

9 The provisions of this Act (other than this section)

10 shall not be effective and shall not be considered to be an

11 estimate required under the procedures specified in section

12 252(d) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con13 trol Act of 1985 until the enactment of revenue legislation

14 effectuating section 701 of the Federal Election Campaign

15 Act of 1971.

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