II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1191

To reform the financing of Federal elections, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 18, 1997

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

to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To reform the financing of Federal elections, 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 ‘‘Senate Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1997’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—SENATE ELECTION SPENDING LIMITS AND BENEFITS

Sec. 101. Senate election spending limits and benefits.

TITLE II—REDUCTION OF SPECIAL INTEREST INFLUENCE

Subtitle A—Provisions Relating to Soft Money of Political Party Committees
2

•S 1191 IS

Sec. 201. Soft money of political party committees.

Sec. 202. State party grassroots funds.

Sec. 203. Reporting requirements.

Subtitle B—Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties

Sec. 211. Soft money of persons other than political parties.

Subtitle C—Contributions

Sec. 221. Prohibition of contributions to Federal candidates and of donations

of anything of value to political parties by foreign nationals.

Sec. 222. Closing of soft money loophole.

Sec. 223. Contribution to defray legal expenses of certain officials.

Subtitle D—Independent Expenditures

Sec. 231. Clarification of definitions relating to independent expenditures.

Sec. 232. Reporting requirements for independent expenditures.

TITLE III—APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IV—SEVERABILITY; JUDICIAL REVIEW; EFFECTIVE DATE;

REGULATIONS

Sec. 401. Severability.

Sec. 402. Expedited review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 403. Effective date.

Sec. 404. Regulations.

1 TITLE I—SENATE ELECTION

2 SPENDING LIMITS AND BENE3 FITS

4 SEC. 101. SENATE ELECTION SPENDING LIMITS AND BENE5 FITS.

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

7 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding

8 at the end the following:
3

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘TITLE V—SPENDING LIMITS

2 AND BENEFITS FOR SENATE

3 ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

4 ‘‘SEC. 501. CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE BENEFITS.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, a can6 didate is an eligible Senate candidate if the candidate—

7 ‘‘(1) meets the primary and general election fil8 ing requirements of subsections (c) and (d);

9 ‘‘(2) meets the primary and runoff election ex10 penditure limits of subsection (b); and

11 ‘‘(3) meets the threshold contribution require12 ments of subsection (e).

13 ‘‘(b) PRIMARY AND RUNOFF EXPENDITURE LIM14 ITS.—The requirements of this subsection are met if—

15 ‘‘(1) the candidate and the candidate’s author16 ized committees did not make expenditures for the

17 primary election in excess of 67 percent of the gen18 eral election expenditure limit under section 502(a);

19 and

20 ‘‘(2) the candidate and the candidate’s author21 ized committees did not make expenditures for any

22 runoff election in excess of 20 percent of the general

23 election expenditure limit under section 502(a).

24 ‘‘(c) PRIMARY FILING REQUIREMENTS.—
4

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

2 subsection are met if the candidate files with the

3 Commission a certification that—

4 ‘‘(A) the candidate and the candidate’s au5 thorized committees—

6 ‘‘(i) will meet the primary and runoff

7 election expenditure limits of subsection

8 (b); and

9 ‘‘(ii) will accept only an amount of

10 contributions for the primary and runoff

11 elections that does exceed those limits; and

12 ‘‘(B) the candidate and the candidate’s au13 thorized committees will meet the general elec14 tion expenditure limit under section 502(a).

15 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING CERTIFICATION.—

16 The certification under paragraph (1) shall be filed

17 not later than the date the candidate files as a can18 didate for the primary election.

19 ‘‘(d) GENERAL ELECTION FILING REQUIREMENTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

21 subsection are met if the candidate files a certifi22 cation with the Commission under penalty of perjury

23 that—

24 ‘‘(A) the candidate and the candidate’s au25 thorized committees—
5

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(i) met the primary and runoff elec2 tion expenditure limits under subsection

3 (b); and

4 ‘‘(ii) did not accept contributions for

5 the primary or runoff election in excess of

6 the primary or runoff expenditure limit

7 under subsection (b), whichever is applica8 ble, reduced by any amounts transferred to

9 the current election cycle from a preceding

10 election cycle;

11 ‘‘(B) at least one other candidate has

12 qualified for the same general election ballot

13 under the law of the candidate’s State; and

14 ‘‘(C) the candidate and the authorized

15 committees of the candidate—

16 ‘‘(i) except as otherwise provided by

17 this title, will not make expenditures that

18 exceed the general election expenditure

19 limit under section 502(a);

20 ‘‘(ii) will not accept any contributions

21 in violation of section 315; and

22 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by

23 this title, will not accept any contribution

24 for the general election involved to the ex25 tent that the contribution would cause the
6

•S 1191 IS

1 aggregate amount of contributions to ex2 ceed the sum of the amount of the general

3 election expenditure limit under section

4 502(a), reduced by any amounts trans5 ferred to the current election cycle from a

6 previous election cycle and not taken into

7 account under subparagraph (A)(ii).

8 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING CERTIFICATION.—

9 The certification under paragraph (1) shall be filed

10 not later than 7 days after the earlier of—

11 ‘‘(A) the date on which the candidate

12 qualifies for the general election ballot under

13 State law; or

14 ‘‘(B) if under State law, a primary or run15 off election to qualify for the general election

16 ballot occurs after September 1, the date on

17 which the candidate wins the primary or runoff

18 election.

19 ‘‘(e) THRESHOLD CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

21 subsection are met if the candidate and the can22 didate’s authorized committees have received allow23 able contributions during the applicable period in an

24 amount at least equal to the lesser of—
7

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the general election ex2 penditure limit under section 502(a); or

3 ‘‘(B) $250,000.

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

5 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The

6 term ‘allowable contribution’ means a contribu7 tion that is made as a gift of money by an indi8 vidual pursuant to a written instrument identi9 fying the individual as the contributor.

10 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘ap11 plicable period’ means—

12 ‘‘(i) the period beginning on January

13 1 of the calendar year preceding the cal14 endar year of the general election involved

15 and ending on the date on which the cer16 tification under subsection (c)(2) is filed by

17 the candidate; or

18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a special election

19 for the office of Senator, the period begin20 ning on the date on which the vacancy in

21 the office occurs and ending on the date of

22 the general election.

23 ‘‘SEC. 502. LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES.

24 ‘‘(a) GENERAL ELECTION EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—
8

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate amount of

2 expenditures for a general election by an eligible

3 Senate candidate and the candidate’s authorized

4 committees shall not exceed the greater of—

5 ‘‘(A) $950,000; or

6 ‘‘(B) $400,000; plus

7 ‘‘(i) 30 cents multiplied by the voting

8 age population not in excess of 4,000,000;

9 and

10 ‘‘(ii) 25 cents multiplied by the voting

11 age population in excess of 4,000,000.

12 ‘‘(2) INDEXING.—The amounts determined

13 under paragraph (1) shall be increased as of the be14 ginning of each calendar year based on the increase

15 in the price index determined under section 315(c),

16 except that the base period shall be calendar year

17 1997.

18 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF TAXES.—The limitation under

19 subsection (a) shall not apply to any expenditure for Fed20 eral, State, or local taxes with respect to earnings on con21 tributions raised.
9

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 503. MATCHING FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE SENATE CAN2 DIDATES IN RESPONSE TO EXPENDITURES BY

3 NON-ELIGIBLE OPPONENTS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 days after the

5 Commission determines that a Senate candidate has made

6 or obligated to make expenditures or accepted contribu7 tions during an election in an aggregate amount in excess

8 of the applicable election expenditure limit under section

9 502(a) or 501(b), the Commission shall make available to

10 an eligible Senate candidate in the same election an aggre11 gate amount of funds equal to the amount in excess of

12 the applicable limit.

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATE OPPOSED BY

14 MORE THAN 1 NON-ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATE.—

15 For purposes of subsection (a), if an eligible Senate can16 didate is opposed by more than 1 non-eligible Senate can17 didate in the same election, the Commission shall take into

18 account only the amount of expenditures of the non-eligi19 ble Senate candidate that expends, in the aggregate, the

20 greatest amount of funds.

21 ‘‘(c) TIME TO MAKE DETERMINATIONS.—The Com22 mission may, on the request of a candidate or on its own

23 initiative, make a determination whether a candidate has

24 made or obligated to make an aggregate amount of ex25 penditures in excess of the applicable limit under sub26 section (a).
10

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to a

2 candidate under subsection (a) shall be used in the same

3 manner as contributions are used.

4 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—An expenditure made

5 with funds made available to a candidate under this sec6 tion shall not be treated as an expenditure for purposes

7 of the expenditure limits under sections 501(b) and

8 502(a).

9 ‘‘SEC. 504. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 hours after

11 an eligible candidate qualifies for a general election ballot,

12 the Commission shall certify the candidate’s eligibility for

13 matching funds under section 503.

14 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS BY COMMISSION.—A deter15 mination (including a certification under subsection (a))

16 made by the Commission under this title shall be final,

17 except to the extent that the determination is subject to

18 examination and audit by the Commission under section

19 505.

20 ‘‘SEC. 505. REVOCATION; MISUSE OF BENEFITS.

21 ‘‘(a) REVOCATION OF STATUS.—If the Commission

22 determines that any eligible Senate candidate has received

23 contributions or made or obligated to make expenditures

24 in excess of—
11

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(1) the applicable primary election expenditure

2 limit under this title; or

3 ‘‘(2) the applicable general election expenditure

4 limit under this title,

5 the Commission shall revoke the certification of the can6 didate as an eligible Senate candidate and notify the can7 didate of the revocation.

8 ‘‘(b) MISUSE OF BENEFITS.—If the Commission de9 termines that any benefit made available to an eligible

10 Senate candidate under this title was not used as provided

11 for in this title or that a candidate has violated any of

12 the spending limits contained in this Act, the Commission

13 shall notify the candidate, and the candidate shall pay the

14 Commission an amount equal to the value of the benefit.’’.

15 (b) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Expenditures made be16 fore January 1, 1998, shall not be counted as expenditures

17 for purposes of the limitations contained in the amend18 ment made by subsection (a).
12

•S 1191 IS

1 TITLE II—REDUCTION OF

2 SPECIAL INTEREST INFLUENCE

3 Subtitle A—Provisions Relating to

4 Soft Money of Political Party

5 Committees

6 SEC. 201. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

7 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

8 1971 (2 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

9 end the following:

10 ‘‘SEC. 324. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT11 TEES.

12 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—A national commit13 tee of a political party (including a national congressional

14 campaign committee of a political party, an entity that

15 is established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the

16 national committee, a national congressional campaign

17 committee of a political party, and an officer or agent of

18 any such party or entity but not including an entity regu19 lated under subsection (b)) shall not solicit or receive any

20 contributions, donations, or transfers of funds, or spend

21 any funds, not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and

22 reporting requirements of this Act.

23 ‘‘(b) STATE, DISTRICT, AND LOCAL COMMITTEES.—

24 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Any amount that is ex25 pended or disbursed by a State, district, or local
13

•S 1191 IS

1 committee of a political party (including an entity

2 that is established, financed, maintained, or con3 trolled by a State, district, or local committee of a

4 political party and an agent or officer of any such

5 committee or entity) during a calendar year in which

6 a Federal election is held, for any activity that might

7 affect the outcome of a Federal election, including

8 any voter registration or get-out-the-vote activity,

9 any generic campaign activity, and any communica10 tion that identifies a candidate (regardless of wheth11 er a candidate for State or local office is also men12 tioned or identified) shall be made from funds sub13 ject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting

14 requirements of this Act.

15 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY NOT INCLUDED IN PARAGRAPH

16 (1).—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall

18 not apply to an expenditure or disbursement

19 made by a State, district, or local committee of

20 a political party for—

21 ‘‘(i) a contribution to a candidate for

22 State or local office if the contribution is

23 not designated or otherwise earmarked to

24 pay for an activity described in paragraph

25 (1);
14

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the costs of a State, district, or

2 local political convention;

3 ‘‘(iii) the non-Federal share of a

4 State, district, or local party committee’s

5 administrative and overhead expenses (but

6 not including the compensation in any

7 month of any individual who spends more

8 than 20 percent of the individual’s time on

9 activity during the month that may affect

10 the outcome of a Federal election) except

11 that for purposes of this paragraph, the

12 non-Federal share of a party committee’s

13 administrative and overhead expenses shall

14 be determined by applying the ratio of the

15 non-Federal disbursements to the total

16 Federal expenditures and non-Federal dis17 bursements made by the committee during

18 the previous presidential election year to

19 the committee’s administrative and over20 head expenses in the election year in ques21 tion;

22 ‘‘(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign

23 materials, including buttons, bumper stick24 ers, and yard signs that name or depict
15

•S 1191 IS

1 only a candidate for State or local office;

2 and

3 ‘‘(v) the cost of any campaign activity

4 conducted solely on behalf of a clearly

5 identified candidate for State or local of6 fice, if the candidate activity is not an ac7 tivity described in paragraph (1).

8 ‘‘(B) FUNDRAISING.—Any amount that is

9 expended or disbursed by a national, State, dis10 trict, or local committee, by an entity that is es11 tablished, financed, maintained, or controlled by

12 a State, district, or local committee of a politi13 cal party, or by an agent or officer of any such

14 committee or entity to raise funds that are

15 used, in whole or in part, to pay the costs of

16 an activity described in subparagraph (A) shall

17 be made from funds subject to the limitations,

18 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this

19 Act.

20 ‘‘(c) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—No national,

21 State, district, or local committee of a political party shall

22 solicit any funds for or make any donations to an organi23 zation that is exempt from Federal taxation under section

24 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

25 ‘‘(d) CANDIDATES.—
16

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), no candidate, individual holding Federal

3 office, or agent of a candidate or individual holding

4 Federal office may—

5 ‘‘(A) solicit or receive funds in connection

6 with an election for Federal office unless the

7 funds are subject to the limitations, prohibi8 tions, and reporting requirements of this Act;

9 or

10 ‘‘(B) solicit or receive funds that are to be

11 expended in connection with any election for

12 other than a Federal election unless the

13 funds—

14 ‘‘(i) are not in excess of the amounts

15 permitted with respect to contributions to

16 candidates and political committees under

17 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 315(a);

18 and

19 ‘‘(ii) are not from sources prohibited

20 by this Act from making contributions with

21 respect to an election for Federal office.

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not

23 apply to the solicitation or receipt of funds by

24 an individual who is a candidate for a State or

25 local office if the solicitation or receipt of funds
17

•S 1191 IS

1 is permitted under State law for the individual’s

2 State or local campaign committee.’’.

3 SEC. 202. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

4 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

5 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

6 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) (as amended by section 105) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

9 end;

10 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub11 paragraph (E); and

12 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(D) to—

15 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab16 lished and maintained by a State committee of

17 a political party in any calendar year which, in

18 the aggregate, exceed $20,000;

19 ‘‘(ii) any other political committee estab20 lished and maintained by a State committee of

21 a political party in any calendar year which, in

22 the aggregate, exceed $5,000;

23 except that the aggregate contributions described in

24 this subparagraph that may be made by a person to

25 the State Party Grassroots Fund and all committees
18

•S 1191 IS

1 of a State Committee of a political party in any

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

3 or’’.

4 (b) MULTICANDIDATE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS

5 TO STATE PARTY.—Section 315(a)(2) of the Federal

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

7 amended—

8 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

9 the end;

10 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub11 paragraph (D); and

12 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(C) to—

15 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab16 lished and maintained by a State committee of

17 a political party in any calendar year which in

18 the aggregate, exceed $15,000;

19 ‘‘(ii) to any other political committee estab20 lished and maintained by a State committee of

21 a political party which, in the aggregate, exceed

22 $5,000;

23 except that the aggregate contributions described in

24 this subparagraph that may be made by a multican25 didate political committee to the State Party Grass-
19

•S 1191 IS

1 roots Fund and all committees of a State Committee

2 of a political party in any State in any calendar year

3 shall not exceed $15,000; or’’.

4 (c) OVERALL LIMIT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(a) of the Fed6 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

7 441a(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and

8 inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(3) OVERALL LIMIT.—

10 ‘‘(A) ELECTION CYCLE.—No individual

11 shall make contributions during any election

12 cycle that, in the aggregate, exceed $60,000.

13 ‘‘(B) CALENDAR YEAR.—No individual

14 shall make contributions during any calendar

15 year—

16 ‘‘(i) to all candidates and their au17 thorized political committees that, in the

18 aggregate, exceed $25,000; or

19 ‘‘(ii) to all political committees estab20 lished and maintained by State committees

21 of a political party that, in the aggregate,

22 exceed $20,000.

23 ‘‘(C) NONELECTION YEARS.—For purposes

24 of subparagraph (B)(i), any contribution made

25 to a candidate or the candidate’s authorized po-
20

•S 1191 IS

1 litical committees in a year other than the cal2 endar year in which the election is held with

3 respect to which the contribution is made shall

4 be treated as being made during the calendar

5 year in which the election is held.’’.

6 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 301 of the Federal

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is

8 amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(20) ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘election

10 cycle’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the au12 thorized committees of a candidate, the period

13 beginning on the day after the date of the most

14 recent general election for the specific office or

15 seat that the candidate seeks and ending on the

16 date of the next general election for that office

17 or sea; and

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of all other persons, the

19 period beginning on the first day following the

20 date of the last general election and ending on

21 the date of the next general election.’’.

22 (d) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 301 et
21

•S 1191 IS

1 seq.) (as amended by section 201) is amended by

2 adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘SEC. 325. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State

5 or local candidate committee’ means a committee estab6 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a candidate

7 for other than Federal office.

8 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding section

9 315(a)(4), no funds may be transferred by a State com10 mittee of a political party from its State Party Grassroots

11 Fund to any other State Party Grassroots Fund or to any

12 other political committee, except a transfer may be made

13 to a district or local committee of the same political party

14 in the same State if the district or local committee—

15 ‘‘(1) has established a separate segregated fund

16 for the purposes described in section 324(b)(1); and

17 ‘‘(2) uses the transferred funds solely for those

18 purposes.

19 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY GRASSROOTS FUNDS

20 FROM STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEES.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount received by a

22 State Party Grassroots Fund from a State or local

23 candidate committee for expenditures described in

24 section 324(b)(1) that are for the benefit of that
22

•S 1191 IS

1 candidate shall be treated as meeting the require2 ments of 324(b)(1) and section 304(f) if—

3 ‘‘(A) the amount is derived from funds

4 which meet the requirements of this Act with

5 respect to any limitation or prohibition as to

6 source or dollar amount specified in paragraphs

7 (1)(A) and (2)(A) of section 315(a); and

8 ‘‘(B) the State or local candidate commit9 tee—

10 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from

11 which payment is made, records of the

12 sources and amounts of funds for purposes

13 of determining whether those requirements

14 are met; and

15 ‘‘(ii) certifies that the requirements

16 were met.

17 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—For

18 purposes of paragraph (1)(A), in determining wheth19 er the funds transferred meet the requirements of

20 this Act described in paragraph (1)(A)—

21 ‘‘(A) a State or local candidate commit22 tee’s cash on hand shall be treated as consisting

23 of the funds most recently received by the com24 mittee; and
23

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the committee must be able to dem2 onstrate that its cash on hand contains funds

3 meeting those requirements sufficient to cover

4 the transferred funds.

5 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Notwithstanding paragraph

6 (1), any State Party Grassroots Fund that receives

7 a transfer described in paragraph (1) from a State

8 or local candidate committee shall be required to

9 meet the reporting requirements of this Act, and

10 shall submit to the Commission all certifications re11 ceived, with respect to receipt of the transfer from

12 the candidate committee.’’.

13 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 301 of the Federal

14 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) (as

15 amended by subsection (c)(2)) is amended by adding

16 at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(21) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUND.—The

18 term ‘State Party Grassroots Fund’ means a sepa19 rate segregated fund established and maintained by

20 a State committee of a political party solely for the

21 purpose of making expenditures and other disburse22 ments described in section 325(a).’’.

23 SEC. 203. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

24 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the

25 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)
24

•S 1191 IS

1 (as amended by section 232) is amended by adding at the

2 end the following:

3 ‘‘(f) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

4 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLITI5 CAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a po6 litical party, any congressional campaign committee

7 of a political party, and any subordinate committee

8 of either, shall report all receipts and disbursements

9 during the reporting period, whether or not in con10 nection with an election for Federal office.

11 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

12 SECTION 325 APPLIES.—A political committee (not

13 described in paragraph (1)) to which section

14 325(b)(1) applies shall report all receipts and dis15 bursements.

16 ‘‘(3) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Any po17 litical committee to which paragraph (1) or (2) does

18 not apply shall report any receipts or disbursements

19 that are used in connection with a Federal election.

20 ‘‘(4) TRANSFERS TO STATE COMMITTEES.—

21 Any political committee shall include in its report

22 under paragraph (1) or (2) the amount of any con23 tribution received by a national committee which is

24 to be transferred to a State committee for use di25 rectly (or primarily to support) activities described
25

•S 1191 IS

1 in section 325(b)(2) and shall itemize such amounts

2 to the extent required by subsection (b)(3)(A).

3 ‘‘(5) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee

4 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub5 section applies from any person aggregating in ex6 cess of $200 for any calendar year, the political

7 committee shall separately itemize its reporting for

8 such person in the same manner as required in para9 graph (3)(A), (5), or (6) of subsection (b).

10 ‘‘(6) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required

11 to be filed under this subsection shall be filed for the

12 same time periods required for political committees

13 under subsection (a).’’.

14 (b) REPORT OF EXEMPT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

15 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

16 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(C) The exclusion provided in subpara19 graph (B)(viii) shall not apply for purposes of

20 any requirement to report contributions under

21 this Act, and all such contributions aggregating

22 in excess of $200 shall be reported.’’.

23 (c) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

24 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
26

•S 1191 IS

1 434) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended by adding

2 at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(g) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re4 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

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

6 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

7 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

8 substantially the same information.’’.

9 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

10 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

11 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

12 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 paragraph (H);

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub16 paragraph (I); and

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

18 subparagraph:

19 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized commit20 tee, disbursements for the primary election, the

21 general election, and any other election in which

22 the candidate participates;’’.

23 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

24 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended—
27

•S 1191 IS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘within the calendar year’’;

2 and

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

4 which the operating expenditure relates’’ after

5 ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

6 Subtitle B—Soft Money of Persons

7 Other Than Political Parties

8 SEC. 211. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLITI9 CAL PARTIES.

10 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended by section 203) is

12 amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(h) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

14 POLITICAL PARTIES.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person other than a com16 mittee of a political party that makes aggregate dis17 bursements totaling in excess of $10,000 for activi18 ties described in paragraph (2) shall file a statement

19 with the Commission—

20 ‘‘(A) within 48 hours after the disburse21 ments are made; or

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of disbursements that are

23 made within 20 days of an election, within 24

24 hours after the disbursements are made.
28

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY.—The activity described in this

2 paragraph is—

3 ‘‘(A) any activity described in section

4 315(b)(2)(A) that refers to any candidate for

5 Federal office, any political party, or any Fed6 eral election; and

7 ‘‘(B) any activity described in subpara8 graph (B) or (C) of section 315(b)(2).

9 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An additional

10 statement shall be filed each time additional dis11 bursements aggregating $10,000 are made by a per12 son described in paragraph (1).

13 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

14 apply to—

15 ‘‘(A) a candidate or a candidate’s author16 ized committees; or

17 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure.

18 ‘‘(5) CONTENTS.—A statement under this sec19 tion shall contain such information about the dis20 bursements as the Commission shall prescribe, in21 cluding—

22 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the person

23 or entity to whom the disbursement was made;

24 ‘‘(B) the amount and purpose of the dis25 bursement; and
29

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(C) if applicable, whether the disburse2 ment was in support of, or in opposition to, a

3 candidate or a political party, and the name of

4 the candidate or the political party.’’.

5 Subtitle C—Contributions

6 SEC. 221. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO FEDERAL

7 CANDIDATES AND OF DONATIONS OF ANY8 THING OF VALUE TO POLITICAL PARTIES BY

9 FOREIGN NATIONALS.

10 Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—

12 (1) by striking the heading and inserting ‘‘PRO13 HIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES AND

14 DONATIONS OF ANYTHING OF VALUE TO POLITICAL

15 PARTIES BY FOREIGN NATIONALS’’; and

16 (2) in subsection (a)—

17 (A) by inserting ‘‘or to make a donation of

18 money or any other thing of value to a political

19 committee of a political party’’ after ‘‘office’’;

20 and

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘or donation’’ after ‘‘con22 tribution’’ the second place it appears.

23 SEC. 222. CLOSING OF SOFT MONEY LOOPHOLE.

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

25 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by striking
30

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘contributions’’ and inserting ‘‘contributions (as defined

2 in section 301) to a candidate or donations (including a

3 contribution as defined in section 301) to political commit4 tees’’.

5 SEC. 223. CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEFRAY LEGAL EXPENSES

6 OF CERTAIN OFFICIALS.

7 (a) CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEFRAY LEGAL EX8 PENSES.—

9 (1) PROHIBITION ON MAKING OF CONTRIBU10 TIONS.—It shall be unlawful for any person to make

11 a contribution to a candidate for nomination to, or

12 election to, a Federal office (as defined in section

13 301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

14 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(3))), an individual who is a

15 holder of a Federal office, or any head of an Execu16 tive department, or any entity established on behalf

17 of such individual, to defray legal expenses of such

18 individual—

19 (1) to the extent it would result in the aggre20 gate amount of such contributions from such person

21 to or on behalf of such individual to exceed $10,000

22 for any calendar year; or

23 (2) if the person is—
31

•S 1191 IS

1 (A) a foreign national (as defined in sec2 tion 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign

3 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)); or

4 (B) a person prohibited from contributing

5 to the campaign of a candidate under section

6 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

7 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b).

8 (2) PROHIBITION ON ACCEPTANCE OF CON9 TRIBUTIONS.—No person shall accept a contribution

10 if the contribution would violate paragraph (1).

11 (3) PENALTY.—A person that knowingly and

12 willfully commits a violation of paragraph (1) or (2)

13 shall be fined an amount not to exceed the greater

14 of $25,000 or 300 percent of the contribution in15 volved in such violation, imprisoned for not more

16 than 1 year, or both.

17 (4) CONSTRUCTION OF PROHIBITION.—Nothing

18 in this section shall be construed to permit the mak19 ing of a contribution that is otherwise prohibited by

20 law.

21 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—A candidate for

22 nomination to, or election to, a Federal office, an individ23 ual who is a holder of a Federal office, or any head of

24 an Executive department, or any entity established on be25 half of such individual, that accepts contributions to de-
32

•S 1191 IS

1 fray legal expenses of such individual shall file a quarterly

2 report with the Federal Election Commission including the

3 following information:

4 (1) The name and address of each contributor

5 who makes a contribution in excess of $25.

6 (2) The amount of each contribution.

7 (3) The name and address of each individual or

8 entity receiving disbursements from the fund.

9 (4) A brief description of the nature and

10 amount of each disbursement.

11 (5) The name and address of any provider of

12 pro bono services to the fund.

13 (6) The fair market value of any pro bono serv14 ices provided to the fund.

15 Subtitle D—Independent

16 Expenditures

17 SEC. 231. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS RELATING TO

18 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

19 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

21 (17) and (18) and inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—The

23 term ‘independent expenditure’ means an expendi24 ture that—

25 ‘‘(A) contains express advocacy; and
33

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(B) is made without cooperation or con2 sultation with any candidate, or any authorized

3 committee or agent of such candidate, and

4 which is not made in concert with, or at the re5 quest or suggestion of, any candidate, or any

6 authorized committee or agent of such can7 didate.

8 ‘‘(18) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘express ad10 vocacy’ means a communication that, taken as

11 a whole and with limited reference to external

12 events, makes positive statements about or neg13 ative statements about or makes an expression

14 of support for or opposition to a specific can15 didate, a specific group of candidates, or can16 didates of a particular political party.

17 ‘‘(B) EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT FOR OR

18 OPPOSITION TO.—In subparagraph (A), the

19 term ‘expression of support for or opposition to’

20 includes a suggestion to take action with re21 spect to an election, such as to vote for or

22 against, make contributions to, or participate in

23 campaign activity, or to refrain from taking ac24 tion.
34

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(C) VOTING RECORDS.—The term ‘ex2 press advocacy’ does not include the publication

3 and distribution of a communication that is lim4 ited to providing information about votes by

5 elected officials on legislative matters and that

6 does not expressly advocate the election or de7 feat of a clearly identified candidate.’’.

8 SEC. 232. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT

9 EXPENDITURES.

10 (a) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI11 TURES.—Section 304(c) of the Federal Election Cam12 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking the undesig14 nated matter after subparagraph (C);

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para16 graph (4); and

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as amend18 ed by paragraph (1), the following:

19 ‘‘(d) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI20 TURES.—

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

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

23 makes or obligates to make independent ex24 penditures aggregating $1,000 or more after

25 the 20th day, but more than 24 hours, before
35

•S 1191 IS

1 an election shall file a report describing the ex2 penditures within 24 hours after that amount

3 of independent expenditures has been made or

4 obligated to be made.

5 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per6 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

7 person filing the report shall file an additional

8 report each time that independent expenditures

9 are made or obligated to be made aggregating

10 an additional $1,000 with respect to the same

11 election as that to which the initial report re12 lates.

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

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

15 makes or obligates to make independent ex16 penditures aggregating $10,000 or more after

17 the 90th day and up to and including the 20th

18 day before an election shall file a report de19 scribing the expenditures within 24 hours after

20 that amount of independent expenditures has

21 been made or obligated to be made.

22 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per23 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

24 person filing the report shall file an additional

25 report each time that independent expenditures
36

•S 1191 IS

1 are made or obligated to be made aggregating

2 an additional $10,000 with respect to the same

3 election as that to which the initial report re4 lates.

5 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—A report under

6 this subsection—

7 ‘‘(A) shall be filed with the Commission;

8 ‘‘(B) shall contain the information required

9 by subsection (c).’’.

10 (b) AFFIDAVIT REQUIREMENT.—Section 304 of the

11 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)

12 (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘(in

14 the case of a committee, by both the chief executive

15 officer and the treasurer of the committee)’’ after

16 ‘‘certification’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(e) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—

19 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—Not later than 48 hours

20 after receipt of a certification under subsection

21 (c)(2)(B), the Commission shall notify the candidate

22 to which the independent expenditure refers and the

23 candidate’s campaign manager and campaign treas24 urer that an expenditure has been made and a cer25 tification has been received.
37

•S 1191 IS

1 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATE.—Not later than 48 hours

2 after receipt of notification under paragraph (1), the

3 candidate and the candidate’s campaign manager

4 and campaign treasurer shall each file with the

5 Commission a certification, under penalty of perjury,

6 stating whether or not the independent expenditure

7 was made in cooperation, consultation, or concert,

8 with, or at the request or suggestion of, the can9 didate or authorized committee or agent of such can10 didate.’’.

11 TITLE III—APPROPRIATIONS

12 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking section 314 (2 U.S.C. 439c) and

16 inserting the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 314. [REPEALED].’’;

18 and

19 (2) by inserting after section 407 the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

22 this Act and chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue

23 Code of 1986 such sums as are necessary.’’.
38

•S 1191 IS

1 TITLE IV—SEVERABILITY; JUDI2 CIAL REVIEW; EFFECTIVE

3 DATE; REGULATIONS

4 SEC. 401. SEVERABILITY.

5 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by

6 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend7 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti8 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made

9 by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such

10 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there11 by.

12 SEC. 402. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

13 (a) DIRECT APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—An ap14 peal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the

15 United States from any interlocutory order or final judg16 ment, decree, or order issued by any court ruling on the

17 constitutionality of any provision of this Act or amend18 ment made by this Act.

19 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND EXPEDITION.—The Supreme

20 Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question

21 addressed in the ruling below, accept jurisdiction over, ad22 vance on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the great23 est extent possible.
39

•S 1191 IS

1 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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

4 effect on January 1, 1998.

5 SEC. 404. REGULATIONS.

6 The Federal Election Commission shall prescribe any

7 regulations required to carry out this Act not later than

8 9 months after the effective date of this Act.

Æ