II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1561

To reform the conduct of Federal elections.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 13, 1997

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

to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To reform the conduct of Federal elections.

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 ‘‘Constitutional and Effective Reform of Campaigns Act

6 of 1997’’.

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

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Effective date.

TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

Sec. 101. Prohibition of contributions and donations by foreign nationals and

other individuals not eligible to register to vote; additional restrictions on foreign nationals.
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Sec. 102. Update of individual contribution limit and indexing of limits.

Sec. 103. Encouraging small contributions to local congressional candidates.

TITLE II—LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR CANDIDATES

Sec. 201. Seed money to encourage new candidates and competitive campaigns.

Sec. 202. Modification of contribution limits in response to expenditures from

personal funds.

Sec. 203. Limit on senate use of the franking privilege.

TITLE III—VOLUNTARINESS OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 301. Consent for use of dues and fees of labor organizations.

Sec. 302. Corporate shareholder notification.

TITLE IV—ELIMINATION OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN EXCESSES

Sec. 401. Prohibition of fundraising on Federal property and other criminal

prohibitions.

Sec. 402. Deposit of certain contributions and donations in treasury account.

Sec. 403. National political party committees; ‘‘soft’’ and ‘‘hard’’ money.

Sec. 404. Prohibition of conversion of campaign funds to personal use.

TITLE V—ENHANCED DISCLOSURE

Sec. 501. Reporting requirements for candidates.

Sec. 502. Access to information on the Internet.

Sec. 503. Reporting requirements for independent expenditures within 20 days

before an election.

Sec. 504. Required lobbyist disclosure of contributions and donations.

TITLE VI—FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION REFORM

Sec. 601. Filing of reports using computers and facsimile machines.

Sec. 602. Term limits for Federal Election Commission.

Sec. 603. Increase in penalty for knowing and willful violations.

Sec. 604. Civil penalties for minor reporting violations.

Sec. 605. Oral arguments; index of actions.

Sec. 606. Change in certain reporting from a calendar year basis to an election

cycle basis.

Sec. 607. Confirmation of general counsel and executive director.

TITLE VII—IMPROVEMENTS TO THE NATIONAL VOTER

REGISTRATION ACT

Sec. 701. Repeal of requirement for States to provide for voter registration by

mail.

Sec. 702. Requiring applicants registering to vote to provide certain additional

information.

Sec. 703. Removal of certain registrants from official list of eligible voters.

Sec. 704. Permitting State to require voters to produce additional information

prior to voting.

Sec. 705. Repeal of requirement that States permit registrants changing residence to vote at polling place for former address.
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1 SEC. 2. 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, 1999.

5 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF

6 CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

7 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA8 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS AND OTHER

9 INDIVIDUALS NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO

10 VOTE; ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON FOR11 EIGN NATIONALS.

12 (a) PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA13 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS

14 NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE; ADDITIONAL RE15 STRICTIONS ON FOREIGN NATIONALS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a) of the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

18 441e(a)) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUALS NOT ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER

21 TO VOTE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), it shall be unlawful for—

24 ‘‘(i) an individual who is not eligible

25 to register to vote in a Federal election (in26 cluding foreign nationals) to make a con-
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1 tribution or donation or to promise ex2 pressly or impliedly to make a contribution

3 or donation; or

4 ‘‘(ii) any person to solicit, accept, or

5 receive a contribution or donation from an

6 individual who is not eligible to register to

7 vote in a Federal election (including for8 eign nationals).

9 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A)

10 shall not apply in the case of an individual who

11 is not eligible to register to vote solely by rea12 son of a residency requirement under State

13 law.’’.

14 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN NATIONALS.—

15 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS

16 AND DONATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

18 (ii), it shall be unlawful for—

19 ‘‘(I) a foreign national, or an en20 tity that is a domestic subsidiary of a

21 foreign national, to make, directly or

22 through any other person, any con23 tribution of money or other thing of

24 value, or promise expressly or

25 impliedly to make any such contribu-
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1 tion, in connection with an election to

2 any political office or in connection

3 with any primary election, convention,

4 or caucus held to select a candidate

5 for any political office or make any

6 donation, or promise expressly or

7 impliedly to make any such donation;

8 or

9 ‘‘(II) any person to solicit, ac10 cept, or receive any such contribution

11 or donation from a foreign national.

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall

13 not apply to an entity that is a domestic

14 subsidiary of a foreign national if the en15 tity can demonstrate through a reasonable

16 accounting method that the entity has suf17 ficient funds in the entity’s account, other

18 than funds given or loaned by the foreign

19 national parent of the entity, from which

20 the contribution or donation is made.

21 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—It

22 shall be unlawful for a foreign national to make

23 an independent expenditure.

24 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITED PARTICIPATION.—A for25 eign national shall not direct, dictate, control,
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1 or directly or indirectly participate in the deci2 sion-making process of any person with regard

3 to such person’s election-related activities, in4 cluding decisions concerning the making of con5 tributions, donations, or expenditures in connec6 tion with elections for any local, State, or Fed7 eral office or decisions concerning the adminis8 tration of a political committee.’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 319

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

11 431 et seq.) is amended by striking the heading and

12 inserting ‘‘RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN NA13 TIONALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS NOT

14 ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE’’.

15 (b) DEFINITION OF DONATION.—Section 301 of the

16 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)

17 is amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(20) DONATION.—The term ‘donation’ means

19 a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of

20 money or anything else of value made by any person

21 to a national committee of a political party or a Sen22 atorial or Congressional Campaign Committee of a

23 national political party for any purpose, but does not

24 include a contribution (as defined in paragraph

25 (8)).’’.
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1 SEC. 102. UPDATE OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION LIMIT

2 AND INDEXING OF LIMITS.

3 (a) UPDATE OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION

4 LIMIT.—Section 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election

5 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(A)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’.

7 (b) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amend9 ed—

10 (1) in paragraph (1)—

11 (A) by striking the second and third sen12 tences;

13 (B) by inserting before ‘‘At the beginning’’

14 the following: ‘‘(A)’’; and

15 (C) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(B) Each limitation established by subsection (a),

17 (b), (d), or (i) shall be increased by the percent difference

18 determined under subparagraph (A), and the increased

19 amount, if not a multiple of $100, shall be rounded to

20 the next higher multiple of $100.

21 ‘‘(C) Each amount increased under subparagraph (B)

22 shall remain in effect for the calendar year in which the

23 amount is increased.

24 ‘‘(D) The Commission shall publish each year in the

25 Federal Register any change made to a limit under this

26 subsection.’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘means the

2 calendar year 1974.’’ and inserting ‘‘means—

3 ‘‘(i) for purposes of subsections (b) and

4 (d), calendar year 1974; and

5 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of subsections (a) and

6 (i), calendar year 1997.’’.

7 SEC. 103. ENCOURAGING SMALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO

8 LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES.

9 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Subpart A of part IV of sub10 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

11 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is

12 amended by inserting after section 25A the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 25B. IN-STATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONGRESSIONAL

14 CANDIDATES.

15 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of an individual,

16 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed

17 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to

18 the total amount of contributions made by the individual

19 to any local congressional candidate.

20 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The credit allowed by

22 subsection (a) for a taxable year shall not exceed

23 $100 ($200 in the case of a joint return under sec24 tion 6013).
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1 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—No credit

2 shall be allowed under subsection (a) for a taxable

3 year if the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross in4 come (as defined in section 25A(d)(3)) exceeds

5 $60,000 ($120,000 in the case of a joint return).

6 ‘‘(3) VERIFICATION.—The credit allowed by

7 subsection (a) shall be allowed with respect to any

8 contribution only if the contribution is verified in

9 such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by reg10 ulation.

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section—

12 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATE.—The term ‘candidate’ has

13 the meaning given the term in section 301 of the

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

15 431).

16 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘contribution’

17 has the meaning given the term in section 301 of the

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

19 431).

20 ‘‘(3) LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE.—The

21 term ‘local congressional candidate’ means a can22 didate in a primary, general, runoff, or special elec23 tion seeking nomination for election to, or election to

24 the Senate or the House of Representatives for the
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1 State in which the principal residence of the tax2 payer is located.

3 ‘‘(4) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin4 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used

5 in section 121.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) Section 642 of such Code (relating to spe8 cial rules for credits and deductions of estates or

9 trusts) is amended by adding at the end the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘(j) CREDIT FOR CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS NOT AL12 LOWED.—An estate or trust shall not be allowed the credit

13 against tax provided by section 25B.’’.

14 (2) The table of sections for subpart A of part

15 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 25A the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 25B. In-State contributions to congressional candidates.’’.

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

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

20 December 31, 1997.
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1 TITLE II—LEVELING THE PLAY2 ING FIELD FOR CANDIDATES

3 SEC. 201. SEED MONEY TO ENCOURAGE NEW CANDIDATES

4 AND COMPETITIVE CAMPAIGNS.

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

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘No per8 son’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub9 section (i), no person’’;

10 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘No multi11 candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

12 subsection (i), no multicandidate’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(i) MODIFICATION OF LIMITS.—

15 ‘‘(1) SEED MONEY.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a nomi17 nation for election to, or election to, the Senate

18 or House of Representatives, the limits under

19 paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) of subsection (a)

20 for any calendar year shall be 4 times the limit

21 determined without regard to this section until

22 such time as the aggregate contributions exceed

23 the applicable limit for a candidate.
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1 ‘‘(B) CANDIDATE’S APPLICABLE LIMIT.—

2 The applicable limit under subparagraph (A)

3 shall be—

4 ‘‘(i)(I) in the case of a candidate for

5 the Senate, $300,000; or

6 ‘‘(II) in the case of a candidate for

7 the House of Representatives, $100,000;

8 reduced (but not below zero) by

9 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount deter10 mined under subsection (j)(1) that the can11 didate and the candidate’s authorized com12 mittees have available to transfer from a

13 previous election cycle to the current elec14 tion cycle.

15 ‘‘(C) TIME TO ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS

16 UNDER MODIFIED LIMIT.—A candidate and the

17 candidate’s authorized committees shall not ac18 cept a contribution under this subsection until

19 the candidate has received notification of the

20 aggregate amount under subsection (j)(2).’’.

21 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TRANS22 FERRED FROM PREVIOUS ELECTION CYCLE.—Section

23 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

24 U.S.C. 441a) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended

25 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(j) DETERMINATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TRANS2 FERRED FROM PREVIOUS ELECTION CYCLES.—

3 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of sub4 section (i)—

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual elected to

6 the House of Representatives or the Senate,

7 after the receipt of the individual’s post-general

8 election report under section 304(a)(2)(A)(ii)

9 for the election cycle in which the individual

10 was elected, the Commission shall determine the

11 aggregate amount of contributions that is avail12 able to be transferred from 1 or more previous

13 election cycles to the current election cycle of

14 the candidate (regardless of whether the

15 amount has been so transferred); and

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other individual,

17 the amount shall be zero.

18 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—The Commission shall

19 notify the candidate of the amount that is deter20 mined under paragraph (1).

21 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—On receipt of notification

22 under paragraph (2), the limits in paragraphs

23 (1)(B) and (2)(B) of subsection (i) shall be adjusted

24 accordingly.’’.
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1 SEC. 202. MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN RE2 SPONSE TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL

3 FUNDS.

4 (a) MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN RE5 SPONSE TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL FUNDS.—

6 Section 315(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

7 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) (as added by section 201) is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN LIMIT TO ALLOW RESPONSE

10 TO EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL FUNDS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicable limit

12 under paragraph (1) for a particular election

13 shall be increased by the personal funds

14 amount.

15 ‘‘(B) PERSONAL FUNDS AMOUNT.—The

16 personal funds amount is an amount equal to

17 the excess (if any) of—

18 ‘‘(i) the greatest aggregate amount of

19 expenditures from personal funds (as de20 fined in section 304(a)(6)(B)) in excess of

21 $25,000 that an opposing candidate in the

22 same election makes; over

23 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount of expendi24 tures from personal funds made by the

25 candidate in the election.’’.
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1 (b) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES FROM PER2 SONAL FUNDS.—Section 304(a)(6) of the Federal Elec3 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)) is

4 amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub6 paragraph (D); and

7 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE FROM PER10 SONAL FUNDS.—

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF EXPENDITURE FROM PER12 SONAL FUNDS.—In this subparagraph, the term ‘ex13 penditure from personal funds’ means—

14 ‘‘(I) an expenditure made by a candidate

15 using personal funds; and

16 ‘‘(II) a contribution made by a candidate

17 using personal funds to the candidate’s author18 ized committee.

19 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than

20 24 hours after a candidate seeking nomination for

21 election to, or election to, the Senate makes or obli22 gates to make an aggregate amount of expenditure

23 from personal funds in excess of $25,000 in connec24 tion with any election, the candidate shall file a noti-
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1 fication stating the amount of the expenditure

2 with—

3 ‘‘(I) the Commission; and

4 ‘‘(II) each candidate in the same election.

5 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATION.—After a

6 candidate files an initial notification under clause

7 (ii), the candidate shall file an additional notification

8 each time expenditures from personal funds are

9 made or obligated to be made in an aggregate

10 amount of $5,000 with—

11 ‘‘(I) the Commission; and

12 ‘‘(II) each candidate in the same election.

13 ‘‘(iv) CONTENTS.—A notification under clause

14 (ii) or (iii) shall include—

15 ‘‘(I) the name of the candidate and the of16 fice sought by the candidate;

17 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of each expendi18 ture; and

19 ‘‘(III) the total amount of expenditures

20 from personal funds that the candidate has

21 made, or obligated to make, with respect to an

22 election as of the date of the expenditure that

23 is the subject of the notification.’’.

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec25 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) (as amended
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1 by section 101(c)) is amended by adding at the end the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(21) ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘election cycle’

4 means the period beginning on the day after the date of

5 the most recent general election for the specific office or

6 seat that a candidate is seeking and ending on the date

7 of the next general election for that office or seat.

8 ‘‘(22) PERSONAL FUNDS.—The term ‘personal

9 funds’ means an amount that is derived from—

10 ‘‘(A) any asset that, under applicable State law,

11 at the time the individual became a candidate, the

12 candidate had legal right of access to or control

13 over, and with respect to which the candidate had—

14 ‘‘(i) legal and rightful title; or

15 ‘‘(ii) an equitable interest;

16 ‘‘(B) income received during the current elec17 tion cycle of the candidate, including—

18 ‘‘(i) a salary and other earned income from

19 bona fide employment;

20 ‘‘(ii) dividends and proceeds from the sale

21 of the candidate’s stocks or other investments;

22 ‘‘(iii) bequests to the candidate;

23 ‘‘(iv) income from trusts established before

24 the beginning of the election cycle;
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1 ‘‘(v) income from trusts established by be2 quest after the beginning of the election cycle of

3 which the candidate is the beneficiary;

4 ‘‘(vi) gifts of a personal nature that had

5 been customarily received by the candidate

6 prior to beginning of the election cycle; and

7 ‘‘(vii) proceeds from lotteries and similar

8 legal games of chance; and

9 ‘‘(C) a portion of assets that are jointly owned

10 by the candidate and the candidate’s spouse equal to

11 the candidate’s share of the asset under the instru12 ment of conveyance or ownership but if no specific

13 share is indicated by an instrument of conveyance or

ownership, the value of 1 14 ⁄2 of the property.’’.

15 SEC. 203. LIMIT ON SENATE USE OF THE FRANKING PRIVI16 LEGE.

17 Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

20 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

21 striking ‘‘Congress may not’’ and inserting ‘‘the

22 House of Representatives may not’’; and

23 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days (or,

24 in the case of a Member of the House, fewer

25 than 90 days)’’ and inserting ‘‘90 days’’; and
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1 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(C)(i) A Member of the Senate shall not

4 mail any mass mailing as franked mail during

5 a year in which there will be an election for the

6 seat held by the Member during the period be7 tween January 1 of that year and the date of

8 the general election for that office, unless the

9 Member has made a public announcement that

10 the Member will not be a candidate for reelec11 tion to that office in that year.

12 ‘‘(ii) A Member of the Senate shall not

13 mail any mass mailing as franked mail if the

14 mass mailing is postmarked fewer than 60 days

15 before the date of any primary election or gen16 eral election (whether regular, special, or run17 off) for any national, State, or local office in

18 which the Member is a candidate for election.’’.

19 TITLE III—VOLUNTARINESS OF

20 POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

21 SEC. 301. CONSENT FOR USE OF DUES AND FEES OF LABOR

22 ORGANIZATIONS.

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

24 (1) workers who pay dues or fees to a labor or25 ganization may not, as a matter of law, be required
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1 to pay to that organization any dues or fees support2 ing activities that are not necessary to perform the

3 duties of the exclusive representative of employees in

4 dealing with the employer on labor-management is5 sues;

6 (2) many labor organizations use portions of

7 the dues or fees they collect from the workers they

8 represent for activities that are not necessary to per9 form those duties, such as supporting political, so10 cial, or charitable causes or other non-collective bar11 gaining activities;

12 (3) unfortunately, many workers who pay such

13 dues or fees have insufficient information about the

14 workers’ rights regarding the payment of dues or

15 fees to a labor organization and how labor organiza16 tions spend employee dues or fees; and

17 (4) it is a fundamental tenet of this Nation that

18 all men and women have a right to make individual

19 and informed choices about the political, social, or

20 charitable causes they support, and the law should

21 protect that right to the greatest extent possible.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en23 sure that—

24 (1) all workers have sufficient information

25 about their rights regarding the payment of dues or
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1 fees to labor organizations and the uses of employee

2 dues and fees by labor organizations; and

3 (2) the right of all workers to make individual

4 and informed choices about the political, social, or

5 charitable causes they support is protected to the

6 greatest extent possible.

7 (c) WRITTEN CONSENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—

9 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—Before accepting

10 payment of any dues or fees from an employee

11 as a condition of employment, under an agree12 ment authorized by Federal law, a labor organi13 zation shall obtain from each employee vol14 untary, written authorization for any portion of

15 the dues or fees that will be used for an activity

16 that is not necessary to perform the duties of

17 the exclusive representative of the employees in

18 dealing with the employer on labor-management

19 issues.

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An authorization

21 under subparagraph (A) shall clearly state

22 that—

23 (i) an employee may not be required

24 to provide the authorization; and
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1 (ii) if the authorization is provided,

2 the employee agrees to allow any dues or

3 fees paid to the labor organization to be

4 used for activities that are not necessary to

5 perform the duties of the exclusive rep6 resentative and that may be political, so7 cial, or charitable in nature.

8 (2) REVOCATION.—An authorization under

9 paragraph (1) is effective until revoked by written

10 notice to the labor organization and a revocation

11 shall be effective on the date that is 30 days after

12 the date of receipt of the notice by the labor organi13 zation.

14 (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An affected employee

16 may bring a civil action against a labor organi17 zation that violates this subsection in any Fed18 eral or State court of competent jurisdiction

19 for—

20 (i) damages equal to—

21 (I) twice the amount of the dues

22 or fees accepted in violation of this

23 subsection; and
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1 (II) the interest on the amount

2 described in subclause (I) calculated

3 at the prevailing rate; and

4 (ii) such equitable relief as may be ap5 propriate.

6 (B) FEES AND COSTS.—The court shall, in

7 addition to any judgment awarded to the plain8 tiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, reason9 able expert witness fee, and other costs of the

10 civil action.

11 (C) LIMITATION.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

13 in clause (ii), a civil action may be brought

14 under this paragraph not later than the

15 date that is 2 years after the date on

16 which the employee knew or should have

17 known that dues or fees were accepted or

18 spent by a labor organization in violation

19 of this subsection.

20 (ii) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the

21 case of a willful violation of this sub22 section, clause (i) shall be applied by sub23 stituting ‘‘3 years’’ for ‘‘2 years’’.

24 (d) NOTICE.—An employer shall post a notice, of

25 such size and in such form as the Secretary of Labor shall
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1 prescribe, in conspicuous places on the employer’s prop2 erty (including plants, offices, and all places where notices

3 to employees are customarily posted) informing employees

4 that any labor organization accepting payment of any dues

5 or fees from an employee as a condition of employment

6 under an agreement authorized by Federal law must ob7 tain from each employee prior, written authorization if any

8 portion of such dues or fees will be used for activities not

9 necessary to perform the duties of the exclusive represent10 ative of the employees in dealing with the employer on

11 labor-management issues.

12 (e) DISCLOSURE TO WORKERS.—

13 (1) EXPENSES REPORTING.—Section 201(b)(6)

14 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure

15 Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(b)(6)) is amended by

16 inserting ‘‘and attributing the disbursements in such

17 detail as necessary to allow members and employees

18 required to pay any dues or fees to the labor organi19 zation to determine whether the disbursements were

20 necessary to perform the duties of the exclusive rep21 resentative of the employees in dealing with the em22 ployer on labor-management issues’’ before ‘‘there23 of’’.

24 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Section 201(c) of the Labor25 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
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1 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended in the first sen2 tence—

3 (A) by inserting ‘‘and employees required

4 to pay any dues or fees to the labor organiza5 tion’’ after ‘‘members’’; and

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘or employee required to

7 pay any dues or fees to the labor organization’’

8 after ‘‘member’’ each place it appears.

9 (3) WRITTEN REQUESTS.—Section 205 of the

10 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of

11 1959 (29 U.S.C. 435) is amended—

12 (A) by striking subsection (b) and insert13 ing the following:

14 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION, EXAMINATION, AND COPYING OF

15 INFORMATION AND DATA.—The Secretary shall by regula16 tion make reasonable provision for—

17 ‘‘(1) on the request of any person, the inspec18 tion and examination of the information and data

19 contained in any report or other document filed with

20 the Secretary under section 201, 202, 203, or 211;

21 and

22 ‘‘(2) on written request of any person, the avail23 ability of complete copies of any report or other doc24 ument filed under section 201.’’; and
26

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1 (B) in subsection (c), in the first sentence,

2 by inserting ‘‘(except as provided in subsection

3 (b)(2))’’ before the period.

4 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall

5 promulgate a regulation as necessary to carry out—

6 (1) the amendments made by subsection (d),

7 not later than the date that is 60 days after the date

8 of enactment of this Act; and

9 (2) the amendments made by subsection (e),

10 not later than the date that is 120 days after the

11 date of enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 302. CORPORATE SHAREHOLDER NOTIFICATION.

13 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

14 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

15 section 316 the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 316A. CORPORATE SHAREHOLDER NOTIFICATION.

17 ‘‘A corporation required by any law of Congress to

18 submit an annual report to the corporation’s shareholders

19 shall disclose—

20 ‘‘(1) the aggregate amount of donations (as de21 fined in section 301(20)) made by the corporation

22 during the year; and

23 ‘‘(2) the name of the political committee to

24 which each donation was made.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—ELIMINATION OF

2 ELECTION CAMPAIGN EXCESSES

3 SEC. 401. PROHIBITION OF FUNDRAISING ON FEDERAL

4 PROPERTY AND OTHER CRIMINAL PROHIBI5 TIONS.

6 (a) PROHIBITION OF FUNDRAISING ON FEDERAL

7 PROPERTY.—Section 607 of title 18, United States Code,

8 is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘within the

10 meaning of section 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or dona11 tion within the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20)

12 of section 301(8)’’; and

13 (2) in subsection (b)—

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘or donations’’ after ‘‘con15 tributions’’ each place it appears;

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘or donation’’ after ‘‘con17 tribution’’; and

18 (C) by inserting ‘‘donator’’ after ‘‘contribu19 tor’’.

20 (b) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 18 TO INCLUDE PROHI21 BITION OF DONATIONS.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United

22 States Code, is amended—

23 (1) in section 602(a)(4), by striking ‘‘within the

24 meaning of section 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or dona-
28

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1 tion within the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20)

2 of section 301’’; and

3 (2) in section 603(a)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘within the meaning of sec5 tion 301(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘or donation within

6 the meaning of paragraphs (8) and (20) of sec7 tion 301’’; and

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘or donation’’ after con9 tribution the second and third time it appears.

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

11 this section shall apply to violations occurring on or after

12 the date of enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 402. DEPOSIT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND DO14 NATIONS IN TREASURY ACCOUNT.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election

16 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended

17 by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 324. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND

19 DONATIONS TO BE RETURNED TO DONORS.

20 ‘‘(a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

22 provision of this Act, if a political committee intends

23 to return any contribution or donation given to the

24 political committee, the committee shall transfer the

25 contribution or donation to the Commission if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the contribution or donation is in an

2 amount equal to or greater than $500 (other

3 than a contribution or donation returned within

4 60 days of receipt by the committee); or

5 ‘‘(B) the contribution or donation was

6 made in violation of section 315, 316, 317, 319,

7 320, or 325 (other than a contribution or dona8 tion returned within 30 days of receipt by the

9 committee).

10 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION INCLUDED WITH TRANS11 FERRED CONTRIBUTION OR DONATION.—A political

12 committee shall include with any contribution or do13 nation transferred under paragraph (1)—

14 ‘‘(A) a request that the Commission return

15 the contribution or donation to the person mak16 ing the contribution or donation; and

17 ‘‘(B) information regarding the cir18 cumstances surrounding the making of the con19 tribution or donation and any opinion of the po20 litical committee concerning whether the con21 tribution or donation may have been made in

22 violation of this Act.

23 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESCROW ACCOUNT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

25 establish a single interest-bearing escrow ac-
30

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1 count for deposit of amounts transferred under

2 paragraph (1).

3 ‘‘(B) DISPOSITION OF AMOUNTS RE4 CEIVED.—On receiving an amount from a polit5 ical committee under paragraph (1), the Com6 mission shall—

7 ‘‘(i) deposit the amount in the escrow

8 account established under subparagraph

9 (A); and

10 ‘‘(ii) notify the Attorney General and

11 the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue

12 Service of the receipt of the amount from

13 the political committee.

14 ‘‘(C) USE OF INTEREST TO COVER ADMIN15 ISTRATIVE COSTS.—Any interest earned on

16 amounts in the escrow account established

17 under subparagraph (A) shall be applied toward

18 the administrative costs incurred by the Com19 mission in establishing and administering the

20 account, and any remaining interest shall be de21 posited in the general fund of the Treasury.

22 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF RETURNED CONTRIBU23 TION OR DONATION AS A COMPLAINT.—The transfer

24 of any contribution or donation to the Commission
31

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1 under this section shall be treated as the filing of

2 a complaint under section 309(a).

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF AMOUNTS PLACED IN ESCROW TO

4 COVER FINES AND PENALTIES.—The Commission or the

5 Attorney General may require any amount deposited in

6 the escrow account under subsection (a)(3) to be applied

7 toward the payment of any fine or penalty imposed under

8 this Act or title 18, United States Code against the person

9 making the contribution or donation.

10 ‘‘(c) RETURN OF CONTRIBUTION OR DONATION

11 AFTER DEPOSIT IN ESCROW.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall re13 turn a contribution or donation deposited in the es14 crow account under subsection (a)(3) to the person

15 making the contribution or donation if—

16 ‘‘(A) within 180 days after the date the

17 contribution or donation is transferred, the

18 Commission has not made a determination

19 under section 309(a)(2) that the Commission

20 has reason to believe that the making of the

21 contribution or donation was made in violation

22 of this Act; or

23 ‘‘(B)(i) the contribution or donation will

24 not be used to cover fines, penalties, or costs

25 pursuant to subsection (b); or
32

•S 1561 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) if the contribution or donation will be

2 used for those purposes, that the amounts re3 quired for those purposes have been withdrawn

4 from the escrow account and subtracted from

5 the returnable contribution or donation.

6 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATUS OF INVESTIGA7 TION.—The return of a contribution or donation by

8 the Commission under this subsection shall not be

9 construed as having an effect on the status of an in10 vestigation by the Commission or the Attorney Gen11 eral of the contribution or donation or the cir12 cumstances surrounding the contribution or dona13 tion, or on the ability of the Commission or the At14 torney General to take future actions with respect to

15 the contribution or donation.’’.

16 (b) AMOUNTS USED TO DETERMINE AMOUNT OF

17 PENALTY FOR VIOLATION.—Section 309(a) of the Federal

18 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is

19 amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:

20 ‘‘(10) For purposes of determining the amount of a

21 civil penalty imposed under this subsection for a violation

22 of section 324, the amount of the donation involved shall

23 be treated as the amount of the contribution involved.’’.
33

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1 (c) DISGORGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Section 309 of the

2 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g)

3 is amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(e) DISGORGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Any conciliation

5 agreement, civil action, or criminal action entered into or

6 instituted under this section may require a person to for7 feit to the Treasury any contribution, donation, or expend8 iture that is the subject of the agreement or action for

9 transfer to the Commission for deposit in accordance with

10 section 324.’’.

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to con13 tributions or donations returned on or after the date of

14 enactment of this Act, without regard to whether the Fed15 eral Election Commission or Attorney General has issued

16 regulations to carry out section 324 of the Federal Elec17 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a))

18 by that date.

19 SEC. 403. NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES;

20 ‘‘SOFT’’ AND ‘‘HARD’’ MONEY.

21 (a) ‘‘SOFT’’ MONEY OF NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY

22 COMMITTEES.—Title III of the Federal Election Cam23 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) (as amended

24 by section 402) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:
34

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1 ‘‘SEC. 325. ‘SOFT’ MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT2 TEES.

3 ‘‘A national committee of a political party, any subor4 dinate committee of a national committee, a Senatorial or

5 Congressional Campaign Committee of a national political

6 party, or an entity that is directly or indirectly established,

7 financed, maintained, or controlled by a national commit8 tee or a Senatorial or Congressional Campaign Committee

9 of a national political party or that is an entity acting on

10 behalf of a national committee or a Senatorial or Congres11 sional Campaign Committee of a national political party

12 shall not accept donations from any person during a cal13 endar year in an aggregate amount that exceeds

14 $100,000.’’.

15 (b) INCREASE IN ‘‘HARD’’ LIMITS ON CONTRIBU16 TIONS.—Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign

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

18 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘$20,000’’

19 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; and

20 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’

21 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’.

22 SEC. 404. PROHIBITION OF CONVERSION OF CAMPAIGN

23 FUNDS TO PERSONAL USE.

24 Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a) is amended to read as follows:
35

•S 1561 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 313. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN

2 PURPOSES.

3 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A contribution accepted by

4 a candidate, and any other amount received by an individ5 ual as support for activities of the individual as a holder

6 of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or individ7 ual—

8 ‘‘(1) for expenditures in connection with the

9 campaign for Federal office of the candidate or indi10 vidual;

11 ‘‘(2) for ordinary and necessary expenses in12 curred in connection with duties of the individual as

13 a holder of Federal office;

14 ‘‘(3) for a charitable contribution (as defined in

15 section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of

16 1986) to an organization described in section

17 170(c)(2) of such Code; or

18 ‘‘(4) for transfers to a national, State, or local

19 committee of a political party.

20 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED USE.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contribution or amount

22 described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by

23 any person to personal use.

24 ‘‘(2) CONVERSION.—For the purposes of para25 graph (1), a contribution or amount shall be consid26 ered to be converted to personal use if the contribu-
36

•S 1561 IS

1 tion or amount is used to fulfill any commitment,

2 obligation, or expense of a person that would exist

3 irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or

4 individual’s duties as a holder of Federal office, in5 cluding—

6 ‘‘(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility pay7 ment;

8 ‘‘(B) a clothing purchase;

9 ‘‘(C) a noncampaign-related automobile ex10 pense;

11 ‘‘(D) a country club membership;

12 ‘‘(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-re13 lated trip;

14 ‘‘(F) a household food item;

15 ‘‘(G) a tuition payment;

16 ‘‘(H) admission to a sporting event, con17 cert, theater, or other form of entertainment

18 not associated with an election campaign; and

19 ‘‘(I) dues, fees, and other payments to a

20 health club or recreational facility.’’.
37

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1 TITLE V—ENHANCED

2 DISCLOSURE

3 SEC. 501. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES.

4 (a) WEEKLY REPORTS.—Section 304(a)(2)(A) of the

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

6 434(a)(2)(A)) is amended—

7 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

8 and

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

10 ‘‘(iv) beginning on the date that is 30 days

11 before the date of the general election and end12 ing on the date of the general election, addi13 tional weekly reports which shall be filed not

14 later than Monday of each week; and’’.

15 (b) EXPEDITED REPORTING FOR LARGE CONTRIBU16 TIONS MADE TO PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

17 WITHIN 90 DAYS OF ELECTION.—Section 304(a)(6)(A)

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

19 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘after the 20th day’’

20 and inserting ‘‘after the 90th day before an election’’.

21 (c) WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR

22 INFORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTORS.—

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

24 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is amended—
38

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

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

3 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

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

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

6 information regarding the identification of any person who

7 makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more

8 than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro9 vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.

10 SEC. 502. ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.

11 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

12 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by adding at the

13 end the following:

14 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE TO THE PUBLIC.—

15 The Commission shall make the information contained in

16 a report submitted under this section available to the pub17 lic on the Internet and at the offices of the Commission

18 as soon as practicable after the information is received by

19 the Commission.’’.

20 SEC. 503. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT

21 EXPENDITURES WITHIN 20 DAYS BEFORE AN

22 ELECTION.

23 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

24 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended—
39

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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) (as added

2 by section 502) as subsection (e); and

3 (2) in subsection (c)—

4 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking the un5 designated matter after subparagraph (C);

6 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

7 paragraph (7); and

8 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(d) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI11 TURES.—

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

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

14 makes independent expenditures aggregating

15 $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more

16 than 24 hours, before the date of an election

17 shall file a report describing the expenditures

18 within 24 hours after that amount of independ19 ent expenditures has been made.

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per21 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

22 person shall file an additional report each time

23 that independent expenditures aggregating an

24 additional $1,000 are made with respect to the
40

•S 1561 IS

1 same election as that to which the initial report

2 relates.

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

4 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person that

5 makes independent expenditures aggregating

6 $10,000 or more at any time up to and includ7 ing the 20th day before an election shall file a

8 report describing the expenditures within 48

9 hours after that amount of independent expend10 itures is made.

11 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per12 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

13 person shall file an additional report each time

14 that independent expenditures aggregating an

15 additional $10,000 are made with respect to the

16 same election as that to which the initial report

17 relates.

18 ‘‘(3) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS; TRANSMIT19 TAL.—

20 ‘‘(A) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS.—A re21 port under this subsection—

22 ‘‘(i) shall be filed with the Commis23 sion; and

24 ‘‘(ii) shall contain the information re25 quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii).
41

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1 ‘‘(B) TRANSMITTAL TO CANDIDATES.—Not

2 later than 2 business days after receipt of a re3 port under this subsection, the Commission

4 shall transmit a copy of the report to each can5 didate seeking nomination for election to, or

6 election to, the office in question.

7 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION TO MAKE EXPENDITURE.—

8 For purposes of this subsection, an expenditure shall

9 be treated as being made on the making of any pay10 ment or the taking of any action to incur an obliga11 tion for payment.’’.

12 SEC. 504. REQUIRED LOBBYIST DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBU13 TIONS AND DONATIONS.

14 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2

15 U.S.C. 1604) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, contribu17 tions, and donations’’ after ‘‘lobbying activities’’;

18 and

19 (2) in subsection (b)—

20 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’

21 at the end;

22 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (C) by adding at the end the following:
42

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1 ‘‘(5) if the registrant, the registrant’s employer,

2 or a separate segregated fund of such employer has

3 made a contribution or donation (as defined in sec4 tion 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) to a covered executive branch

6 official, covered legislative branch official, or political

7 committee (as defined in section 301 of the Federal

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)), the

9 amount of the contribution or donation, the official

10 or political committee to whom the contribution or

11 donation was made, and the date on which the con12 tribution or donation was made.’’.

13 TITLE VI—FEDERAL ELECTION

14 COMMISSION REFORM

15 SEC. 601. FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

16 FACSIMILE MACHINES.

17 Section 304(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

18 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking para19 graph (11) and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(11) FILING REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

21 FACSIMILE MACHINES.—

22 ‘‘(A) SOFTWARE.—The Commission

23 shall—
43

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1 ‘‘(i) develop software for use to file a

2 designation, statement, or report under

3 this Act; and

4 ‘‘(ii) provide a copy of the software at

5 no cost to a person required to file a des6 ignation, statement, or report under this

7 Act.

8 ‘‘(B) COMPUTERS.—The Commission shall

9 promulgate a regulation under which a person

10 required to file a designation, statement, or re11 port under this Act—

12 ‘‘(i) is required to maintain and file

13 the designation, statement, or report for

14 any calendar year in electronic form acces15 sible by computers if the person has, or

16 has reason to expect to have, aggregate

17 contributions or expenditures in excess of a

18 threshold amount determined by the Com19 mission; and

20 ‘‘(ii) may maintain and file a designa21 tion, statement, or report in that manner

22 if not required to do so under a regulation

23 promulgated under clause (i).

24 ‘‘(C) FACSIMILE MACHINE.—The Commis25 sion shall promulgate a regulation which allows
44

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1 a person to file a designation, statement, or re2 port required by this Act through the use of a

3 facsimile machine.

4 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURE.—In

5 promulgating a regulation under this para6 graph, the Commission shall provide methods

7 (other than requiring a signature on the docu8 ment being filed) for verifying a designation,

9 statement, or report covered by the regulation.

10 A document verified under any of the methods

11 shall be treated for all purposes (including pen12 alties for perjury) in the same manner as a doc13 ument verified by signature.’’.

14 SEC. 602. TERM LIMITS FOR FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS15 SION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(2)(A) of the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

18 437c(a)(2)(A)) is amended in the matter preceding clause

19 (i) by striking ‘‘terms of 6 years’’ and inserting ‘‘no more

20 than 1 term of 8 years’’.

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

22 subsection (a) shall apply to appointments made after the

23 date of enactment of this Act.
45

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1 SEC. 603. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR KNOWING AND WILL2 FUL VIOLATIONS.

3 Section 309(a)(5)(B) of the Federal Election Cam4 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(5)(B)) is amended

5 by striking ‘‘the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal

6 to 200 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘the greater of $15,000 or

7 an amount equal to 300 percent’’.

8 SEC. 604. CIVIL PENALTIES FOR MINOR REPORTING VIOLA9 TIONS.

10 Section 309(a)(4)(A) of the Federal Election Cam11 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(4)(A)) is amended—

12 (1) in the first sentence of clause (i) by striking

13 ‘‘clause (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’;

14 and

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

16 ‘‘(iii) MINOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(I) DEFINITION OF MINOR REPORTING

18 VIOLATION.—The Commission shall by regula19 tion establish a definition of the term ‘minor re20 porting violation’ for the purposes of this

21 clause.

22 ‘‘(II) ASSESSMENT BY THE COMMISSION.—

23 After notice and hearing, the Commission may,

24 without following the procedure of subpara25 graph (A) or paragraph (5) or (6), assess a civil
46

•S 1561 IS

1 penalty against a person that commits a minor

2 reporting violation.

3 ‘‘(III) SCHEDULE OF AMOUNTS OF CIVIL

4 PENALTIES.—The Commission shall by regula5 tion establish a schedule of the amounts (or

6 ranges of amounts) of civil penalties (not to ex7 ceed $5,000) that shall be assessed for different

8 categories of minor reporting violations.

9 ‘‘(IV) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining

10 the amounts of civil penalties, the Commission

11 shall consider the effect that a violation could

12 be expected to have on the conduct of an elec13 tion campaign or on the outcome of an election,

14 the previous compliance record of the violator,

15 and other appropriate factors.

16 ‘‘(V) LIMITATION.—A civil penalty as17 sessed by the Commission under this clause

18 shall not be made public within 30 days before

19 the date of an election.

20 ‘‘(VI) ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL RE21 VIEW.—The Commission, acting through its

22 own attorneys, may bring a civil action in Unit23 ed States district court for payment of, and a

24 person against whom a civil penalty has been

25 assessed may bring a civil action in United
47

•S 1561 IS

1 States district court to review, a civil penalty

2 under subclause (II). Paragraph (7) shall apply

3 to a civil action under this subclause.

4 ‘‘(VII) ELECTION OF REMEDY.—If the

5 Commission elects to proceed under this clause

6 against a person for a minor reporting viola7 tion, the Commission shall be precluded from

8 seeking enforcement with respect to that viola9 tion under any other provision of this Act or

10 other law.’’.

11 SEC. 605. ORAL ARGUMENTS; INDEX OF ACTIONS.

12 (a) OPPORTUNITY FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS BEFORE

13 COMMISSION.—Section 309(a)(3) of the Federal Election

14 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(3)) is amend15 ed—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3)(A)’’;

17 and

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

19 ‘‘(B) ORAL ARGUMENT.—

20 ‘‘(i) REQUEST.—If a respondent sub21 mits a brief under subparagraph (A), the

22 respondent may submit, with the brief, a

23 request to present an oral argument before

24 the Commission in support of the respond25 ent’s brief.
48

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1 ‘‘(ii) PRESENTATION.—

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If at least 2

3 members of the Commission approve

4 of the request, the respondent or the

5 respondent’s representative shall ap6 pear before the Commission in an

7 open session and make an oral presen8 tation in support of the brief and re9 spond to questions of members of the

10 Commission.

11 ‘‘(II) TIME.—The appearance

12 shall take place at a time specified by

13 the Commission during the 30-day pe14 riod that begins on the date the re15 quest is approved, and the Commis16 sion may limit the length of the re17 spondent’s appearance to a period of

18 time that the Commission considers

19 appropriate.

20 ‘‘(III) CONSIDERATION.—Infor21 mation provided by the respondent

22 during the appearance shall be consid23 ered by the Commission before pro24 ceeding under paragraph (4).’’.
49

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1 (b) INDEX OF ADVISORY OPINIONS, REGULATIONS,

2 AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—Section 311 of the Fed3 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(g) COMPILATION OF INDEX.—The Commission

6 shall compile, publish, and regularly update a complete

7 and detailed index of the advisory opinions issued under

8 this section 308, enforcement actions under section 309,

9 and regulations issued under this Act.’’.

10 SEC. 606. CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL11 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE

12 BASIS.

13 Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) of section

14 304(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

15 U.S.C. 434(b)) are amended by inserting ‘‘(election cycle,

16 in the case of a candidate’s authorized committee)’’ after

17 ‘‘calendar year’’ each place it appears.

18 SEC. 607. CONFIRMATION OF GENERAL COUNSEL AND EX19 ECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

20 Section 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign

21 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1)) is amended in the first

22 sentence by striking ‘‘Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Presi23 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate’’

24 before the period.
50

•S 1561 IS

1 TITLE VII—IMPROVEMENTS TO

2 THE NATIONAL VOTER REG3 ISTRATION ACT

4 SEC. 701. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR STATES TO PRO5 VIDE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION BY MAIL.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the National Voter

7 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–2(a)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the

10 end;

11 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and

12 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para13 graph (2).

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO UNI15 FORM MAIL VOTER REGISTRATION FORM.—(1) The Na16 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg

17 et seq.) is amended by striking section 9.

18 (2) Section 7(a)(6)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

19 1973gg – 5(a)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘assist20 ance—’’ and all that follows and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘assistance, a voter registration application form which

22 meets the requirements described in section 5(c)(2) (other

23 than subparagraph (A)), unless the applicant, in writing,

24 declines to register to vote;’’.
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1 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The

2 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

3 1973gg et seq.) is amended by striking section 6.

4 (2) Section 8(a)(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

5 6(a)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘5, 6, and 7’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘5 and 7’’.

7 SEC. 702. REQUIRING APPLICANTS REGISTERING TO VOTE

8 TO PROVIDE CERTAIN ADDITIONAL INFOR9 MATION.

10 (a) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(c)(2) of the Na12 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

13 1973gg–3(c)(2)) is amended—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 paragraph (D);

16 (B) by striking the period at the end of

17 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (C) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(F) shall require the applicant to provide

20 the applicant’s Social Security number.’’.

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

22 5(c)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

23 3(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘subpara24 graph (C)’’ the following: ‘‘, or the information de25 scribed in subparagraph (F)’’.
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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

2 by this section shall take effect January 1, 1998,

3 and shall apply with respect to applicants registering

4 to vote in elections for Federal office on or after

5 such date.

6 (b) ACTUAL PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.—

7 (1) REGISTRATION WITH APPLICATION FOR

8 DRIVER’S LICENSE.—Section 5(c) of the National

9 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–

10 3(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(3) The voter registration portion of an application

12 for a State motor vehicle driver’s license shall not be con13 sidered to be completed unless the applicant provides to

14 the appropriate State motor vehicle authority proof that

15 the applicant is a citizen of the United States.’’.

16 (2) REGISTRATION WITH VOTER REGISTRATION

17 AGENCIES.—Section 7(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

18 1973gg–5(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(8) A voter registration application received by a

21 voter registration agency shall not be considered to be

22 completed unless the applicant provides to the agency

23 proof that the applicant is a citizen of the United States.’’.

24 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

25 8(a)(5)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–
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1 6(a)(5)(A)) is amended by striking the semicolon

2 and inserting the following: ‘‘, including the require3 ment that the applicant provide proof of citizen4 ship;’’.

5 SEC. 703. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN REGISTRANTS FROM OFFI6 CIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(d) of the National Voter

8 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(d)) is

9 amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para11 graph (4); and

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow13 ing new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(3)(A) At the option of the State, a State may re15 move the name of a registrant from the official list of eligi16 ble voters in elections for Federal office (and, if necessary,

17 correct the registrar’s record of the registrant’s address)

18 on the ground that the registrant has changed residence

19 if—

20 ‘‘(i) the registrant has not voted or appeared to

21 vote in an election during the period beginning on

22 the day after the date of the second previous general

23 election for Federal office held prior to the date the

24 confirmation notice described in subparagraph (B) is

25 sent and ending on the date of such notice;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the registrant has not voted or appeared to

2 vote in any of the first two general elections for Fed3 eral office held after the confirmation notice de4 scribed in subparagraph (B) is sent; and

5 ‘‘(iii) during the period beginning on the date

6 the confirmation notice described in subparagraph

7 (B) is sent and ending on the date of the second

8 general election for Federal office held after the date

9 such notice is sent, the registrant has failed to notify

10 the State in response to the notice that the reg11 istrant did not change his or her residence, or

12 changed residence but remained in the registrar’s ju13 risdiction.

14 ‘‘(B) A confirmation notice described in this subpara15 graph is a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card,

16 sent by forwardable mail, on which a registrant may state

17 his or her current address, together with information con18 cerning how the registrant can continue to be eligible to

19 vote if the registrant has changed residence to a place out20 side the registrar’s jurisdiction and a statement that the

21 registrant may be removed from the official list of eligible

22 voters if the registrant does not respond to the notice (dur23 ing the period described in subparagraph (A)(iii)) by stat24 ing that the registrant did not change his or her residence,
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1 or changed residence but remained in the registrar’s juris2 diction.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8(i)(2) of

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(d)) is amended by insert5 ing ‘‘or subsection (d)(3)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’.

6 SEC. 704. PERMITTING STATE TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

7 PRODUCE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PRIOR

8 TO VOTING.

9 (a) PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION.—Section 8 of

10 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

11 1973gg–6) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub13 section (k); and

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the follow15 ing new subsection:

16 ‘‘(j) PERMITTING STATES TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

17 PRODUCE PHOTO IDENTIFICATION.—A State may require

18 an individual to produce a valid photographic identifica19 tion before receiving a ballot for voting in an election for

20 Federal office.’’.

21 (b) SIGNATURE.—Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C.

22 1973gg–6), as amended by subsection (a), is further

23 amended—

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub25 section (l); and
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the follow2 ing new subsection:

3 ‘‘(k) PERMITTING STATES TO REQUIRE VOTERS TO

4 PROVIDE SIGNATURE.—A State may require an individual

5 to provide the individual’s signature (in the presence of

6 an election official at the polling place) before receiving

7 a ballot for voting in an election for Federal office, other

8 than an individual who is unable to provide a signature

9 because of illiteracy or disability.’’.

10 SEC. 705. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT THAT STATES PERMIT

11 REGISTRANTS CHANGING RESIDENCE TO

12 VOTE AT POLLING PLACE FOR FORMER AD13 DRESS.

14 Section 8(e)(2) of the National Voter Registration

15 Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(e)(2)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’;

17 and

18 (2) by striking ‘‘election, at the option of the

19 registrant—’’ and all that follows and inserting the

20 following: ‘‘election shall be permitted to correct the

21 voting records for purposes of voting in future elec22 tions at the appropriate polling place for the current

23 address and, if permitted by State law, shall be per24 mitted to vote in the present election, upon con-
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1 firmation by the registrant of the new address by

2 such means as are required by law.’’.

Æ