I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1867

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1999

Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. HILL of Indiana, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr.

BRADY of Texas, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. PETRI, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr.

BACHUS, and Mr. COOK) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on House Administration

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

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

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Campaign Integrity

5 Act of 1999’’.
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1 TITLE I—SOFT MONEY AND CON2 TRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI3 TURES OF POLITICAL PAR4 TIES

5 SEC. 101. BAN ON SOFT MONEY OF NATIONAL POLITICAL

6 PARTIES AND CANDIDATES.

7 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

8 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

9 end the following new section:

10 ‘‘BAN ON USE OF SOFT MONEY BY NATIONAL POLITICAL

11 PARTIES AND CANDIDATES

12 ‘‘SEC. 323. (a) NATIONAL PARTIES.—A national

13 committee of a political party, including the national con14 gressional campaign committees of a political party, and

15 any officers or agents of such party committees, may not

16 solicit, receive, or direct any contributions, donations, or

17 transfers of funds, or spend any funds, which are not sub18 ject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require19 ments of this Act. This subsection shall apply to any entity

20 that is established, financed, maintained, or controlled (di21 rectly or indirectly) by, or acting on behalf of, a national

22 committee of a political party, including the national con23 gressional campaign committees of a political party, and

24 any officers or agents of such party committees.

25 ‘‘(b) CANDIDATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No candidate for Federal

2 office, individual holding Federal office, or any agent

3 of such candidate or officeholder may solicit, receive,

4 or direct—

5 ‘‘(A) any funds in connection with any

6 Federal election unless such funds are subject

7 to the limitations, prohibitions and reporting re8 quirements of this Act;

9 ‘‘(B) any funds that are to be expended in

10 connection with any election for other than a

11 Federal office unless such funds are not in ex12 cess of the amounts permitted with respect to

13 contributions to Federal candidates and polit14 ical committees under section 315(a)(1) and

15 (2), and are not from sources prohibited from

16 making contributions by this Act with respect

17 to elections for Federal office; or

18 ‘‘(C) any funds on behalf of any person

19 which are not subject to the limitations, prohi20 bitions, and reporting requirements of this Act

21 if such funds are for the purpose of financing

22 any activity on behalf of a candidate for elec23 tion for Federal office or any communication

24 which refers to a clearly identified candidate for

25 election for Federal office.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—

2 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—

3 ‘‘(A) the solicitation or receipt of funds by

4 an individual who is a candidate for a non-Fed5 eral office if such activity is permitted under

6 State law for such individual’s non-Federal

7 campaign committee; or

8 ‘‘(B) the attendance by an individual who

9 holds Federal office or is a candidate for elec10 tion for Federal office at a fundraising event

11 for a State or local committee of a political

12 party of the State which the individual rep13 resents or seeks to represent as a Federal of14 ficeholder, if the event is held in such State.

15 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING TRANSFERS OF NON-FEDERAL

16 FUNDS BETWEEN STATE PARTIES.—A State committee

17 of a political party may not transfer any funds to a State

18 committee of a political party of another State unless the

19 funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re20 porting requirements of this Act.

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO FUNDS FROM ALL

22 SOURCES.—This section shall apply with respect to funds

23 of any individual, corporation, labor organization, or other

24 person.’’.
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1 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN AGGREGATE ANNUAL LIMIT ON

2 CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIVIDUALS TO POLIT3 ICAL PARTIES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section

5 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

6 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘in any cal7 endar year’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘to political com8 mittees of political parties, or contributions aggregating

9 more than $25,000 to any other persons, in any calendar

10 year’’.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

12 315(a)(1)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(B)) is

13 amended by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’.

14 SEC. 103. REPEAL OF LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF CO15 ORDINATED EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL

16 PARTIES.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d) of the Federal

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

19 amended by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 315(d)(1)

21 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(1)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)’’;

23 and

24 (2) by striking ‘‘, subject to the limitations con25 tained in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection’’.
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1 SEC. 104. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY

2 MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES

3 TO NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES.

4 Section 315(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Election Cam5 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(B)) is amended

6 by striking ‘‘$15,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000’’.

7 TITLE II—INDEXING

8 CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

9 SEC. 201. INDEXING CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.

10 Section 315(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

12 end the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(3)(A) The amount of each limitation established

14 under subsection (a) shall be adjusted as follows:

15 ‘‘(i) For calendar year 2001, each such amount

16 shall be equal to the amount described in such sub17 section, increased (in a compounded manner) by the

18 percentage increase in the price index (as defined in

19 subsection (c)(2)) for each of the years 1999

20 through 2000.

21 ‘‘(ii) For calendar year 2005 and each fourth

22 subsequent year, each such amount shall be equal to

23 the amount for the fourth previous year (as adjusted

24 under this subparagraph), increased (in a com25 pounded manner) by the percentage increase in the

26 price index for each of the four previous years.
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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of any amount adjusted under this

2 subparagraph which is not a multiple of $100, the amount

3 shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.’’.

4 TITLE III—EXPANDING DISCLO5 SURE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE

6 INFORMATION

7 SEC. 301. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who expends an ag9 gregate amount of funds during a calendar year in excess

10 of $25,000 for communications described in subsection (b)

11 relating to a single candidate for election for Federal office

12 (or an aggregate amount of funds during a calendar year

13 in excess of $100,000 for all such communications relating

14 to all such candidates) shall file a report describing the

15 amount expended for such communications, together with

16 the person’s address and phone number (or, if appro17 priate, the address and phone number of the person’s prin18 cipal officer).

19 (b) COMMUNICATIONS DESCRIBED.—A communica20 tion described in this subsection is any communication

21 which is broadcast to the general public through radio or

22 television and which mentions or includes (by name, rep23 resentation, or likeness) any candidate for election for

24 Senator or for Representative in (or Delegate or Resident

25 Commissioner to) the Congress, other than any commu-
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1 nication which would be described in clause (i), (iii), or

2 (v) of section 301(9)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

3 Act of 1971 if the payment were an expenditure under

4 such section.

5 (c) DEADLINE FOR FILING.—A person shall file a re6 port required under subsection (a) not later than 7 days

7 after the person first expends the applicable amount of

8 funds described in such subsection, except that in the case

9 of a person who first expends such an amount within 10

10 days of an election, the report shall be filed not later than

11 24 hours after the person first expends such amount. For

12 purposes of the previous sentence, the term ‘‘election’’

13 shall have the meaning given such term in section 301(1)

14 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

15 (d) PLACE OF SUBMISSION.—Reports required under

16 subsection (a) shall be submitted—

17 (1) to the Clerk of the House of Representa18 tives, in the case of a communication involving a

19 candidate for election for Representative in (or Dele20 gate or Resident Commissioner to) the Congress;

21 and

22 (2) to the Secretary of the Senate, in the case

23 of a communication involving a candidate for elec24 tion for Senator.

25 (e) PENALTIES.—Whoever knowingly fails to—
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1 (1) remedy a defective filing within 60 days

2 after notice of such a defect by the Secretary of the

3 Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives;

4 or

5 (2) comply with any other provision of this sec6 tion,

7 shall, upon proof of such knowing violation by a prepon8 derance of the evidence, be subject to a civil fine of not

9 more than $50,000, depending on the extent and gravity

10 of the violation.

11 SEC. 302. REQUIRING MONTHLY FILING OF REPORTS.

12 (a) PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.—Section

13 304(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

14 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(2)(A)(iii)) is amended to read as

15 follows:

16 ‘‘(iii) monthly reports, which shall be filed

17 no later than the 20th day after the last day of

18 the month and shall be complete as of the last

19 day of the month, except that, in lieu of filing

20 the reports otherwise due in November and De21 cember of the year, a pre-general election report

22 shall be filed in accordance with clause (i), a

23 post-general election report shall be filed in ac24 cordance with clause (ii), and a year end report
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1 shall be filed no later than January 31 of the

2 following calendar year.’’.

3 (b) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section

4 304(a)(4) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(4)) is amended

5 to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(4)(A) In a calendar year in which a regularly

7 scheduled general election is held, all political committees

8 other than authorized committees of a candidate shall

9 file—

10 ‘‘(i) monthly reports, which shall be filed no

11 later than the 20th day after the last day of the

12 month and shall be complete as of the last day of

13 the month, except that, in lieu of filing the reports

14 otherwise due in November and December of the

15 year, a pre-general election report shall be filed in

16 accordance with clause (ii), a post-general election

17 report shall be filed in accordance with clause (iii),

18 and a year end report shall be filed no later than

19 January 31 of the following calendar year;

20 ‘‘(ii) a pre-election report, which shall be filed

21 no later than the 12th day before (or posted by reg22 istered or certified mail no later than the 15th day

23 before) any election in which the committee makes

24 a contribution to or expenditure on behalf of a can-
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1 didate in such election, and which shall be complete

2 as of the 20th day before the election; and

3 ‘‘(iii) a post-general election report, which shall

4 be filed no later than the 30th day after the general

5 election and which shall be complete as of the 20th

6 day after such general election.

7 ‘‘(B) In any other calendar year, all political commit8 tees other than authorized committees of a candidate shall

9 file a report covering the period beginning January 1 and

10 ending June 30, which shall be filed no later than July

11 31 and a report covering the period beginning July 1 and

12 ending December 31, which shall be filed no later than

13 January 31 of the following calendar year.’’.

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 304(a)

15 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking

16 paragraph (8).

17 (2) Section 309(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(b))

18 is amended by striking ‘‘for the calendar quarter’’ and in19 serting ‘‘for the month’’.

20 SEC. 303. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CERTAIN

21 REPORTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(a)(11)(A) of the Fed23 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

24 434(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking the period at the

25 end and inserting the following: ‘‘, except that the Com-
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1 mission shall require the reports to be filed and preserved

2 by such means, format, or method, unless the aggregate

3 amount of contributions or expenditures (as the case may

4 be) reported by the committee in all reports filed with re5 spect to the election involved (taking into account the pe6 riod covered by the report) is less than $50,000.’’.

7 (b) PROVIDING STANDARDIZED SOFTWARE PACK8 AGE.—Section 304(a)(11) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

9 434(a)(11)) is amended—

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

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

14 ‘‘(C) The Commission shall make available without

15 charge a standardized package of software to enable per16 sons filing reports by electronic means to meet the require17 ments of this paragraph.’’.

18 SEC. 304. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN19 FORMATION ON OCCUPATION OF INDIVIDUAL

20 CONTRIBUTORS.

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

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

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

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

25 (2), when the treasurer’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

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

4 information regarding the occupation or the name of the

5 employer of any individual who makes a contribution or

6 contributions aggregating more than $200 during a cal7 endar year (as required to be provided under subsection

8 (c)(3)).’’.

9 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE

10 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

11 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

12 apply with respect to elections occurring after January

13 2001.

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