I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1739

To reform the financing of Federal elections.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 6, 1999

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California,

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr.

WAXMAN, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. PELOSI, Ms.

LOFGREN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. STARK, Mr.

MARKEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.

LEE, Mr. WEYGAND, Mr. KIND, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mrs. MALONEY of New

York, Mr. FORD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms.

BALDWIN, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MORAN of

Virginia, Mr. CLAY, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FATTAH, and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House

Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Commerce, and

Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To reform the financing 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 ‘‘Clean Money, Clean Elections Act’’.
2

•HR 1739 IH

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

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION

CAMPAIGNS

Sec. 101. Findings and declarations.

Sec. 102. Eligibility requirements and benefits of clean money financing of

House election campaigns.

‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION

CAMPAIGNS

‘‘Sec. 501. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 502. Eligibility for clean money.

‘‘Sec. 503. Requirements applicable to clean money candidates.

‘‘Sec. 504. Seed money.

‘‘Sec. 505. Certification by Commission.

‘‘Sec. 506. Benefits for clean money candidates.

‘‘Sec. 507. Administration of clean money.

‘‘Sec. 508. Expenditures made from funds other than clean money.

‘‘Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.’’

Sec. 103. Reporting requirements for expenditures of private money candidates.

Sec. 104. Transition rule for current election cycle.

TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES; COORDINATED

POLITICAL PARTY EXPENDITURES

Sec. 201. Reporting requirements for independent expenditures.

Sec. 202. Definition of independent expenditure.

Sec. 203. Limit on expenditures by political party committees.

Sec. 204. Party independent expenditures and other coordinated expenditures.

TITLE III—VOTER INFORMATION

Sec. 301. Free broadcast time.

Sec. 302. Broadcast rates and preemption.

Sec. 303. Campaign advertising.

Sec. 304. Limit on Congressional use of the franking privilege.

TITLE IV—SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Sec. 401. Soft money of political parties.

Sec. 402. Increased contribution limits for State committees of political parties

and aggregate contribution limit for individuals.

Sec. 403. Reporting requirements.

TITLE V—RESTRUCTURING AND STRENGTHENING OF THE

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Sec. 501. Appointment and terms of Commissioners.

Sec. 502. Audits.

Sec. 503. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 504. Standard for investigation.

Sec. 505. Petition for certiorari.
3

•HR 1739 IH

Sec. 506. Expedited procedures.

Sec. 507. Promoting expedited availability of FEC reports.

Sec. 508. Power to issue subpoena without signature of chairperson.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability.

Sec. 602. Review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 603. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—CLEAN MONEY FINANC2 ING OF HOUSE ELECTION

3 CAMPAIGNS

4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

5 (a) UNDERMINING OF DEMOCRACY BY CAMPAIGN

6 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PRIVATE SOURCES.—The Con7 gress finds and declares that the current system of pri8 vately financed campaigns for election to the House of

9 Representatives has the capacity, and is often perceived

10 by the public, to undermine democracy in the United

11 States by—

12 (1) violating the democratic principle of ‘‘one

13 person, one vote’’ and diminishing the meaning of

14 the right to vote by allowing monied interests to

15 have a disproportionate and unfair influence within

16 the political process;

17 (2) diminishing or giving the appearance of di18 minishing a Member of the House of Representa19 tives’s accountability to constituents by compelling

20 legislators to be accountable to the major contribu21 tors who finance their election campaigns;
4

•HR 1739 IH

1 (3) creating a conflict of interest, perceived or

2 real, by encouraging Members to take money from

3 private interests that are directly affected by Federal

4 legislation;

5 (4) imposing large, unwarranted costs on tax6 payers through legislative and regulatory outcomes

7 shaped by unequal access to lawmakers for cam8 paign contributors;

9 (5) driving up the cost of election campaigns,

10 making it difficult for qualified candidates without

11 personal fortunes or access to campaign contribu12 tions from monied individuals and interest groups to

13 mount competitive House of Representatives election

14 campaigns;

15 (6) disadvantaging challengers, because large

16 campaign contributors tend to give their money to

17 incumbent Members, thus causing House of Rep18 resentatives elections to be less competitive; and

19 (7) burdening incumbents with a preoccupation

20 with fundraising and thus decreasing the time avail21 able to carry out their public responsibilities.

22 (b) ENHANCEMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY PROVIDING

23 CLEAN MONEY.—Congress finds and declares that pro24 viding the option of the replacement of private campaign

25 contributions with clean money financing for all primary,
5

•HR 1739 IH

1 runoff, and general elections to the House of Representa2 tives would enhance American democracy by—

3 (1) helping to eliminate access to wealth as a

4 determinant of a citizen’s influence within the polit5 ical process and to restore meaning to the principle

6 of ‘‘one person, one vote’’;

7 (2) increasing the public’s confidence in the ac8 countability of Members to the constituents who

9 elect them;

10 (3) eliminating the potentially inherent conflict

11 of interest caused by the private financing of the

12 election campaigns of public officials, thus restoring

13 public confidence in the fairness of the electoral and

14 legislative processes;

15 (4) reversing the escalating cost of elections

16 and saving taxpayers billions of dollars that are (or

17 that are perceived to be) currently misspent due to

18 legislative and regulatory agendas skewed by the in19 fluence of contributions;

20 (5) creating a more level playing field for in21 cumbents and challengers, creating genuine opportu22 nities for all Americans to run for the House of Rep23 resentatives, and encouraging more competitive elec24 tions; and
6

•HR 1739 IH

1 (6) freeing Members from the constant pre2 occupation with raising money, and allowing them

3 more time to carry out their public responsibilities.

4 SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS OF

5 CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELEC6 TION CAMPAIGNS.

7 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

8 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the

9 following:

10 ‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN MONEY FI11 NANCING OF HOUSE ELEC12 TION CAMPAIGNS

13 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

14 ‘‘In this title:

15 ‘‘(1) ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term

16 ‘allowable contribution’ means a qualifying contribu17 tion or seed money contribution.

18 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY.—The term ‘clean money’

19 means funds that are made available by the Com20 mission to a clean money candidate under this title.

21 ‘‘(3) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATE.—The term

22 ‘clean money candidate’ means a candidate for Mem23 ber of or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the

24 Congress who is certified under section 505 as being

25 eligible to receive clean money.
7

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(4) CLEAN MONEY QUALIFYING PERIOD.—The

2 term ‘clean money qualifying period’ means the pe3 riod beginning on the date that is 180 days before

4 the date of the primary election and ending on the

5 date that is 30 days before the date of the general

6 election. In the event of a special election, the clean

7 money qualifying period shall begin on the earlier

8 date of either the date that is 180 days before the

9 date of the special election or on the date of an10 nouncement of such special election date if same as

11 within 180 days of the date of the special election.

12 It shall end on the date that is 30 days before the

13 date of the special election.

14 ‘‘(5) GENERAL ELECTION PERIOD.—The term

15 ‘general election period’ means, with respect to a

16 candidate, the period beginning on the day after the

17 date of the primary or primary runoff election for

18 the specific office that the candidate is seeking,

19 whichever is later, and ending on the earlier of—

20 ‘‘(A) the date of the general election; or

21 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate with22 draws from the campaign or otherwise ceases

23 actively to seek election.

24 ‘‘(6) GENERAL RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

25 The term ‘general runoff election period’ means,
8

•HR 1739 IH

1 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on

2 the day following the date of the last general election

3 for the specific office that the candidate is seeking

4 and ending on the date of the runoff election for

5 that office.

6 ‘‘(7) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION

7 FUND.—The term ‘House of Representatives Elec8 tion Fund’ means the fund established by section

9 507(a).

10 ‘‘(8) IMMEDIATE FAMILY.—The term ‘imme11 diate family’ means—

12 ‘‘(A) a candidate’s spouse;

13 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand14 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis15 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse;

16 and

17 ‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in

18 subparagraph (B).

19 ‘‘(9) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE.—The term

20 ‘major party candidate’ means a candidate of a po21 litical party of which a candidate for Member of or

22 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress,

23 for President, or for Governor in the preceding 5

24 years received, as a candidate of that party, 25 per25 cent or more of the total number of popular votes
9

•HR 1739 IH

1 received in the State (or Congressional district, if

2 applicable) by all candidates for the same office.

3 ‘‘(10) PERSONAL FUNDS.—The term ‘personal

4 funds’ means an amount that is derived from—

5 ‘‘(A) the personal funds of the candidate

6 or a member of the candidate’s immediate fam7 ily; and

8 ‘‘(B) proceeds of indebtedness incurred by

9 the candidate or a member of the candidate’s

10 immediate family.

11 ‘‘(11) PERSONAL USE.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘personal

13 use’ means the use of funds to fulfill a commit14 ment, obligation, or expense of a person that

15 would exist irrespective of the candidate’s elec16 tion campaign or individual’s duties as a holder

17 of Federal office.

18 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘personal

19 use’ includes, but is not limited to—

20 ‘‘(i) a home mortgage, rent, or utility

21 payment;

22 ‘‘(ii) a clothing purchase;

23 ‘‘(iii) a noncampaign-related auto24 mobile expense;

25 ‘‘(iv) a country club membership;
10

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(v) a vacation or other noncampaign2 related trip;

3 ‘‘(vi) a household food item;

4 ‘‘(vii) a tuition payment;

5 ‘‘(viii) admission to a sporting event,

6 concert, theater, or other form of enter7 tainment not associated with an election

8 campaign; and

9 ‘‘(ix) dues, fees, and other payments

10 to a health club or recreational facility.

11 ‘‘(12) PRIMARY ELECTION PERIOD.—The term

12 ‘primary election period’ means the period beginning

13 on the date that is 90 days before the date of the

14 primary election and ending on the date of the pri15 mary election. In the event of a special primary elec16 tion, if applicable, the term ‘primary election period’

17 means the period beginning on the date that is the

18 longer of 90 days before the date of such special pri19 mary election, or the date of establishment by the

20 appropriate election authority of the special primary

21 election date and ending on the date of the special

22 primary election.

23 ‘‘(13) PRIMARY RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

24 The term ‘primary runoff election period’ means,

25 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on
11

•HR 1739 IH

1 the day following the date of the last primary elec2 tion for the specific office that the candidate is seek3 ing and ending on the date of the runoff election for

4 that office.

5 ‘‘(14) PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATE.—The term

6 ‘private money candidate’ means a candidate for

7 Member of or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to

8 the Congress other than a clean money candidate.

9 ‘‘(15) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.—The term

10 ‘qualifying contribution’ means a contribution that—

11 ‘‘(A) is in the amount of $5 exactly;

12 ‘‘(B) is made by an individual who is reg13 istered to vote in the candidate’s State;

14 ‘‘(C) is made during the clean money

15 qualifying period; and

16 ‘‘(D) meets the requirements of section

17 502(a)(2)(D).

18 ‘‘(16) SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION.—The term

19 ‘seed money contribution’ means a contribution (or

20 contributions in the aggregate made by any 1 per21 son) of not more than $100.

22 ‘‘(17) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the

23 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is24 lands, American Samoa, and Guam.
12

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY FOR CLEAN MONEY.

2 ‘‘(a) PRIMARY ELECTION PERIOD AND PRIMARY

3 RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate qualifies as a

5 clean money candidate during the primary election

6 period and primary runoff election period if the can7 didate files with the Commission a declaration,

8 signed by the candidate and the treasurer of the

9 candidate’s principal campaign committee, that the

10 candidate—

11 ‘‘(A) has complied and will comply with all

12 of the requirements of this title;

13 ‘‘(B) will not run in the general election as

14 a private money candidate; and

15 ‘‘(C) meets the qualifying contribution re16 quirement of paragraph (2).

17 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION REQUIRE18 MENT.—

19 ‘‘(A) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES AND CER20 TAIN INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES.—The re21 quirement of this paragraph is met if, during

22 the clean money qualifying period, a major

23 party candidate (or an independent candidate

24 who meets the minimum vote percentage re25 quired for a major party candidate under sec-
13

•HR 1739 IH

1 tion 501(9)) receives 1,500 qualifying contribu2 tions.

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER CANDIDATES.—The require4 ment of this paragraph is met if, during the

5 clean money qualifying period, a candidate who

6 is not described in subparagraph (A) receives a

7 number of qualifying contributions that is at

8 least 150 percent of the number of qualifying

9 contributions that a candidate described in sub10 paragraph (A) in the same election is required

11 to receive under subparagraph (A).

12 ‘‘(C) RECEIPT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU13 TION.—A qualifying contribution shall—

14 ‘‘(i) be accompanied by the contribu15 tor’s name and home address;

16 ‘‘(ii) be accompanied by a signed

17 statement that the contributor understands

18 the purpose of the qualifying contribution;

19 ‘‘(iii) be made by a personal check or

20 money order payable to the House of Rep21 resentatives Election Fund or by cash; and

22 ‘‘(iv) be acknowledged by a receipt

23 that is sent to the contributor with a copy

24 kept by the candidate for the Commission

25 and a copy kept by the candidate for the
14

•HR 1739 IH

1 election authorities in the candidate’s

2 State.

3 ‘‘(D) DEPOSIT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU4 TIONS IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELEC5 TION FUND.—

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the

7 date that is 1 day after the date on which

8 the candidate is certified under section

9 505, a candidate shall remit all qualifying

10 contributions to the Commission for de11 posit in the House of Representatives Elec12 tion Fund.

13 ‘‘(ii) CANDIDATES THAT ARE NOT

14 CERTIFIED.—Not later than the last day of

15 the clean money qualifying period, a can16 didate who has received qualifying con17 tributions and is not certified under section

18 505 shall remit all qualifying contributions

19 to the Commission for deposit in the

20 House of Representatives Election Fund.

21 ‘‘(3) TIME TO FILE DECLARATION.—A declara22 tion under paragraph (1) shall be filed by a can23 didate not later than the date that is 30 days before

24 the date of the primary election. With respect to any

25 special primary election, a declaration under para-
15

•HR 1739 IH

1 graph (1) shall be filed by a candidate not later than

2 the date that is 30 days before the special primary

3 election.

4 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION PERIOD.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate qualifies as a

6 clean money candidate during the general election

7 period if—

8 ‘‘(A)(i) the candidate qualified as a clean

9 money candidate during the primary election

10 period (and primary runoff election period, if

11 applicable); or

12 ‘‘(ii) the candidate files with the Commis13 sion a declaration, signed by the candidate and

14 the treasurer of the candidate’s principal com15 mittee, that the candidate—

16 ‘‘(I) has complied and will comply

17 with all the requirements of this title; and

18 ‘‘(II) meets the qualifying contribu19 tion requirement of subsection (a)(2);

20 ‘‘(B) the candidate files with the Commis21 sion a written agreement between the candidate

22 and the candidate’s political party in which the

23 political party agrees not to make any expendi24 tures in connection with the general election of
16

•HR 1739 IH

1 the candidate in excess of the limit in section

2 315(d)(3)(C); and

3 ‘‘(C) the candidate’s party nominated the

4 candidate to be placed on the ballot for the gen5 eral election or the candidate qualified to be

6 placed on the ballot as an independent can7 didate, and the candidate is qualified under

8 State law to be on the ballot.

9 ‘‘(2) TIME TO FILE DECLARATION OR STATE10 MENT.—A declaration or statement required to be

11 filed under paragraph (1) shall be filed by a can12 didate not later than the date that is 30 days before

13 the date of the general election. With respect to any

14 special general election, a declaration or statement

15 required to be filed under paragraph (1) shall be

16 filed by a candidate not later than the date that is

17 30 days before the date of the special general elec18 tion.

19 ‘‘(c) GENERAL RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—A can20 didate qualifies as a clean money candidate during the

21 general runoff election period if the candidate qualified as

22 a clean money candidate during the general election pe23 riod.
17

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 503. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CLEAN MONEY

2 CANDIDATES.

3 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—

4 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION OF PRIVATE CONTRIBU5 TIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this title,

6 during the election cycle of a clean money candidate,

7 the candidate shall not accept contributions other

8 than clean money from any source.

9 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF EXPENDITURES FROM

10 PRIVATE SOURCES.—Except as otherwise provided in

11 this title, during the election cycle of a clean money

12 candidate, the candidate shall not make expenditures

13 from any amounts other than clean money amounts.

14 ‘‘(b) USE OF PERSONAL FUNDS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate

16 shall not use personal funds to make an expenditure

17 except as provided in paragraph (2).

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A seed money contribution

19 or qualifying contribution from the candidate or a

20 member of the candidate’s immediate family shall

21 not be considered to be use of personal funds.

22 ‘‘SEC. 504. SEED MONEY.

23 ‘‘(a) SEED MONEY LIMIT.—A clean money candidate

24 may accept seed money contributions in an aggregate

25 amount not exceeding $35,000.
18

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.—Except as provided in

2 section 502(a)(2), a clean money candidate shall not ac3 cept a contribution from any person except a seed money

4 contribution (as defined in section 501).

5 ‘‘(c) RECORDS.—A clean money candidate shall

6 maintain a record of the contributor’s name, street ad7 dress, and amount of the contribution.

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF SEED MONEY.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate

10 may expend seed money for any election campaign11 related costs, including costs to open an office, fund

12 a grassroots campaign, or hold community meetings.

13 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USES.—A clean money can14 didate shall not expend seed money for—

15 ‘‘(A) a television or radio broadcast; or

16 ‘‘(B) personal use.

17 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Unless a seed money contribution or

18 expenditure made with a seed money contribution has

19 been reported previously under section 304, a clean money

20 candidate shall file with the Commission a report dis21 closing all seed money contributions and expenditures not

22 later than 48 hours after—

23 ‘‘(1) the earliest date on which the Commission

24 makes funds available to the candidate for an elec-
19

•HR 1739 IH

1 tion period under paragraph (1) or (2) of section

2 506(b); or

3 ‘‘(2) the end of the clean money qualifying pe4 riod,

5 whichever occurs first.

6 ‘‘(f) TIME TO ACCEPT SEED MONEY CONTRIBU7 TIONS.—A clean money candidate may accept seed money

8 contributions for an election from the day after the date

9 of the previous general election for the office to which the

10 candidate is seeking election through the earliest date on

11 which the Commission makes funds available to the can12 didate for an election period under paragraph (1) or (2)

13 of section 506(b).

14 ‘‘(g) DEPOSIT OF UNSPENT SEED MONEY CON15 TRIBUTIONS.—A clean money candidate shall remit any

16 unspent seed money to the Commission, for deposit in the

17 House of Representatives Election Fund, not later than

18 the earliest date on which the Commission makes funds

19 available to the candidate for an election period under

20 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 506(b).

21 ‘‘(h) NOT CONSIDERED AN EXPENDITURE.—An ex22 penditure made with seed money shall not be treated as

23 an expenditure for purposes of section 506(f)(2).
20

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 505. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION.

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

3 candidate files a declaration under section 502, the Com4 mission shall—

5 ‘‘(1) determine whether the candidate meets the

6 eligibility requirements of section 502; and

7 ‘‘(2) certify whether or not the candidate is a

8 clean money candidate.

9 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.—The Com10 mission may revoke a certification under subsection (a)

11 if a candidate fails to comply with this title.

12 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—If certification is

13 revoked under subsection (b), the candidate shall repay

14 to the House of Representatives Election Fund an amount

15 equal to the value of benefits received under this title.

16 ‘‘SEC. 506. BENEFITS FOR CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate shall

18 be entitled to—

19 ‘‘(1) a clean money amount for each election

20 period to make or obligate to make expenditures

21 during the election period for which the clean money

22 is provided, as provided in subsection (c);

23 ‘‘(2) media benefits under section 315 of the

24 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315); and

25 ‘‘(3) an aggregate amount of increase in the

26 clean money amount in response to certain inde-
21

•HR 1739 IH

1 pendent expenditures and expenditures of a private

2 money candidate under subsection (d) that, in the

3 aggregate, are in excess of 125 percent of the clean

4 money amount of the clean money candidate.

5 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF CLEAN MONEY AMOUNT.—

6 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY ELECTION.—The Commission

7 shall make funds available to a clean money can8 didate on the later of—

9 ‘‘(A) the date on which the candidate is

10 certified as a clean money candidate under sec11 tion 505; or

12 ‘‘(B) the date on which the primary elec13 tion period begins.

14 ‘‘(2) GENERAL ELECTION.—The Commission

15 shall make funds available to a clean money can16 didate not later than 48 hours after—

17 ‘‘(A) certification of the primary election

18 or primary runoff election result; or

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

20 certified as a clean money candidate under sec21 tion 505 for the general election,

22 whichever occurs first.

23 ‘‘(3) RUNOFF ELECTION.—The Commission

24 shall make funds available to a clean money can25 didate not later than 48 hours after the certification
22

•HR 1739 IH

1 of the primary or general election result (as applica2 ble).

3 ‘‘(c) CLEAN MONEY AMOUNTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), the clean money amount paid to a clean

6 money candidate with respect to an election shall be

7 equal to the applicable percentage of 80 percent of

8 the base amount for the election cycle involved, ex9 cept that in no event may the amount determined

10 under this subsection for a clean money candidate

11 for an election cycle be less than the amount deter12 mined under this subsection for the candidate for

13 the previous election cycle.

14 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION FOR UNCONTESTED ELEC15 TIONS.—If a clean money candidate has no opposi16 tion in an election for which a payment is made

17 under this section, the clean money amount paid

18 shall be 40 percent of the amount otherwise deter19 mined under paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—

21 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—In this

22 subsection, the ‘applicable percentage’ is as fol23 lows:
23

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(i) 25 percent, in the case of a can2 didate in a primary election who is not a

3 major party candidate.

4 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent, in the case of a

5 major party candidate in a primary elec6 tion.

7 ‘‘(iii) 60 percent, in the case of any

8 candidate in a general election.

9 ‘‘(B) BASE AMOUNT.—In this subsection,

10 the term ‘base amount’ means (with respect to

11 an election cycle) the national average of all

12 amounts expended by winning candidates dur13 ing the 3 most recent general elections for

14 Member of, or Delegate or Resident Commis15 sioner to, the Congress preceding the election

16 cycle involved.

17 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS IN RESPONSE TO INDE18 PENDENT EXPENDITURES AND EXPENDITURES OF PRI19 VATE MONEY CANDIDATES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission—

21 ‘‘(A) receives notification under—

22 ‘‘(i) subparagraphs (A) or (B) of sec23 tion 304(c)(2) that a person has made or

24 obligated to make an independent expendi25 ture in an aggregate amount of $1,000 or
24

•HR 1739 IH

1 more in an election period or that a person

2 has made or obligated to make an inde3 pendent expenditure in an aggregate

4 amount of $500 or more during the 20

5 days preceding the date of an election in

6 support of another candidate or against a

7 clean money candidate; or

8 ‘‘(ii) section 304(d)(1) that a private

9 money candidate has made or obligated to

10 make expenditures in an aggregate amount

11 in excess of 100 percent of the amount of

12 clean money provided to a clean money

13 candidate who is an opponent of the pri14 vate money candidate in the same election;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) determines that the aggregate

17 amount of expenditures reported under sub18 paragraph (A) in an election period is in excess

19 of 125 percent of the amount of clean money

20 provided to a clean money candidate who is an

21 opponent of the private money candidate in the

22 same election or against whom the independent

23 expenditure is made,

24 the Commission shall make available to the clean

25 money candidate, not later than 24 hours after re-
25

•HR 1739 IH

1 ceiving a notification under subparagraph (A), an

2 aggregate amount of increase in clean money in an

3 amount equal to the aggregate amount of expendi4 tures that is in excess of 125 percent of the amount

5 of clean money provided to the clean money can6 didate as determined under subparagraph (B).

7 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES OPPOSED BY

8 MORE THAN 1 PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATE.—For

9 purposes of paragraph (1), if a clean money can10 didate is opposed by more than 1 private money can11 didate in the same election, the Commission shall

12 take into account only the amount of expenditures of

13 the private money candidate that expends, in the ag14 gregate, the greatest amount (as determined each

15 time notification is received under section

16 304(d)(1)).

17 ‘‘(3) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES OPPOSED BY

18 CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.—If a clean money can19 didate is opposed by a clean money candidate, the

20 increase in clean money amounts under paragraph

21 (1) shall be made available to the clean money can22 didate if independent expenditures are made against

23 the clean money candidate or in behalf of the oppos24 ing clean money candidate in the same manner as

25 the increase would be made available for a clean
26

•HR 1739 IH

1 money candidate who is opposed by a private money

2 candidate.

3 ‘‘(e) LIMITS ON MATCHING FUNDS.—The aggregate

4 amount of clean money that a clean money candidate re5 ceives to match independent expenditures and the expendi6 tures of private money candidates under subsection (d)

7 shall not exceed 200 percent of the clean money amount

8 that the clean money candidate receives under subsection

9 (c).

10 ‘‘(f) EXPENDITURES MADE WITH CLEAN MONEY

11 AMOUNTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The clean money amount

13 received by a clean money candidate shall be used

14 only for the purpose of making or obligating to make

15 expenditures during the election period for which the

16 clean money is provided.

17 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES IN EXCESS OF CLEAN

18 MONEY AMOUNT.—A clean money candidate shall

19 not make expenditures or incur obligations in excess

20 of the clean money amount.

21 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED USES.—The clean money

22 amount received by a clean money candidate shall

23 not be—

24 ‘‘(A) converted to a personal use; or

25 ‘‘(B) used in violation of law.
27

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(4) REPAYMENT; CIVIL PENALTIES.—

2 ‘‘(A) If the Commission determines that

3 any benefit made available to a clean money

4 candidate under this title was not used as pro5 vided for in this title, or that a clean money

6 candidate has violated any of the spending lim7 its or dates for remission of funds contained in

8 this Act, the Commission shall so notify the

9 candidate and the candidate shall pay to the

10 House of Representatives’ Election Fund an

11 amount equal to the amount of benefits so

12 used, or the amount spent in excess of the lim13 its or the amount not timely remitted, as appro14 priate.

15 ‘‘(B) Any action by the Commission in ac16 cordance with this section shall not preclude en17 forcement proceedings by the Commission in ac18 cordance with section 309(a), including a refer19 ral by the Commission to the Attorney General

20 in the case of an apparent knowing and willful

21 violation of this title.

22 ‘‘(g) REMITTING OF CLEAN MONEY AMOUNTS.—Not

23 later than the date that is 14 days after the last day of

24 the applicable election period, a clean money candidate

25 shall remit any unspent clean money amount to the Com-
28

•HR 1739 IH

1 mission for deposit in the House of Representatives Elec2 tion Fund.

3 ‘‘SEC. 507. ADMINISTRATION OF CLEAN MONEY.

4 ‘‘(a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION

5 FUND.—

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

7 the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘House of

8 Representatives Election Fund’.

9 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—The Commission shall deposit

10 unspent seed money contributions, qualifying con11 tributions, penalty amounts received under this title,

12 and amounts appropriated for clean money financing

13 in the House of Representatives Election Fund.

14 ‘‘(3) FUNDS.—The Commission shall withdraw

15 the clean money amount for a clean money can16 didate from the House of Representatives Election

17 Fund.

18 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall promul19 gate regulations to—

20 ‘‘(1) effectively and efficiently monitor and en21 force the limits on use of private money by clean

22 money candidates;

23 ‘‘(2) effectively and efficiently monitor use of

24 publicly financed amounts under this title; and
29

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(3) enable clean money candidates to monitor

2 expenditures and comply with the requirements of

3 this title.

4 ‘‘SEC. 508. EXPENDITURES MADE FROM FUNDS OTHER

5 THAN CLEAN MONEY.

6 ‘‘If a clean money candidate makes an expenditure

7 using funds other than funds provided under this title, the

8 Commission shall assess a civil penalty against the can9 didate in an amount that is not more than 10 times the

10 amount of the expenditure.

11 ‘‘SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the

13 House of Representatives Election Fund such sums as are

14 necessary to carry out this title.’’.

15 SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPENDITURES

16 OF PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATES.

17 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(d) PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATES.—

21 ‘‘(1) EXPENDITURES IN EXCESS OF CLEAN

22 MONEY AMOUNTS.—Not later than 48 hours after

23 making or obligating to make an expenditure, a pri24 vate money candidate (as defined in section 501)

25 that makes or obligates to make expenditures, in an
30

•HR 1739 IH

1 aggregate amount in excess of 100 percent of the

2 amount of clean money provided to a clean money

3 candidate (as defined in section 501), during an

4 election period (as defined by section 501) who is an

5 opponent of the clean money candidate shall file

6 with the Commission a report stating the amount of

7 each expenditure (in increments of an aggregate

8 amount of $100) made or obligated to be made.

9 ‘‘(2) PLACE OF FILING; NOTIFICATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) PLACE OF FILING.—A report under

11 this subsection shall be filed with the Commis12 sion.

13 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF CLEAN MONEY

14 CANDIDATES.—Not later than 24 hours after

15 receipt of a report under this subsection, the

16 Commission shall notify each clean money can17 didate seeking nomination for election to, or

18 election to, the office in question, of the receipt

19 of the report.

20 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may,

22 on a request of a candidate or on its own initia23 tive, make a determination that a private

24 money candidate has made, or has obligated to
31

•HR 1739 IH

1 make, expenditures in excess of the applicable

2 amount in paragraph (1).

3 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of such

4 a determination, the Commission shall notify

5 each clean money candidate seeking nomination

6 for election to, or election to, the office in ques7 tion, of the making of the determination not

8 later than 24 hours after making the deter9 mination.

10 ‘‘(C) TIME TO COMPLY WITH REQUEST

11 FOR DETERMINATION.—A determination made

12 at the request of a candidate shall be made not

13 later than 48 hours after the date of the re14 quest.’’.

15 SEC. 104. TRANSITION RULE FOR CURRENT ELECTION

16 CYCLE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the election cycle in effect

18 on the date of enactment of this Act, a candidate may

19 be certified as a clean money candidate (as defined in sec20 tion 501 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

21 (2 U.S.C. 431)), notwithstanding the acceptance of con22 tributions or making of expenditures from private funds

23 before the date of enactment that would, absent this sec24 tion, disqualify the candidate as a clean money candidate.
32

•HR 1739 IH

1 (b) PRIVATE FUNDS.—A candidate may be certified

2 as a clean money candidate only if any private funds ac3 cepted and not expended before the date of enactment of

4 this Act are—

5 (1) returned to the contributor; or

6 (2) submitted to the Federal Election Commis7 sion for deposit in the House of Representatives

8 Election Fund (as defined in section 501 of the Fed9 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

10 431)).

11 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EX12 PENDITURES; COORDINATED

13 POLITICAL PARTY EXPENDI14 TURES

15 SEC. 201. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT

16 EXPENDITURES.

17 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—Section 304(c)

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

19 434(c)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(c)(1) Every person’’ and in21 serting the following:

22 ‘‘(c) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

24 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED FILING.—Except as pro25 vided in paragraph (2), every person’’;
33

•HR 1739 IH

1 (2) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subpara2 graphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and

3 (iii), respectively, and adjusting the margins accord4 ingly;

5 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

6 subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively, and adjust7 ing the margins accordingly;

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

9 ‘‘(2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS

10 WITH A CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATE.—

11 ‘‘(A) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES MORE

12 THAN 20 DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48

14 hours after making an independent ex15 penditure, more than 20 days before the

16 date of an election, in support of an oppo17 nent of or in opposition to a clean money

18 candidate (as defined in section 501), a

19 person that makes independent expendi20 tures in an aggregate amount in excess of

21 $1,000 during an election period (as de22 fined in section 501) shall file with the

23 Commission a statement containing the in24 formation described in clause (ii).
34

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.—A

2 statement under subparagraph (A) shall

3 include a certification, under penalty of

4 perjury, that contains the information re5 quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii).

6 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An

7 additional statement shall be filed for each

8 aggregate of independent expenditures that

9 exceeds $1,000.

10 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES DUR11 ING THE 20 DAYS PRECEDING AN ELECTION.—

12 Not later than 24 hours after making or obli13 gating to make an independent expenditure in

14 support of an opponent of or in opposition to a

15 clean money candidate in an aggregate amount

16 in excess of $500, during the 20 days preceding

17 the date of an election, a person that makes or

18 obligates to make the independent expenditure

19 shall file with the Commission a statement stat20 ing the amount of each independent expenditure

21 made or obligated to be made.

22 ‘‘(C) PLACE OF FILING; NOTIFICATION.—

23 ‘‘(i) PLACE OF FILING.—A report or

24 statement under this paragraph shall be

25 filed with the Commission.
35

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION OF CLEAN MONEY

2 CANDIDATES.—Not later than 24 hours,

3 but excluding the time from 5:00 p.m. Fri4 day through and until 9:00 a.m. the fol5 lowing Monday, and legal holidays after re6 ceipt of a statement under this paragraph,

7 the Commission shall notify each clean

8 money candidate seeking nomination for

9 election to, or election to, the office in

10 question of the receipt of a statement.

11 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION BY THE COMMIS12 SION.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

14 may, on request of a candidate or on its

15 own initiative, make a determination that a

16 person has made or obligated to make

17 independent expenditures with respect to a

18 candidate that in the aggregate exceed the

19 applicable amount under subparagraph

20 (A).

21 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than

22 24 hours after making a determination

23 under clause (i), the Commission shall no24 tify each clean money candidate in the
36

•HR 1739 IH

1 election of the making of the determina2 tion.

3 ‘‘(iii) TIME TO COMPLY WITH RE4 QUEST FOR DETERMINATION.—A deter5 mination made at the request of a can6 didate shall be made not later than 48

7 hours after the date of the request.’’.

8 SEC. 202. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec10 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended

11 by striking paragraph (17) and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘inde14 pendent expenditure’ means an expenditure

15 made by a person other than a candidate or

16 candidate’s authorized committee—

17 ‘‘(i) that is made for a communication

18 that contains express advocacy; and

19 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation

20 or cooperation of and without coordination

21 with a candidate (within the meaning of

22 section 301(8)(A)(iii)).

23 ‘‘(B) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—The term ‘ex24 press advocacy’ means a communication that is

25 made through a broadcast medium, newspaper,
37

•HR 1739 IH

1 magazine, billboard, direct mail, or similar type

2 of communication and that—

3 ‘‘(i) advocates the election or defeat of

4 a clearly identified candidate, including

5 any communication that—

6 ‘‘(I) contains a phrase such as

7 ‘vote for’, ‘re-elect’, ‘support’, ‘cast

8 your ballot for’, ‘(name of candidate)

9 for Congress’, ‘(name of candidate) in

10 (year involved)’, ‘vote against’, ‘de11 feat’, ‘reject’, ‘put a stop to (name of

12 candidate)’, ‘send (name of candidate)

13 home’; or

14 ‘‘(II) contains campaign slogans

15 or individual words that in context

16 can have no reasonable meaning other

17 than to recommend the election or de18 feat of 1 or more clearly identified

19 candidates; or

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) refers to a clearly identified

21 candidate;

22 ‘‘(II) is made not more than 60 days

23 before the date of a general election; and
38

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(III) is not solely devoted to a pend2 ing legislative issue before an open session

3 of Congress.’’.

4 (b) DEFINITION APPLICABLE WHEN PROVISION NOT

5 IN EFFECT.—For purposes of the Federal Election Cam6 paign Act of 1971, during any period beginning after the

7 effective date of this Act in which the definition, or any

8 part of the definition, under section 301(17)(B) of that

9 Act (as added by subsection (a)) is not in effect, the defini10 tion of ‘‘express advocacy’’ shall mean, in addition to the

11 part of the definition that is in effect, a communication

12 that clearly identifies a candidate and taken as a whole

13 and with limited reference to external events, such as

14 proximity to an election, expresses unmistakable support

15 for or opposition to 1 or more clearly identified candidates.

16 SEC. 203. LIMIT ON EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL PARTY

17 COMMITTEES.

18 Section 315(d)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign

19 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(3)) is amended—

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

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

22 striking ‘‘in the case’’ and inserting ‘‘except as

23 provided in subparagraph (C), in the case’’, and

24 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

25 (2) in subparagraph (B)—
39

•HR 1739 IH

1 (A) by striking ‘‘in the case’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘except as provided in subparagraph (C), in the

3 case’’, and

4 (B) by striking the period at the end and

5 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

7 ‘‘(C) in the case of an election to the office of

8 Representative in or Delegate or Resident Commis9 sioner to the Congress in which 1 or more can10 didates is a clean money candidate (as defined in

11 section 501), 10 percent of the amount of clean

12 money that a clean money candidate is eligible to re13 ceive for the general election period.’’.

14 SEC. 204. PARTY INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES AND

15 OTHER COORDINATED EXPENDITURES.

16 (a) DETERMINATION TO MAKE COORDINATED EX17 PENDITURES.—Section 315(d) of the Federal Election

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

19 (1) in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘coordinated’’ after

21 ‘‘make’’; and

22 (B) by striking ‘‘(2) and (3)’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘(2), (3), and (4)’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following:
40

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(4)(A) Before a committee of a political party

2 makes a coordinated expenditure in connection with

3 a general election campaign for Federal office in ex4 cess of $5,000, the committee shall file with the

5 Commission a certification, signed by the treasurer,

6 that the committee has not made and will not make

7 any independent expenditures in connection with

8 that campaign for Federal office. A party committee

9 that determines to make a coordinated expenditure

10 shall not make any transfer of funds in the same

11 election cycle to, or receive any transfer of funds in

12 the same election cycle from, any other party com13 mittee that determines to make independent expend14 itures in connection with the same campaign for

15 Federal office.

16 ‘‘(B) A committee of a political party shall be

17 considered to be in coordination with a candidate of

18 the party if the committee—

19 ‘‘(i) makes a payment for a communication

20 or anything of value in coordination with the

21 candidate, as described in section

22 301(8)(A)(iii);

23 ‘‘(ii) makes a coordinated expenditure

24 under this subsection on behalf of the can25 didate;
41

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) participates in joint fundraising with

2 the candidate or in any way solicits or receives

3 a contribution on behalf of the candidate;

4 ‘‘(iv) communicates with the candidate, or

5 an agent of the candidate (including a pollster,

6 media consultant, vendor, advisor, or staff

7 member), acting on behalf of the candidate,

8 about advertising, message, allocation of re9 sources, fundraising, or other campaign matters

10 related to the candidate’s campaign, including

11 campaign operations, staffing, tactics or strat12 egy; or

13 ‘‘(v) provides in-kind services, polling data,

14 or anything of value to the candidate.

15 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, all polit16 ical committees established and maintained by a na17 tional political party (including all congressional

18 campaign committees) and all political committees

19 established by State political parties shall be consid20 ered to be a single political committee.

21 ‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A), any

22 coordination between a committee of a political party

23 and a candidate of the party after the candidate has

24 filed a statement of candidacy constitutes coordina25 tion for the period beginning with the filing of the
42

•HR 1739 IH

1 statement of candidacy and ending at the end of the

2 election cycle.’’.

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—

4 (1) AMENDMENT OF DEFINITION OF CONTRIBU5 TION.—Section 301(8) of the Federal Election Cam6 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended—

7 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of

9 clause (i);

10 (ii) by striking the period at the end

11 of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(iii) a payment made for a commu15 nication or anything of value that is for

16 the purpose of influencing an election for

17 Federal office and that is made in coordi18 nation with a candidate (as defined in sub19 paragraph (C)).’’; and

20 (B) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of subparagraph

22 (A)(iii), the term ‘payment made in coordina23 tion with a candidate’ includes—

24 ‘‘(i) a payment made by a person in

25 cooperation, consultation, or concert with,
43

•HR 1739 IH

1 at the request or suggestion of, or pursu2 ant to any general or particular under3 standing with a candidate, the candidate’s

4 authorized committee, or an agent acting

5 on behalf of a candidate or authorized

6 committee;

7 ‘‘(ii) a payment made by a person for

8 the dissemination, distribution, or republi9 cation, in whole or in part, of any broad10 cast or any written, graphic, or other form

11 of campaign material prepared by a can12 didate, a candidate’s authorized committee,

13 or an agent of a candidate or authorized

14 committee (not including a communication

15 described in paragraph (9)(B)(i) or a com16 munication that expressly advocates the

17 candidate’s defeat);

18 ‘‘(iii) a payment made based on infor19 mation about a candidate’s plans, projects,

20 or needs provided to the person making the

21 payment by the candidate or the can22 didate’s agent who provides the informa23 tion with a view toward having the pay24 ment made;
44

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) a payment made by a person if,

2 in the same election cycle in which the pay3 ment is made, the person making the pay4 ment is serving or has served as a member,

5 employee, fundraiser, or agent of the can6 didate’s authorized committee in an execu7 tive or policymaking position;

8 ‘‘(v) a payment made by a person if

9 the person making the payment has served

10 in any formal policy or advisory position

11 with the candidate’s campaign or has par12 ticipated in strategic or policymaking dis13 cussions with the candidate’s campaign re14 lating to the candidate’s pursuit of nomi15 nation for election, or election, to Federal

16 office, in the same election cycle as the

17 election cycle in which the payment is

18 made; and

19 ‘‘(vi) a payment made by a person if

20 the person making the payment retains the

21 professional services of an individual or

22 person who has provided or is providing

23 campaign-related services in the same elec24 tion cycle to a candidate in connection with

25 the candidate’s pursuit of nomination for
45

•HR 1739 IH

1 election, or election, to Federal office, in2 cluding services relating to the candidate’s

3 decision to seek Federal office, and the

4 payment is for services of which the pur5 pose is to influence that candidate’s elec6 tion.

7 ‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph

8 (C)(vi), the term ‘professional services’ includes

9 services in support of a candidate’s pursuit of

10 nomination for election, or election, to Federal

11 office such as polling, media advice, direct mail,

12 fundraising, or campaign research.’’.

13 (2) DEFINITION OF CONTRIBUTION IN SECTION

14 315(a)(7).—Section 315(a)(7) of the Federal Elec15 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(7)) is

16 amended by striking paragraph (B) and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a pay19 ment made in coordination with a candidate (as de20 scribed in section 301(8)(A)(iii)) shall be considered

21 to be a contribution to the candidate, and, for the

22 purposes of any provision of this Act that imposes

23 a limitation on the making of expenditures by a can24 didate, shall be treated as an expenditure by the

25 candidate for purposes of this paragraph.
46

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a clean money candidate (as

2 defined in section 501), a payment made in coordi3 nation with a candidate by a committee of a political

4 party shall not be treated as a contribution to the

5 candidate for purposes of section 503(b)(1) or an ex6 penditure made by the candidate for purposes of sec7 tion 503(b)(2).’’.

8 (c) MEANING OF CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE

9 FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION 316.—Section 316(b)(2)

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

11 441b(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall include’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘includes a contribution or expenditure (as those

13 terms are defined in section 301) and also includes’’.

14 TITLE III—VOTER INFORMATION

15 SEC. 301. FREE BROADCAST TIME.

16 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

17 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a), in the third sentence, by

19 striking ‘‘within the meaning of this subsection’’ and

20 inserting ‘‘within the meaning of this subsection or

21 subsection (c)’’;

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

23 subsections (d) and (e), respectively;

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol25 lowing:
47

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(c) FREE BROADCAST TIME.—

2 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF TIME.—A clean money can3 didate shall be entitled to receive—

4 ‘‘(A) 30 minutes of free broadcast time

5 during each of the primary election period and

6 the primary runoff election period; and

7 ‘‘(B) 75 minutes of free broadcast time

8 during the general election period and general

9 runoff election period.

10 ‘‘(2) TIME DURING WHICH THE BROADCAST IS

11 SHOWN.—The broadcast time under paragraph (1)

12 shall be—

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to a television broadcast,

14 the time between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on

15 any day that falls on Monday through Friday;

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to a radio broadcast, the

17 time between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. or be18 tween 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on any day that

19 falls on Monday through Friday; or

20 ‘‘(C) with respect to any broadcast, such

21 other time to which the candidate and broad22 caster may agree.

23 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM REQUIRED OF ANY STATION.—

24 The amount of free broadcast time that any 1 sta25 tion is required to make available to any 1 clean
48

•HR 1739 IH

1 money candidate during each of the primary election

2 period, primary runoff election period, and general

3 election period shall not exceed 15 minutes.’’; and

4 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para5 graph (1))—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para7 graph (1);

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

9 paragraph (2) and inserting a semicolon, and

10 by redesignating that paragraph as paragraph

11 (4);

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘clean money candidate’ has the

15 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

16 Campaign Act of 1971;

17 ‘‘(3) the terms ‘general election period’ and

18 ‘general runoff election period’ have the meaning

19 given in section 501 of the Federal Election Cam20 paign Act of 1971;’’; and

21 (D) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘primary election period’ has the

23 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

24 Campaign Act of 1971;
49

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(6) the term ‘private money candidate’ has the

2 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

3 Campaign Act of 1971; and

4 ‘‘(7) the term ‘primary runoff election period’

5 has the meaning given in section 501 of the Federal

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’.

7 SEC. 302. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.

8 (a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com9 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust12 ing the margins accordingly;

13 (2) by striking ‘‘The charges’’ and inserting the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the charges’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.—In the case

19 of a clean money candidate, the charges for the use

20 of a television broadcasting station shall not exceed

21 50 percent of the lowest charge described in para22 graph (1)(A) during—

23 ‘‘(A) the 30 days preceding the date of a

24 primary or primary runoff election in which the

25 candidate is opposed; and
50

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the 60 days preceding the date of a

2 general or special election in which the can3 didate is opposed.

4 ‘‘(3) OTHER HOUSE CANDIDATES.—In the case

5 of a candidate for election for Member of, or Dele6 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress who

7 is not a clean money candidate, paragraph (1)(A)

8 shall not apply.

9 ‘‘(4) RATE CARDS.—A licensee shall provide to

10 a candidate for Member of or Delegate or Resident

11 Commissioner to the Congress a rate card that

12 discloses—

13 ‘‘(A) the rate charged under this sub14 section; and

15 ‘‘(B) the method that the licensee uses to

16 determine the rate charged under this sub17 section.’’.

18 (b) PREEMPTION.—Section 315 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) (as amended by section

20 301) is amended—

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

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

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol24 lowing:

25 ‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.—
51

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), a licensee shall not preempt the use of a

3 broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate

4 for Member of or Delegate or Resident Commis5 sioner to the Congress who has purchased and paid

6 for such use.

7 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI8 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad9 casting station is preempted because of cir10 cumstances beyond the control of the broadcasting

11 station, any candidate advertising spot scheduled to

12 be broadcast during that program may also be pre13 empted.’’.

14 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER15 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications

16 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7)) is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’;

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad19 casting station’’; and

20 (3) by striking ‘‘his candidacy’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘the candidacy of the candidate, under the same

22 terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to

23 the most favored advertiser of the licensee’’.
52

•HR 1739 IH

1 SEC. 303. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING.

2 (a) CONTENTS OF CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENTS.—

3 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

4 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a)—

6 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph

7 (1)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Whenever a political committee makes

10 a disbursement for the purpose of financ11 ing any communication through any broad12 casting station, newspaper, magazine, out13 door advertising facility, mailing, or any

14 other type of general public political adver15 tising, or whenever’’; and

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘direct’’; and

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and

18 permanent street address’’ after ‘‘name’’; and

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

20 ‘‘(c) Any printed communication described in sub21 section (a) shall be—

22 ‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly read23 able by the recipient of the communication;

24 ‘‘(2) contained in a printed box set apart from

25 the other contents of the communication; and
53

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con2 trast between the background and the printed state3 ment.

4 ‘‘(d)(1) Any broadcast or cablecast communication

5 described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2) shall

6 include, in addition to the requirements of those sub7 sections, an audio statement that identifies the candidate

8 and states that the candidate has approved the commu9 nication.

10 ‘‘(2) If a broadcast or cablecast communication de11 scribed in paragraph (1) is broadcast or cablecast by

12 means of television, the communication shall include, in

13 addition to the audio statement under paragraph (1), a

14 written statement which appears at the end of the commu15 nication in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable

16 degree of color contrast between the background and the

17 printed statement, for a period of at least 4 seconds.

18 ‘‘(e) Any broadcast or cablecast communication de19 scribed in subsection (a)(3) shall include, in addition to

20 the requirements of those subsections, in a clearly spoken

21 manner, the following statement: ‘llllllll is

22 responsible for the content of this advertisement.’ (with

23 the blank to be filled in with the name of the political

24 committee or other person paying for the communication

25 and the name of any connected organization of the payor).
54

•HR 1739 IH

1 If broadcast or cablecast by means of television, the state2 ment shall also appear in a clearly readable manner with

3 a reasonable degree of color contrast between the back4 ground and the printed statement, for a period of at least

5 4 seconds.’’.

6 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE ADVER7 TISEMENTS.—Section 304 of the Federal Election Cam8 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended by section

9 103) is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(e) ISSUE ADVERTISEMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that makes or ob12 ligates to make a disbursement to purchase an issue

13 advertisement shall file a report with the Commis14 sion not later than 48 hours after making or obli15 gating to make the disbursement, containing the fol16 lowing information—

17 ‘‘(A) the amount of the disbursement;

18 ‘‘(B) the information required under sub19 section (b)(3)(A) for each person that makes a

20 contribution, in an aggregate amount of $1,000

21 or greater in a calendar year, to the person who

22 makes the disbursement;

23 ‘‘(C) the name and address of the person

24 making the disbursement; and
55

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(D) the purpose of the issue advertise2 ment.

3 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ISSUE ADVERTISEMENT.—

4 In this subsection, the term ‘issue advertisement’

5 means a communication through a broadcasting sta6 tion, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facil7 ity, mailing, or any other type of general public po8 litical advertising—

9 ‘‘(A) the purchase of which is not an inde10 pendent expenditure or a contribution;

11 ‘‘(B) that contains the name or likeness of

12 a candidate for Member of or Delegate or Resi13 dent Commissioner to the Congress;

14 ‘‘(C) that is communicated during an elec15 tion year; and

16 ‘‘(D) that recommends a position on a po17 litical issue.’’.

18 SEC. 304. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANK19 ING PRIVILEGE.

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

21 is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a Member

24 of Congress shall not mail any mass mailing as franked

25 mail during the period which begins on the first day of
56

•HR 1739 IH

1 the primary election period (as described in section

2 501(12) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971)

3 and ends on the date of the general election for that office

4 (other than any portion of such period between the date

5 of the primary election and the first day of the general

6 election period), unless the Member has made a public an7 nouncement that the Member will not be a candidate for

8 reelection in that year or for election to any other Federal

9 office.

10 ‘‘(ii) A Member of Congress may mail a mass mailing

11 as franked mail if—

12 ‘‘(I) the purpose of the mailing is to commu13 nicate information about a public meeting; and

14 ‘‘(II) the content of the mailed matter includes

15 only the Representative’s name, and the date, time,

16 and place of the public meeting.’’.

17 TITLE IV—SOFT MONEY OF

18 POLITICAL PARTIES

19 SEC. 401. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

20 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new section:

23 ‘‘SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES

24 ‘‘SEC. 323. (a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A national committee of a

26 political party (including a national congressional
57

•HR 1739 IH

1 campaign committee of a political party) and any of2 ficers or agents of such party committees, shall not

3 solicit, receive, or direct to another person a con4 tribution, donation, or transfer of funds, or spend

5 any funds, that are not subject to the limitations,

6 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall

8 apply to an entity that is directly or indirectly estab9 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a na10 tional committee of a political party (including a na11 tional congressional campaign committee of a polit12 ical party), or an entity acting on behalf of a na13 tional committee, and an officer or agent acting on

14 behalf of any such committee or entity.

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

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An amount that is ex17 pended or disbursed by a State, district, or local

18 committee of a political party (including an entity

19 that is directly or indirectly established, financed,

20 maintained, or controlled by a State, district, or

21 local committee of a political party and an officer or

22 agent acting on behalf of such committee or entity)

23 for Federal election activity shall be made from

24 funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re25 porting requirements of this Act.
58

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL ELECTION ACTIVITY.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal

3 election activity’ means—

4 ‘‘(i) voter registration activity during

5 the period that begins on the date that is

6 120 days before the date a regularly sched7 uled Federal election is held and ends on

8 the date of the election;

9 ‘‘(ii) voter identification, get-out-the10 vote activity, or generic campaign activity

11 conducted in connection with an election in

12 which a candidate for Federal office ap13 pears on the ballot (regardless of whether

14 a candidate for State or local office also

15 appears on the ballot); and

16 ‘‘(iii) a communication that refers to a

17 clearly identified candidate for Federal of18 fice (regardless of whether a candidate for

19 State or local office is also mentioned or

20 identified) and is made for the purpose of

21 influencing a Federal election (regardless

22 of whether the communication is express

23 advocacy).

24 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED ACTIVITY.—The term

25 ‘Federal election activity’ does not include an
59

•HR 1739 IH

1 amount expended or disbursed by a State, dis2 trict, or local committee of a political party

3 for—

4 ‘‘(i) campaign activity conducted sole5 ly on behalf of a clearly identified can6 didate for State or local office, provided

7 the campaign activity is not a Federal elec8 tion activity described in subparagraph

9 (A);

10 ‘‘(ii) a contribution to a candidate for

11 State or local office, provided the contribu12 tion is not designated or used to pay for a

13 Federal election activity described in sub14 paragraph (A);

15 ‘‘(iii) the costs of a State, district, or

16 local political convention;

17 ‘‘(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign

18 materials, including buttons, bumper stick19 ers, and yard signs, that name or depict

20 only a candidate for State or local office;

21 ‘‘(v) the non-Federal share of a State,

22 district, or local party committee’s admin23 istrative and overhead expenses (but not

24 including the compensation in any month

25 of an individual who spends more than 20
60

•HR 1739 IH

1 percent of the individual’s time on Federal

2 election activity) as determined by a regu3 lation promulgated by the Commission to

4 determine the non-Federal share of a

5 State, district, or local party committee’s

6 administrative and overhead expenses; and

7 ‘‘(vi) the cost of constructing or pur8 chasing an office facility or equipment for

9 a State, district or local committee.

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDRAISING COSTS.—An amount spent by a

11 national, State, district, or local committee of a political

12 party, by an entity that is established, financed, main13 tained, or controlled by a national, State, district, or local

14 committee of a political party, or by an agent or officer

15 of any such committee or entity, to raise funds that are

16 used, in whole or in part, to pay the costs of a Federal

17 election activity shall be made from funds subject to the

18 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of

19 this Act.

20 ‘‘(d) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—A national,

21 State, district, or local committee of a political party (in22 cluding a national congressional campaign committee of

23 a political party), an entity that is directly or indirectly

24 established, financed, maintained, or controlled by any

25 such national, State, district, or local committee or its
61

•HR 1739 IH

1 agent, and an officer or agent acting on behalf of any such

2 party committee or entity, shall not solicit any funds for,

3 or make or direct any donations to, an organization that

4 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue

5 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section

6 501(a) of such Code (or has submitted an application to

7 the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service for de8 termination of tax-exemption under such section).

9 ‘‘(e) CANDIDATES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate, individual

11 holding Federal office, agent of a candidate or indi12 vidual holding Federal office, or an entity directly or

13 indirectly established, financed, maintained or con14 trolled by or acting on behalf of one or more can15 didates or individuals holding Federal office, shall

16 not—

17 ‘‘(A) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or

18 spend funds in connection with an election for

19 Federal office, including funds for any Federal

20 election activity, unless the funds are subject to

21 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re22 quirements of this Act; or

23 ‘‘(B) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or

24 spend funds in connection with any election

25 other than an election for Federal office or dis-
62

•HR 1739 IH

1 burse funds in connection with such an election

2 unless the funds—

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

4 permitted with respect to contributions to

5 candidates and political committees under

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

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) are not from sources prohibited

9 by this Act from making contributions with

10 respect to an election for Federal office.

11 ‘‘(2) STATE LAW.—Paragraph (1) does not

12 apply to the solicitation, receipt, or spending of

13 funds by an individual who is a candidate for a

14 State or local office in connection with such election

15 for State or local office if the solicitation, receipt, or

16 spending of funds is permitted under State law for

17 any activity other than a Federal election activity.

18 ‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING EVENTS.—Notwithstanding

19 paragraph (1), a candidate may attend, speak, or be

20 a featured guest at a fundraising event for a State,

21 district, or local committee of a political party.’’.
63

•HR 1739 IH

1 SEC. 402. INCREASED CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR STATE

2 COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND

3 AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR INDI4 VIDUALS.

5 (a) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR STATE COMMITTEES

6 OF POLITICAL PARTIES.—Section 315(a)(1) of the Fed7 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1))

8 is amended—

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

10 the end;

11 (2) in subparagraph (C)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘(other than a committee

13 described in subparagraph (D))’’ after ‘‘com14 mittee’’; and

15 (B) by striking the period at the end and

16 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(D) to a political committee established and

19 maintained by a State committee of a political party

20 in any calendar year that, in the aggregate, exceed

21 $10,000’’.

22 (b) AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR INDI23 VIDUAL.—Section 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Cam24 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by

25 striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000’’.
64

•HR 1739 IH

1 SEC. 403. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

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

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

4 (as amended by sections 103 and 303(b)) is amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(f) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

7 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLIT8 ICAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a

9 political party, any national congressional campaign

10 committee of a political party, and any subordinate

11 committee of either, shall report all receipts and dis12 bursements during the reporting period.

13 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

14 SECTION 323 APPLIES.—In addition to any other re15 porting requirements applicable under this Act, a

16 political committee (not described in paragraph (1))

17 to which section 323(b)(1) applies shall report all re18 ceipts and disbursements made for activities de19 scribed in paragraphs (2)(A) and (2)(B)(v) of sec20 tion 323(b).

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

22 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub23 section applies from any person aggregating in ex24 cess of $200 for any calendar year, the political

25 committee shall separately itemize its reporting for
65

•HR 1739 IH

1 such person in the same manner as required in para2 graphs (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).

3 ‘‘(4) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required

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

5 same time periods required for political committees

6 under subsection (a).’’.

7 (b) BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE DEFINI8 TION OF CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8)(B) of the Fed9 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B))

10 is amended—

11 (1) by striking clause (viii); and

12 (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv)

13 as clauses (viii) through (xiii), respectively.

14 TITLE V—RESTRUCTURING AND

15 STRENGTHENING OF THE

16 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS17 SION

18 SEC. 501. APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF COMMISSIONERS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a) of the Federal

20 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(a)) is

21 amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) There is established’’

24 and inserting ‘‘(1)(A) There is established’’;
66

•HR 1739 IH

1 (B) by striking the second sentence and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis4 sion is composed of 6 members appointed by the Presi5 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the United

6 States Senate, and 1 member appointed by the President

7 from among persons recommended by the Commission as

8 provided in subparagraph (D).’’;

9 (C) by striking ‘‘No more than’’ and in10 serting the following:

11 ‘‘(C) PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more than’’; and

12 (D) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(D) NOMINATION BY COMMISSION OF ADDITIONAL

14 MEMBER.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Com16 mission shall recommend to the President, by a vote

17 of 4 members, 3 persons for the appointment to the

18 Commission.

19 ‘‘(ii) VACANCY.—On vacancy of the position of

20 the member appointed under this subparagraph, a

21 member shall be appointed to fill the vacancy in the

22 same manner as provided in clause (i).’’; and

23 (2) in paragraphs (3) and (4), by striking

24 ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Senate and the

25 Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’.
67

•HR 1739 IH

1 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—Not later than 90 days after

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall

3 recommend persons for appointment under section

4 306(a)(1)(D) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971, as added by section 501(a)(1)(D) of this Act.

6 SEC. 502. AUDITS.

7 (a) RANDOM AUDIT.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is

9 amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis11 sion’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(2) RANDOM AUDITS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para15 graph (1), after every primary, general, and

16 runoff election, the Commission may conduct

17 random audits and investigations to ensure vol18 untary compliance with this Act.

19 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF SUBJECTS.—The sub20 jects of audits and investigations under this

21 paragraph shall be selected on the basis of im22 partial criteria established by a vote of at least

23 4 members of the Commission.

24 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—This paragraph does

25 not apply to an authorized committee of a can-
68

•HR 1739 IH

1 didate for President or Vice President subject

2 to audit under chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal

3 Revenue Code of 1986.’’.

4 SEC. 503. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

5 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

7 (1) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(13) AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time in a pro10 ceeding described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4),

11 the Commission believes that—

12 ‘‘(i) there is a substantial likelihood that a

13 violation of this Act is occurring or is about to

14 occur;

15 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will re16 sult in irreparable harm to a party affected by

17 the potential violation;

18 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause

19 undue harm or prejudice to the interests of oth20 ers; and

21 ‘‘(iv) the public interest would be best

22 served by the issuance of an injunction;

23 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a tem24 porary restraining order or preliminary injunction
69

•HR 1739 IH

1 pending the outcome of proceedings under para2 graphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).

3 ‘‘(B) VENUE.—An action under subparagraph

4 (A) shall be brought in the United States district

5 court for the district in which the defendant resides,

6 transacts business, or may be found, or in which the

7 violation is occurring, has occurred, or is about to

8 occur.’’;

9 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(5) or (6)’’

10 and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), or (13)’’; and

11 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.

13 SEC. 504. STANDARD FOR INVESTIGATION.

14 Section 309(a)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign

15 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437f(a)(2)) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘reason to believe that’’ and inserting ‘‘reason to open an

17 investigation on whether’’.

18 SEC. 505. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI.

19 Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)) is amended by inserting

21 ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme Court on cer22 tiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’.
70

•HR 1739 IH

1 SEC. 506. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

2 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

3 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) (as amended by section 503)

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(14) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—

6 ‘‘(A) 60 DAYS BEFORE A GENERAL ELEC7 TION.—If the complaint in a proceeding was

8 filed within 60 days before the date of a general

9 election, the Commission may take action de10 scribed in this subparagraph.

11 ‘‘(B) RESOLUTION BEFORE AN ELEC12 TION.—If the Commission determines, on the

13 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

14 facts available to the Commission, that there is

15 clear and convincing evidence that a violation of

16 this Act has occurred, is occurring, or is about

17 to occur and it appears that the requirements

18 for relief stated in clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of

19 paragraph (13)(A) are met, the Commission

20 may—

21 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

22 shortening the time periods for proceedings

23 under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as

24 necessary to allow the matter to be re25 solved in sufficient time before the election
71

•HR 1739 IH

1 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

2 of the parties; or

3 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

4 that there is insufficient time to conduct

5 proceedings before the election, imme6 diately seek relief under paragraph

7 (13)(A).

8 ‘‘(C) MERITLESS COMPLAINTS.—If the

9 Commission determines, on the basis of facts

10 alleged in the complaint and other facts avail11 able to the Commission, that the complaint is

12 clearly without merit, the Commission may—

13 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

14 shortening the time periods for proceedings

15 under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as

16 necessary to allow the matter to be re17 solved in sufficient time before the election

18 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

19 of the parties; or

20 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

21 that there is insufficient time to conduct

22 proceedings before the election, summarily

23 dismiss the complaint.’’.
72

•HR 1739 IH

1 SEC. 507. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC

2 REPORTS.

3 (a) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Section

4 304(a)(11)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking

6 ‘‘permit reports required by’’ and inserting ‘‘require re7 ports under’’.

8 (b) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

9 MADE TO ANY POLITICAL COMMITTEE WITHIN 90 DAYS

10 OF ELECTION; REQUIRING REPORTS TO BE MADE WITH11 IN 24 HOURS.—Section 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

12 434(a)(6)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(6)(A) Each political committee shall notify the Sec14 retary or the Commission, and the Secretary of State, as

15 appropriate, in writing, of any contribution received by the

16 committee during the period which begins on the 90th day

17 before an election and ends at the time the polls close for

18 such election. This notification shall be made within 24

19 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the

20 contribution is deposited) after the receipt of such con21 tribution and shall include the name of the candidate in22 volved (as appropriate) and the office sought by the can23 didate, the indentification of the contributor, and the date

24 of receipt and amount of the contribution.
73

•HR 1739 IH

1 ‘‘(B) The notification required under this paragraph

2 shall be in addition to all other reporting requirements

3 under this Act.’’.

4 (c) INCREASING ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE.—Section

5 304 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)), as amended by sections

6 103, 303(b), and 403(a), is further amended by adding

7 at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(g)(1) The Commission shall make the information

9 contained in the reports submitted under this section

10 available on the Internet and publicly available at the of11 fices of the Commission as soon as practicable (but in no

12 case later than 24 hours) after the information is received

13 by the Commission.

14 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘Internet’ means the

15 international computer network of both Federal and non16 Federal interoperable packet-switched data networks.’’.

17 SEC. 508. POWER TO ISSUE SUBPOENA WITHOUT SIGNA18 TURE OF CHAIRPERSON.

19 Section 307(a)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(3)) is amended by striking

21 ‘‘, signed by the chairman or the vice chairman,’’.
74

•HR 1739 IH

1 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 601. SEVERABILITY.

4 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by

5 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment

6 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu7 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made

8 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and

9 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be

10 affected by the holding.

11 SEC. 602. REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

12 An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme

13 Court of the United States from any final judgment, de14 cree, or order issued by any court ruling on the constitu15 tionality of any provision of this Act or amendment made

16 by this Act.

17 SEC. 603. EFFECTIVE DATE.

18 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

19 take effect on January 1, 2000.

Æ