II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 416 

To restore integrity to America’s Elections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To restore integrity to America’s 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. 

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

5 to America’s Elections Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS7 SION. 

8 (a) REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS; REMOVAL

9 OF SECRETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE AS

10 EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL; QUORUM.—Section 306(a)(1) 

2 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

3 U.S.C. 30106(a)(1)) is amended by striking the sec4 ond and third sentences and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘The Commission is composed of 5 members ap6 pointed by the President by and with the advice and 

7 consent of the Senate, of whom no more than 2 may 

8 be affiliated with the same political party. A member 

9 shall be treated as affiliated with a political party if 

10 the member was affiliated, including as a registered 

11 voter, employee, consultant, donor, officer, or attor12 ney, with such political party or any of its can13 didates or elected public officials at any time during 

14 the 5-year period ending on the date on which such 

15 individual is nominated to be a member of the Com16 mission. A majority of the number of members of 

17 the Commission who are serving at the time shall 

18 constitute a quorum, except that 3 members shall 

19 constitute a quorum if there are 4 members serving 

20 at the time.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

22 REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—(A) The 

23 second sentence of section 306(c) of such Act (52 

24 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘affirma25 tive vote of 4 members of the Commission’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S416.IS S416

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1 serting ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the mem2 bers of the Commission who are serving at the 

3 time’’. 

4 (B) Such Act is further amended by striking 

5 ‘‘affirmative vote of 4 of its members’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 

7 the Commission who are serving at the time’’ each 

8 place it appears in the following sections: 

9 (i) Section 309(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 

10 30109(a)(2)). 

11 (ii) Section 309(a)(4)(A)(i) (52 U.S.C. 

12 30109(a)(4)(A)(i)). 

13 (iii) Section 309(a)(5)(C) (52 U.S.C. 

14 30109(a)(5)(C)). 

15 (iv) Section 309(a)(6)(A) (52 U.S.C. 

16 30109(a)(6)(A)). 

17 (v) Section 311(b) (52 U.S.C. 30111(b)). 

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

19 REMOVAL OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Section 

20 306(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)) is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Sen22 ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’ 

23 each place it appears in paragraphs (4) and (5). 


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1 (b) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Section 306(a)(2) of such 

2 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(2)) is amended to read as fol3 lows: 

4 ‘‘(2) TERMS OF SERVICE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

6 Commission shall serve for a single term of 6 

7 years. 

8 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL APPOINT9 MENTS.—Of the members first appointed to 

10 serve terms that begin in January 2022, the 

11 President shall designate 2 to serve for a 3-year 

12 term. 

13 ‘‘(C) NO REAPPOINTMENT PERMITTED.— 

14 An individual who served a term as a member 

15 of the Commission may not serve for an addi16 tional term, except that— 

17 ‘‘(i) an individual who served a 3-year 

18 term under subparagraph (B) may also be 

19 appointed to serve a 6-year term under 

20 subparagraph (A); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of this subpara22 graph, an individual who is appointed to 

23 fill a vacancy under subparagraph (D) 

24 shall not be considered to have served a 

25 term if the portion of the unexpired term 


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1 the individual fills is less than 50 percent 

2 of the period of the term. 

3 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring 

4 in the membership of the Commission shall be 

5 filled in the same manner as in the case of the 

6 original appointment. Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (C), an individual appointed to 

8 fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expi9 ration of a term of office shall be appointed 

10 only for the unexpired term of the member he 

11 or she succeeds. 

12 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON SERVICE AFTER EX13 PIRATION OF TERM.—A member of the Com14 mission may continue to serve on the Commis15 sion after the expiration of the member’s term 

16 for an additional period, but only until the ear17 lier of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the date on which the member’s 

19 successor has taken office as a member of 

20 the Commission; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of the 1-year pe22 riod that begins on the last day of the 

23 member’s term.’’. 

24 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 306(a)(3) of such Act 

25 (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

3 select an individual for service as a member of 

4 the Commission if the individual has experience 

5 in election law and has a demonstrated record 

6 of integrity, impartiality, and good judgment. 

7 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE OF BLUE RIBBON ADVI8 SORY PANEL.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the regu10 larly scheduled expiration of the term of a 

11 member of the Commission and upon the 

12 occurrence of a vacancy in the membership 

13 of the Commission prior to the expiration 

14 of a term, the President shall convene a 

15 Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel, that includes 

16 individuals representing each major polit17 ical party and individuals who are inde18 pendent of a political party and that con19 sists of an odd number of individuals se20 lected by the President from retired Fed21 eral judges, former law enforcement offi22 cials, or individuals with experience in elec23 tion law, except that the President may not 

24 select any individual to serve on the panel 

25 who holds any public office at the time of 


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1 selection. The President shall also make 

2 reasonable efforts to encourage racial, eth3 nic, and gender diversity on the panel. 

4 ‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—With re5 spect to each member of the Commission 

6 whose term is expiring or each vacancy in 

7 the membership of the Commission (as the 

8 case may be), the Blue Ribbon Advisory 

9 Panel shall recommend to the President at 

10 least one but not more than 3 individuals 

11 for nomination for appointment as a mem12 ber of the Commission. 

13 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION.—At the time the 

14 President submits to the Senate the nomi15 nations for individuals to be appointed as 

16 members of the Commission, the President 

17 shall publish the Blue Ribbon Advisory 

18 Panel’s recommendations for such nomina19 tions. 

20 ‘‘(iv) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL AD21 VISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal 

22 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

23 does not apply to a Blue Ribbon Advisory 

24 Panel convened under this subparagraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING ENGAGEMENT WITH

2 OTHER BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT DURING

3 SERVICE.—A member of the Commission shall 

4 not engage in any other business, vocation, or 

5 employment. Any individual who is engaging in 

6 any other business, vocation, or employment at 

7 the time of his or her appointment to the Com8 mission shall terminate or liquidate such activ9 ity no later than 90 days after such appoint10 ment.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF POWERS TO CHAIR OF FEDERAL 

12 ELECTION COMMISSION. 

13 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR BY PRESIDENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(5) of the 

15 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

16 30106(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.— 

18 ‘‘(A) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Of the 

19 members first appointed to serve terms that 

20 begin in January 2022, one such member (as 

21 designated by the President at the time the 

22 President submits nominations to the Senate) 

23 shall serve as Chair of the Commission. 

24 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

25 individual who is appointed to succeed the 


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1 member who serves as Chair of the Commission 

2 for the term beginning in January 2022 (as 

3 well as any individual who is appointed to fill 

4 a vacancy if such member does not serve a full 

5 term as Chair) shall serve as Chair of the Com6 mission. 

7 ‘‘(C) VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 

8 select, by majority vote of its members, one of 

9 its members to serve as Vice Chair, who shall 

10 act as Chair in the absence or disability of the 

11 Chair or in the event of a vacancy in the posi12 tion of Chair.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 309(a)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(2)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘through its chairman or vice 

16 chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘through the Chair’’. 

17 (b) POWERS.— 

18 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN POWERS TO

19 CHAIR.—Section 307(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

20 30107(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS BETWEEN CHAIR

22 AND COMMISSION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) POWERS ASSIGNED TO CHAIR.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS.—The 

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1 ministrative officer of the Commission and shall 

2 have the authority to administer the Commis3 sion and its staff, and (in consultation with the 

4 other members of the Commission) shall have 

5 the power— 

6 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the staff 

7 director of the Commission; 

8 ‘‘(ii) to request the assistance (includ9 ing personnel and facilities) of other agen10 cies and departments of the United States, 

11 whose heads may make such assistance 

12 available to the Commission with or with13 out reimbursement; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) to prepare and establish the 

15 budget of the Commission and to make 

16 budget requests to the President, the Di17 rector of the Office of Management and 

18 Budget, and Congress. 

19 ‘‘(B) OTHER POWERS.—The Chair of the 

20 Commission shall have the power— 

21 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the gen22 eral counsel of the Commission with the 

23 concurrence of at least 2 other members of 

24 the Commission; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to require by special or general 

2 orders, any person to submit, under oath, 

3 such written reports and answers to ques4 tions as the Chair may prescribe; 

5 ‘‘(iii) to administer oaths or affirma6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(iv) to require by subpoena, signed 

8 by the Chair, the attendance and testimony 

9 of witnesses and the production of all doc10 umentary evidence relating to the execu11 tion of its duties; 

12 ‘‘(v) in any proceeding or investiga13 tion, to order testimony to be taken by 

14 deposition before any person who is des15 ignated by the Chair, and shall have the 

16 power to administer oaths and, in such in17 stances, to compel testimony and the pro18 duction of evidence in the same manner as 

19 authorized under clause (iv); and 

20 ‘‘(vi) to pay witnesses the same fees 

21 and mileage as are paid in like cir22 cumstances in the courts of the United 

23 States. 

24 ‘‘(2) POWERS ASSIGNED TO COMMISSION.—The 

25 Commission shall have the power— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to initiate (through civil actions for 

2 injunctive, declaratory, or other appropriate re3 lief), defend (in the case of any civil action 

4 brought under section 309(a)(8) of this Act) or 

5 appeal (including a proceeding before the Su6 preme Court on certiorari) any civil action in 

7 the name of the Commission to enforce the pro8 visions of this Act and chapter 95 and chapter 

9 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

10 through its general counsel; 

11 ‘‘(B) to render advisory opinions under 

12 section 308 of this Act; 

13 ‘‘(C) to develop such prescribed forms and 

14 to make, amend, and repeal such rules, pursu15 ant to the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, as are necessary to carry 

17 out the provisions of this Act and chapter 95 

18 and chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986; 

20 ‘‘(D) to conduct investigations and hear21 ings expeditiously, to encourage voluntary com22 pliance, and to report apparent violations to the 

23 appropriate law enforcement authorities; and 

24 ‘‘(E) to transmit to the President and Con25 gress not later than June 1 of each year a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S416.IS S416

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1 port which states in detail the activities of the 

2 Commission in carrying out its duties under 

3 this Act, and which includes any recommenda4 tions for any legislative or other action the 

5 Commission considers appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING COMMISSION TO EXERCISE

7 OTHER POWERS OF CHAIR.—With respect to any in8 vestigation, action, or proceeding, the Commission, 

9 by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members 

10 who are serving at the time, may exercise any of the 

11 powers of the Chair described in paragraph (1)(B).’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

13 PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f) of such 

14 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(f)) is amended— 

15 (A) by amending the first sentence of 

16 paragraph (1) to read as follows: ‘‘The Com17 mission shall have a staff director who shall be 

18 appointed by the Chair of the Commission in 

19 consultation with the other members and a gen20 eral counsel who shall be appointed by the 

21 Chair with the concurrence of at least two other 

22 members.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘With 

24 the approval of the Commission’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘With the approval of the Chair of the Commis2 sion’’; and 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (3). 

4 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

5 BUDGET SUBMISSION.—Section 307(d)(1) of such 

6 Act (52 U.S.C. 30107(d)(1)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘the Commission submits any budget’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘the Chair (or, pursuant to subsection (a)(3), the 

9 Commission) submits any budget’’. 

10 (4) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec11 tion 306(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘All decisions’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Subject to section 307(a), all decisions’’. 

14 (5) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

15 section 307 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30107) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘THE COMMISSION’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘THE CHAIR AND THE COMMISSION’’. 

18 SEC. 4. REVISION TO ENFORCEMENT PROCESS. 

19 (a) STANDARD FOR INITIATING INVESTIGATIONS AND

20 DETERMINING WHETHER VIOLATIONS HAVE OC21 CURRED.— 

22 (1) REVISION OF STANDARDS.—Section 309(a) 

23 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

24 U.S.C. 30109(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

25 (2) and (3) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) The general counsel, upon receiving a com2 plaint filed with the Commission under paragraph (1) or 

3 upon the basis of information ascertained by the Commis4 sion in the normal course of carrying out its supervisory 

5 responsibilities, shall make a determination as to whether 

6 or not there is reason to believe that a person has com7 mitted, or is about to commit, a violation of this Act or 

8 chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code 

9 of 1986, and as to whether or not the Commission should 

10 either initiate an investigation of the matter or that the 

11 complaint should be dismissed. The general counsel shall 

12 promptly provide notification to the Commission of such 

13 determination and the reasons therefore, together with 

14 any written response submitted under paragraph (1) by 

15 the person alleged to have committed the violation. Upon 

16 the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the 

17 date the general counsel provides such notification, the 

18 general counsel’s determination shall take effect, unless 

19 during such 30-day period the Commission, by vote of a 

20 majority of the members of the Commission who are serv21 ing at the time, overrules the general counsel’s determina22 tion. If the determination by the general counsel that the 

23 Commission should investigate the matter takes effect, or 

24 if the determination by the general counsel that the com25 plaint should be dismissed is overruled as provided under 


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1 the previous sentence, the general counsel shall initiate an 

2 investigation of the matter on behalf of the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(B) If the Commission initiates an investigation 

4 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Commission, through 

5 the Chair, shall notify the subject of the investigation of 

6 the alleged violation. Such notification shall set forth the 

7 factual basis for such alleged violation. The Commission 

8 shall make an investigation of such alleged violation, which 

9 may include a field investigation or audit, in accordance 

10 with the provisions of this section. The general counsel 

11 shall provide notification to the Commission of any intent 

12 to issue a subpoena or conduct any other form of discovery 

13 pursuant to the investigation. Upon the expiration of the 

14 15-day period which begins on the date the general counsel 

15 provides such notification, the general counsel may issue 

16 the subpoena or conduct the discovery, unless during such 

17 15-day period the Commission, by vote of a majority of 

18 the members of the Commission who are serving at the 

19 time, prohibits the general counsel from issuing the sub20 poena or conducting the discovery. 

21 ‘‘(3)(A) Upon completion of an investigation under 

22 paragraph (2), the general counsel shall promptly submit 

23 to the Commission the general counsel’s recommendation 

24 that the Commission find either that there is probable 

25 cause or that there is not probable cause to believe that 


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1 a person has committed, or is about to commit, a violation 

2 of this Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986, and shall include with the rec4 ommendation a brief stating the position of the general 

5 counsel on the legal and factual issues of the case. 

6 ‘‘(B) At the time the general counsel submits to the 

7 Commission the recommendation under subparagraph (A), 

8 the general counsel shall simultaneously notify the re9 spondent of such recommendation and the reasons there10 fore, shall provide the respondent with an opportunity to 

11 submit a brief within 30 days stating the position of the 

12 respondent on the legal and factual issues of the case and 

13 replying to the brief of the general counsel. The general 

14 counsel shall promptly submit such brief to the Commis15 sion upon receipt. 

16 ‘‘(C) Not later than 30 days after the general counsel 

17 submits the recommendation to the Commission under 

18 subparagraph (A) (or, if the respondent submits a brief 

19 under subparagraph (B), not later than 30 days after the 

20 general counsel submits the respondent’s brief to the Com21 mission under such subparagraph), the Commission shall 

22 approve or disapprove the recommendation by vote of a 

23 majority of the members of the Commission who are serv24 ing at the time.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

2 INITIAL RESPONSE TO FILING OF COMPLAINT.—Sec3 tion 309(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(1)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (A) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the 

6 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the general coun7 sel’’; and 

8 (B) by amending the fourth sentence to 

9 read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 15 days after 

10 receiving notice from the general counsel under 

11 the previous sentence, the person may provide 

12 the general counsel with a written response that 

13 no action should be taken against such person 

14 on the basis of the complaint.’’. 

15 (b) REVISION OF STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF DIS16 MISSAL OF COMPLAINTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(8) of such 

18 Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(8)) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(8)(A)(i) Any party aggrieved by an order of the 

21 Commission dismissing a complaint filed by such party 

22 after finding either no reason to believe a violation has 

23 occurred or no probable cause a violation has occurred 

24 may file a petition with the United States District Court 

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1 paragraph shall be filed within 60 days after the date on 

2 which the party received notice of the dismissal of the 

3 complaint. 

4 ‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 

5 court shall determine by de novo review whether the agen6 cy’s dismissal of the complaint is contrary to law. In any 

7 matter in which the penalty for the alleged violation is 

8 greater than $50,000, the court should disregard any 

9 claim or defense by the Commission of prosecutorial dis10 cretion as a basis for dismissing the complaint. 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) Any party who has filed a complaint with the 

12 Commission and who is aggrieved by a failure of the Com13 mission, within one year after the filing of the complaint, 

14 to either dismiss the complaint or to find reason to believe 

15 a violation has occurred or is about to occur, may file a 

16 petition with the United States District Court for the Dis17 trict of Columbia. 

18 ‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 

19 court shall treat the failure to act on the complaint as 

20 a dismissal of the complaint, and shall determine by de 

21 novo review whether the agency’s failure to act on the 

22 complaint is contrary to law. 

23 ‘‘(C) In any proceeding under this paragraph the 

24 court may declare that the dismissal of the complaint or 

25 the failure to act is contrary to law, and may direct the 


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1 Commission to conform with such declaration within 30 

2 days, failing which the complainant may bring, in the 

3 name of such complainant, a civil action to remedy the 

4 violation involved in the original complaint.’’. 

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

6 by paragraph (1) shall apply— 

7 (A) in the case of complaints which are 

8 dismissed by the Federal Election Commission, 

9 with respect to complaints which are dismissed 

10 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act; and 

12 (B) in the case of complaints upon which 

13 the Federal Election Commission failed to act, 

14 with respect to complaints which were filed on 

15 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 5. PERMITTING APPEARANCE AT HEARINGS ON RE17 QUESTS FOR ADVISORY OPINIONS BY PER18 SONS OPPOSING THE REQUESTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of such Act (52 

20 U.S.C. 30108) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) To the extent that the Commission provides an 

23 opportunity for a person requesting an advisory opinion 

24 under this section (or counsel for such person) to appear 

25 before the Commission to present testimony in support of 


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1 the request, and the person (or counsel) accepts such op2 portunity, the Commission shall provide a reasonable op3 portunity for an interested party who submitted written 

4 comments under subsection (d) in response to the request 

5 (or counsel for such interested party) to appear before the 

6 Commission to present testimony in response to the re7 quest.’’. 

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

9 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to requests for advi10 sory opinions under section 308 of the Federal Election 

11 Campaign Act of 1971 which are made on or after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 6. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PEN14 ALTY AUTHORITY. 

15 (a) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 

16 309(a)(4)(C)(v) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

17 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘, and that end on or before December 31, 2023’’. 

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

20 subsection (a) shall take effect on December 31, 2021. 

21 SEC. 7. REQUIRING FORMS TO PERMIT USE OF ACCENT 

22 MARKS. 

23 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 311(a)(1) of the Fed24 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

25 30111(a)(1)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the 


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1 end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and shall ensure that 

2 all such forms (including forms in an electronic format) 

3 permit the person using the form to include an accent 

4 mark as part of the person’s identification;’’. 

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

6 subsection (a) shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

7 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act. 

9 SEC. 8. RESTRICTIONS ON EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS. 

10 Section 306(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

11 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30106(e)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(e) The Commission’’ and in13 serting ‘‘(e)(1) The Commission’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(2) Members and employees of the Commission shall 

17 be subject to limitations on ex parte communications, as 

18 provided in the regulations promulgated by the Commis19 sion regarding such communications which are in effect 

20 on the date of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

21 SEC. 9. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF FEC ATTORNEYS TO 

22 REPRESENT FEC IN SUPREME COURT. 

23 (a) CLARIFYING AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f)(4) of 

24 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

25 30106(f)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘any action instituted 


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1 under this Act, either (A) by attorneys’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘any action instituted under this Act, including an action 

3 before the Supreme Court of the United States, either (A) 

4 by the General Counsel of the Commission and other at5 torneys’’. 

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

7 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to actions instituted 

8 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, the 

11 amendments made by this Act shall apply beginning Janu12 ary 1, 2022. 

13 (b) TRANSITION.— 

14 (1) TERMINATION OF SERVICE OF CURRENT

15 MEMBERS.—Notwithstanding any provision of the 

16 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, the term of 

17 any individual serving as a member of the Federal 

18 Election Commission as of December 31, 2021, shall 

19 expire on that date. 

20 (2) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING CASES OR PRO21 CEEDINGS.—Nothing in this Act or in any amend22 ment made by this Act shall affect any of the powers 

23 exercised by the Federal Election Commission prior 

24 to December 31, 2021, including any investigation 

25 initiated by the Commission prior to such date or 


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24 

•S 416 IS

1 any proceeding (including any enforcement action) 

2 pending as of such date. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS