Union Calendar No. 349

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3760

[Report No. 104–677]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of

campaigns, and for other purposes.1971 to reform the financing of Federal election

JULY 16, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 349

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3760

[Report No. 104–677]

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

of Federal election campaigns, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 9, 1996

Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. DELAY, Mr.

BOEHNER, Mr. PAXON, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. WAMP, and Mr. EHLERS)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

House Oversight

JULY 16, 1996

Additional sponsors: Ms. GREENE of Utah, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. RIGGS, Mr.

LIVINGSTON, Mr. FOX, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr.

WALKER, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, and Mr. CAMP

JULY 16, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 9, 1996]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

reform the financing of Federal election campaigns, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1996’’.

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

5 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

TITLE I—RESTORING CONTROL OF ELECTIONS TO INDIVIDUALS

Sec. 101. Requiring majority of House of Representatives candidate funds to come

from individuals residing in district.

Sec. 102. Reduction in allowable contribution amounts for political action committees in Federal elections to level allowed for individuals.

Sec. 103. Modification of limitations on contributions when candidates spend or

contribute large amounts of personal funds.

Sec. 104. Indexing limits on contributions.

Sec. 105. Prohibition of leadership committees.

Sec. 106. Prohibiting bundling of contributions to candidates by political action

committees and lobbyists.

Sec. 107. Definition of independent expenditures.

Sec. 108. Requirements for use of payroll deductions for contributions.

TITLE II—STRENGTHENING POLITICAL PARTIES

Sec. 201. Modification of contribution limits and requirements for political parties.

Sec. 202. Allowing political parties to offset funds carried over from previous elections.

Sec. 203. Prohibiting use of non-Federal funds in Federal elections.

Sec. 204. Permitting parties to have unlimited communication with members.

Sec. 205. Promoting State and local party volunteer and grassroots activity.

TITLE III—DISCLOSURE AND ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 301. Timely reporting and increased disclosure.

Sec. 302. Streamlining procedures and rules of Federal Election Commission.

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Effective date.

Sec. 402. Severability.

Sec. 403. Expedited court review.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Our republican form of government is

9 strengthened when voters choose their representatives
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1 in elections that are free of corruption or the appear2 ance of corruption.

3 (2) Corruption or the appearance of corruption

4 in elections may evidence itself in many ways:

5 (A) Voters who democratically elect rep6 resentatives must believe they are fairly rep7 resented by those they elect. The current election

8 laws have led many to believe that the interests

9 of those who actually vote for their representa10 tives are less important than those who cannot

11 vote, but who can influence an election by their

12 contributions to the candidates.

13 (B) Failure to disclose, or timely disclose,

14 those who contribute and how much they contrib15 ute unnecessarily withholds information voters

16 need to cast ballots with complete confidence,

17 thereby increasing the belief of, or the appear18 ance of, corruption.

19 (C) The diminishing role of political par20 ties, despite parties’ long-standing role in ad21 vancing broad national agendas, in assisting the

22 election of party candidates, and in organizing

23 members, has relatively enhanced groups that

24 pursue narrower interests. This relative shift of
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1 influence has been interpreted by some as cor2 rupting the election process.

3 (D) Complicated and obsolete election laws

4 and rules discourage citizens from becoming can5 didates, allow for coerced involuntary payments

6 for political purposes, fail to keep contribution

7 amounts current with inflation, and fail to pro8 vide reasonable compensating contribution limits

9 for candidates who run against candidates who

10 wish to exercise their constitutional right of

11 spending their own resources. The current state

12 of laws and rules is such that if they do not cor13 rupt, at the very least they unduly hinder fair,

14 honest, and competitive elections.

15 TITLE I—RESTORING CONTROL

16 OF ELECTIONS TO INDIVIDUALS

17 SEC. 101. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF HOUSE OF REPRESENT18 ATIVES CANDIDATE FUNDS TO COME FROM

19 INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN DISTRICT.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Election

21 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(i)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative in,

24 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may

25 not accept contributions with respect to an election cycle
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1 from persons other than local individual residents totaling

2 in excess of the total of contributions accepted from local

3 individual residents (as determined on the basis of the most

4 recent information included in reports pursuant to section

5 304(d).

6 ‘‘(2) In determining the amount of contributions ac7 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con8 tributions of the candidate’s personal funds shall be subject

9 to the following rules:

10 ‘‘(A) To the extent that the amount of the con11 tribution does not exceed the limitation on contribu12 tions made by an individual under subsection

13 (a)(1)(A), such contribution shall be treated as any

14 other contribution.

15 ‘‘(B) The portion (if any) of the contribution

16 which exceeds the limitation on contributions which

17 may be made by an individual under subsection

18 (a)(1)(A) shall be allocated in accordance with para19 graph (8).

20 ‘‘(3) In determining the amount of contributions ac21 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con22 tributions from a political party or a political party com23 mittee shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).

24 ‘‘(4) In determining the amount of contributions ac25 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any
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1 funds remaining in the candidate’s campaign account after

2 the filing of the post-general election report under section

3 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) for the most recent general election shall

4 be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).

5 ‘‘(5) In determining the amount of contributions ac6 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any

7 contributions accepted pursuant to subsection (j) which are

8 from persons other than local individual residents shall be

9 allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).

10 ‘‘(6)(A) Any candidate who accepts contributions that

11 exceed the limitation under this subsection, as determined

12 on the basis of information included in reports pursuant

13 to section 304(d), shall pay to the Commission at the time

14 of the filing of the report which contains the information,

15 for deposit in the Treasury, an amount equal to 3 times

16 the amount of the excess contributions (or, in the case of

17 a candidate described in subparagraph (C), an amount

18 equal to 5 times the amount of the excess contributions plus

19 a civil penalty in an amount determined by the Commis20 sion).

21 ‘‘(B) Any amounts paid by a candidate under this

22 paragraph shall be paid from contributions subject to the

23 limitations and prohibitions of this title, including the lim24 itation under this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(C) A candidate described in this subparagraph is a

2 candidate who accepts contributions that exceed the limita3 tion under this subsection as of the last day of the period

4 ending on the 20th day before an election or any period

5 ending after such 20th day and before or on the 20th day

6 after such election.

7 ‘‘(7) As used in this subsection, the term ‘local individ8 ual resident’ means an individual who resides in the con9 gressional district involved.

10 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, any amounts allo11 cated in accordance with this paragraph shall be allocated

12 as follows:

13 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amounts shall be deemed

14 to be contributions from local individual residents.

15 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amounts shall be deemed

16 to be contributions from persons other than local indi17 vidual residents.’’.

18 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of such

19 Act (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end the

20 following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(d) Each principal campaign committee of a can22 didate for the House of Representatives shall include the

23 following information in reports filed under subsection

24 (a)(2) and subsection (a)(6)(A):
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1 ‘‘(1) With respect to each report filed under such

2 subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) the total contributions received by the

4 committee with respect to the election cycle in5 volved from local individual residents (as defined

6 in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of the pe7 riod covered by the report;

8 ‘‘(B) the total contributions received by the

9 committee with respect to the election cycle in10 volved which are not from local individual resi11 dents, as of the last day of the period covered by

12 the report; and

13 ‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con14 tributions reported comply with the limitation

15 under section 315(i), as of the last day of the pe16 riod covered by the report.

17 ‘‘(2) In the case of the first report filed under

18 such subsection which covers the period which begins

19 19 days before an election and ends 20 days after the

20 election—

21 ‘‘(A) the total contributions received by the

22 committee with respect to the election cycle in23 volved from local individual residents (as defined

24 in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of such

25 period;
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1 ‘‘(B) the total contributions received by the

2 committee with respect to the election cycle in3 volved which are not from local individual resi4 dents, as of the last day of such period; and

5 ‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con6 tributions reported comply with the limitation

7 under section 315(i), as of the last day of such

8 period.’’.

9 SEC. 102. REDUCTION IN ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION

10 AMOUNTS FOR POLITICAL ACTION COMMIT11 TEES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS TO LEVEL AL12 LOWED FOR INDIVIDUALS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(a) of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)) is amend15 ed—

16 (1) in paragraph (1)—

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after

18 ‘‘Federal office’’ the following: ‘‘or to any other

19 political committee other than a political party

20 committee in any calendar year’’,

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘or’’ at

22 the end,

23 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; or’’

24 and inserting a period, and

25 (D) by striking subparagraph (C); and
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1 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol2 lows:

3 ‘‘(2) No political party committee may make contribu4 tions—

5 ‘‘(A) to any candidate or the candidate’s author6 ized political committees with respect to any election

7 for Federal office which, in the aggregate, exceed

8 $5,000; or

9 ‘‘(B) to any other political committee other than

10 a political party committee in any calendar year

11 which, in the aggregate, exceed $5,000.’’.

12 (b) POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEE DEFINED.—The

13 second sentence of section 315(a)(4) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

14 441a(a)(4)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘For purposes

15 of this section, the term ‘political party committee’ means

16 a political committee which is a national, State, district,

17 or local political party committee (including any subordi18 nate committee thereof).’’.

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 311(a)(6) of

20 such Act (2 U.S.C. 438(a)(6)) is amended—

21 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘multi-can22 didate committees’’ the first place it appears and in23 serting ‘‘political committees which are not author24 ized committees of candidates or political party com25 mittees’’;
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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘multi-can2 didate committees’’ the second place it appears and

3 inserting ‘‘such committees’’; and

4 (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘multi-can5 didate committees’’ and inserting ‘‘committees de6 scribed in subparagraph (B)’’.

7 SEC. 103. MODIFICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBU8 TIONS WHEN CANDIDATES SPEND OR CON9 TRIBUTE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PERSONAL

10 FUNDS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Election

12 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sec13 tion 101(a), is further amended by adding at the end the

14 following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(j)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if in a general

16 election a House candidate makes expenditures of personal

17 funds (including contributions by the candidate to the can18 didate’s authorized campaign committee) in an amount in

19 excess of the amount of the limitation established under sub20 section (a)(1)(A) and less than or equal to $150,000 (as

21 reported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), a political party com22 mittee may make contributions to an opponent of the House

23 candidate without regard to any limitation otherwise ap24 plicable to such contributions under subsection (a), except

25 that the opponent may not accept aggregate contributions
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1 under this paragraph in an amount greater than the great2 est amount of personal funds expended (including contribu3 tions to the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) by

4 any House candidate (other than such opponent) with re5 spect to the election (as reported in a notification submitted

6 under section 304(a)(6)(B)).

7 ‘‘(2) If a House candidate makes expenditures of per8 sonal funds (including contributions by the candidate to the

9 candidate’s authorized campaign committee) with respect

10 to an election in an amount greater than $150,000 (as re11 ported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), the following rules shall

12 apply:

13 ‘‘(A) In the case of a general election, the limita14 tions under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) (insofar as

15 such limitations apply to political party committees

16 and to individuals) shall not apply to contributions

17 to the candidate or to any opponent of the candidate,

18 except that neither the candidate or any opponent

19 may accept aggregate contributions under this sub20 paragraph and paragraph (1) in an amount greater

21 than the greatest amount of personal funds (including

22 contributions to the candidate’s authorized campaign

23 committee) expended by any House candidate with

24 respect to the election (as reported in a notification

25 submitted under section 304(a)(6)(B)).
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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of an election other than a gen2 eral election, the limitations under subsection (a)(1)

3 (insofar as such limitations apply to individuals)

4 shall not apply to contributions to the candidate or

5 to any opponent of the candidate, except that neither

6 the candidate or any opponent may accept aggregate

7 contributions under this subparagraph in an amount

8 greater than the greatest amount of personal funds

9 (including contributions to the candidate’s authorized

10 campaign committee) expended by any House can11 didate with respect to the election (as reported in a

12 notification submitted under section 304(a)(6)(B)).

13 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘House candidate’

14 means a candidate in an election for the office of Represent15 ative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con16 gress.’’.

17 (b) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES OF PERSONAL

18 FUNDS.—Section 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

19 434(a)(6)) is amended—

20 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub21 paragraph (C); and

22 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol23 lowing new subparagraph:

24 ‘‘(B)(i) The principal campaign committee of a House

25 candidate (as defined in section 315(j)(3)) shall submit the
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1 following notifications relating to expenditures of personal

2 funds by such candidate (including contributions by the

3 candidate to such committee):

4 ‘‘(I) A notification of the first such expenditure

5 (or contribution) by which the aggregate amount of

6 personal funds expended (or contributed) with respect

7 to an election exceeds the amount of the limitation es8 tablished under section 315(a)(1)(A) for elections in

9 the year involved.

10 ‘‘(II) A notification of each such expenditure (or

11 contribution) which, taken together with all such ex12 penditures (and contributions) in any amount not in13 cluded in the most recent report under this subpara14 graph, totals $5,000 or more.

15 ‘‘(III) A notification of the first such expenditure

16 (or contribution) by which the aggregate amount of

17 personal funds expended with respect to the election

18 exceeds the level applicable under section 315(j)(2) for

19 elections in the year involved.

20 ‘‘(ii) Each of the notifications submitted under clause

21 (i)—

22 ‘‘(I) shall be submitted not later than 24 hours

23 after the expenditure or contribution which is the sub24 ject of the notification is made;
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1 ‘‘(II) shall include the name of the candidate, the

2 office sought by the candidate, and the date of the ex3 penditure or contribution and amount of the expendi4 ture or contribution involved; and

5 ‘‘(III) shall include the total amount of all such

6 expenditures and contributions made with respect to

7 the same election as of the date of expenditure or con8 tribution which is the subject of the notification.’’.

9 SEC. 104. INDEXING LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c) of the Federal Elec11 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended

12 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

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

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

15 ‘‘(i) For calendar year 1997, each such amount

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

18 percentage increase in the price index (as defined in

19 subsection (c)(2)) for each year after 1976 and before

20 1998.

21 ‘‘(ii) For calendar year 1999 and each second

22 subsequent year, each such amount shall be equal to

23 the amount for the second previous year (as adjusted

24 under this subparagraph), increased (in a

25 compounded manner) by the percentage increase in
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1 the price index for the previous year and the second

2 previous year.

3 ‘‘(B) In the case of any amount adjusted under this

4 subparagraph which is not a multiple of $500, the amount

5 shall be rounded to the nearest lowest multiple of $500.’’.

6 (b) APPLICATION OF INDEXING TO SUPPORT OF CAN7 DIDATE’S COMMITTEES.—Section 302(e)(3)(B) of such Act

8 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)(3)(B)) is amended by adding at the end

9 the following new sentence: ‘‘The amount described in the

10 previous sentence shall be adjusted (for years beginning

11 with 1997) in the same manner as the amounts of limita12 tions on contributions under section 315(a) are adjusted

13 under section 315(c)(3).’’.

14 (c) APPLICATION OF INDEXING TO PROVISIONS RELAT15 ING TO PERSONAL FUNDS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(j) of such Act (2

17 U.S.C. 441a(j)), as added by section 103(a), is

18 amended—

19 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

20 paragraph (4); and

21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(3) Each of the amounts provided under paragraph

24 (1) or (2) shall be adjusted for each biennial period begin25 ning after the 1998 general election in the same manner
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1 as the amounts of limitations on contributions established

2 under subsection (a) are adjusted under subsection (c)(3).’’.

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

4 304(a)(6)(B)(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

5 434(a)(6)(B)(i)), as added by section 103(b), is

6 amended by striking ‘‘section 315(j)(3)’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘section 315(j)(4)’’.

8 SEC. 105. PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES.

9 (a) LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE PROHIBITION.—Section

10 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

11 432) is amended by adding at the end the following new

12 subsection:

13 ‘‘(j) A candidate for Federal office or an individual

14 holding Federal office may not establish, maintain, finance,

15 or control a political committee, other than a principal

16 campaign committee of the candidate or the individual.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO JOINT

18 FUNDRAISING.—Section 302(e)(3)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

19 432(e)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘except that—’’ and all

20 that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘except that the

21 candidate for the office of President nominated by a politi22 cal party may designate the national committee of such po23 litical party as a principal campaign committee, but only

24 if that national committee maintains separate books of ac-
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1 count with respect to its function as a principal campaign

2 committee.’’.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

5 this section shall apply with respect to elections oc6 curring in years beginning with 1997.

7 (2) TRANSITION RULE.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

9 302(j) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

10 1971 (as added by subsection (a)), if a political

11 committee established, maintained, financed, or

12 controlled by a candidate for Federal office or an

13 individual holding Federal office (other than a

14 principal campaign committee of the candidate

15 or individual) with respect to an election occur16 ring during 1996 has funds remaining unex17 pended after the 1996 general election, the com18 mittee may make contributions or expenditures

19 of such funds with respect to elections occurring

20 during 1997 or 1998.

21 (B) DISBANDING COMMITTEES; TREATMENT

22 OF REMAINING FUNDS.—Any political committee

23 described in subparagraph (A) shall be dis24 banded after filing any post-election reports re25 quired under section 304 of the Federal Election
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1 Campaign Act of 1971 with respect to the 1998

2 general election. Any funds of such a committee

3 which remain unexpended after the 1998 general

4 election and before the date on which the com5 mittee disbands shall be returned to contributors

6 or available for any lawful purpose other than

7 use by the candidate or individual involved with

8 respect to an election for Federal office.

9 SEC. 106. PROHIBITING BUNDLING OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO

10 CANDIDATES BY POLITICAL ACTION COMMIT11 TEES AND LOBBYISTS.

12 Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

13 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended by adding at the end the

14 following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(c)(1) No political action committee or person re16 quired to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995

17 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) may act as an intermediary or con18 duit with respect to a contribution to a candidate for Fed19 eral office.

20 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘political action com21 mittee’ means any political committee which is not—

22 ‘‘(A) the principal campaign committee of a can23 didate; or

24 ‘‘(B) a political party committee.’’.
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1 SEC. 107. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

2 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

3 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph (17)

4 and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(17)(A) The term ‘independent expenditure’ means

6 an expenditure by a person for a communication expressly

7 advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified can8 didate which is not made with the cooperation or with the

9 prior consent of, or in consultation with, or at the request

10 or suggestion of, a candidate or any agent or authorized

11 committee of such candidate.

12 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph—

13 ‘‘(i) ‘expressly advocating the election or defeat’

14 means the use in the communication of explicit words

15 such as ‘vote for’, ‘reelect’, ‘support’, ‘cast your ballot

16 for’, ‘vote against’, ‘defeat’, or ‘reject’, accompanied by

17 a reference in the communication to one or more

18 clearly identified candidates, or words such as ‘vote’

19 for or against a position on an issue, accompanied by

20 a listing in the communication of one or more clearly

21 identified candidates described as for or against a po22 sition on that issue;

23 ‘‘(ii) ‘which is not made with the cooperation or

24 with the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or

25 at the request or suggestion of, a candidate or any

26 agent or authorized committee of such candidate’ re-
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1 fers to the expenditure in question for the communica2 tion made by the person; and

3 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘agent’ means any person who has

4 actual oral or written authority, either express or im5 plied, to make or authorize the making of expendi6 tures on behalf of a candidate.

7 ‘‘(C) An expenditure by a person for a communication

8 which does not contain explicit words expressly advocating

9 the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate shall

10 not be considered an independent expenditure.’’.

11 SEC. 108. REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF PAYROLL DEDUC12 TIONS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS.

13 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

14 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

15 the following new section:

16 ‘‘USE OF PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

17 ‘‘SEC. 323. (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZATION

18 OF DEDUCTION.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No amounts withheld from

20 an individual’s wages or salary during a year may

21 be used for any contribution under this title unless

22 there is in effect an authorization in writing by the

23 individual permitting the withholding of such

24 amounts for the contribution.

25 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZATION.—An author26 ization described in this subsection may be in effect
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1 with respect to an individual for such period as the

2 individual may specify (subject to cancellation under

3 paragraph (3)), except that the period may not be

4 longer than 12 months.

5 ‘‘(3) RIGHT OF CANCELLATION.—An individual

6 with an authorization in effect under this subsection

7 may cancel or revise the authorization at any time.

8 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WITHHOLDING EN9 TITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity withholding

11 wages or salary from an individual with an author12 ization in effect under subsection (a) shall provide the

13 individual with a statement that the individual may

14 at any time cancel or revise the authorization in ac15 cordance with subsection (a)(3).

16 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The entity shall pro17 vide the information described in paragraph (1) to an

18 individual at the beginning of each calendar year oc19 curring during the period in which the individual’s

20 authorization is in effect.’’.
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1 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING

2 POLITICAL PARTIES

3 SEC. 201. MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND

4 REQUIREMENTS FOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

5 (a) TREATMENT OF PARTY CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER

6 AGGREGATE INDIVIDUAL CAP.—Section 315(a)(3) of the

7 Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is

8 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence:

9 ‘‘For purposes of this paragraph, in determining the

10 amount of contributions made by an individual there shall

11 be excluded any contributions made by the individual to

12 a political party or a political party committee.’’.

13 (b) LIMITATION AMOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO

14 STATE POLITICAL PARTIES.—Section 315(a)(1)(B) of such

15 Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting after

16 ‘‘national’’ the following: ‘‘or State’’.

17 SEC. 202. ALLOWING POLITICAL PARTIES TO OFFSET

18 FUNDS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS

19 ELECTIONS.

20 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sections 101 and

22 103(a), is further amended by adding at the end the follow23 ing new subsection:

24 ‘‘(k)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if, in a general elec25 tion for Federal office, a candidate who is the incumbent
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1 uses campaign funds carried forward from an earlier elec2 tion cycle, any political party committee may make con3 tributions to the nominee of that political party to match

4 the funds so carried forward by such incumbent. For pur5 poses of this paragraph, funds shall be considered to have

6 been carried forward if the funds represent cash on hand

7 as reported in the applicable post-general election report

8 filed under section 304(a) for the general election involved,

9 plus any amount expended on or before the filing of the

10 report for a later election, less legitimate outstanding debts

11 relating to the previous election up to the amount reported.

12 ‘‘(2) The political party contributions under para13 graph (1) may be made without regard to any limitation

14 amount otherwise applicable to such contributions made

15 under subsections (a) or (i), but a candidate may not accept

16 contributions under this subsection in excess of the total of

17 funds carried forward by the incumbent candidate.’’.

18 SEC. 203. PROHIBITING USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS IN

19 FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

20 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

21 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 108, is further

22 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

23 ‘‘RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS

24 ‘‘SEC. 324. (a) PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS IN FED25 ERAL ELECTIONS.—No funds may be expended by a politi26 cal party committee for the purpose of influencing an elec-
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1 tion for Federal office unless the funds are subject to the

2 limitations and prohibitions of this Act, except as may be

3 provided in this section.

4 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS FOR MIXED

5 ACTIVITIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITING USE BY NATIONAL PARTY

7 COMMITTEES.—A national committee of a political

8 party (including any subordinate committee thereof)

9 may not use any funds which are not subject to the

10 limitations and prohibitions of this Act for any

11 mixed activity.

12 ‘‘(2) MIXED ACTIVITY DEFINED.—In this sub13 section, the term ‘mixed activity’ means any activity

14 which is both for the purpose of influencing an elec15 tion for Federal office and for any purpose unrelated

16 to influencing an election for Federal office, including

17 voter registration, absentee ballot programs, and get18 out-the-vote programs, but does not include the pay19 ment of any administrative or overhead costs, includ20 ing salaries (other than payments made to individ21 uals for get-out-the-vote activities conducted on the

22 day of an election), rent, fundraising, or communica23 tions to members of a political party.

24 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS FOR MIXED

25 CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING ALLOCATION AMONG CAN2 DIDATES.—A political party committee may use

3 funds which are not subject to the limitations and

4 prohibitions of this Act for mixed candidate-specific

5 activities if the funds are allocated among the can6 didates involved on the basis of the time and space al7 located to the candidates.

8 ‘‘(2) MIXED CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC ACTIVITY DE9 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘mixed can10 didate-specific activity’ means any activity which is

11 both for the purpose of promoting a specific candidate

12 or candidates in an election for Federal office and for

13 the purpose of promoting a specific candidate or can14 didates in any other election.’’.

15 SEC. 204. PERMITTING PARTIES TO HAVE UNLIMITED COM16 MUNICATION WITH MEMBERS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d) of the Federal Elec18 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended

19 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(4)(A) For purposes of applying the limitations es21 tablished under paragraphs (2) and (3), in determining the

22 amount of expenditures made by a national committee of

23 a political party or a State committee of a political party

24 (including any subordinate committee of a State commit25 tee), there shall be excluded any amounts expended by the
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1 committee for communications to the extent the communica2 tions are made to members of the party.

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), an individual

4 shall be considered to be a ‘member’ of a political party

5 if any of the following apply:

6 ‘‘(i) The individual is registered to vote as a

7 member of the party.

8 ‘‘(ii) There is a public record that the individual

9 voted in the primary of the party during the most re10 cent primary election.

11 ‘‘(iii) The individual has made a contribution to

12 the party and the contribution has been reported to

13 the Commission (in accordance with this Act) or to

14 a State reporting agency.

15 ‘‘(iv) The individual has indicated in writing

16 that the individual is a member of the party.’’.

17 (b) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR PARTY COMMUNICA18 TIONS.—Section 324 of such Act, as added by section 203,

19 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 section:

21 ‘‘(d) FUNDS FOR PARTY COMMUNICATIONS WITH

22 MEMBERS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to

23 funds expended by a political party for communications to

24 the extent the communications are made to members of the

25 party (as determined in accordance with section 315(d)(4)),
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1 except that any communications which are both for the pur2 pose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a spe3 cific candidate for election to Federal office and for any

4 other purpose shall be subject to allocation in the same man5 ner as funds expended for mixed candidate-specific activi6 ties under subsection (c).’’.

7 SEC. 205. PROMOTING STATE AND LOCAL PARTY VOLUN8 TEER AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVITY.

9 (a) ENCOURAGING STATE AND LOCAL PARTY ACTIVI10 TIES.—

11 (1) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 301(8)(B) of the

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

13 431(8)(B)) is amended—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

15 (xiii);

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

17 clause (xiv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

19 clause:

20 ‘‘(xv) the payment by a State or local committee

21 of a political party for any of the following activities:

22 ‘‘(I) The listing of the slate of the party’s

23 candidates, including the communication of the

24 slate to the public.
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1 ‘‘(II) The mailing of materials for or on be2 half of specific candidates by volunteers (includ3 ing labeling envelopes or affixing postage or

4 other indicia to particular pieces of mail), other

5 than the mailing of materials to a commercial

6 list.

7 ‘‘(III) Conducting a telephone bank for or

8 on behalf of specific candidates staffed by volun9 teers.

10 ‘‘(IV) The distribution of collateral mate11 rials (such as pins, bumper stickers, handbills,

12 brochures, posters, party tabloids, and yard

13 signs) for or on behalf of specific candidates

14 (whether by volunteers or otherwise).’’.

15 (2) EXPENDITURES.—Section 301(9)(B) of such

16 Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)) is amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

18 (ix);

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

20 clause (x) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

22 clause:

23 ‘‘(xi) the payment by a State or local committee

24 of a political party for any of the following activities:
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1 ‘‘(I) The listing of the slate of the party’s

2 candidates, including the communication of the

3 slate to the public.

4 ‘‘(II) The mailing of materials for or on be5 half of specific candidates by volunteers (includ6 ing labeling envelopes or affixing postage or

7 other indicia to particular pieces of mail), other

8 than the mailing of materials to a commercial

9 list.

10 ‘‘(III) Conducting a telephone bank for or

11 on behalf of specific candidates staffed by volun12 teers.

13 ‘‘(IV) The distribution of collateral mate14 rials (such as pins, bumper stickers, handbills,

15 brochures, posters, party tabloids, and yard

16 signs) for or on behalf of specific candidates

17 (whether by volunteers or otherwise).’’.

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section

19 301(8)(B)(x) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)(x)) is

20 amended by striking ‘‘in connection with volunteer

21 activities on behalf of nominees of such party’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘in connection with State or local activities,

23 other than any payment described in clause (xv)’’.

24 (B) Section 301(9)(B)(viii) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

25 431(9)(B)(viii)) is amended by striking ‘‘in connec-
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1 tion with volunteer activities on behalf of nominees of

2 such party’’ and inserting ‘‘in connection with State

3 or local activities, other than any payment described

4 in clause (xi)’’.

5 (b) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR ACTIVITIES.—

6 (1) PERMITTING USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS

7 FOR MIXED ACTIVITIES.—Section 324(b) of such Act,

8 as added by section 203, is amended—

9 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

10 paragraph (3); and

11 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(2) USE BY STATE OR LOCAL PARTY COMMIT14 TEES.—A State, local, or district committee of a po15 litical party (including any subordinate committee

16 thereof) may use funds which are not subject to the

17 limitations and prohibitions of this Act for mixed ac18 tivity if the funds are allocated in accordance with

19 the process described in subsection (g).’’.

20 (2) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR STATE AND LOCAL

21 PARTIES.—Section 324 of such Act, as added by sec22 tion 203 and as amended by section 204(b), is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section:
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1 ‘‘(e) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR STATE AND LOCAL PARTY

2 VOLUNTEER AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES.—Subsection

3 (a) shall not apply with respect to payments described in

4 section 301(8)(B)(xv) or section 301(9)(B)(xi), except that

5 any payments which are both for the purpose of expressly

6 advocating the election or defeat of a specific candidate for

7 election to Federal office and for any other purpose shall

8 be subject to allocation in the same manner as funds ex9 pended for mixed candidate-specific activities under sub10 section (c).’’.

11 (3) TREATMENT OF INTRA-PARTY TRANSFERS.—

12 Section 324 of such Act, as added by section 203 and

13 as amended by section 204(b) and paragraph (2), is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section:

16 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING INTRA17 PARTY TRANSFERS.—Nothing in this section shall be con18 strued to prohibit the transfer between and among national,

19 State, or local party committees (including any subordinate

20 committees thereof) of funds which are not subject to the

21 limitations and prohibitions of this Act.’’.

22 (4) ALLOCATION PROCEDURES DESCRIBED.—Sec23 tion 324 of such Act, as added by section 203 and as

24 amended by section 204(b) and paragraphs (2) and
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1 (3), is amended by adding at the end the following

2 new subsection:

3 ‘‘(g) STATE AND LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES; METHOD

4 FOR ALLOCATING EXPENDITURES FOR MIXED ACTIVI5 TIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—All State and local party

7 committees except those covered by paragraph (2)

8 shall allocate their expenses for mixed activities, as

9 described in subsection (b)(2), according to the ballot

10 composition method described as follows:

11 ‘‘(A) Under this method, expenses shall be

12 allocated based on the ratio of Federal offices ex13 pected on the ballot to total Federal and non14 Federal offices expected on the ballot in the next

15 general election to be held in the committee’s

16 State or geographic area. This ratio shall be de17 termined by the number of categories of Federal

18 offices on the ballot and the number of categories

19 of non-Federal offices on the ballot, as described

20 in subparagraph (B).

21 ‘‘(B) In calculating a ballot composition

22 ratio, a State or local party committee shall

23 count the Federal offices of President, United

24 States Senator, and United States Representa25 tive, if expected on the ballot in the next general
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1 election, as one Federal office each. The commit2 tee shall count the non-Federal offices of Gov3 ernor, State Senator, and State Representative,

4 if expected on the ballot in the next general elec5 tion, as one non-Federal office each. The commit6 tee shall count the total of all other partisan

7 statewide executive candidates, if expected on the

8 ballot in the next general election, as a maxi9 mum of two non-Federal offices. State party

10 committees shall also include in the ratio one ad11 ditional non-Federal office if any partisan local

12 candidates are expected on the ballot in any reg13 ularly scheduled election during the 2 year con14 gressional election cycle. Local party committees

15 shall also include in the ratio a maximum of 2

16 additional non-Federal offices if any partisan

17 local candidates are expected on the ballot in

18 any regularly scheduled election during the 2

19 year congressional election cycle. State and local

20 party committees shall also include in the ratio

21 1 additional non-Federal office.

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR STATES THAT DO NOT

23 HOLD FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN

24 THE SAME YEAR.—State and local party committees

25 in states that do not hold Federal and non-Federal
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1 elections in the same year shall allocate the costs of

2 mixed activities according to the ballot composition

3 method described in paragraph (1), based on a ratio

4 calculated for that calendar year.’’.

5 TITLE III—DISCLOSURE AND

6 ENFORCEMENT

7 SEC. 301. TIMELY REPORTING AND INCREASED DISCLO8 SURE.

9 (a) DEADLINE FOR FILING.—

10 (1) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBU11 TIONS MADE WITHIN 20 DAYS OF ELECTION; REQUIR12 ING REPORTS TO BE MADE WITHIN 24 HOURS.—Sec13 tion 304(a)(6)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign

14 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘after the 20th day, but

16 more than 48 hours before any election’’ and in17 serting ‘‘during the period which begins on the

18 20th day before an election and ends at the time

19 the polls close for such election’’; and

20 (B) by striking ‘‘48 hours’’ the second place

21 it appears and inserting the following: ‘‘24 hours

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

23 the contribution is deposited)’’.

24 (2) REQUIRING ACTUAL DELIVERY BY DEAD25 LINE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(a)(6) of

2 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)), as amended by

3 section 103(b), is further amended by adding at

4 the end the following new subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding paragraph (5), the time at

6 which a notification or report under this paragraph is re7 ceived by the Secretary, the Commission, or any other recip8 ient to whom the notification is required to be sent shall

9 be considered the time of filing of the notification or report

10 with the recipient.’’.

11 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

12 304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)) is

13 amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)(A)(i) or

14 (4)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2)(A)(i),

15 (4)(A)(ii), or (6))’’.

16 (b) INCREASING ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE.—Section

17 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)), as amended by

18 section 103(b) and subsection (a)(2)(A), is further amended

19 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

20 ‘‘(E)(i) The Commission shall make the information

21 contained in the reports submitted under this paragraph

22 available on the Internet and publicly available at the of23 fices of the Commission as soon as practicable (but in no

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

25 by the Commission.
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1 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘Internet’ means

2 the international computer network of both Federal and

3 non-Federal interoperable packet-switched data networks.’’.

4 (c) CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL5 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE BASIS.—Sec6 tion 304(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)) is amended by

7 inserting ‘‘(or election cycle, in the case of an authorized

8 committee of a candidate for Federal office)’’ after ‘‘cal9 endar year’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (2), (3),

10 (4), (6), and (7).

11 (d) CLARIFICATION OF PERMISSIBLE USE OF FAC12 SIMILE MACHINES TO FILE REPORTS.—Section

13 304(a)(11)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended

14 by striking ‘‘method,’’ and inserting ‘‘method (including by

15 facsimile device in the case of any report required to be

16 filed within 24 hours after the transaction reported has oc17 curred),’’.

18 (e) REQUIRING RECEIPT OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDI19 TURE REPORTS WITHIN 24 HOURS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(c)(2) of such Act

21 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)(2)) is amended in the matter follow22 ing subparagraph (C)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘shall be reported’’ and in24 serting ‘‘shall be filed’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new

2 sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding subsection (a)(5), the

3 time at which the statement under this sub4 section is received by the Secretary, the Commis5 sion, or any other recipient to whom the notifi6 cation is required to be sent shall be considered

7 the time of filing of the statement with the recip8 ient.’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

10 304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)), as amend11 ed by subsection (a)(2)(B), is further amended by

12 striking ‘‘or (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (6), or subsection

13 (c)(2)’’.

14 (f) REQUIRING RECORD KEEPING AND REPORT OF

15 SECONDARY PAYMENTS BY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.—

16 (1) REPORTING.—Section 304(b)(5)(A) of such

17 Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking

18 the semicolon at the end and inserting the following:

19 ‘‘, and, if such person in turn makes expenditures

20 which aggregate $500 or more in an election cycle to

21 other persons (not including employees) who provide

22 goods or services to the candidate or the candidate’s

23 authorized committees, the name and address of such

24 other persons, together with the date, amount, and

25 purpose of such expenditures;’’.
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1 (2) RECORD KEEPING.—Section 302 of such Act

2 (2 U.S.C. 432), as amended by section 105(a), is fur3 ther amended by adding at the end the following new

4 subsection:

5 ‘‘(k) A person described in section 304(b)(5)(A) who

6 makes expenditures which aggregate $500 or more in an

7 election cycle to other persons (not including employees)

8 who provide goods or services to a candidate or a can9 didate’s authorized committees shall provide to a political

10 committee the information necessary to enable the commit11 tee to report the information described in such section.’’.

12 (3) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTS.—Nothing

13 in the amendments made by this subsection may be

14 construed to affect the terms of any other record15 keeping or reporting requirements applicable to can16 didates or political committees under title III of the

17 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

18 (g) INCLUDING REPORT ON CUMULATIVE CONTRIBU19 TIONS AND EXPENDITURES IN POST ELECTION REPORTS.—

20 Section 304(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(7)) is

21 amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘(7)(A)’’;

23 and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of any report required to be filed by

2 this subsection which is the first report required to be filed

3 after the date of an election, the report shall include a state4 ment of the total contributions received and expenditures

5 made as of the date of the election.’’.

6 (h) INCLUDING INFORMATION ON AGGREGATE CON7 TRIBUTIONS IN REPORT ON ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS.—

8 Section 304(b)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)) is

9 amended—

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after

11 ‘‘such contribution’’ the following: ‘‘and the total

12 amount of all such contributions made by such person

13 with respect to the election involved’’; and

14 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after

15 ‘‘such contribution’’ the following: ‘‘and the total

16 amount of all such contributions made by such com17 mittee with respect to the election involved’’.

18 SEC. 302. STREAMLINING PROCEDURES AND RULES OF

19 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.

20 (a) STANDARDS FOR COMMISSION REGULATION AND

21 JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION.—Section 307 of the Federal

22 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d) is amended

23 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(f)(1) When developing prescribed forms and making,

25 amending, or repealing rules pursuant to the authority
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1 granted to the Commission by subsection (a)(8), the Com2 mission shall act in a manner that will have the least re3 strictive effect on the rights of free speech and association

4 so protected by the First Article of Amendment to the Con5 stitution of the United States.

6 ‘‘(2) When the Commission’s actions under paragraph

7 (1) are challenged, a reviewing court shall hold unlawful

8 and set aside any actions of the Commission that do not

9 conform with the principles set forth in paragraph (1).’’.

10 (b) WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of such Act (2

12 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec13 tion 308 the following new section:

14 ‘‘OTHER WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

15 ‘‘SEC. 308A. (a) PERMITTING RESPONSES.—In addi16 tion to issuing advisory opinions under section 308, the

17 Commission shall issue written responses pursuant to this

18 section with respect to a written request concerning the ap19 plication of this Act, chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Inter20 nal Revenue Code of 1986, a rule or regulation prescribed

21 by the Commission, or an advisory opinion issued by the

22 Commission under section 308, with respect to a specific

23 transaction or activity by the person, if the Commission

24 finds the application of the Act, chapter, rule, regulation,

25 or advisory opinion to the transaction or activity to be clear

26 and unambiguous.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE FOR RESPONSE.—

2 ‘‘(1) ANALYSIS BY STAFF.—The staff of the Com3 mission shall analyze each request submitted under

4 this section. If the staff believes that the standard de5 scribed in subsection (a) is met with respect to the re6 quest, the staff shall circulate a statement to that ef7 fect together with a draft response to the request to the

8 members of the Commission.

9 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF RESPONSE.—Upon the expira10 tion of the 3-day period beginning on the date the

11 statement and draft response is circulated (excluding

12 weekends or holidays), the Commission shall issue the

13 response, unless during such period any member of

14 the Commission objects to issuing the response.

15 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—

16 ‘‘(1) SAFE HARBOR.—Notwithstanding any other

17 provisions of law, any person who relies upon any

18 provision or finding of a written response issued

19 under this section and who acts in good faith in ac20 cordance with the provisions and findings of such re21 sponse shall not, as a result of any such act, be subject

22 to any sanction provided by this Act or by chapter

23 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of

24 1986.
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1 ‘‘(2) NO RELIANCE BY OTHER PARTIES.—Any

2 written response issued by the Commission under this

3 section may only be relied upon by the person in4 volved in the specific transaction or activity with re5 spect to which such response is issued, and may not

6 be applied by the Commission with respect to any

7 other person or used by the Commission for enforce8 ment or regulatory purposes.

9 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION OF REQUESTS AND RESPONSES.—

10 The Commission shall make public any request for a writ11 ten response made, and the responses issued, under this sec12 tion. In carrying out this subsection, the Commission may

13 not make public the identity of any person submitting a

14 request for a written response unless the person specifically

15 authorizes to Commission to do so.

16 ‘‘(e) COMPILATION OF INDEX.—The Commission shall

17 compile, publish, and regularly update a complete and de18 tailed index of the responses issued under this section

19 through which responses may be found on the basis of the

20 subjects included in the responses.’’.

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

22 307(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(7)) is amend23 ed by striking ‘‘of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘and other

24 written responses under section 308A’’.
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1 (c) OPPORTUNITY FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS BEFORE

2 COMMISSION.—Section 309(a)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

3 437g(a)(3)) is amended—

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

5 and

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraph:

8 ‘‘(B) If a respondent submits a brief under subpara9 graph (A), the respondent may submit (at the time of sub10 mitting the brief) a request to present an oral argument

11 in support of the respondent’s brief before the Commission.

12 If at least 2 members of the Commission approve of the re13 quest, the respondent shall be permitted to appear before

14 the Commission in open session and make an oral presen15 tation in support of the brief and respond to questions of

16 members of the Commission. Such appearance shall take

17 place at a time specified by the Commission during the 30-

18 day period which begins on the date the request is approved,

19 and the Commission may limit the length of the respond20 ent’s appearance to such period of time as the Commission

21 considers appropriate. Any information provided by the re22 spondent during the appearance shall be considered by the

23 Commission before proceeding under paragraph (4).’’.

24 (d) INDEX OF ADVISORY OPINIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of the Federal

2 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437f) is

3 amended by adding at the end the following new sub4 section:

5 ‘‘(e) The Commission shall compile, publish, and regu6 larly update a complete and detailed index of the advisory

7 opinions issued under this section through which opinions

8 may be found on the basis of the subjects included in the

9 opinions.’’.

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Federal Election

11 Commission shall first publish the index of advisory

12 opinions described in section 308(e) of the Federal

13 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by para14 graph (1)) not later than 60 days after the date of the

15 enactment of this Act.

16 (e) STANDARD FOR INITIATION OF ACTIONS.—Section

17 309(a)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

18 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘it has reason

19 to believe’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of 1954,’’ and in20 serting the following: ‘‘it has a reason to investigate a pos21 sible violation of this Act or of chapter 95 or chapter 96

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that has occurred or

23 is about to occur (based on the same criteria applicable

24 under this paragraph prior to the enactment of the Cam25 paign Finance Reform Act of 1996),’’.
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1 (f) APPLICATION OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT

2 ON CALENDAR YEAR BASIS DURING NON-ELECTION

3 YEARS.—Section 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Cam4 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by

5 striking the second sentence.

6 (g) REPEAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE ON

7 DISTRICT-SPECIFIC VOTING AGE POPULATION.—Section

8 315(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

9 U.S.C. 441a(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘States, of each

10 State, and of each congressional district’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘States and of each State’’.

12 (h) COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE LOANS NOT TO BE

13 TREATED AS CONTRIBUTIONS BY LENDER.—Section

14 301(8)(B)(vii) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

15 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)(vii)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or a depository’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘a depository’’; and

18 (2) by inserting after ‘‘Administration,’’ the fol19 lowing: ‘‘or any other commercial lender,’’.

20 (i) ABOLITION OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP OF

21 CLERK OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON COMMIS22 SION.—Section 306(a) of the Federal Election Campaign

23 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and the

2 Clerk’’ and all that follows through ‘‘designees’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘or the designee of the Secretary’’; and

4 (2) in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), by striking

5 ‘‘and the Clerk of the House of Representatives’’ each

6 place it appears.

7 (j) GRANTING COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO WAIVE RE8 PORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of such Act (2

9 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 101(b), is further

10 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(e) The Commission may by unanimous vote relieve

12 any person or category of persons of the obligation to file

13 any of the reports required by this section, or may change

14 the due dates of any of the reports required by this section,

15 if it determines that such action is consistent with the pur16 poses of this title. The Commission may waive requirements

17 to file reports or change due dates in accordance with this

18 subsection through a rule of general applicability or, in a

19 specific case, by notifying all the political committees in20 volved.’’.

21 (k) PERMITTING CORPORATIONS TO COMMUNICATE

22 WITH ALL EMPLOYEES.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 316(b) of the Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)) is

25 amended by striking ‘‘executive or administrative per-
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1 sonnel’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (2)(A),

2 (2)(B), (4)(A)(i), (4)(D), and (5) and inserting ‘‘offi3 cers or employees’’.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 316(b)

5 of such Act is amended by striking paragraph (7).

6 (l) PERMITTING UNLIMITED SOLICITATIONS BY COR7 PORATIONS OR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS; PROTECTING CON8 FIDENTIALITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS NOT GREATER THAN

9 $100.—Section 316(b) of the Federal Election Campaign

10 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)), as amended by subsection

11 (k)(2), is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘(B), (C),’’

13 and inserting ‘‘(C)’’;

14 (2) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, its offi16 cers or employees and their families, employees who

17 are not members and their families, and officers, em18 ployees, or stockholders of a corporation (and their

19 families) in which the labor organization represents

20 members working for the corporation.’’;

21 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph

22 (B); and

23 (4) by adding at the end the following new para24 graph:
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1 ‘‘(7)(A) Any corporation or labor organization (or sep2 arate segregated fund established by such a corporation or

3 such a labor organization) making solicitations of contribu4 tions shall make such solicitations in a manner that ensures

5 that the corporation, organization, or fund cannot deter6 mine who makes a contribution of $100 or less as a result

7 of such solicitation and who does not make such a contribu8 tion.

9 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect

10 to any solicitation of contributions of a corporation from

11 its stockholders.’’.

12 (m) GREATER PROTECTION AGAINST FORCE AND RE13 PRISALS.—Section 316(b)(3) of the Federal Election Cam14 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)), is amended—

15 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through

16 (C) as subparagraphs (B) through (D); and

17 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) (as so

18 redesignated) the following new subparagraph:

19 ‘‘(A) for such a fund to cause another person to

20 make a contribution or expenditure by physical force,

21 job discrimination, financial reprisals, or the threat

22 of force, job discrimination, or financial reprisal;’’.

23 (n) REQUIRING COMPLAINANT TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO

24 RESPONDENTS.—Section 309(a)(1) of the Federal Election

25 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is amended
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1 by striking the third sentence and inserting the following:

2 ‘‘The complaint shall include the names and addresses of

3 persons alleged to have committed such a violation. Within

4 5 days after receipt of the complaint, the Commission shall

5 provide written notice of the complaint together with a copy

6 of the complaint to each person described in the previous

7 sentence, except that if the Commission determines that it

8 is not necessary for a person described in the previous sen9 tence to receive a copy of the complaint, the Commission

10 shall provide the person with written notice that the com11 plaint has been filed, together with written instructions on

12 how to obtain a copy of the complaint without charge from

13 the Commission.’’.

14 (o) STANDARD FORM FOR COMPLAINTS; STRONGER

15 DISCLAIMER LANGUAGE.—

16 (1) STANDARD FORM.—Section 309(a)(1) of the

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

18 437g(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘shall be

19 notarized,’’ the following: ‘‘shall be in a standard

20 form prescribed by the Commission, shall not include

21 (but may refer to) extraneous materials,’’.

22 (2) DISCLAIMER LANGUAGE.—Section 309(a)(1)

23 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is amended—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘(a)(1)(A)’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new

2 subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(B) The written notice of a complaint provided by

4 the Commission under subparagraph (A) to a person alleged

5 to have committed a violation referred to in the complaint

6 shall include a cover letter (in a form prescribed by the

7 Commission) and the following statement: ‘The enclosed

8 complaint has been filed against you with the Federal Elec9 tion Commission. The Commission has not verified or given

10 official sanction to the complaint. The Commission will

11 make no decision to pursue the complaint for a period of

12 at least 15 days from your receipt of this complaint. You

13 may, if you wish, submit a written statement to the Com14 mission explaining why the Commission should take no ac15 tion against you based on this complaint. If the Commis16 sion should decide to investigate, you will be notified and

17 be given further opportunity to respond.’ ’’.

18 (p) BANNING ACCEPTANCE OF CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

19 GREATER THAN $100.—Section 315 of the Federal Election

20 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sec21 tions 101, 103(a)(1), and 202, is further amended by add22 ing at the end the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(l) No candidate or political committee may accept

24 any contributions of currency of the United States or cur-
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1 rency of any foreign country from any person which, in

2 the aggregate, exceed $100.’’.

3 (q) APPOINTMENT AND SERVICE OF STAFF DIRECTOR

4 AND GENERAL COUNSEL OF COMMISSION.—

5 (1) APPOINTMENT; LENGTH OF TERM OF SERV6 ICE.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of sec8 tion 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign

9 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1)) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘by the Commission’’ and inserting the

11 following: ‘‘by an affirmative vote of not less

12 than 4 members of the Commission and may not

13 serve for a term of more than 4 consecutive years

14 without reappointment in accordance with this

15 paragraph’’.

16 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment

17 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply with re18 spect to any individual serving as the staff direc19 tor or general counsel of the Federal Election

20 Commission on or after January 1, 1997, with21 out regard to whether or not the individual

22 served as staff director or general counsel prior

23 to such date.

24 (2) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS FILLING VACAN25 CIES; TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY UPON EXPIRATION
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1 OF TERM.—Section 306(f)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

2 437c(f)(1)) is amended by inserting after the first sen3 tence the following new sentences: ‘‘An individual ap4 pointed as a staff director or general counsel to fill

5 a vacancy occurring other than by the expiration of

6 a term of office shall be appointed only for the

7 unexpired term of the individual he or she succeeds.

8 An individual serving as staff director or general

9 counsel may not serve in any capacity on behalf of

10 the Commission after the expiration of the individ11 ual’s term unless reappointed in accordance with this

12 paragraph.’’.

13 (3) APPOINTMENT OF ADDITIONAL STAFF.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The last sentence of sec15 tion 306(f)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1))

16 is amended by inserting ‘‘not less than 4 mem17 bers of’’ after ‘‘approval of’’.

18 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment

19 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply with re20 spect to personnel appointed on or after January

21 1, 1997.

22 (r) ENCOURAGING CITIZEN GRASSROOTS ACTIVITY ON

23 BEHALF OF FEDERAL CANDIDATES.—

24 (1) EXEMPTION OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

25 UNDER $100.—Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Elec-
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1 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as

2 amended by section 205(a), is further amended—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

4 (xiv);

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

6 clause (xv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

8 clause:

9 ‘‘(xvi) any payment of funds on behalf of a can10 didate (whether in cash or in kind, but not including

11 a direct payment of cash to a candidate or a political

12 committee of the candidate) by an individual from

13 the individual’s personal funds which in the aggregate

14 does not exceed $100, if the funds are used for activi15 ties carried out by the individual or a member of the

16 individual’s family.’’.

17 (2) EXEMPTION OF INDIVIDUAL EXPENDITURES

18 UNDER $100.—Section 301(9)(B) of the Federal Elec19 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as

20 amended by section 205(b), is amended—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

22 (x);

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

24 clause (xi) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new

2 clause:

3 ‘‘(xii) any payment of funds on behalf of a can4 didate (whether in cash or in kind, but not including

5 a direct payment of cash to a candidate or a political

6 committee of the candidate) by an individual from

7 the individual’s personal funds which in the aggregate

8 does not exceed $100, if the funds are used for activi9 ties carried out by the individual or a member of the

10 individual’s family.’’.

11 (s) PERMITTING PARTNERSHIPS TO SOLICIT CON12 TRIBUTIONS AND PAY ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF POLITI13 CAL COMMITTEES IN SAME MANNER AS CORPORATIONS AND

14 LABOR UNIONS.—

15 (1) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

16 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act (2

17 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended by section 205(a) and

18 subsection (r)(1), is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

20 (xv);

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

22 clause (xvi) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

24 clause:
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1 ‘‘(xvii) any payment made or obligation in2 curred by a partnership in the establishment and

3 maintenance of a political committee, the administra4 tion of such a political committee, or the solicitation

5 of contributions to such committee.’’.

6 (2) TREATMENT OF EXPENDITURES.—Section

7 301(9)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as

8 amended by section 205(b) and subsection (r)(2), is

9 amended—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

11 (xi);

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

13 clause (xii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

15 clause:

16 ‘‘(xiii) any payment made or obligation incurred

17 by a partnership in the establishment and mainte18 nance of a political committee, the administration of

19 such a political committee, or the solicitation of con20 tributions to such committee.’’.

21 TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

22 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act and

24 the amendments made by this Act shall take effect January

25 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 402. SEVERABILITY.

2 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made

3 by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or cir4 cumstance, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder

5 of the Act and the application of such provision to other

6 persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

7 SEC. 403. EXPEDITED COURT REVIEW.

8 (a) RIGHT TO BRING ACTION.—The Federal Election

9 Commission, a political committee under title III of the

10 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, or any individual

11 eligible to vote in any election for the office of President

12 of the United States may institute an action in an appro13 priate district court of the United States (including an ac14 tion for declaratory judgment) as may be appropriate to

15 construe the constitutionality of any provision of this Act

16 or any amendment made by this Act.

17 (b) HEARING BY THREE-JUDGE COURT.—Upon the

18 institution of an action described in subsection (a), a dis19 trict court of three judges shall immediately be convened

20 to decide the action pursuant to section 2284 of title 28,

21 United States Code. Such action shall be advanced on the

22 docket and expedited to the greatest extent possible.

23 (c) APPEAL OF INITIAL DECISION TO SUPREME

24 COURT.—An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme

25 Court of the United States from any interlocutory order or

26 final judgment, decree, or order issued by the court of 3
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1 judges convened pursuant to subsection (b) in an action de2 scribed in subsection (a). Such appeal shall be brought not

3 later than 20 days after the issuance by the court of the

4 judgment, decree, or order.

5 (d) EXPEDITED REVIEW BY SUPREME COURT.—The

6 Supreme Court shall accept jurisdiction over, advance on

7 the docket, and expedite to the greatest extent possible an

8 appeal taken pursuant to subsection (c).