I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3760

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

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

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

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.
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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.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Our republican form of government is

4 strengthened when voters choose their representa5 tives in elections that are free of corruption or the

6 appearance of corruption.

7 (2) Corruption or the appearance of corruption

8 in elections may evidence itself in many ways:

9 (A) Voters who democratically elect rep10 resentatives must believe they are fairly rep-
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1 resented by those they elect. The current elec2 tion laws have led many to believe that the in3 terests of those who actually vote for their rep4 resentatives are less important than those who

5 cannot vote, but who can influence an election

6 by their contributions to the candidates.

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

8 those who contribute and how much they con9 tribute unnecessarily withholds information vot10 ers need to cast ballots with complete con11 fidence, thereby increasing the belief of, or the

12 appearance of, corruption.

13 (C) The diminishing role of political par14 ties, despite parties’ long-standing role in ad15 vancing broad national agendas, in assisting the

16 election of party candidates, and in organizing

17 members, has relatively enhanced groups that

18 pursue narrower interests. This relative shift of

19 influence has been interpreted by some as cor20 rupting the election process.

21 (D) Complicated and obsolete election laws

22 and rules discourage citizens from becoming

23 candidates, allow for coerced involuntary pay24 ments for political purposes, fail to keep con25 tribution amounts current with inflation, and
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1 fail to provide reasonable compensating con2 tribution limits for candidates who run against

3 candidates who wish to exercise their constitu4 tional right of spending their own resources.

5 The current state of laws and rules is such that

6 if they do not corrupt, at the very least they un7 duly hinder fair, honest, and competitive elec8 tions.

9 TITLE I—RESTORING CONTROL

10 OF ELECTIONS TO INDIVIDUALS

11 SEC. 101. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF HOUSE OF REP12 RESENTATIVES CANDIDATE FUNDS TO COME

13 FROM INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN DISTRICT.

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

16 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(i)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative

18 in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress

19 may not accept contributions with respect to an election

20 cycle from persons other than local individual residents to21 taling in excess of the total of contributions accepted from

22 local individual residents (as determined on the basis of

23 the most recent information included in reports pursuant

24 to section 304(d).
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1 ‘‘(2) In determining the amount of contributions ac2 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con3 tributions of the candidate’s personal funds shall be sub4 ject to the following rules:

5 ‘‘(A) To the extent that the amount of the con6 tribution does not exceed the limitation on contribu7 tions made by an individual under subsection

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

9 other contribution.

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

11 which exceeds the limitation on contributions which

12 may be made by an individual under subsection

13 (a)(1)(A) shall be allocated in accordance with para14 graph (8).

15 ‘‘(3) In determining the amount of contributions ac16 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con17 tributions from a political party or a political party com18 mittee shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).

19 ‘‘(4) In determining the amount of contributions ac20 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any

21 funds remaining in the candidate’s campaign account

22 after the filing of the post-general election report under

23 section 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) for the most recent general elec24 tion shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).
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1 ‘‘(5) In determining the amount of contributions ac2 cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any

3 contributions accepted pursuant to subsection (j) which

4 are from persons other than local individual residents shall

5 be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).

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

7 exceed the limitation under this subsection, as determined

8 on the basis of information included in reports pursuant

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

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

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

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

13 of a candidate described in subparagraph (C), an amount

14 equal to 5 times the amount of the excess contributions

15 plus a civil penalty in an amount determined by the Com16 mission).

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

18 paragraph shall be paid from contributions subject to the

19 limitations and prohibitions of this title, including the lim20 itation under this subsection.

21 ‘‘(C) A candidate described in this subparagraph is

22 a candidate who accepts contributions that exceed the lim23 itation under this subsection as of the last day of the pe24 riod ending on the 20th day before an election or any pe-
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1 riod ending after such 20th day and before or on the 20th

2 day after such election.

3 ‘‘(7) As used in this subsection, the term ‘local indi4 vidual resident’ means an individual who resides in the

5 congressional district involved.

6 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, any amounts

7 allocated in accordance with this paragraph shall be allo8 cated as follows:

9 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amounts shall be

10 deemed to be contributions from local individual

11 residents.

12 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amounts shall be

13 deemed to be contributions from persons other than

14 local individual residents.’’.

15 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of

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

17 the following new subsection:

18 ‘‘(d) Each principal campaign committee of a can19 didate for the House of Representatives shall include the

20 following information in reports filed under subsection

21 (a)(2) and subsection (a)(6)(A):

22 ‘‘(1) With respect to each report filed under

23 such subsection—

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

25 committee with respect to the election cycle in-
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1 volved from local individual residents (as de2 fined in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of

3 the period covered by the report;

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

5 committee with respect to the election cycle in6 volved which are not from local individual resi7 dents, as of the last day of the period covered

8 by the report; and

9 ‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con10 tributions reported comply with the limitation

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

12 period covered by the report.

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

14 such subsection which covers the period which begins

15 19 days before an election and ends 20 days after

16 the election—

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

18 committee with respect to the election cycle in19 volved from local individual residents (as de20 fined in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of

21 such period;

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

23 committee with respect to the election cycle in24 volved which are not from local individual resi25 dents, as of the last day of such period; and
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1 ‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con2 tributions reported comply with the limitation

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

4 period.’’.

5 SEC. 102. REDUCTION IN ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION

6 AMOUNTS FOR POLITICAL ACTION COMMIT7 TEES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS TO LEVEL AL8 LOWED FOR INDIVIDUALS.

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

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

11 amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (1)—

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

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

15 political committee other than a political party

16 committee in any calendar year’’,

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

18 at the end,

19 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘po20 litical committees established and maintained

21 by a national political party’’ and inserting ‘‘po22 litical party committees’’,

23 (D) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘;

24 or’’ and inserting a period, and

25 (E) 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 con4 tributions—

5 ‘‘(A) to any candidate or the candidate’s au6 thorized political committees with respect to any

7 election for Federal office which, in the aggregate,

8 exceed $5,000; or

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

10 than a political party committee in any calendar

11 year 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)

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

21 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘multi22 candidate committees’’ the first place it appears and

23 inserting ‘‘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 ‘‘multi2 candidate committees’’ the second place it appears

3 and inserting ‘‘such committees’’; and

4 (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘multi5 candidate committees’’ and inserting ‘‘committees

6 described 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 Elec12 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended

13 by section 101(a), is further amended by adding at the

14 end the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(j)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if in a gen16 eral election a House candidate makes expenditures of per17 sonal funds (including contributions by the candidate to

18 the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) in an

19 amount in excess of the amount of the limitation estab20 lished under subsection (a)(1)(A) and less than or equal

21 to $150,000 (as reported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), a

22 political party committee may make contributions to an

23 opponent of the House candidate without regard to any

24 limitation otherwise applicable to such contributions under

25 subsection (a), except that the opponent may not accept
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1 aggregate contributions under this paragraph in an

2 amount greater than the greatest amount of personal

3 funds expended (including contributions to the candidate’s

4 authorized campaign committee) by any House candidate

5 (other than such opponent) with respect to the election

6 (as reported in a notification submitted under section

7 304(a)(6)(B)).

8 ‘‘(2) If a House candidate makes expenditures of per9 sonal funds (including contributions by the candidate to

10 the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) with re11 spect to an election in an amount greater than $150,000

12 (as reported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), the following

13 rules shall apply:

14 ‘‘(A) In the case of a general election, the limi15 tations under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) (insofar

16 as such limitations apply to political party commit17 tees and to individuals) shall not apply to contribu18 tions to the candidate or to any opponent of the can19 didate, except that neither the candidate or any op20 ponent may accept aggregate contributions under

21 this subparagraph and paragraph (1) in an amount

22 greater than the greatest amount of personal funds

23 (including contributions to the candidate’s author24 ized campaign committee) expended by any House

25 candidate with respect to the election (as reported
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1 in a notification submitted under section

2 304(a)(6)(B)).

3 ‘‘(B) In the case of an election other than a

4 general election, the limitations under subsection

5 (a)(1) (insofar as such limitations apply to individ6 uals) shall not apply to contributions to the can7 didate or to any opponent of the candidate, except

8 that neither the candidate or any opponent may ac9 cept aggregate contributions under this subpara10 graph in an amount greater than the greatest

11 amount of personal funds (including contributions to

12 the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) ex13 pended by any House candidate with respect to the

14 election (as reported in a notification submitted

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

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

17 means a candidate in an election for the office of Rep18 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to,

19 the Congress.’’.

20 (b) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES OF PERSONAL

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

22 434(a)(6)) is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub24 paragraph (C); and
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1 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol2 lowing new subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(B)(i) The principal campaign committee of a

4 House candidate (as defined in section 315(j)(3)) shall

5 submit the following notifications relating to expenditures

6 of personal funds by such candidate (including contribu7 tions by the candidate to such committee):

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

9 (or contribution) by which the aggregate amount of

10 personal funds expended (or contributed) with re11 spect to an election exceeds the amount of the limi12 tation established under section 315(a)(1)(A) for

13 elections in the year involved.

14 ‘‘(II) A notification of each such expenditure

15 (or contribution) which, taken together with all such

16 expenditures (and contributions) in any amount not

17 included in the most recent report under this sub18 paragraph, totals $5,000 or more.

19 ‘‘(III) A notification of the first such expendi20 ture (or contribution) by which the aggregate

21 amount of personal funds expended with respect to

22 the election exceeds the level applicable under sec23 tion 315(j)(2) for elections in the year involved.

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

25 (i)—
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1 ‘‘(I) shall be submitted not later than 24 hours

2 after the expenditure or contribution which is the

3 subject of the notification is made;

4 ‘‘(II) shall include the name of the candidate,

5 the office sought by the candidate, and the date of

6 the expenditure or contribution and amount of the

7 expenditure or contribution involved; and

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

9 expenditures and contributions made with respect to

10 the same election as of the date of expenditure or

11 contribution which is the subject of the notifica12 tion.’’.

13 SEC. 104. INDEXING LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c) of the Federal

15 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is

16 amended by adding at the end the following new para17 graph:

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

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

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

21 shall be equal to the amount described in such sub22 section, increased (in a compounded manner) by the

23 percentage increase in the price index (as defined in

24 subsection (c)(2)) for each year after 1976 and be25 fore 1998.
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1 ‘‘(ii) For calendar year 1999 and each second

2 subsequent year, each such amount shall be equal to

3 the amount for the second previous year (as ad4 justed under this subparagraph), increased (in a

5 compounded manner) by the percentage increase in

6 the price index for the previous year and the second

7 previous year.

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

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

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

11 (b) APPLICATION OF INDEXING TO SUPPORT OF

12 CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEES.—Section 302(e)(3)(B) of

13 such Act (2 U.S.C. 432(e)(3)(B)) is amended by adding

14 at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The amount de15 scribed in the previous sentence shall be adjusted (for

16 years beginning with 1997) in the same manner as the

17 amounts of limitations on contributions under section

18 315(a) are adjusted under section 315(c)(3).’’.

19 (c) APPLICATION OF INDEXING TO PROVISIONS RE20 LATING TO PERSONAL FUNDS.—

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

22 (2 U.S.C. 441a(j)), as added by section 103(a), is

23 amended—

24 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

25 paragraph (4); and
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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

2 following new paragraph:

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

4 (1) or (2) shall be adjusted for each biennial period begin5 ning after the 1998 general election in the same manner

6 as the amounts of limitations on contributions established

7 under subsection (a) are adjusted under subsection

8 (c)(3).’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

10 304(a)(6)(B)(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

11 434(a)(6)(B)(i)), as redesignated and amended by

12 section 103(b), is amended by striking ‘‘section

13 315(j)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 315(j)(4)’’.

14 SEC. 105. PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES.

15 (a) LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE PROHIBITION.—Sec16 tion 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

17 (2 U.S.C. 432) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new subsection:

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

20 holding Federal office may not establish, maintain, fi21 nance, or control a political committee, other than a prin22 cipal campaign committee of the candidate or the individ23 ual.’’.

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO JOINT

25 FUNDRAISING.—Section 302(e)(3)(A) of such Act (2
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1 U.S.C. 432(e)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘except that—

2 ’’ and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘except

3 that the candidate for the office of President nominated

4 by a political party may designate the national committee

5 of such political party as a principal campaign committee,

6 but only if that national committee maintains separate

7 books of account with respect to its function as a principal

8 campaign committee.’’.

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.—

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

11 this section shall apply with respect to elections oc12 curring in years beginning with 1997.

13 (2) TRANSITION RULE.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec15 tion 302(j) of the Federal Election Campaign

16 Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a)), if a

17 political committee established, maintained, fi18 nanced, or controlled by a candidate for Federal

19 office or an individual holding Federal office

20 (other than a principal campaign committee of

21 the candidate or individual) with respect to an

22 election occurring during 1996 has funds re23 maining unexpended after the 1996 general

24 election, the committee may make contributions
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1 or expenditures of such funds with respect to

2 elections occurring during 1997 or 1998.

3 (B) DISBANDING COMMITTEES; TREAT4 MENT OF REMAINING FUNDS.—Any political

5 committee described in subparagraph (A) shall

6 be disbanded after filing any post-election re7 ports required under section 304 of the Federal

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 with respect to

9 the 1998 general election. Any funds of such a

10 committee which remain unexpended after the

11 1998 general election and before the date on

12 which the committee disbands shall be returned

13 to contributors or available for any lawful pur14 pose other than use by the candidate or individ15 ual involved with respect to an election for Fed16 eral office.

17 SEC. 106. PROHIBITING BUNDLING OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO

18 CANDIDATES BY POLITICAL ACTION COMMIT19 TEES AND LOBBYISTS.

20 Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

22 the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(c)(1) No political action committee or person re24 quired to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of

25 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) may act as an intermediary
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1 or conduit with respect to a contribution to a candidate

2 for Federal office.

3 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘political action com4 mittee’ means any political committee which is not—

5 ‘‘(A) the principal campaign committee of a

6 candidate; or

7 ‘‘(B) a political party committee.’’.

8 SEC. 107. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

9 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

10 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph

11 (17) and inserting the following:

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

13 an expenditure by a person for a communication expressly

14 advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified

15 candidate which is not made with the cooperation or with

16 the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or at the re17 quest or suggestion of, a candidate or any agent or author18 ized committee of such candidate.

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

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

21 means the use in the communication of explicit

22 words such as ‘vote for’, ‘reelect’, ‘support’, ‘cast

23 your ballot for’, ‘vote against’, ‘defeat’, or ‘reject’,

24 accompanied by a reference in the communication to

25 one or more clearly identified candidates, or words
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1 such as ‘vote’ for or against a position on an issue,

2 accompanied by a listing in the communication of

3 one or more clearly identified candidates described

4 as for or against a position on that issue;

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

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

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

8 agent or authorized committee of such candidate’ re9 fers to the expenditure in question for the commu10 nication made by the person; and

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

12 has actual oral or written authority, either express

13 or implied, to make or authorize the making of ex14 penditures on behalf of a candidate.

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

16 which does not contain explicit words expressly advocating

17 the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate shall

18 not be considered an independent expenditure.’’.

19 SEC. 108. REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF PAYROLL DEDUC20 TIONS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS.

21 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

22 1971 (2 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

23 end the following new section:

24 ‘‘USE OF PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

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

26 OF DEDUCTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No amounts withheld from

2 an individual’s wages or salary during a year may be

3 used for any contribution under this title unless

4 there is in effect an authorization in writing by the

5 individual permitting the withholding of such

6 amounts for the contribution.

7 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZATION.—An author8 ization described in this subsection may be in effect

9 with respect to an individual for such period as the

10 individual may specify (subject to cancellation under

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

12 longer than 12 months.

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

14 with an authorization in effect under this subsection

15 may cancel or revise the authorization at any time.

16 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WITHHOLDING

17 ENTITY.—

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

19 wages or salary from an individual with an author20 ization in effect under subsection (a) shall provide

21 the individual with a statement that the individual

22 may at any time cancel or revise the authorization

23 in accordance with subsection (a)(3).

24 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The entity shall pro25 vide the information described in paragraph (1) to
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1 an individual at the beginning of each calendar year

2 occurring during the period in which the individual’s

3 authorization is in effect.’’.

4 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING

5 POLITICAL PARTIES

6 SEC. 201. MODIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND

7 REQUIREMENTS FOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

8 (a) TREATMENT OF PARTY CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER

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

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

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

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

13 amount of contributions made by an individual there shall

14 be excluded any contributions made by the individual to

15 a political party or a political party committee.’’.

16 (b) LIMITATION AMOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO

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

18 such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(B)) is amended by insert19 ing after ‘‘national’’ the following: ‘‘or State’’.

20 SEC. 202. ALLOWING POLITICAL PARTIES TO OFFSET

21 FUNDS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS

22 ELECTIONS.

23 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

24 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by sections 101 and
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1 103(a), is further amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new subsection:

3 ‘‘(k)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if, in a general elec4 tion for Federal office, a candidate who is the incumbent

5 uses campaign funds carried forward from an earlier elec6 tion cycle, any political party committee may make con7 tributions to the nominee of that political party to match

8 the funds so carried forward by such incumbent. For pur9 poses of this paragraph, funds shall be considered to have

10 been carried forward if the funds represent cash on hand

11 as reported in the applicable post-general election report

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

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

14 report for a later election, less legitimate outstanding

15 debts relating to the previous election up to the amount

16 reported.

17 ‘‘(2) The political party contributions under para18 graph (1) may be made without regard to any limitation

19 amount otherwise applicable to such contributions made

20 under subsections (a) or (i), but a candidate may not ac21 cept contributions under this subsection in excess of the

22 total of funds carried forward by the incumbent can23 didate.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. PROHIBITING USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS IN

2 FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

3 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

4 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 108,

5 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

6 section:

7 ‘‘RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS

8 ‘‘SEC. 324. (a) PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS IN

9 FEDERAL ELECTIONS.—No funds may be expended by a

10 political party committee for the purpose of influencing

11 an election for Federal office unless the funds are subject

12 to the limitations and prohibitions of this Act, except as

13 may be provided in this section.

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

15 ACTIVITIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITING USE BY NATIONAL PARTY

17 COMMITTEES.—A national committee of a political

18 party (including any subordinate committee thereof)

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

20 limitations and prohibitions of this Act for any

21 mixed activity.

22 ‘‘(2) MIXED ACTIVITY DEFINED.—In this sub23 section, the term ‘mixed activity’ means any activity

24 which is both for the purpose of influencing an elec25 tion for Federal office and for any purpose unrelated

26 to influencing an election for Federal office, includ-
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1 ing voter registration, absentee ballot programs, and

2 get-out-the-vote programs, but does not include the

3 payment of any administrative or overhead costs, in4 cluding salaries (other than payments made to indi5 viduals for get-out-the-vote activities conducted on

6 the day of an election), rent, fundraising, or commu7 nications to members of a political party.

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

9 CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING ALLOCATION AMONG CAN11 DIDATES.—A political party committee may use

12 funds which are not subject to the limitations and

13 prohibitions of this Act for mixed candidate-specific

14 activities if the funds are allocated among the can15 didates involved on the basis of the time and space

16 allocated to the candidates.

17 ‘‘(2) MIXED CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC ACTIVITY DE18 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘mixed can19 didate-specific activity’ means any activity which is

20 both for the purpose of promoting a specific can21 didate or candidates in an election for Federal office

22 and for the purpose of promoting a specific can23 didate or candidates in any other election.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. PERMITTING PARTIES TO HAVE UNLIMITED COM2 MUNICATION WITH MEMBERS.

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

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

5 amended by adding at the end the following new para6 graph:

7 ‘‘(4)(A) For purposes of applying the limitations es8 tablished under paragraphs (2) and (3), in determining

9 the amount of expenditures made by a national committee

10 of a political party or a State committee of a political

11 party (including any subordinate committee of a State

12 committee), there shall be excluded any amounts expended

13 by the committee for communications to the extent the

14 communications are made to members of the party.

15 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), an individ16 ual shall be considered to be a ‘member’ of a political

17 party if any of the following apply:

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

19 member of the party.

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

21 voted in the primary of the party during the most

22 recent primary election.

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

24 the party and the contribution has been reported to

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

26 a State reporting agency.
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1 ‘‘(iv) The individual has indicated in writing

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

3 (b) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR PARTY COMMUNICA4 TIONS.—Section 324 of such Act, as added by section 203,

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section:

7 ‘‘(d) FUNDS FOR PARTY COMMUNICATIONS WITH

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

9 to funds expended by a political party for communications

10 to the extent the communications are made to members

11 of the party (as determined in accordance with section

12 315(d)(4)), except that any communications which are

13 both for the purpose of expressly advocating the election

14 or defeat of a specific candidate for election to Federal

15 office and for any other purpose shall be subject to alloca16 tion in the same manner as funds expended for mixed can17 didate-specific activities under subsection (c).’’.

18 SEC. 205. PROMOTING STATE AND LOCAL PARTY VOLUN19 TEER AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVITY.

20 (a) ENCOURAGING STATE AND LOCAL PARTY AC21 TIVITIES.—

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

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

24 431(8)(B)), as amended by section 110(a), is

25 amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

2 (xiv);

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

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

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

6 clause:

7 ‘‘(xvi) the payment by a State or local commit8 tee of a political party for any of the following activi9 ties:

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

11 candidates, including the communication of the

12 slate to the public.

13 ‘‘(II) The mailing of materials for or on

14 behalf of specific candidates by volunteers (in15 cluding labeling envelopes or affixing postage or

16 other indicia to particular pieces of mail), other

17 than the mailing of materials to a commercial

18 list.

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

20 on behalf of specific candidates staffed by vol21 unteers.

22 ‘‘(IV) The distribution of collateral mate23 rials (such as pins, bumper stickers, handbills,

24 brochures, posters, party tabloids, and yard
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1 signs) for or on behalf of specific candidates

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

3 (2) EXPENDITURES.—Section 301(9)(B) of

4 such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as amended by sec5 tion 110(b), is amended—

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

7 (xi);

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

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

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

11 clause:

12 ‘‘(xiii) the payment by a State or local commit13 tee of a political party for any of the following activi14 ties:

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

16 candidates, including the communication of the

17 slate to the public.

18 ‘‘(II) The mailing of materials for or on

19 behalf of specific candidates by volunteers (in20 cluding labeling envelopes or affixing postage or

21 other indicia to particular pieces of mail), other

22 than the mailing of materials to a commercial

23 list.
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1 ‘‘(III) Conducting a telephone bank for or

2 on behalf of specific candidates staffed by vol3 unteers.

4 ‘‘(IV) The distribution of collateral mate5 rials (such as pins, bumper stickers, handbills,

6 brochures, posters, party tabloids, and yard

7 signs) for or on behalf of specific candidates

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

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

10 301(8)(B)(x) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)(x)) is

11 amended by striking ‘‘in connection with volunteer

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

13 inserting ‘‘in connection with State or local activi14 ties, other than any payment described in clause

15 (xvi)’’.

16 (B) Section 301(9)(B)(viii) of such Act (2

17 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)(viii)) is amended by striking ‘‘in

18 connection with volunteer activities on behalf of

19 nominees of such party’’ and inserting ‘‘in connec20 tion with State or local activities, other than any

21 payment described in clause (xii)’’.

22 (b) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR ACTIVITIES.—

23 (1) PERMITTING USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS

24 FOR MIXED ACTIVITIES.—Section 324(b) of such

25 Act, as added by section 203, is amended—
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1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

2 paragraph (3); and

3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

4 following new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(2) USE BY STATE OR LOCAL PARTY COMMIT6 TEES.—A State, local, or district committee of a po7 litical party (including any subordinate committee

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

9 limitations and prohibitions of this Act for mixed ac10 tivity if the funds are allocated in accordance with

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

12 (2) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR STATE AND LOCAL

13 PARTIES.—Section 324 of such Act, as added by sec14 tion 203 and as amended by section 204(b), is

15 amended by adding at the end the following new

16 subsection:

17 ‘‘(e) FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR STATE AND LOCAL

18 PARTY VOLUNTEER AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES.—Sub19 section (a) shall not apply with respect to payments

20 described in section 301(8)(B)(xvi) or section

21 301(9)(B)(xiii), except that any payments which are both

22 for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or de23 feat of a specific candidate for election to Federal office

24 and for any other purpose shall be subject to allocation
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1 in the same manner as funds expended for mixed can2 didate-specific activities under subsection (c).’’.

3 (3) TREATMENT OF INTRA-PARTY TRANS4 FERS.—Section 324 of such Act, as added by section

5 203 and as amended by section 204(b) and para6 graph (2), is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING INTRA9 PARTY TRANSFERS.—Nothing in this section shall be con10 strued to prohibit the transfer between and among na11 tional, State, or local party committees (including any sub12 ordinate committees thereof) of funds which are not sub13 ject to the limitations and prohibitions of this Act.’’.

14 (4) ALLOCATION PROCEDURES DESCRIBED.—

15 Section 324 of such Act, as added by section 203

16 and as amended by section 204(b) and paragraphs

17 (2) and (3), is amended by adding at the end the

18 following new subsection:

19 ‘‘(g) STATE AND LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES; METH20 OD FOR ALLOCATING EXPENDITURES FOR MIXED ACTIVI21 TIES.—

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

23 party committees except those covered by paragraph

24 (2) shall allocate their expenses for mixed activities,
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1 as described in subsection (b)(2), according to the

2 ballot composition method described as follows:

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

4 allocated based on the ratio of Federal offices

5 expected on the ballot to total Federal and non6 Federal offices expected on the ballot in the

7 next general election to be held in the commit8 tee’s State or geographic area. This ratio shall

9 be determined by the number of categories of

10 Federal offices on the ballot and the number of

11 categories of non-Federal offices on the ballot,

12 as described in subparagraph (B).

13 ‘‘(B) In calculating a ballot composition

14 ratio, a State or local party committee shall

15 count the Federal offices of President, United

16 States Senator, and United States Representa17 tive, if expected on the ballot in the next gen18 eral election, as one Federal office each. The

19 committee shall count the non-Federal offices of

20 Governor, State Senator, and State Representa21 tive, if expected on the ballot in the next gen22 eral election, as one non-Federal office each.

23 The committee shall count the total of all other

24 partisan statewide executive candidates, if ex25 pected on the ballot in the next general election,
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1 as a maximum of two non-Federal offices. State

2 party committees shall also include in the ratio

3 one additional non-Federal office if any par4 tisan local candidates are expected on the ballot

5 in any regularly scheduled election during the 2

6 year congressional election cycle. Local party

7 committees shall also include in the ratio a

8 maximum of 2 additional non-Federal offices if

9 any partisan local candidates are expected on

10 the ballot in any regularly scheduled election

11 during the 2 year congressional election cycle.

12 State and local party committees shall also in13 clude in the ratio 1 additional non-Federal of14 fice.

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

16 HOLD FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN

17 THE SAME YEAR.—State and local party committees

18 in states that do not hold Federal and non-Federal

19 elections in the same year shall allocate the costs of

20 mixed activities according to the ballot composition

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

22 calculated for that calendar year.’’.
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1 TITLE III—DISCLOSURE AND

2 ENFORCEMENT

3 SEC. 301. TIMELY REPORTING AND INCREASED DISCLO4 SURE.

5 (a) DEADLINE FOR FILING.—

6 (1) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBU7 TIONS MADE WITHIN 20 DAYS OF ELECTION; RE8 QUIRING REPORTS TO BE MADE WITHIN 24

9 HOURS.—Section 304(a)(6)(A) of the Federal Elec10 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)(A))

11 is amended—

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

13 more than 48 hours before any election’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘during the period which begins on

15 the 20th day before an election and ends at the

16 time the polls close for such election’’; and

17 (B) by striking ‘‘48 hours’’ the second

18 place it appears and inserting the following:

19 ‘‘24 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day

20 on which the contribution is deposited)’’.

21 (2) REQUIRING ACTUAL DELIVERY BY DEAD22 LINE.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(a)(6) of

24 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)), as amended by
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1 section 103(b), is further amended by adding at

2 the end the following new subparagraph:

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

4 which a notification or report under this paragraph is re5 ceived by the Secretary, the Commission, or any other re6 cipient to whom the notification is required to be sent shall

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

8 with the recipient.’’.

9 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

10 304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)) is

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

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

13 (4)(A)(ii), or (6))’’.

14 (b) INCREASING ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE.—Section

15 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)), as amended

16 by section 103(b) and subsection (a)(2)(A), is further

17 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara18 graph:

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

20 contained in the reports submitted under this paragraph

21 available on the Internet and publicly available at the of22 fices of the Commission as soon as practicable (but in no

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

24 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 net4 works.’’.

5 (c) CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL6 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE BASIS.—

7 Section 304(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)) is amended

8 by inserting ‘‘(or election cycle, in the case of an author9 ized committee of a candidate for Federal office)’’ after

10 ‘‘calendar year’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (2),

11 (3), (4), (6), and (7).

12 (d) CLARIFICATION OF PERMISSIBLE USE OF FAC13 SIMILE MACHINES TO FILE REPORTS.—Section

14 304(a)(11)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is

15 amended by striking ‘‘method,’’ and inserting ‘‘method

16 (including by facsimile device in the case of any report

17 required to be filed within 24 hours after the transaction

18 reported has occurred),’’.

19 (e) REQUIRING RECEIPT OF INDEPENDENT EXPEND20 ITURE REPORTS WITHIN 24 HOURS.—

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

22 Act (2 U.S.C. 434(c)(2)) is amended in the matter

23 following subparagraph (C)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘shall be reported’’ and in25 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),

3 the time at which the statement under this sub4 section is received by the Secretary, the Com5 mission, or any other recipient to whom the no6 tification is required to be sent shall be consid7 ered the time of filing of the statement with the

8 recipient.’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

10 304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)), as

11 amended by subsection (a)(2)(B), is further amend12 ed by striking ‘‘or (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (6), or

13 subsection (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

21 to other persons (not including employees) who pro22 vide goods or services to the candidate or the can23 didate’s authorized committees, the name and ad24 dress of such other persons, together with the date,

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

2 Act (2 U.S.C. 432), as amended by section 105(a),

3 is further amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new 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 com11 mittee to report the information described in such sec12 tion.’’.

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

14 in the amendments made by this subsection may be

15 construed to affect the terms of any other record16 keeping or reporting requirements applicable to can17 didates or political committees under title III of the

18 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

19 (g) INCLUDING REPORT ON CUMULATIVE CONTRIBU20 TIONS AND EXPENDITURES IN POST ELECTION RE21 PORTS.—Section 304(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

22 434(a)(7)) is amended—

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

24 and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(B) In the case of any report required to be filed

4 by this subsection which is the first report required to be

5 filed after the date of an election, the report shall include

6 a statement of the total contributions received and expend7 itures made as of the date of the election.’’.

8 (h) INCLUDING INFORMATION ON AGGREGATE CON9 TRIBUTIONS IN REPORT ON ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS.—

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

11 amended—

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

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

14 amount of all such contributions made by such per15 son with respect to the election involved’’; and

16 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after

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

18 amount of all such contributions made by such com19 mittee with respect to the election involved’’.

20 SEC. 302. STREAMLINING PROCEDURES AND RULES OF

21 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.

22 (a) STANDARDS FOR COMMISSION REGULATION AND

23 JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION.—Section 307 of the Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d) is amend25 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(f)(1) When developing prescribed forms and mak2 ing, amending, or repealing rules pursuant to the author3 ity granted to the Commission by subsection (a)(8), the

4 Commission shall act in a manner that will have the least

5 restrictive effect on the rights of free speech and associa6 tion so protected by the First Article of Amendment to

7 the Constitution of the United States.

8 ‘‘(2) When the Commission’s actions under para9 graph (1) are challenged, a reviewing court shall hold un10 lawful and set aside any actions of the Commission that

11 do not conform with the principles set forth in paragraph

12 (1).’’.

13 (b) WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS.—

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

15 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

16 section 308 the following new section:

17 ‘‘OTHER WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

18 ‘‘SEC. 308A. (a) PERMITTING RESPONSES.—In addi19 tion to issuing advisory opinions under section 308, the

20 Commission shall issue written responses pursuant to this

21 section with respect to a written request concerning the

22 application of this Act, chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1954, a rule or regulation pre24 scribed by the Commission, or an advisory opinion issued

25 by the Commission under section 308, with respect to a

26 specific transaction or activity by the person, if the Com-
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1 mission finds the application of the Act, chapter, rule, reg2 ulation, or advisory opinion to the transaction or activity

3 to be clear and unambiguous.

4 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE FOR RESPONSE.—

5 ‘‘(1) ANALYSIS BY STAFF.—The staff of the

6 Commission shall analyze each request submitted

7 under this section. If the staff believes that the

8 standard described in subsection (a) is met with re9 spect to the request, the staff shall circulate a state10 ment to that effect together with a draft response to

11 the request to the members of the Commission.

12 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF RESPONSE.—Upon the expi13 ration of the 3-day period beginning on the date the

14 statement and draft response is circulated (excluding

15 weekends or holidays), the Commission shall issue

16 the response, unless during such period any member

17 of the Commission objects to issuing the response.

18 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—

19 ‘‘(1) SAFE HARBOR.—Notwithstanding any

20 other provisions of law, any person who relies upon

21 any provision or finding of a written response issued

22 under this section and who acts in good faith in ac23 cordance with the provisions and findings of such re24 sponse shall not, as a result of any such act, be sub25 ject to any sanction provided by this Act or by chap-
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1 ter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code

2 of 1954.

3 ‘‘(2) NO RELIANCE BY OTHER PARTIES.—Any

4 written response issued by the Commission under

5 this section may only be relied upon by the person

6 involved in the specific transaction or activity with

7 respect to which such response is issued, and may

8 not be applied by the Commission with respect to

9 any other person or used by the Commission for en10 forcement or regulatory purposes.

11 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION OF REQUESTS AND RE12 SPONSES.—The Commission shall make public any re13 quest for a written response made, and the responses is14 sued, under this section. In carrying out this subsection,

15 the Commission may not make public the identity of any

16 person submitting a request for a written response unless

17 the person specifically authorizes to Commission to do so.

18 ‘‘(e) COMPILATION OF INDEX.—The Commission

19 shall compile, publish, and regularly update a complete

20 and detailed index of the responses issued under this sec21 tion through which responses may be found on the basis

22 of the subjects included in the responses.’’.

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

24 307(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(7)) is
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1 amended by striking ‘‘of this Act’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘and other written responses under section 308A’’.

3 (c) OPPORTUNITY FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS BEFORE

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

5 437g(a)(3)) is amended—

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

7 and

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph:

10 ‘‘(B) If a respondent submits a brief under subpara11 graph (A), the respondent may submit (at the time of sub12 mitting the brief) a request to present an oral argument

13 in support of the respondent’s brief before the Commis14 sion. If at least 2 members of the Commission approve

15 of the request, the respondent shall be permitted to appear

16 before the Commission in open session and make an oral

17 presentation in support of the brief and respond to ques18 tions of members of the Commission. Such appearance

19 shall take place at a time specified by the Commission dur20 ing the 30-day period which begins on the date the request

21 is approved, and the Commission may limit the length of

22 the respondent’s appearance to such period of time as the

23 Commission considers appropriate. Any information pro24 vided by the respondent during the appearance shall be
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1 considered by the Commission before proceeding under

2 paragraph (4).’’.

3 (d) INDEX OF ADVISORY OPINIONS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of the Federal

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

6 amended by adding at the end the following new

7 subsection:

8 ‘‘(e) The Commission shall compile, publish, and reg9 ularly update a complete and detailed index of the advisory

10 opinions issued under this section through which opinions

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

12 opinions.’’.

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Federal Election

14 Commission shall first publish the index of advisory

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

16 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by para17 graph (1)) not later than 60 days after the date of

18 the enactment of this Act.

19 (e) STANDARD FOR INITIATION OF ACTIONS.—Sec20 tion 309(a)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘it

22 has reason to believe’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of

23 1954,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘it has a reason to

24 investigate a possible violation of this Act or of chapter

25 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954
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1 that has occurred or is about to occur (based on the same

2 criteria applicable under this paragraph prior to the enact3 ment of the Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1996),’’.

4 (f) APPLICATION OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION

5 LIMIT ON CALENDAR YEAR BASIS DURING NON-ELEC6 TION YEARS.—Section 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election

7 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended

8 by striking the second sentence.

9 (g) REPEAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

10 ON DISTRICT-SPECIFIC VOTING AGE POPULATION.—Sec11 tion 315(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

12 (2 U.S.C. 441a(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘States, of each

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

14 ‘‘States and of each State’’.

15 (h) COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE LOANS NOT TO

16 BE TREATED AS CONTRIBUTIONS BY LENDER.—Section

17 301(8)(B)(vii) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

18 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)(vii)) is amended—

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

20 ‘‘a depository’’; and

21 (2) by inserting after ‘‘Administration,’’ the fol22 lowing: ‘‘or any other commercial lender,’’.

23 (i) ABOLITION OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP OF

24 CLERK OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON COMMIS-
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1 SION.—Section 306(a) of the Federal Election Campaign

2 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(a)) is amended—

3 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and the

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

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

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

7 ‘‘and the Clerk of the House of Representatives’’

8 each place it appears.

9 (j) GRANTING COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO WAIVE

10 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of such Act (2

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

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section:

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

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

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

17 the due dates of any of the reports required by this sec18 tion, if it determines that such action is consistent with

19 the purposes of this title. The Commission may waive re20 quirements to file reports or change due dates in accord21 ance with this subsection through a rule of general appli22 cability or, in a specific case, by notifying all the political

23 committees involved.’’.

24 (k) PERMITTING CORPORATIONS TO COMMUNICATE

25 WITH ALL EMPLOYEES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 316(b) of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

3 441b(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘executive or ad4 ministrative personnel’’ each place it appears in

5 paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), (4)(A)(i), (4)(D), and (5)

6 and inserting ‘‘officers or employees’’.

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

8 316(b) of such Act is amended by striking para9 graph (7).

10 (l) PERMITTING UNLIMITED SOLICITATIONS BY COR11 PORATIONS OR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS; PROTECTING

12 CONFIDENTIALITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS NOT GREATER

13 THAN $100.—Section 316(b) of the Federal Election

14 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)), as amended

15 by subsection (k)(2), is amended—

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

17 and inserting ‘‘(C)’’;

18 (2) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, its of20 ficers or employees and their families, employees

21 who are not members and their families, and offi22 cers, employees, or stockholders of a corporation

23 (and their families) in which the labor organization

24 represents members working for the corporation.’’;
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1 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph

2 (B); and

3 (4) by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraph:

5 ‘‘(7)(A) Any corporation or labor organization (or

6 separate segregated fund established by such a corpora7 tion or such a labor organization) making solicitations of

8 contributions shall make such solicitations in a manner

9 that ensures that the corporation, organization, or fund

10 cannot determine who makes a contribution of $100 or

11 less as a result of such solicitation and who does not make

12 such a contribution.

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

14 to any solicitation of contributions of a corporation from

15 its stockholders.’’.

16 (m) GREATER PROTECTION AGAINST FORCE AND

17 REPRISALS.—Section 316(b)(3) of the Federal Election

18 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)), is amend19 ed—

20 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through

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

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

23 redesignated) the following new subparagraph:

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

25 to make a contribution or expenditure by physical
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1 force, job discrimination, financial reprisals, or the

2 threat of force, job discrimination, or financial re3 prisal;’’.

4 (n) REQUIRING COMPLAINANT TO PROVIDE NOTICE

5 TO RESPONDENTS.—Section 309(a)(1) of the Federal

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is

7 amended by striking the third sentence and inserting the

8 following: ‘‘The complaint shall include the names and ad9 dresses of persons alleged to have committed such a viola10 tion. Within 5 days after receipt of the complaint, the

11 Commission shall provide written notice of the complaint

12 together with a copy of the complaint to each person de13 scribed in the previous sentence, except that if the Com14 mission determines that it is not necessary for a person

15 described in the previous sentence to receive a copy of the

16 complaint, the Commission shall provide the person with

17 written notice that the complaint has been filed, together

18 with written instructions on how to obtain a copy of the

19 complaint without charge from the Commission.’’.

20 (o) STANDARD FORM FOR COMPLAINTS; STRONGER

21 DISCLAIMER LANGUAGE.—

22 (1) STANDARD FORM.—Section 309(a)(1) of

23 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

24 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after

25 ‘‘shall be notarized,’’ the following: ‘‘shall be in a
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1 standard form prescribed by the Commission, shall

2 not include (but may refer to) extraneous mate3 rials,’’.

4 (2) DISCLAIMER LANGUAGE.—Section

5 309(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is

6 amended—

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

8 ‘‘(a)(1)(A)’’; and

9 (B) by adding at the end the following new

10 subparagraph:

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

12 the Commission under subparagraph (A) to a person al13 leged to have committed a violation referred to in the com14 plaint shall include a cover letter (in a form prescribed

15 by the Commission) and the following statement: ‘The en16 closed complaint has been filed against you with the Fed17 eral Election Commission. The Commission has not veri18 fied or given official sanction to the complaint. The Com19 mission will make no decision to pursue the complaint for

20 a period of at least 15 days from your receipt of this com21 plaint. You may, if you wish, submit a written statement

22 to the Commission explaining why the Commission should

23 take no action against you based on this complaint. If the

24 Commission should decide to investigate, you will be noti25 fied and be given further opportunity to respond.’’’.
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1 (p) BANNING ACCEPTANCE OF CASH CONTRIBU2 TIONS GREATER THAN $100.—Section 315 of the Federal

3 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as

4 amended by sections 101, 103(a)(1), and 202, is further

5 amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section:

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

8 any contributions of currency of the United States or cur9 rency of any foreign country from any person which, in

10 the aggregate, exceed $100.’’.

11 (q) APPOINTMENT AND SERVICE OF STAFF DIREC12 TOR AND GENERAL COUNSEL OF COMMISSION.—

13 (1) APPOINTMENT; LENGTH OF TERM OF SERV14 ICE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of

16 section 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Cam17 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1)) is

18 amended by striking ‘‘by the Commission’’ and

19 inserting the following: ‘‘by an affirmative vote

20 of not less than 4 members of the Commission

21 and may not serve for a term of more than 4

22 consecutive years without reappointment in ac23 cordance with this paragraph’’.

24 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment

25 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply with re-
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1 spect to any individual serving as the staff di2 rector or general counsel of the Federal Elec3 tion Commission on or after January 1, 1997,

4 without regard to whether or not the individual

5 served as staff director or general counsel prior

6 to such date.

7 (2) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS FILLING VA8 CANCIES; TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY UPON EXPI9 RATION OF TERM.—Section 306(f)(1) of such Act (2

10 U.S.C. 437c(f)(1)) is amended by inserting after the

11 first sentence the following new sentences: ‘‘An indi12 vidual appointed as a staff director or general coun13 sel to fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expi14 ration of a term of office shall be appointed only for

15 the unexpired term of the individual he or she suc16 ceeds. An individual serving as staff director or gen17 eral counsel may not serve in any capacity on behalf

18 of the Commission after the expiration of the indi19 vidual’s term unless reappointed in accordance with

20 this paragraph.’’.

21 (3) APPOINTMENT OF ADDITIONAL STAFF.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The last sentence of

23 section 306(f)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

24 437c(f)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘not less

25 than 4 members of’’ after ‘‘approval of’’.
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1 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment

2 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply with re3 spect to personnel appointed on or after Janu4 ary 1, 1997.

5 (r) ENCOURAGING CITIZEN GRASSROOTS ACTIVITY

6 ON BEHALF OF FEDERAL CANDIDATES.—

7 (1) EXEMPTION OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBU8 TIONS UNDER $100.—Section 301(8)(B) of the Fed9 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

10 431(8)(B)), as amended by sections 110(a) and

11 205(a), is further amended—

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

13 (xv);

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

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

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

17 clause:

18 ‘‘(xvii) any payment of funds on behalf of a

19 candidate (whether in cash or in kind, but not in20 cluding a direct payment of cash to a candidate or

21 a political committee of the candidate) by an individ22 ual from the individual’s personal funds which in the

23 aggregate does not exceed $100, if the funds are

24 used for activities carried out by the individual or a

25 member of the individual’s family.’’.
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1 (2) EXEMPTION OF INDIVIDUAL EXPENDITURES

2 UNDER $100.—Section 301(9)(B) of the Federal

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

4 431(9)(B)), as amended by sections 110(b) and

5 205(b), is amended—

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

7 (xii);

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

9 clause (xiii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

11 clause:

12 ‘‘(xiv) any payment of funds on behalf of a can13 didate (whether in cash or in kind, but not including

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

15 committee of the candidate) by an individual from

16 the individual’s personal funds which in the aggre17 gate does not exceed $100, if the funds are used for

18 activities carried out by the individual or a member

19 of the individual’s family.’’.

20 (s) PERMITTING PARTNERSHIPS TO SOLICIT CON21 TRIBUTIONS AND PAY ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF POLIT22 ICAL COMMITTEES IN SAME MANNER AS CORPORATIONS

23 AND LABOR UNIONS.—

24 (1) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

25 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act (2
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1 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended by sections 110(a)

2 and 205(a) and subsection (r)(1), is amended—

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

4 (xvi);

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

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

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

8 clause:

9 ‘‘(xviii) any payment made or obligation in10 curred by a partnership in the establishment and

11 maintenance of a political committee, the adminis12 tration of such a political committee, or the solicita13 tion of contributions to such committee.’’.

14 (2) TREATMENT OF EXPENDITURES.—Section

15 301(9)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)), as

16 amended by sections 110(b) and 205(b) and sub17 section (r)(2), is amended—

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

19 (xiii);

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

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

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

23 clause:

24 ‘‘(xv) any payment made or obligation incurred

25 by a partnership in the establishment and mainte-
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1 nance of a political committee, the administration of

2 such a political committee, or the solicitation of con3 tributions to such committee.’’.

4 TITLE IV—GENERAL

5 PROVISIONS

6 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act

8 and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect

9 January 1, 1997.

10 SEC. 402. SEVERABILITY.

11 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made

12 by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or

13 circumstance, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder

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

15 persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

16 SEC. 403. EXPEDITED COURT REVIEW.

17 (a) RIGHT TO BRING ACTION.—The Federal Elec18 tion Commission, a political committee under title III of

19 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, or any indi20 vidual eligible to vote in any election for the office of Presi21 dent of the United States may institute an action in an

22 appropriate district court of the United States (including

23 an action for declaratory judgment) as may be appropriate

24 to construe the constitutionality of any provision of this

25 Act or any amendment made by this Act.
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1 (b) HEARING BY THREE-JUDGE COURT.—Upon the

2 institution of an action described in subsection (a), a dis3 trict court of three judges shall immediately be convened

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

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

6 docket and expedited to the greatest extent possible.

7 (c) APPEAL OF INITIAL DECISION TO SUPREME

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

9 Court of the United States from any interlocutory order

10 or final judgment, decree, or order issued by the court of

11 3 judges convened pursuant to subsection (b) in an action

12 described in subsection (a). Such appeal shall be brought

13 not later than 20 days after the issuance by the court of

14 the judgment, decree, or order.

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

16 Supreme Court shall accept jurisdiction over, advance on

17 the docket, and expedite to the greatest extent possible

18 an appeal taken pursuant to subsection (c).

Æ