I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1516

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. SHAW introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Energy

and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

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

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Campaign Finance Im5 provement Act of 2001’’.
2

•HR 1516 IH

1 SEC. 2. EXPANDING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CER2 TAIN CONTRIBUTIONS.

3 (a) REQUIRING REPORTING OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

4 OF $200 OR MORE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF RECEIPT.—Sec5 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

6 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 502(a) of the De7 partment of Transportation and Related Agencies Act,

8 2001 (as enacted into law by reference under section

9 101(a) of Public Law 106–346), is amended by adding

10 at the end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(e)(1) Each political committee which receives a

12 contribution of $200 or more shall notify the Commission

13 of the contribution not later than 10 days after receipt,

14 and shall include the identification of the contributor, the

15 date of receipt and amount of the contribution, and (in

16 the case of an authorized committee of a candidate) the

17 name of the candidate and the office sought by the can18 didate.

19 ‘‘(2) The report required under this subsection shall

20 be in addition to all other reports required under this

21 Act.’’.

22 (b) EXPANDING TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRIN23 CIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES SUBJECT TO EXPEDITED

24 REPORTING.—Section 304(a)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

25 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended—
3

•HR 1516 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200’’;

2 and

3 (2) by striking ‘‘20th day’’ and inserting ‘‘90th

4 day’’.

5 SEC. 3. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF AMOUNT OF CONTRIBU6 TIONS ACCEPTED BY CONGRESSIONAL CAN7 DIDATES TO COME FROM IN-STATE RESI8 DENTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec10 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(i)(1) The total amount of contributions accepted

13 with respect to an election by a candidate for the office

14 of Senator or the office of Representative in, or Delegate

15 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress from in-State

16 individual residents shall be at least 50 percent of the total

17 amount of contributions accepted from all sources.

18 ‘‘(2) If a candidate in an election makes expenditures

19 of personal funds (including contributions by the can20 didate or the candidate’s spouse to the candidate’s author21 ized campaign committee) in an amount in excess of

22 $250,000, paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

23 any opponent of the candidate in the election.

24 ‘‘(3) In determining the amount of contributions ac25 cepted by a candidate for purposes of paragraph (1), the
4

•HR 1516 IH

1 amounts of any contributions made by a political com2 mittee of a political party shall be allocated as follows:

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

4 deemed to be contributions from in-State individual

5 residents.

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

7 deemed to be contributions from persons other than

8 in-State individual residents.

9 ‘‘(4) As used in this subsection, the term ‘in-State

10 individual resident’ means an individual who resides in the

11 State in which the election involved is held.’’.

12 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of

13 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 2(a), is

14 further amended by adding at the end the following new

15 subsection:

16 ‘‘(f)(1) Each principal campaign committee of a can17 didate for the Senate or the House of Representatives

18 shall include the following information in the first report

19 filed under subsection (a)(2) which covers the period

20 which begins 19 days before an election and ends 20 days

21 after the election:

22 ‘‘(A) The total contributions received by the

23 committee with respect to the election involved from

24 in-State individual residents (as defined in section
5

•HR 1516 IH

1 315(i)(4)), as of the last day of the period covered

2 by the report.

3 ‘‘(B) The total contributions received by the

4 committee with respect to the election involved from

5 all persons, as of the last day of the period covered

6 by the report.

7 ‘‘(2)(A) Each principal campaign committee of a can8 didate for the Senate or the House of Representatives

9 shall submit a notification to the Commission of the first

10 expenditure of personal funds (including contributions by

11 the candidate or the candidate’s spouse to the committee)

12 by which the aggregate amount of personal funds ex13 pended (or contributed) with respect to the election ex14 ceeds $250,000.

15 ‘‘(B) Each notification under subparagraph (A)—

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

17 after the expenditure or contribution which is the

18 subject of the notification is made; and

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

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

21 the expenditure or contribution and amount of the

22 expenditure or contribution involved.’’.

23 (c) PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF LIMITS.—Section

24 309(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(d)) is amended by add25 ing at the end the following new paragraph:
6

•HR 1516 IH

1 ‘‘(4)(A) Any candidate who knowingly and willfully

2 accepts contributions in excess of any limitation provided

3 under section 315(i) shall be fined an amount equal to

4 the greater of 200 percent of the amount accepted in ex5 cess of the applicable limitation or (if applicable) the

6 amount provided in paragraph (1)(A).

7 ‘‘(B) Interest shall be assessed against any portion

8 of a fine imposed under subparagraph (A) which remains

9 unpaid after the expiration of the 30-day period which be10 gins on the date the fine is imposed.’’.

11 SEC. 4. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN12 FORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CON13 TRIBUTORS.

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

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

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

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

18 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

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

20 paragraph:

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

22 information regarding the identification of any person who

23 makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more

24 than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro25 vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.
7

•HR 1516 IH

1 SEC. 5. LOWERING THRESHOLD FOR CASH CONTRIBU2 TIONS.

3 Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by striking ‘‘exceed

5 $100’’ and inserting ‘‘exceed $20’’.

6 SEC. 6. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOTING

7 AGE.

8 Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

10 the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(9)(A) For purposes of the limitations imposed by

12 this section, any contribution made by a dependent minor

13 shall be treated as follows:

14 ‘‘(i) If the dependent minor is the dependent of

15 one other individual, the contribution shall be treat16 ed as a contribution made by such other individual.

17 ‘‘(ii) If the dependent minor is the dependent of

18 another individual and such other individual’s

19 spouse, the contribution shall be allocated among

20 such individuals in such manner as such other indi21 viduals may determine.

22 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘dependent minor’

23 means an individual who—

24 ‘‘(i) is a dependent of another individual; and

25 ‘‘(ii) has not, as of the time of making the con26 tribution involved, attained the legal age for voting
8

•HR 1516 IH

1 in elections for Federal office in the State in which

2 such individual resides.’’.

3 SEC. 7. PROHIBITING NON-CITIZEN INDIVIDUALS FROM

4 MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS IN CONNECTION

5 WITH FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

6 Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign

7 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)(2)) is amended by striking

8 ‘‘and who is not lawfully admitted’’ and all that follows

9 and inserting a period.

10 SEC. 8. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SOFT

11 MONEY EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL PAR12 TIES.

13 (a) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS BY NATIONAL POLITICAL

14 PARTIES.—Section 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election

15 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara17 graph (H);

18 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara19 graph (I); and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(J) in the case of a political committee of

23 a national political party, all funds transferred

24 to any political committee of a State or local

25 political party, without regard to whether or not
9

•HR 1516 IH

1 the funds are otherwise treated as contributions

2 or expenditures under this title;’’.

3 (b) DISCLOSURE BY STATE POLITICAL PARTIES OF

4 INFORMATION REPORTED UNDER STATE LAW.—Section

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

6 2(a) and 3(b), is further amended by adding at the end

7 the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(g) If a political committee of a State political party

9 is required under a State or local law, rule, or regulation

10 to submit a report on its disbursements to an entity of

11 the State or local government, the committee shall file a

12 copy of the report with the Commission at the time it sub13 mits the report to such an entity.’’.

14 SEC. 9. PROHIBITING INVOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT OF EM15 PLOYEE FUNDS FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal Elec17 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended

18 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

19 ‘‘(c)(1) Except with the separate, prior, written, vol20 untary authorization of each individual, it shall be

21 unlawful—

22 ‘‘(A) for any national bank or corporation de23 scribed in this section to collect from or assess its

24 stockholders or employees any dues, initiation fee, or

25 other payment as a condition of employment if any
10

•HR 1516 IH

1 part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for

2 political activity in which the national bank or cor3 poration is engaged; and

4 ‘‘(B) for any labor organization described in

5 this section to collect from or assess its members or

6 nonmembers any dues, initiation fee, or other pay7 ment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will

8 be used for political activity in which the labor orga9 nization is engaged.

10 ‘‘(2) An authorization described in paragraph (1)

11 shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked

12 at any time. Each entity collecting from or assessing

13 amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect

14 under such paragraph shall provide the individual with a

15 statement that the individual may at any time revoke the

16 authorization.

17 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘polit18 ical activity’ means any activity carried out for the pur19 pose of influencing (in whole or in part) any election for

20 Federal office, influencing the consideration or outcome

21 of any Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of

22 any Federal regulations, or educating individuals about

23 candidates for election for Federal office or any Federal

24 legislation, law, or regulations.’’.
11

•HR 1516 IH

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

2 subsection (a) shall apply to amounts collected or assessed

3 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 10. PROHIBITING AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES OF CAN5 DIDATES FROM ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS

6 FROM AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES OF OTHER

7 CANDIDATES.

8 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

9 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by section 3(a), is

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section:

12 ‘‘(j)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the au13 thorized committee of a candidate for election for Federal

14 office may not accept any contribution from an authorized

15 committee of another candidate for election for Federal

16 office.

17 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the transfer of

18 funds between an authorized committee of a candidate for

19 election for Federal office and an authorized committee

20 of the same candidate for election for another Federal of21 fice.’’.

22 SEC. 11. REQUIRING FEC TO MAKE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE

23 FOR ELECTRONIC FILING.

24 Section 311(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended—
12

•HR 1516 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (9);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(11) through competitive bidding, obtain and

8 provide for computer software required to carry out

9 the electronic filing of designations, statements, and

10 reports under this Act.’’.

11 SEC. 12. REQUIRING BROADCASTERS TO PROVIDE FREE

12 RESPONSE TIME TO CANDIDATES SUBJECT

13 TO SOFT MONEY ADVERTISEMENTS.

14 Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

15 U.S.C. 317) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘radio station’’ each place it ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘broadcast station’’; and

18 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the

19 following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(3)(A) A broadcast station may not accept for

21 broadcast any soft money advertisement which contains

22 the image, name, or likeness of a candidate for election

23 for Federal office unless the station agrees to broadcast

24 without charge—
13

•HR 1516 IH

1 ‘‘(i) if the soft money advertisement referred to

2 or presented the candidate in a critical or negative

3 manner, an advertisement provided by an authorized

4 committee of such candidate, under conditions (such

5 as the time of broadcast) similar to those under

6 which the soft money advertisement was broadcast;

7 or

8 ‘‘(ii) if the soft money advertisement referred to

9 or presented the candidate in a positive manner, an

10 advertisement provided by an authorized committee

11 of the candidate’s opponent in the election, under

12 conditions (such as the time of broadcast) similar to

13 those under which the soft money advertisement was

14 broadcast.

15 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘soft money adver16 tisement’ means an advertisement whose costs are fi17 nanced (in whole or in part) with funds which are not sub18 ject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require19 ments of title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act

20 of 1971, but does not include any advertisement whose

21 costs are entirely financed by an authorized committee of

22 a candidate for election for Federal office.

23 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph, the terms ‘authorized com24 mittee’, ‘candidate’, ‘election’, and ‘Federal office’ have
14

•HR 1516 IH

1 the meaning given such terms in section 301 of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431).’’.

3 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made

5 by this Act shall apply with respect to elections and trans6 actions occurring after December 31, 2002.

Æ