II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3295 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign 

influence in Federal elections, to prohibit government contractors from 

making expenditures with respect to such elections, and to establish 

additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2010 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. BENNET, Mr. 

BROWN of Ohio, Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KAUFMAN, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, 

Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BEGICH, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. TESTER, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. CONRAD, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. 

NELSON of Florida, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. BURRIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules 

and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections, to prohibit 

government contractors from making expenditures with 

respect to such elections, and to establish additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such 

elections, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spend6 ing in Elections Act’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—REGULATION OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

Sec. 101. Prohibiting independent expenditures and electioneering communications by government contractors. 

Sec. 102. Application of ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to foreign-controlled domestic corporations. 

Sec. 103. Treatment of payments for coordinated communications as contributions. 

Sec. 104. Treatment of political party communications made on behalf of candidates. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING EFFECTIVE DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGNRELATED ACTIVITY 

Subtitle A—Treatment of Independent Expenditures and Electioneering 

Communications Made by All Persons 

Sec. 201. Independent expenditures. 

Sec. 202. Electioneering communications. 

Subtitle B—Expanded Requirements for Corporations and Other 

Organizations 

Sec. 211. Additional information required to be included in reports on disbursements by covered organizations. 

Sec. 212. Rules regarding use of general treasury funds by covered organizations for campaign-related activity. 

Sec. 213. Optional use of separate account by covered organizations for campaign-related activity. 

Sec. 214. Modification of rules relating to disclaimer statements required for 

certain communications. 

Subtitle C—Reporting Requirements for Registered Lobbyists 

Sec. 221. Requiring registered lobbyists to report information on independent 

expenditures and electioneering communications. 


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Subtitle D—Filing by Senate Candidates With Commission 

Sec. 231. Filing by Senate candidates with Commission. 

TITLE III—DISCLOSURE BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS OF 

INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY 

Sec. 301. Requiring disclosure by covered organizations of information on campaign-related activity. 

TITLE IV—TELEVISION MEDIA RATES 

Sec. 401. Television media rates. 

TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Judicial review. 

Sec. 502. Severability. 

Sec. 503. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 (a) GENERAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds and de3 clares as follows: 

4 (1) Throughout the history of the United 

5 States, the American people have been rightly con6 cerned about the power of special interests to control 

7 our democratic processes. That was true over 100 

8 years ago when Congress first enacted legislation in9 tended to restrict corporate funds from being used 

10 in Federal elections, legislation that Congress in 

11 1947 reaffirmed was intended to include inde12 pendent expenditures. The Supreme Court held such 

13 legislation to be constitutional in 1990 in Austin v. 

14 Michigan Chamber of Commerce (494 U.S. 652) 

15 and again in 2003 in McConnell v. F.E.C. (540 U.S. 

16 93). 


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1 (2) The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens 

2 United v. Federal Election Commission on January 

3 21, 2010, reverses established jurisprudence and 

4 sound policy to greatly increase the dangers of 

5 undue special interest influence over the democratic 

6 process. That decision has opened the floodgates for 

7 corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited 

8 sums from their general treasury accounts to influ9 ence the outcome of elections. 

10 (3) Congress must take action to ensure that 

11 the American public has all the information nec12 essary to exercise its free speech and voting rights, 

13 and must otherwise take narrowly tailored steps to 

14 regulate independent expenditures and electioneering 

15 communications in elections. 

16 (b) FINDINGS RELATING TO GOVERNMENT CON17 TRACTORS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

18 (1) Government contracting is an activity that 

19 is particularly susceptible to improper influence, and 

20 to the appearance of improper influence. Govern21 ment contracts must be awarded based on an objec22 tive evaluation of how well bidders or potential con23 tractors meet relevant statutory criteria. 

24 (2) Independent expenditures and electioneering 

25 communications that benefit particular candidates or 


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1 elected officials or disfavor their opponents can lead 

2 to apparent and actual ingratiation, access, influ3 ence, and quid pro quo arrangements. Government 

4 contracts should be awarded based on an objective 

5 application of statutory criteria, not based on other 

6 forms of inappropriate or corrupting influence. 

7 (3) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

8 electioneering communications by persons negoti9 ating for or performing government contracts will 

10 prevent government officials involved in or with in11 fluence over the contracting process from influencing 

12 the contracting process based, consciously or other13 wise, on this kind of inappropriate or corrupting in14 fluence. 

15 (4) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

16 electioneering communications by persons negoti17 ating for or performing government contracts will 

18 likewise prevent such persons from feeling pressure, 

19 whether actually exerted by government officials or 

20 not, to make expenditures and to fund communica21 tions in order to maximize their chances of receiving 

22 contracts, or to match similar expenditures and com23 munications made by their competitors. 

24 (5) Furthermore, because government contracts 

25 often involve large amounts of public money, it is 


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1 critical that the public perceive that the government 

2 contracts are awarded strictly in accordance with 

3 prescribed statutory standards, and not based on 

4 other forms of inappropriate or corrupting influence. 

5 The public’s confidence in government is under6 mined when corporations that make significant ex7 penditures during Federal election campaigns later 

8 receive government funds. 

9 (6) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

10 electioneering communications by persons negoti11 ating for or performing government contracts will 

12 prevent any appearance that government contracts 

13 were awarded based in whole or in part on such ex14 penditures or communications, or based on the inap15 propriate or corrupting influence such expenditures 

16 and communications can create and appear to cre17 ate. 

18 (7) In these ways, prohibiting independent ex19 penditures and electioneering communications by 

20 persons negotiating for or performing government 

21 contracts will protect the actual and perceived integ22 rity of the government contracting process. 

23 (8) Moreover, the risks of waste, fraud and 

24 abuse, all resulting in economic losses to taxpayers, 

25 are significant when would-be public contractors or 


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1 applicants for public funds make expenditures in 

2 Federal election campaigns in order to affect elec3 toral outcomes. 

4 (c) FINDINGS RELATING TO FOREIGN CORPORA5 TIONS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

6 (1) The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citi7 zens United case has provided the means by which 

8 United States corporations controlled by foreign en9 tities can freely spend money to influence United 

10 States elections. 

11 (2) Foreign corporations commonly own U.S. 

12 corporations in whole or in part, and U.S. corporate 

13 equity and debt are also held by foreign individuals, 

14 sovereign wealth funds, and even foreign nations at 

15 levels which permit effective control over those U.S. 

16 entities. 

17 (3) As recognized in many areas of the law, for18 eign ownership interests and influences are exerted 

19 in a perceptible way even when the entity is not ma20 jority-foreign-owned. 

21 (4) The Federal Government has broad con22 stitutional power to protect American interests and 

23 sovereignty from foreign interference and intrusion. 


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1 (5) Congress has a clear interest in minimizing 

2 foreign intervention, and the perception of foreign 

3 intervention, in United States elections. 

4 (d) FINDINGS RELATING TO COORDINATED EXPEND5 ITURES.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

6 (1) It has been the consistent view of Congress 

7 and the courts that coordinated expenditures in 

8 campaigns for election are no different in nature 

9 from contributions. 

10 (2) Existing rules still allow donors to evade 

11 contribution limits by making campaign expendi12 tures which, while technically qualifying as inde13 pendent expenditures under law, are for all relevant 

14 purposes coordinated with candidates and political 

15 parties and thus raise the potential for corruption or 

16 the appearance of corruption. 

17 (3) Such arrangements have the potential to 

18 give rise to the reality or appearance of corruption 

19 to the same degree that direct contributions to a 

20 candidate may give rise to the reality or appearance 

21 of corruption. Moreover, expenditures which are in 

22 fact made in coordination with a candidate or polit23 ical party have the potential to lessen the public’s 

24 trust and faith in the rules and the integrity of the 

25 electoral process. 


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1 (4) The government therefore has a compelling 

2 interest in making sure that expenditures that are 

3 de facto coordinated with a candidate are treated as 

4 such to prevent corruption, the appearance of cor5 ruption, or the perception that some participants are 

6 circumventing the laws and regulations which govern 

7 the financing of election campaigns. 

8 (e) FINDINGS RELATING TO DISCLOSURES AND DIS9 CLAIMERS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

10 (1) The American people have a compelling in11 terest in knowing who is funding independent ex12 penditures and electioneering communications to in13 fluence Federal elections, and the government has a 

14 compelling interest in providing the public with that 

15 information. Effective disclaimers and prompt disclo16 sure of expenditures, and the disclosure of the fund17 ing sources for these expenditures, can provide 

18 shareholders, voters, and citizens with the informa19 tion needed to evaluate the actions by special inter20 ests seeking influence over the democratic process. 

21 Transparency promotes accountability, increases the 

22 fund of information available to the public con23 cerning the support given to candidates by special 

24 interests, sheds the light of publicity on political 

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1 tions to act only upon legitimate organizational pur2 poses. 

3 (2) Protecting this compelling interest has be4 come particularly important to address the antici5 pated increase in special interest spending on elec6 tion-related communications which will result from 

7 the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United 

8 case. The current disclosure and disclaimer require9 ments were designed for a campaign finance system 

10 in which such expenditures were subject to prohibi11 tions that no longer apply. 

12 (3) More rigorous disclosure and disclaimer re13 quirements are necessary to protect against the eva14 sion of current rules. Organizations that engage in 

15 election-related communications have used a variety 

16 of methods to attempt to obscure their sponsorship 

17 of communications from the general public. Robust 

18 disclosure and disclaimer requirements are necessary 

19 to ensure that the electorate is informed about who 

20 is paying for particular election-related communica21 tions, and so that the shareholders and members of 

22 these organizations are aware of their organizations’ 

23 election-related spending. 

24 (4) The current lack of accountability and 

25 transparency allow special interest political spending 


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1 to serve as a private benefit for the officials of spe2 cial interest organizations, to the detriment of the 

3 organizations and their shareholders and members. 

4 (f) FINDINGS RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING BY

5 LOBBYISTS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

6 (1) Lobbyists and lobbying organizations, and 

7 through them, their clients, influence the public deci8 sion-making process in a variety of ways. 

9 (2) In recent years, scandals involving undue 

10 lobbyist influence have lowered public trust in gov11 ernment and jeopardized the willingness of voters to 

12 take part in democratic governance. 

13 (3) One way in which lobbyists may unduly in14 fluence Federal officials is through their or their cli15 ents making independent expenditures or election16 eering communications targeting elected officials. 

17 (4) Disclosure of such independent expenditures 

18 and electioneering communications will allow the 

19 public to examine connections between such spend20 ing and official actions, and will therefore limit the 

21 ability of lobbyists to exert an undue influence on 

22 elected officials. 

23 (g) FINDINGS RELATING TO LOWEST UNIT

24 CHARGE.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 


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1 (1) The purpose of the First Amendment is to 

2 ensure a robust marketplace of ideas. The govern3 ment has a compelling interest in ensuring that 

4 Americans have access to this robust marketplace of 

5 ideas through the variety of media supported by the 

6 government. 

7 (2) In recent years, the cost of political commu8 nication has been artificially inflated as candidates, 

9 parties, interest groups, and commercial advertisers 

10 compete for a dwindling supply of airtime in the pe11 riods before elections. Candidates for Federal elec12 tion are currently forced to pay higher premiums for 

13 ‘‘nonpreemptible’’ advertisement time so as not to be 

14 replaced by commercial advertisements in such peri15 ods. 

16 (3) The high cost of advertising for Federal 

17 candidates and their political parties makes it less 

18 likely that Americans will receive information nec19 essary to engage fully in the electoral process and 

20 hear directly from all participants. The high cost of 

21 advertising for Federal candidates and political par22 ties also drives the demand for large, potentially cor23 rupting contributions to Federal election campaigns 

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1 ing money and less time performing their official re2 sponsibilities. 

3 (4) Lower advertising costs enhance the ability 

4 of candidates to present and the public to receive in5 formation necessary for the effective operation of the 

6 democratic process. Lower advertising costs reduce 

7 the potential for corrupting contributions to Federal 

8 election campaigns. Lower advertising costs allow 

9 elected officials to spend more time serving the pub10 lic interest instead of raising funds to pay for cam11 paign advertisements. 

12 TITLE I—REGULATION OF 

13 CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

14 SEC. 101. PROHIBITING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES AND 

15 ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS BY 

16 GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 

17 (a) PROHIBITION APPLICABLE TO GOVERNMENT

18 CONTRACTORS.— 

19 (1) PROHIBITION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 317(a)(1) of 

21 the Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. 

22 441c(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘purpose or 

23 use; or’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘purpose 

24 or use, to make any independent expenditure, 


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1 or to disburse any funds for an electioneering 

2 communication; or’’. 

3 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

4 heading of section 317 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

5 441c) is amended by striking ‘‘CONTRIBU6 TIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRIBUTIONS, INDE7 PENDENT EXPENDITURES, AND ELECTION8 EERING COMMUNICATIONS’’. 

9 (2) THRESHOLD FOR APPLICATION OF BAN.— 

10 Section 317 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441c) is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) by redesignating subsections (b) and 

13 (c) as subsections (c) and (d); and 

14 (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

15 following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(b) To the extent that subsection (a)(1) prohibits 

17 a person who enters into a contract described in such sub18 section from making any independent expenditure or dis19 bursing funds for an electioneering communication, such 

20 subsection shall apply only if the value of the contract is 

21 equal to or greater than $50,000.’’. 

22 (b) APPLICATION TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE

23 UNDER TROUBLED ASSET PROGRAM.—Section 317(a) of 

24 such Act (2 U.S.C. 441c(a)) is amended— 


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

2 (1); 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para4 graph (3); and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol6 lowing new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(2) who enters into negotiations for financial 

8 assistance under title I of the Emergency Economic 

9 Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) 

10 (relating to the purchase of troubled assets by the 

11 Secretary of the Treasury), during the period— 

12 ‘‘(A) beginning on the later of the com13 mencement of the negotiations or the date of 

14 the enactment of the Democracy Is Strength15 ened by Casting Light On Spending in Elec16 tions Act; and 

17 ‘‘(B) ending with the later of the termi18 nation of such negotiations or the repayment of 

19 such financial assistance; 

20 directly or indirectly to make any contribution of 

21 money or other things of value, or to promise ex22 pressly or impliedly to make any such contribution 

23 to any political party, committee, or candidate for 

24 public office or to any person for any political pur25 pose or use, to make any independent expenditure, 


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1 or to disburse any funds for an electioneering com2 munication; or’’. 

3 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 317 of such 

4 Act (2 U.S.C. 441c) is amended by striking ‘‘section 321’’ 

5 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 316’’. 

6 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF BAN ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

7 EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 

8 FOREIGN-CONTROLLED DOMESTIC COR9 PORATIONS. 

10 (a) APPLICATION OF BAN.—Section 319(b) of the 

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

12 441e(b)) is amended— 

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

14 (1); 

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) any corporation which is not a foreign na20 tional described in paragraph (1) and— 

21 ‘‘(A) in which a foreign national described 

22 in paragraph (1) or (2) directly or indirectly 

23 owns 20 percent or more of the voting shares; 

24 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the majority of 

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1 eign nationals described in paragraph (1) or 

2 (2); 

3 ‘‘(C) over which one or more foreign na4 tionals described in paragraph (1) or (2) has 

5 the power to direct, dictate, or control the deci6 sion-making process of the corporation with re7 spect to its interests in the United States; or 

8 ‘‘(D) over which one or more foreign na9 tionals described in paragraph (1) or (2) has 

10 the power to direct, dictate, or control the deci11 sionmaking process of the corporation with re12 spect to activities in connection with a Federal, 

13 State, or local election, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) the making of a contribution, do15 nation, expenditure, independent expendi16 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering 

17 communication (within the meaning of sec18 tion 304(f)(3)); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the administration of a political 

20 committee established or maintained by the 

21 corporation.’’. 

22 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 

23 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

2 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the mak3 ing of any contribution, donation, expenditure, inde4 pendent expenditure, or disbursement for an election5 eering communication by a corporation during a year, the 

6 chief executive officer of the corporation (or, if the cor7 poration does not have a chief executive officer, the high8 est ranking official of the corporation), shall file a certifi9 cation with the Commission, under penalty of perjury, that 

10 the corporation is not prohibited from carrying out such 

11 activity under subsection (b)(3), unless the chief executive 

12 officer has previously filed such a certification during the 

13 year.’’. 

14 SEC. 103. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR COORDINATED 

15 COMMUNICATIONS AS CONTRIBUTIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal 

17 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i); 

20 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

21 (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

23 clause: 

24 ‘‘(iii) any payment made by any person 

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1 mittee of a candidate, or a political committee 

2 of a political party) for a coordinated commu3 nication (as determined under section 324).’’. 

4 (b) COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS DESCRIBED.— 

5 Section 324 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 

6 to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 324. COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS. 

8 ‘‘(a) COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS DEFINED.— 

9 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘coordinated commu10 nication’ means— 

11 ‘‘(1) a covered communication which is made in 

12 cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the 

13 request or suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized 

14 committee of a candidate, or a political committee of 

15 a political party; or 

16 ‘‘(2) any communication that republishes, dis17 seminates, or distributes, in whole or in part, any 

18 broadcast or any written, graphic, or other form of 

19 campaign material prepared by a candidate, an au20 thorized committee of a candidate, or their agents. 

21 ‘‘(b) COVERED COMMUNICATION DEFINED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (4), for purposes of this subsection, the term 

24 ‘covered communication’ means, for purposes of the 

25 applicable election period described in paragraph (2), 


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1 a publicly distributed or disseminated communica2 tion that refers to a clearly identified candidate for 

3 Federal office and is publicly distributed or publicly 

4 disseminated during such period. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE ELECTION PERIOD.—For 

6 purposes of paragraph (1), the ‘applicable election 

7 period’ with respect to a communication means— 

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of a communication which 

9 refers to a candidate for the office of President 

10 or Vice President, the period— 

11 ‘‘(i) beginning with the date that is 

12 120 days before the date of the first pri13 mary election, preference election, or nomi14 nating convention for nomination for the 

15 office of President which is held in any 

16 State; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) ending with the date of the gen18 eral election for such office; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a communication which 

20 refers to a candidate for any other Federal of21 fice, the period— 

22 ‘‘(i) beginning with the date that is 90 

23 days before the earliest of the primary 

24 election, preference election, or nominating 

25 convention with respect to the nomination 


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1 for the office that the candidate is seeking; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) ending with the date of the gen4 eral election for such office. 

5 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

6 OF COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING CONGRESSIONAL

7 CANDIDATES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), in 

8 the case of a communication involving a candidate 

9 for an office other than President or Vice President, 

10 the communication shall be considered to be publicly 

11 distributed or publicly disseminated only if the dis12 semination or distribution occurs in the jurisdiction 

13 of the office that the candidate is seeking. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘covered commu15 nication’ does not include— 

16 ‘‘(A) a communication appearing in a news 

17 story, commentary, or editorial distributed 

18 through the facilities of any broadcasting sta19 tion, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical 

20 publication, unless such facilities are owned or 

21 controlled by any political party, political com22 mittee, or candidate; or 

23 ‘‘(B) a communication which constitutes a 

24 candidate debate or forum conducted pursuant 

25 to the regulations adopted by the Commission 


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1 to carry out section 304(f)(3)(B)(iii), or which 

2 solely promotes such a debate or forum and is 

3 made by or on behalf of the person sponsoring 

4 the debate or forum. 

5 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF COORDINATION WITH POLIT6 ICAL PARTIES FOR COMMUNICATIONS REFERRING TO

7 CANDIDATES.—For purposes of this section, if a commu8 nication which refers to any clearly identified candidate 

9 or candidates of a political party or any opponent of such 

10 a candidate or candidates is determined to have been made 

11 in cooperation, consultation, or concert with or at the re12 quest or suggestion of a political committee of the political 

13 party but not in cooperation, consultation, or concert with 

14 or at the request or suggestion of such clearly identified 

15 candidate or candidates, the communication shall be treat16 ed as having been made in cooperation, consultation, or 

17 concert with or at the request or suggestion of the political 

18 committee of the political party but not with or at the 

19 request or suggestion of such clearly identified candidate 

20 or candidates.’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section and the amend23 ments made by this section shall apply with respect 

24 to payments made on or after the expiration of the 

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1 ment of this Act, without regard to whether or not 

2 the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

3 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

4 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN

5 PRIOR TO ENACTMENT.—No person shall be consid6 ered to have made a payment for a coordinated com7 munication under section 324 of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended by sub9 section (b)) by reason of any action taken by the 

10 person prior to the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. Nothing in the previous sentence shall be con12 strued to affect any determination under any other 

13 provision of such Act which is in effect on the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act regarding whether a 

15 communication is made in cooperation, consultation, 

16 or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, 

17 a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, 

18 or a political committee of a political party. 

19 SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMUNICA20 TIONS MADE ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES. 

21 (a) TREATMENT OF PAYMENT FOR COMMUNICATION

22 AS CONTRIBUTION IF MADE UNDER CONTROL OR DIREC23 TION OF CANDIDATE.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal 

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)), as 

25 amended by section 103(a), is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (ii); 

2 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

3 (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

5 clause: 

6 ‘‘(iv) any payment by a political committee 

7 of a political party for the direct costs of a com8 munication made on behalf of a candidate for 

9 Federal office who is affiliated with such party, 

10 but only if the communication is controlled by, 

11 or made at the direction of, the candidate or an 

12 authorized committee of the candidate.’’. 

13 (b) REQUIRING CONTROL OR DIRECTION BY CAN14 DIDATE FOR TREATMENT AS COORDINATED PARTY EX15 PENDITURE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

17 315(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended 

18 to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR DIRECT COSTS OF COMMU20 NICATIONS.—The direct costs incurred by a political com21 mittee of a political party for a communication made in 

22 connection with the campaign of a candidate for Federal 

23 office shall not be subject to the limitations contained in 

24 paragraphs (2) and (3) unless the communication is conVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 trolled by, or made at the direction of, the candidate or 

2 an authorized committee of the candidate.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) 

4 of section 315(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend8 ments made by this section shall apply with respect to pay9 ments made on or after the expiration of the 30-day period 

10 which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

12 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 

13 such amendments. 

14 TITLE II—PROMOTING EFFEC15 TIVE DISCLOSURE OF CAM16 PAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY 

17 Subtitle A—Treatment of Inde18 pendent Expenditures and Elec19 tioneering Communications 

20 Made by All Persons 

21 SEC. 201. INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES. 

22 (a) REVISION OF DEFINITION.—Subparagraph (A) of 

23 section 301(17) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

24 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(17)) is amended to read as follows: 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(A) that, when taken as a whole, ex2 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

3 clearly identified candidate, or is the functional 

4 equivalent of express advocacy because it can be 

5 interpreted by a reasonable person only as ad6 vocating the election or defeat of a candidate, 

7 taking into account whether the communication 

8 involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, 

9 or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a posi10 tion on a candidate’s character, qualifications, 

11 or fitness for office; and’’. 

12 (b) UNIFORM 24-HOUR REPORTING FOR PERSONS

13 MAKING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES EXCEEDING

14 $10,000 AT ANY TIME.—Section 304(g) of such Act (2 

15 U.S.C. 434(g)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) and 

16 (2) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES EXCEED18 ING THRESHOLD AMOUNT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person (includ20 ing a political committee) that makes or con21 tracts to make independent expenditures in an 

22 aggregate amount equal to or greater than the 

23 threshold amount described in paragraph (2) 

24 shall file a report describing the expenditures 

25 within 24 hours. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per2 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the 

3 person shall file an additional report within 24 

4 hours after each time the person makes or con5 tracts to make independent expenditures in an 

6 aggregate amount equal to or greater than the 

7 threshold amount with respect to the same elec8 tion as that to which the initial report relates. 

9 ‘‘(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—In 

10 paragraph (1), the ‘threshold amount’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) during the period up to and including 

12 the 20th day before the date of an election, 

13 $10,000; or 

14 ‘‘(B) during the period after the 20th day, 

15 but more than 24 hours, before the date of an 

16 election, $1,000.’’. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

19 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contribu20 tions and expenditures made on or after the expira21 tion of the 30-day period which begins on the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, without regard to 

23 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has 

24 promulgated regulations to carry out such amend25 ments. 


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1 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The amend2 ment made by subsection (b) shall apply with re3 spect to reports required to be filed after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 202. ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS. 

6 (a) PERIOD DURING WHICH COMMUNICATIONS

7 TREATED AS ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS.— 

8 (1) EXPANSION OF PERIOD.—Section 

9 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Federal Election Cam10 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(3)(A)(i)(II)) is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(II) is made during the period 

13 beginning with the date that is 90 

14 days before the earliest of the primary 

15 election, preference election, or nomi16 nating convention with respect to the 

17 nomination for the office that the can18 didate is seeking and ending with the 

19 date of the general election for such 

20 office.’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION FOR COM22 MUNICATIONS MADE PRIOR TO ENACTMENT.—The 

23 amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with 

24 respect to communications made on or after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, without regard to 


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1 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has 

2 promulgated regulations to carry out such amend3 ments, except that no communication which is made 

4 prior to the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

5 be treated as an electioneering communication under 

6 section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Federal Election 

7 Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended by paragraph 

8 (1)) unless the communication would be treated as 

9 an electioneering communication under such section 

10 if the amendment made by paragraph (1) did not 

11 apply. 

12 (b) REQUIRING REPORTS TO INCLUDE INFORMATION

13 ON INTENDED TARGET OF COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

14 304(f)(2)(D) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(2)(D)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘and the names’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘, the names’’; and 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘, and (if applicable) a state19 ment regarding whether the communications are in20 tended to support or oppose such candidates’’ before 

21 the period at the end. 


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1 Subtitle B—Expanded Require2 ments for Corporations and 

3 Other Organizations 

4 SEC. 211. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE IN5 CLUDED IN REPORTS ON DISBURSEMENTS BY 

6 COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

7 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE REPORTS.—Sec8 tion 304(g) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

9 (2 U.S.C. 434(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA12 TION BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS MAKING PAY13 MENTS FOR PUBLIC INDEPENDENT EXPENDI14 TURES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If a 

16 covered organization makes or contracts to 

17 make public independent expenditures in an ag18 gregate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 

19 in a calendar year, the report filed by the orga20 nization under this subsection shall include, in 

21 addition to the information required under 

22 paragraph (3), the following information: 

23 ‘‘(i) If any person made a donation or 

24 payment to the covered organization dur25 ing the covered organization reporting peVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 riod which was provided for the purpose of 

2 being used for campaign-related activity or 

3 in response to a solicitation for funds to be 

4 used for campaign-related activity— 

5 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (C), 

6 the identification of each person who 

7 made such donations or payments in 

8 an aggregate amount equal to or ex9 ceeding $1,000 during such period, 

10 presented in the order of the aggre11 gate amount of donations or payments 

12 made by such persons during such pe13 riod (with the identification of the 

14 person making the largest donation or 

15 payment appearing first); and 

16 ‘‘(II) if any person identified 

17 under subclause (I) designated that 

18 the donation or payment be used for 

19 campaign-related activity with respect 

20 to a specific election or in support of 

21 a specific candidate, the name of the 

22 election or candidate involved, and if 

23 any such person designated that the 

24 donation or payment be used for a 


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1 specific public independent expendi2 ture, a description of the expenditure. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The identification of each person 

4 who made unrestricted donor payments to 

5 the organization during the covered organi6 zation reporting period— 

7 ‘‘(I) in an aggregate amount 

8 equal to or exceeding $1,000 during 

9 such period, if any of the disburse10 ments made by the organization for 

11 any of the public independent expendi12 tures which are covered by the report 

13 were not made from the organization’s 

14 Campaign-Related Activity Account 

15 under section 326; or 

16 ‘‘(II) in an aggregate amount 

17 equal to or exceeding $10,000 during 

18 such period, if the disbursements 

19 made by the organization for all of 

20 the public independent expenditures 

21 which are covered by the report were 

22 made exclusively from the organiza23 tion’s Campaign-Related Activity Ac24 count under section 326 (but only if 

25 the organization has made deposits 


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•S 3295 IS

1 described in subparagraph (D) of sec2 tion 326(a)(2) into that Account dur3 ing such period in an aggregate 

4 amount equal to or greater than 

5 $10,000), 

6 presented in the order of the aggregate 

7 amount of payments made by such persons 

8 during such period (with the identification 

9 of the person making the largest payment 

10 appearing first). 

11 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS MADE

12 TO OTHER PERSONS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

14 the requirement to file reports under this 

15 subsection (including the requirement 

16 under subparagraph (A) to include addi17 tional information in such reports), a cov18 ered organization which transfers amounts 

19 to another person for the purpose of mak20 ing a public independent expenditure by 

21 that person or by any other person, or (in 

22 accordance with clause (ii)) which is 

23 deemed to have transferred amounts to an24 other person for the purpose of making a 

25 public independent expenditure by that 


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•S 3295 IS

1 person or by any other person, shall be 

2 considered to have made a public inde3 pendent expenditure. 

4 ‘‘(ii) RULES FOR DEEMING TRANS5 FERS MADE FOR PURPOSE OF MAKING EX6 PENDITURES.—For purposes of clause (i), 

7 in determining whether a covered organiza8 tion or any other person who transfers 

9 amounts to another person shall be deemed 

10 to have transferred the amounts for the 

11 purpose of making a public independent 

12 expenditure, the following rules apply: 

13 ‘‘(I) The person shall be deemed 

14 to have transferred the amounts for 

15 the purpose of making a public inde16 pendent expenditure if— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the person making the 

18 public independent expenditure 

19 or another person acting on that 

20 person’s behalf solicited funding 

21 from the person or from the per22 son to whom the amounts were 

23 transferred for making any pub24 lic independent expenditures, 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the person and the 

2 person to whom the amounts 

3 were transferred engaged in sub4 stantial discussion (whether writ5 ten or verbal) regarding the mak6 ing of public independent expend7 itures, 

8 ‘‘(cc) the person or the per9 son to whom the amounts were 

10 transferred knew or should have 

11 known of the covered organiza12 tion’s intent to make public inde13 pendent expenditures, or 

14 ‘‘(dd) the person or the per15 son to whom the amounts were 

16 transferred made a public inde17 pendent expenditure during the 

18 election cycle involved or the pre19 vious election cycle (as defined in 

20 section 301(25)). 

21 ‘‘(II) The person shall not be 

22 deemed to have transferred the 

23 amounts for the purpose of making a 

24 public independent expenditure if the 

25 transfer was a commercial transaction 


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•S 3295 IS

1 occurring in the ordinary course of 

2 business between the person and the 

3 person to whom the amounts were 

4 transferred. 

5 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS DES6 IGNATED FOR OTHER CAMPAIGN-RELATED AC7 TIVITY.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), 

8 in determining the amount of a donation or 

9 payment made by a person which was provided 

10 for the purpose of being used for campaign-re11 lated activity or in response to a solicitation for 

12 funds to be used for campaign-related activity, 

13 there shall be excluded any amount which was 

14 designated by the person to be used— 

15 ‘‘(i) for campaign-related activity de16 scribed in clause (i) of section 

17 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to independent ex18 penditures) with respect to a different elec19 tion, or with respect to a candidate in a 

20 different election, than an election which is 

21 the subject of any of the public inde22 pendent expenditures covered by the report 

23 involved; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) for any campaign-related activity 

25 described in clause (ii) of section 


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•S 3295 IS

1 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to electioneering 

2 communications). 

3 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS PAID FROM

4 SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND.—In deter5 mining the amount of public independent ex6 penditures made by a covered organization for 

7 purposes of this paragraph, there shall be ex8 cluded any amounts paid from a separate seg9 regated fund established and administered by 

10 the organization under section 316(b)(2)(C). 

11 ‘‘(E) COVERED ORGANIZATION REPORTING

12 PERIOD DESCRIBED.—In this paragraph, the 

13 ‘covered organization reporting period’ is, with 

14 respect to a report filed by a covered organiza15 tion under this subsection— 

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of the first report filed 

17 by a covered organization under this sub18 section which includes information required 

19 under this paragraph, the shorter of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the period which begins on 

21 the effective date of the Democracy Is 

22 Strengthened by Casting Light On 

23 Spending in Elections Act and ends 

24 on the last day covered by the report, 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the 12-month period ending 

2 on the last day covered by the report; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any subsequent re5 port filed by a covered organization under 

6 this subsection which includes information 

7 required under this paragraph, the period 

8 occurring since the most recent report filed 

9 by the organization which includes such in10 formation. 

11 ‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

12 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘covered organization’, 

13 ‘campaign-related activity’, and ‘unre14 stricted donor payment’ have the meaning 

15 given such terms in section 325; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘public independent ex17 penditure’ means an independent expendi18 ture for a public communication (as de19 fined in section 301(22)).’’. 

20 (b) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION REPORTS.— 

21 Section 304(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

23 paragraphs (7) and (8); and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the end the 

25 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) DISCLOSURE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA2 TION BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If a 

4 covered organization files a statement under 

5 this subsection, the statement shall include, in 

6 addition to the information required under 

7 paragraph (2), the following information: 

8 ‘‘(i) If any person made a donation or 

9 payment to the covered organization dur10 ing the covered organization reporting pe11 riod which was provided for the purpose of 

12 being used for campaign-related activity or 

13 in response to a solicitation for funds to be 

14 used for campaign-related activity— 

15 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (C), 

16 the identification of each person who 

17 made such donations or payments in 

18 an aggregate amount equal to or ex19 ceeding $1,000 during such period, 

20 presented in the order of the aggre21 gate amount of donations or payments 

22 made by such persons during such pe23 riod (with the identification of the 

24 person making the largest donation or 

25 payment appearing first); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) if any person identified 

2 under subclause (I) designated that 

3 the donation or payment be used for 

4 campaign-related activity with respect 

5 to a specific election or in support of 

6 a specific candidate, the name of the 

7 election or candidate involved, and if 

8 any such person designated that the 

9 donation or payment be used for a 

10 specific electioneering communication, 

11 a description of the communication. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The identification of each person 

13 who made unrestricted donor payments to 

14 the organization during the covered organi15 zation reporting period— 

16 ‘‘(I) in an aggregate amount 

17 equal to or exceeding $1,000 during 

18 such period, if any of the disburse19 ments made by the organization for 

20 any of the electioneering communica21 tions which are covered by the state22 ment were not made from the organi23 zation’s Campaign-Related Activity 

24 Account under section 326; or 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(II) in an aggregate amount 

2 equal to or exceeding $10,000 during 

3 such period, if the disbursements 

4 made by the organization for all of 

5 the electioneering communications 

6 which are covered by the statement 

7 were made exclusively from the orga8 nization’s Campaign-Related Activity 

9 Account under section 326 (but only 

10 if the organization has made deposits 

11 described in subparagraph (D) of sec12 tion 326(a)(2) into that Account dur13 ing such period in an aggregate 

14 amount equal to or greater than 

15 $10,000), 

16 presented in the order of the aggregate 

17 amount of payments made by such persons 

18 during such period (with the identification 

19 of the person making the largest payment 

20 appearing first). 

21 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS MADE

22 TO OTHER PERSONS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

24 the requirement to file statements under 

25 this subsection (including the requirement 


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•S 3295 IS

1 under subparagraph (A) to include addi2 tional information in such statements), a 

3 covered organization which transfers 

4 amounts to another person for the purpose 

5 of making an electioneering communication 

6 by that person or by any other person, or 

7 (in accordance with clause (ii)) which is 

8 deemed to have transferred amounts to an9 other person for the purpose of making an 

10 electioneering communication by that per11 son or by any other person, shall be con12 sidered to have made a disbursement for 

13 an electioneering communication. 

14 ‘‘(ii) RULES FOR DEEMING TRANS15 FERS MADE FOR PURPOSE OF MAKING

16 COMMUNICATIONS.—For purposes of 

17 clause (i), in determining whether a cov18 ered organization or any other person who 

19 transfers amounts to another person shall 

20 be deemed to have transferred the amounts 

21 for the purpose of making an election22 eering communication, the following rules 

23 apply: 

24 ‘‘(I) The person shall be deemed 

25 to have transferred the amounts for 


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•S 3295 IS

1 the purpose of making an election2 eering communication if— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the person making the 

4 public independent expenditure 

5 or another person acting on that 

6 person’s behalf solicited funding 

7 from the person or from the per8 son to whom the amounts were 

9 transferred for making any elec10 tioneering communications, 

11 ‘‘(bb) the person and the 

12 person to whom the amounts 

13 were transferred engaged in sub14 stantial discussion (whether writ15 ten or verbal) regarding the mak16 ing of electioneering communica17 tions, 

18 ‘‘(cc) the person or the per19 son to whom the amounts were 

20 transferred knew or should have 

21 known of the covered organiza22 tion’s intent to make election23 eering communications, or 

24 ‘‘(dd) the person or the per25 son to whom the amounts were 


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•S 3295 IS

1 transferred made an election2 eering communication during the 

3 election cycle involved or the pre4 vious election cycle (as defined in 

5 section 301(25)). 

6 ‘‘(II) The person shall not be 

7 considered to have transferred the 

8 amounts for the purpose of making an 

9 electioneering communication if the 

10 transfer was a commercial transaction 

11 occurring in the ordinary course of 

12 business between the person and the 

13 person to whom the amounts were 

14 transferred. 

15 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS DES16 IGNATED FOR OTHER CAMPAIGN-RELATED AC17 TIVITY.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), 

18 in determining the amount of a donation or 

19 payment made by a person which was provided 

20 for the purpose of being used for campaign-re21 lated activity or in response to a solicitation for 

22 funds to be used for campaign-related activity, 

23 there shall be excluded any amount which was 

24 designated by the person to be used— 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(i) for campaign-related activity de2 scribed in clause (ii) of section 

3 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to electioneering 

4 communications) with respect to a dif5 ferent election, or with respect to a can6 didate in a different election, than an elec7 tion which is the subject of any of the elec8 tioneering communications covered by the 

9 statement involved; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) for any campaign-related activity 

11 described in clause (i) of section 

12 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to independent ex13 penditures consisting of a public commu14 nication). 

15 ‘‘(D) COVERED ORGANIZATION REPORTING

16 PERIOD DESCRIBED.—In this paragraph, the 

17 ‘covered organization reporting period’ is, with 

18 respect to a statement filed by a covered orga19 nization under this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(i) in the case of the first statement 

21 filed by a covered organization under this 

22 subsection which includes information re23 quired under this paragraph, the shorter 

24 of— 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the period which begins on 

2 the effective date of the Democracy Is 

3 Strengthened by Casting Light On 

4 Spending in Elections Act and ends 

5 on the disclosure date for the state6 ment, or 

7 ‘‘(II) the 12-month period ending 

8 on the disclosure date for the state9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any subsequent 

11 statement filed by a covered organization 

12 under this subsection which includes infor13 mation required under this paragraph, the 

14 period occurring since the most recent 

15 statement filed by the organization which 

16 includes such information. 

17 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, 

18 the terms ‘covered organization’, ‘campaign-re19 lated activity’, and ‘unrestricted donor payment’ 

20 have the meaning given such terms in section 

21 325.’’. 


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•S 3295 IS

1 SEC. 212. RULES REGARDING USE OF GENERAL TREASURY 

2 FUNDS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR 

3 CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

4 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 325. SPECIAL RULES FOR USE OF GENERAL TREAS8 URY FUNDS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS 

9 FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

10 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED AC11 TIVITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any applicable 

13 restrictions and prohibitions under this Act, a cov14 ered organization may make disbursements for cam15 paign-related activity using— 

16 ‘‘(A) amounts paid or donated to the orga17 nization which are designated by the person 

18 providing the amounts to be used for campaign19 related activity; 

20 ‘‘(B) unrestricted donor payments made to 

21 the organization; and 

22 ‘‘(C) other funds of the organization, in23 cluding amounts received pursuant to commer24 cial activities in the regular course of a covered 

25 organization’s business. 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON USE OF SEPARATE SEG2 REGATED FUND.—Nothing in this section shall be 

3 construed to affect the authority of a covered organi4 zation to make disbursements from a separate seg5 regated fund established and administered by the or6 ganization under section 316(b)(2)(C). 

7 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CAM8 PAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION AFTER RECEIVING NOTIFI10 CATION BY DONOR TO NOT USE FUNDS FOR ACTIV11 ITY.—If any person who makes a donation, pay12 ment, or transfer to a covered organization (other 

13 than the covered organization) notifies the organiza14 tion in writing (at the time of making the donation, 

15 payment, or transfer) that the organization may not 

16 use the donation, payment, or transfer for cam17 paign-related activity, not later than 7 days after the 

18 organization receives the donation, payment, or 

19 transfer the organization shall transmit to the per20 son a written certification by the chief financial offi21 cer of the covered organization (or, if the organiza22 tion does not have a chief financial officer, the high23 est ranking financial official of the organization), 

24 under penalty of perjury, that— 


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•S 3295 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the organization will not use the do2 nation, payment, or transfer for campaign-re3 lated activity; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the organization will not include any 

5 information on the person in any report filed by 

6 the organization under section 304 with respect 

7 to independent expenditures or electioneering 

8 communications, so that the person will not be 

9 required to appear in a significant funder state10 ment or a Top 5 Funders list under section 

11 318(e). 

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS MADE PURSU13 ANT TO COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph (1) 

14 does not apply with respect to any payment or trans15 fer made pursuant to commercial activities in the 

16 regular course of a covered organization’s business. 

17 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISBURSEMENTS

18 FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION BY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF20 FICER.—If, at any time during a calendar quarter, 

21 a covered organization makes a disbursement of 

22 funds for campaign-related activity using funds de23 scribed in subsection (a)(1), the chief executive offi24 cer of the covered organization (or, if the organiza25 tion does not have a chief executive officer, the highVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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•S 3295 IS

1 est ranking official of the organization), under pen2 alty of perjury, shall file a statement with the Com3 mission which contains the following certifications: 

4 ‘‘(A) None of the campaign-related activity 

5 for which the organization disbursed the funds 

6 during the quarter was made in cooperation, 

7 consultation, or concert with, or at the request 

8 or suggestion of, any candidate or any author9 ized committee or agent of such candidate, or 

10 political committee of a political party or agent 

11 of any political party. 

12 ‘‘(B) The chief executive officer or highest 

13 ranking official of the covered organization (as 

14 the case may be) has reviewed and approved 

15 each statement and report filed by the organi16 zation under section 304 with respect to any 

17 such disbursement made during the quarter. 

18 ‘‘(C) Each statement and report filed by 

19 the organization under section 304 with respect 

20 to any such disbursement made during the 

21 quarter is complete and accurate and does not 

22 contain an untrue statement of a material fact. 

23 ‘‘(D) All such disbursements made during 

24 the quarter are in compliance with this Act and 

25 all other applicable Federal laws. 


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1 ‘‘(E) No portion of the amounts used to 

2 make any such disbursements during the quar3 ter is attributable to funds received by the orga4 nization that were restricted by the person who 

5 provided the funds from being used for cam6 paign-related activity pursuant to subsection 

7 (b). 

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC FILING

9 RULES.—Section 304(d)(1) shall apply with respect 

10 to a statement required under this subsection in the 

11 same manner as such section applies with respect to 

12 a statement under subsection (c) or (g) of section 

13 304. 

14 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The chief executive officer or 

15 highest ranking official of a covered organization (as 

16 the case may be) shall file the statement required 

17 under this subsection with respect to a calendar 

18 quarter not later than 15 days after the end of the 

19 quarter. 

20 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

21 following definitions apply: 

22 ‘‘(1) COVERED ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘cov23 ered organization’ means any of the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) Any corporation which is subject to 

25 section 316(a). 


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1 ‘‘(B) Any labor organization (as defined in 

2 section 316). 

3 ‘‘(C) Any organization described in para4 graph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

6 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code. 

7 ‘‘(D) Any political organization under sec8 tion 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

9 other than a political committee under this Act. 

10 ‘‘(2) CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘campaign12 related activity’ means— 

13 ‘‘(i) an independent expenditure con14 sisting of a public communication (as de15 fined in section 301(22)), a transfer of 

16 funds to another person for the purpose of 

17 making such an independent expenditure 

18 by that person or by any other person, or 

19 (in accordance with subparagraph (B)) a 

20 transfer of funds to another person which 

21 is deemed to have been made for the pur22 pose of making such an independent ex23 penditure by that person or by any other 

24 person; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an electioneering communication, 

2 a transfer of funds to another person for 

3 the purpose of making an electioneering 

4 communication by that person or by any 

5 other person, or (in accordance with sub6 paragraph (B)) a transfer of funds to an7 other person which is deemed to have been 

8 made for the purpose of making an elec9 tioneering communication by that person 

10 or by any other person. 

11 ‘‘(B) RULE FOR DEEMING TRANSFERS

12 MADE FOR PURPOSE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED

13 ACTIVITY.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), 

14 in determining whether a transfer of funds by 

15 one person to another person shall be deemed 

16 to have been made for the purpose of making 

17 an independent expenditure consisting of a pub18 lic communication or an electioneering commu19 nication, the following rules apply: 

20 ‘‘(i) The transfer shall be deemed to 

21 have been made for the purpose of making 

22 such an independent expenditure or an 

23 electioneering communication if— 

24 ‘‘(I) the person making the inde25 pendent expenditure or electioneering 


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1 communication or another person act2 ing on that person’s behalf solicited 

3 funding from the person or from the 

4 person to whom the amounts were 

5 transferred for the purpose of making 

6 any such independent expenditures or 

7 electioneering communications, 

8 ‘‘(II) the person and the person 

9 to whom the amounts were trans10 ferred engaged in substantial discus11 sion (whether written or verbal) re12 garding the making of such inde13 pendent expenditures or electioneering 

14 communications, 

15 ‘‘(III) the person or the person to 

16 whom the amounts were transferred 

17 knew or should have known of the 

18 covered organization’s intent to dis19 burse funds for campaign-related ac20 tivity, or 

21 ‘‘(IV) the person or the person to 

22 whom the amounts were transferred 

23 made such an independent expendi24 ture or electioneering communication 

25 during the election cycle involved or 


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•S 3295 IS

1 the previous election cycle (as defined 

2 in section 301(25)). 

3 ‘‘(ii) The transfer shall not be deemed 

4 to have been made for the purpose of mak5 ing such an independent expenditure or an 

6 electioneering communication if the trans7 fer was a commercial transaction occurring 

8 in the ordinary course of business between 

9 the person and the person to whom the 

10 amounts were transferred. 

11 ‘‘(3) UNRESTRICTED DONOR PAYMENT.—The 

12 term ‘unrestricted donor payment’ means a payment 

13 to a covered organization which consists of a dona14 tion or payment from a person other than the cov15 ered organization, except that such term does not in16 clude— 

17 ‘‘(A) any payment made pursuant to com18 mercial activities in the regular course of a cov19 ered organization’s business; 

20 ‘‘(B) any donation or payment which is 

21 designated by the person making the donation 

22 or payment to be used for campaign-related ac23 tivity or made in response to a solicitation for 

24 funds to be used for campaign-related activity; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(C) any donation or payment made by a 

2 person who notifies the organization in writing 

3 (at the time of making the payment) that the 

4 organization may not use the donation or pay5 ment for campaign-related activity.’’. 

6 SEC. 213. OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT BY COV7 ERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR CAMPAIGN-RE8 LATED ACTIVITY. 

9 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

10 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 212, 

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

12 section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 326. OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT BY COV14 ERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR CAMPAIGN-RE15 LATED ACTIVITY. 

16 ‘‘(a) OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At its option, a cov19 ered organization described in section 325 may 

20 make disbursements for campaign-related activ21 ity using amounts from a bank account estab22 lished and controlled by the organization to be 

23 known as the Campaign-Related Activity Ac24 count (hereafter in this section referred to as 

25 the ‘Account’), which shall be maintained sepaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 rately from all other accounts of the organiza2 tion and which shall consist exclusively of the 

3 deposits described in paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY USE OF ACCOUNT

5 AFTER ESTABLISHMENT.—If a covered organi6 zation establishes an Account under this sec7 tion, it may not make disbursements for cam8 paign-related activity from any source other 

9 than amounts from the Account. 

10 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIVE USE OF ACCOUNT FOR

11 CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.—Amounts in 

12 the Account shall be used exclusively for dis13 bursements by the covered organization for 

14 campaign-related activity. After such disburse15 ments are made, information with respect to de16 posits made to the Account shall be disclosed in 

17 accordance with section 304(g)(5) or section 

18 304(f)(6). 

19 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS DESCRIBED.—The deposits de20 scribed in this paragraph are deposits of the fol21 lowing amounts: 

22 ‘‘(A) Amounts donated or paid to the cov23 ered organization by a person other than the 

24 organization for the purpose of being used for 

25 campaign-related activity, and for which the 


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1 person providing the amounts has designated 

2 that the amounts be used for campaign-related 

3 activity with respect to a specific election or 

4 specific candidate. 

5 ‘‘(B) Amounts donated or paid to the cov6 ered organization by a person other than the 

7 organization for the purpose of being used for 

8 campaign-related activity, and for which the 

9 person providing the amounts has not des10 ignated that the amounts be used for campaign11 related activity with respect to a specific elec12 tion or specific candidate. 

13 ‘‘(C) Amounts donated or paid to the cov14 ered organization by a person other than the 

15 organization in response to a solicitation for 

16 funds to be used for campaign-related activity. 

17 ‘‘(D) Amounts transferred to the Account 

18 by the covered organization from other accounts 

19 of the organization, including from the organi20 zation’s general treasury funds. 

21 ‘‘(3) NO TREATMENT AS POLITICAL COM22 MITTEE.—The establishment and administration of 

23 an Account in accordance with this subsection shall 

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1 ministration of a political committee for any purpose 

2 of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS OTHERWISE AVAIL4 ABLE FOR ACCOUNT IN RESPONSE TO DEMAND OF GEN5 ERAL DONORS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a covered organization 

7 which has established an Account obtains any reve8 nues during a year which are attributable to a dona9 tion or payment from a person other than the cov10 ered organization, and if any person who makes 

11 such a donation or payment to the organization noti12 fies the organization in writing (at the time of mak13 ing the donation or payment) that the organization 

14 may not use the donation or payment for campaign15 related activity, the organization shall reduce the 

16 amount of its revenues available for deposits to the 

17 Account which are described in subsection (a)(3)(D) 

18 during the year by the amount of the donation or 

19 payment. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not 

21 apply with respect to any payment made pursuant to 

22 commercial activities in the regular course of a cov23 ered organization’s business. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘cam2 paign-related activity’ and ‘covered organization’ have the 

3 meaning given such terms in section 325.’’. 

4 SEC. 214. MODIFICATION OF RULES RELATING TO DIS5 CLAIMER STATEMENTS REQUIRED FOR CER6 TAIN COMMUNICATIONS. 

7 (a) APPLYING REQUIREMENTS TO ALL INDE8 PENDENT EXPENDITURE COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

9 318(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

10 U.S.C. 441d(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for the purpose 

11 of financing communications expressly advocating the 

12 election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘for an independent expenditure consisting of a 

14 public communication’’. 

15 (b) STAND BY YOUR AD REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (1) MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING REQUIRE17 MENTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS BY POLITICAL PAR18 TIES AND OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 

19 318(d)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d(d)(2)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘subsection (a) which is paid for by a 


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1 political committee (including a political com2 mittee of a political party)’’; and 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each 

4 place it appears. 

5 (2) SPECIAL DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

6 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of such 

7 Act (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS BY OTHERS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any communication de11 scribed in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) which is 

12 transmitted through radio or television (other than 

13 a communication to which subsection (d)(2) applies 

14 because the communication is paid for by a political 

15 committee, including a political committee of a polit16 ical party) shall include, in addition to the require17 ments of that paragraph, the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

19 described in paragraph (2) (if the person pay20 ing for the communication is an individual) or 

21 the organizational disclosure statement de22 scribed in paragraph (3) (if the person paying 

23 for the communication is not an individual). 

24 ‘‘(B) If the communication is an election25 eering communication or an independent exVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 penditure consisting of a public communication 

2 and is paid for in whole or in part with a pay3 ment which is treated as a disbursement by a 

4 covered organization for campaign-related activ5 ity under section 325, the significant funder 

6 disclosure statement described in paragraph (4) 

7 (if applicable). 

8 ‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 

9 through television and is an electioneering com10 munication or an independent expenditure con11 sisting of a public communication and is paid 

12 for in whole or in part with a payment which 

13 is treated as a disbursement by a covered orga14 nization for campaign-related activity under 

15 section 325, the Top Five Funders list de16 scribed in paragraph (5) (if applicable), unless, 

17 on the basis of criteria established in regula18 tions promulgated by the Commission, the com19 munication is of such short duration that in20 cluding the Top Five Funders list in the com21 munication would constitute a hardship to the 

22 person paying for the communication by requir23 ing a disproportionate amount of the commu24 nication’s content to consist of the Top Five 

25 Funders list. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT DE2 SCRIBED.—The individual disclosure statement de3 scribed in this paragraph is the following: ‘I am 

4 lllllll, and I approve this message.’, with 

5 the blank filled in with the name of the applicable 

6 individual. 

7 ‘‘(3) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE STATE8 MENT DESCRIBED.—The organizational disclosure 

9 statement described in this paragraph is the fol10 lowing: ‘I am lllllll, the lllllll 

11 of lllllll, and lllllll approves 

12 this message.’, with— 

13 ‘‘(A) the first blank to be filled in with the 

14 name of the applicable individual; 

15 ‘‘(B) the second blank to be filled in with 

16 the title of the applicable individual; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the third and fourth blank each to be 

18 filled in with the name of the organization or 

19 other person paying for the communication. 

20 ‘‘(4) SIGNIFICANT FUNDER DISCLOSURE STATE21 MENT DESCRIBED.— 

22 ‘‘(A) STATEMENT IF SIGNIFICANT FUNDER

23 IS AN INDIVIDUAL.—If the significant funder of 

24 a communication paid for in whole or in part 

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1 ment by a covered organization for campaign2 related activity under section 325 is an indi3 vidual, the significant funder disclosure state4 ment described in this paragraph is the fol5 lowing: ‘I am lllllll. I helped to pay 

6 for this message, and I approve it.’, with the 

7 blank filled in with the name of the applicable 

8 individual. 

9 ‘‘(B) STATEMENT IF SIGNIFICANT FUNDER

10 IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL.—If the significant 

11 funder of a communication paid for in whole or 

12 in part with a payment which is treated as a 

13 disbursement by a covered organization for 

14 campaign-related activity under section 325 is 

15 not an individual, the significant funder disclo16 sure statement described in this paragraph is 

17 the following: ‘I am lllllll, the 

18 lllllll of lllllll. 

19 lllllll helped to pay for this mes20 sage, and lllllll approves it.’, with— 

21 ‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 

22 the name of the applicable individual; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 

24 with the title of the applicable individual; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the third, fourth, and fifth blank 

2 each to be filled in with the name of the 

3 significant funder of the communication. 

4 ‘‘(C) SIGNIFICANT FUNDER DEFINED.— 

5 ‘‘(i) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.— 

6 For purposes of this paragraph, the ‘sig7 nificant funder’ with respect to an inde8 pendent expenditure consisting of a public 

9 communication paid for in whole or in part 

10 with a payment which is treated as a dis11 bursement by a covered organization for 

12 campaign-related activity under section 

13 325 shall be determined as follows: 

14 ‘‘(I) If any report filed by any or15 ganization with respect to the inde16 pendent expenditure under section 

17 304 includes information on any per18 son who made a payment to the orga19 nization in an amount equal to or ex20 ceeding $100,000 which was des21 ignated by the person to be used for 

22 campaign-related activity consisting of 

23 that specific independent expenditure 

24 (as required to be included in the re25 port under section 304(g)(5)(A)(i)), 


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1 the person who is identified among all 

2 such reports as making the largest 

3 such payment. 

4 ‘‘(II) If any report filed by any 

5 organization with respect to the inde6 pendent expenditure under section 

7 304 includes information on any per8 son who made a payment to the orga9 nization in an amount equal to or ex10 ceeding $100,000 which was des11 ignated by the person to be used for 

12 campaign-related activity with respect 

13 to the same election or in support of 

14 the same candidate (as required to be 

15 included in the report under section 

16 304(g)(5)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) 

17 does not apply, the person who is 

18 identified among all such reports as 

19 making the largest such payment. 

20 ‘‘(III) If any report filed by any 

21 organization with respect to the inde22 pendent expenditure under section 

23 304 includes information on any per24 son who made a payment to the orga25 nization which was provided for the 


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1 purpose of being used for campaign2 related activity or in response to a so3 licitation for funds to be used for 

4 campaign-related activity (as required 

5 to be included in the report under sec6 tion 304(g)(5)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) 

7 or subclause (II) does not apply, the 

8 person who is identified among all 

9 such reports as making the largest 

10 such payment. 

11 ‘‘(IV) If none of the reports filed 

12 by any organization with respect to 

13 the independent expenditure under 

14 section 304 includes information on 

15 any person (other than the organiza16 tion) who made a payment to the or17 ganization which was provided for the 

18 purpose of being used for campaign19 related activity or in response to a so20 licitation for funds to be used for 

21 campaign-related activity, but any of 

22 such reports includes information on 

23 any person who made an unrestricted 

24 donor payment to the organization (as 

25 required to be included in the report 


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1 under section 304(g)(5)(A)(ii)), the 

2 person who is identified among all 

3 such reports as making the largest 

4 such unrestricted donor payment. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA6 TIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, 

7 the ‘significant funder’ with respect to an 

8 electioneering communication paid for in 

9 whole or in part with a payment which is 

10 treated as a disbursement by a covered or11 ganization for campaign-related activity 

12 under section 325, shall be determined as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(I) If any report filed by any or15 ganization with respect to the elec16 tioneering communication under sec17 tion 304 includes information on any 

18 person who made a payment to the 

19 organization in an amount equal to or 

20 exceeding $100,000 which was des21 ignated by the person to be used for 

22 campaign-related activity consisting of 

23 that specific electioneering commu24 nication (as required to be included in 

25 the report under section 


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•S 3295 IS

1 304(f)(6)(A)(i)), the person who is 

2 identified among all such reports as 

3 making the largest such payment. 

4 ‘‘(II) If any report filed by any 

5 organization with respect to the elec6 tioneering communication under sec7 tion 304 includes information on any 

8 person who made a payment to the 

9 organization in an amount equal to or 

10 exceeding $100,000 which was des11 ignated by the person to be used for 

12 campaign-related activity with respect 

13 to the same election or in support of 

14 the same candidate (as required to be 

15 included in the report under section 

16 304(f)(6)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) 

17 does not apply, the person who is 

18 identified among all such reports as 

19 making the largest such payment. 

20 ‘‘(III) If any report filed by any 

21 organization with respect to the elec22 tioneering communication under sec23 tion 304 includes information on any 

24 person who made a payment to the 

25 organization which was provided for 


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1 the purpose of being used for cam2 paign-related activity or in response to 

3 a solicitation for funds to be used for 

4 campaign-related activity (as required 

5 to be included in the report under sec6 tion 304(f)(6)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) 

7 or subclause (II) does not apply, the 

8 person who is identified among all 

9 such reports as making the largest 

10 such payment. 

11 ‘‘(IV) If none of the reports filed 

12 by any organization with respect to 

13 the electioneering communication 

14 under section 304 includes informa15 tion on any person who made a pay16 ment to the organization which was 

17 provided for the purpose of being used 

18 for campaign-related activity or in re19 sponse to a solicitation for funds to be 

20 used for campaign-related activity, but 

21 any of such reports includes informa22 tion on any person who made an unre23 stricted donor payment to the organi24 zation (as required to be included in 

25 the report under section 


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1 304(f)(6)(A)(ii)), the person who is 

2 identified among all such reports as 

3 making the largest such unrestricted 

4 donor payment. 

5 ‘‘(5) TOP 5 FUNDERS LIST DESCRIBED.—With 

6 respect to a communication paid for in whole or in 

7 part with a payment which is treated as a disburse8 ment by a covered organization for campaign-related 

9 activity under section 325, the Top 5 Funders list 

10 described in this paragraph is— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of a disbursement for an 

12 independent expenditure consisting of a public 

13 communication, a list of the 5 persons who pro14 vided the largest payments of any type which 

15 are required under section 304(g)(5)(A) to be 

16 included in the reports filed by any organization 

17 with respect to that independent expenditure 

18 under section 304, together with the amount of 

19 the payments each such person provided; or 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a disbursement for an 

21 electioneering communication, a list of the 5 

22 persons who provided the largest payments of 

23 any type which are required under section 

24 304(f)(6)(A) to be included in the reports filed 

25 by any organization with respect to that elecVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 tioneering communication under section 304, 

2 together with the amount of the payments each 

3 such person provided. 

4 ‘‘(6) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE5 MENT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

7 THROUGH RADIO.—In the case of a communica8 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

9 transmitted through radio, the disclosure state10 ments required under paragraph (1) shall be 

11 made by audio by the applicable individual in a 

12 clearly spoken manner. 

13 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

14 THROUGH TELEVISION.—In the case of a com15 munication to which this subsection applies 

16 which is transmitted through television, the in17 formation required under paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 

19 of the communication in a clearly readable 

20 manner, with a reasonable degree of color 

21 contrast between the background and the 

22 printed statement, for a period of at least 

23 6 seconds; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a Top 5 

25 Funders list described in paragraph (5), 


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1 shall also be conveyed by an unobscured, 

2 full-screen view of the applicable indi3 vidual, or by the applicable individual mak4 ing the statement in voice-over accom5 panied by a clearly identifiable photograph 

6 or similar image of the individual. 

7 ‘‘(7) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In 

8 this subsection, the term ‘applicable individual’ 

9 means, with respect to a communication to which 

10 this paragraph applies— 

11 ‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 

12 an individual or if the significant funder of the 

13 communication under paragraph (4) is an indi14 vidual, the individual involved; 

15 ‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 

16 corporation or if the significant funder of the 

17 communication under paragraph (4) is a cor18 poration, the chief executive officer of the cor19 poration (or, if the corporation does not have a 

20 chief executive officer, the highest ranking offi21 cial of the corporation); 

22 ‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 

23 labor organization or if the significant funder of 

24 the communication under paragraph (4) is a 


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•S 3295 IS

1 labor organization, the highest ranking officer 

2 of the labor organization; or 

3 ‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 

4 any other person or if the significant funder of 

5 the communication under paragraph (4) is any 

6 other person, the highest ranking official of 

7 such person. 

8 ‘‘(8) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, 

9 the terms ‘campaign-related activity’, ‘covered orga10 nization’, and ‘unrestricted donor payment’ have the 

11 meaning given such terms in section 325.’’. 

12 Subtitle C—Reporting Require13 ments for Registered Lobbyists 

14 SEC. 221. REQUIRING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO REPORT 

15 INFORMATION ON INDEPENDENT EXPENDI16 TURES AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA17 TIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(d)(1) of the Lobbying 

19 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)) is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara22 graph (F); 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub24 paragraph (I); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol2 lowing new subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(G) the amount of any independent ex4 penditure (as defined in section 301(17) of the 

5 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

6 U.S.C. 431(17)) equal to or greater than 

7 $1,000 made by such person or organization, 

8 and for each such expenditure the name of each 

9 candidate being supported or opposed and the 

10 amount spent supporting or opposing each such 

11 candidate; 

12 ‘‘(H) the amount of any electioneering 

13 communication (as defined in section 304(f)(3) 

14 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(3)) equal to or 

15 greater than $1,000 made by such person or or16 ganization, and for each such communication 

17 the name of the candidate referred to in the 

18 communication and whether the communication 

19 involved was in support of or in opposition to 

20 the candidate; and’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply with respect to reports for semi23 annual periods described in section 5(d)(1) of the Lob24 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 that begin after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle D—Filing by Senate 

2 Candidates With Commission 

3 SEC. 231. FILING BY SENATE CANDIDATES WITH COMMIS4 SION. 

5 Section 302(g) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(g)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(g) FILING WITH THE COMMISSION.—All des8 ignations, statements, and reports required to be 

9 filed under this Act shall be filed with the Commis10 sion.’’. 

11 TITLE III—DISCLOSURE BY COV12 ERED ORGANIZATIONS OF IN13 FORMATION ON CAMPAIGN14 RELATED ACTIVITY 

15 SEC. 301. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE BY COVERED ORGANI16 ZATIONS OF INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN17 RELATED ACTIVITY. 

18 Section 325 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

19 of 1971, as added by section 212, is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

21 subsections (e) and (f); and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol23 lowing new subsections: 


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1 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURES TO SHAREHOLDERS, MEMBERS, 

2 AND DONORS OF INFORMATION ON DISBURSEMENTS FOR

3 CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) INCLUDING INFORMATION IN REGULAR

5 PERIODIC REPORTS.—A covered organization which 

6 submits regular, periodic reports to its shareholders, 

7 members, or donors on its finances or activities shall 

8 include in each such report the information de9 scribed in paragraph (2) with respect to the dis10 bursements made by the organization for campaign11 related activity during the period covered by the re12 port. 

13 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa14 tion described in this paragraph is, for each dis15 bursement for campaign-related activity— 

16 ‘‘(A) the date of the independent expendi17 ture or electioneering communication involved; 

18 ‘‘(B) the amount of the independent ex19 penditure or electioneering communication in20 volved; 

21 ‘‘(C) the name of the candidate identified 

22 in the independent expenditure or electioneering 

23 communication involved, the office sought by 

24 the candidate, and (if applicable) whether the 

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1 munication involved was in support of or in op2 position to the candidate; 

3 ‘‘(D) in the case of a transfer of funds to 

4 another person, the information required by 

5 subparagraphs (A) through (C), as well as the 

6 name of the recipient of the funds and the date 

7 and amount of the funds transferred; 

8 ‘‘(E) the source of such funds; and 

9 ‘‘(F) such other information as the Com10 mission determines is appropriate to further the 

11 purposes of this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DISSEMINATION OF CERTAIN INFORMA13 TION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION INCLUDED IN REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) REQUIRING DISSEMINATION.—If a 

16 covered organization maintains an Internet site, 

17 the organization shall post on such Internet 

18 site, in a machine-readable, searchable, sortable, 

19 and downloadable manner and through a direct 

20 link from the homepage of the organization, the 

21 following information: 

22 ‘‘(i) The information the organization 

23 is required to report under section 

24 304(g)(5)(A) with respect to public inde25 pendent expenditures. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The information the organization 

2 is required to include in a statement of dis3 bursements for electioneering communica4 tions under section 304(f)(6). 

5 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE; DURATION OF POST6 ING.—The covered organization shall post the 

7 information described in subparagraph (A) not 

8 later than 24 hours after the organization files 

9 the information with the Commission under the 

10 applicable provision of this Act, and shall en11 sure that the information remains on the 

12 website until the expiration of the 1-year period 

13 which begins on the date of the election with re14 spect to which the public independent expendi15 tures or electioneering communications are 

16 made. 

17 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION ON BREAKDOWN OF DIS18 BURSEMENTS AMONG TYPES OF RECIPIENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) REQUIRING DISSEMINATION.—If a 

20 covered organization maintains an Internet site, 

21 the organization shall post on such Internet 

22 site, in a machine-readable, searchable, sortable, 

23 and downloadable manner and through a direct 

24 link from the homepage of the organization, the 

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1 gate amount of disbursements made by the or2 ganization for campaign-related activity during 

3 a calendar year: 

4 ‘‘(i) A breakdown by political party of 

5 the total amount disbursed in support of 

6 and in opposition to candidates of each po7 litical party. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The total amount disbursed in 

9 support of or opposition to— 

10 ‘‘(I) incumbent candidates; 

11 ‘‘(II) candidates challenging in12 cumbent candidates; and 

13 ‘‘(III) candidates for election to 

14 an office for which no incumbent is 

15 seeking re-election. 

16 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE; DURATION OF POST17 ING.—A covered organization shall post the in18 formation described in subparagraph (A) with 

19 respect to a calendar year not later than the 

20 first January 31 which follows that calendar 

21 year, and shall ensure that the information re22 mains on the website until the end of the cal23 endar year in which the information is posted.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—TELEVISION MEDIA 

2 RATES 

3 SEC. 401. TELEVISION MEDIA RATES. 

4 (a) APPLICATION OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES RE5 QUIREMENT AND PROHIBITION OF CENSORSHIP TO CAN6 DIDATE AND NATIONAL COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PAR7 TIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The matter preceding para9 graph (1) of section 315(a) of the Communications 

10 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(a)) is amended to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If any licensee shall permit any 

13 person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public 

14 office or any national committee of a political party in con15 nection with a campaign of a legally qualified candidate 

16 for Federal office to use a broadcasting station, the li17 censee shall afford equal opportunities in the use of such 

18 broadcasting station to all other such candidates for that 

19 office or national committees of political parties in connec20 tion with such campaign for such office: Provided, That 

21 such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the 

22 material broadcast under the provisions of this section. No 

23 obligation is imposed under this subsection upon any li24 censee to allow the use of its station by any such candidate 

25 or national committee. Appearance by a legally qualified 


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1 candidate or a representative of a national committee of 

2 a political party on behalf of any legally qualified can3 didate for Federal office on any—’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 315(a)(3) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 315(a)(3)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘candidate’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘candidate or representative’’. 

8 (b) REASONABLE ACCESS TO PURCHASE BROAD9 CASTING TIME.— 

10 (1) REASONABLE ACCESS BY POLITICAL PAR11 TIES.—Section 312(a)(7) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

12 312(a)(7)) is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘reasonable amounts of 

14 time’’ and inserting ‘‘reasonable amounts of 

15 time, including reasonable amounts of time pur16 chased at the lowest unit charge under section 

17 315(b),’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘elective’’; and 

19 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

20 inserting the following: ‘‘or by a national com21 mittee of a political party (including a national 

22 congressional campaign committee of a political 

23 party) in connection with the campaign of such 

24 candidate.’’. 


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1 (2) DETERMINATION.—Section 312(c) of such 

2 Act (47 U.S.C. 312(c)) is amended by inserting 

3 after the second sentence the following: ‘‘In deter4 mining whether reasonable amounts of time, includ5 ing reasonable amounts of time purchased at the 

6 lowest unit charge under section 315(b), have been 

7 provided under subsection (a)(7), the Commission 

8 shall examine and consider the time provided by the 

9 licensee, permittee, or person to purchase time, in10 cluding nonpreemptible time, by purchasers other 

11 than a legally qualified candidate for Federal office 

12 on behalf of his candidacy or by a national com13 mittee of a political party (including a national con14 gressional campaign committee of a political party) 

15 in connection with such campaign.’’ 

16 (c) LOWEST UNIT CHARGE.— 

17 (1) CHARGES FOR CANDIDATES FOR FEDERAL

18 OFFICE.—Section 315(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

19 315(b)) is amended— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

21 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) 

22 and (3)’’; 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

24 paragraph (3); and 


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

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) CHARGES FOR CANDIDATES FOR FEDERAL

4 OFFICE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON CHARGES.—Subject 

6 to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the charges 

7 made for the use of any broadcasting station by 

8 any person who is a legally qualified candidate 

9 for any Federal office in connection with the 

10 campaign of such candidate for election to such 

11 office, or by a national committee of a political 

12 party in connection with such campaign, shall 

13 not exceed— 

14 ‘‘(i) subject to paragraph (3), during 

15 the 45 days preceding the date of a pri16 mary or primary runoff election and dur17 ing the 60 days preceding the date of a 

18 general or special election in which such 

19 person is a candidate, the lowest unit 

20 charge of the station for the same amount 

21 of time that was offered at any time dur22 ing the 180 days preceding the date of use; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at any other time, the charges 

2 made for comparable use of such station 

3 by other users thereof. 

4 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATION.—The limi5 tation on charges under subparagraph (A) shall 

6 only apply for the use of a broadcasting station 

7 in the media markets that cover the State (or 

8 States) in which the candidate is seeking elec9 tion to Federal office. 

10 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The limitation on 

12 charges under subparagraph (A) shall only 

13 apply if, in an election for a Federal office, 

14 a covered organization under section 325 

15 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

16 1971 makes disbursements for election17 eering communications in connection with 

18 any legally qualified candidate for Federal 

19 office or for independent expenditures in 

20 an aggregate amount of $50,000 or more 

21 during a calendar year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION.—In such cir23 cumstances, the limitation on charges 

24 under subparagraph (A) shall apply to all 

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1 fice in such election and national commit2 tees of political parties in connection with 

3 such election. 

4 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—In an election 

5 for Federal office in which no covered or6 ganization has made the disbursements de7 scribed in clause (i), all legally qualified 

8 candidates in such election shall be entitled 

9 to receive the lowest unit charge described 

10 in paragraph (1) for as long as no such 

11 disbursements are made in such election. 

12 ‘‘(D) SEVERABILITY.—If the operation of 

13 subparagraph (C) is enjoined by any court of 

14 competent jurisdiction, or if subparagraph (C) 

15 is held to be constitutionally insufficient by 

16 final judicial decision, then subparagraph (A) 

17 shall take effect immediately without any limi18 tation imposed by subparagraph (C).’’. 

19 (2) NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHARGES.—Section 

20 315(b)(1) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 315(b)(1)) is 

21 amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

22 by striking ‘‘office shall’’ and inserting ‘‘office or by 

23 a national committee of a political party in connec24 tion with the campaign of a legally qualified can25 didate for Federal office shall’’. 


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1 (3) ADEQUATE ACCESS AT LOWEST UNIT

2 CHARGE.—Section 315(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

3 315(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(4) ADEQUATE ACCESS AT LOWEST UNIT

6 CHARGE.—A licensee shall take all actions necessary 

7 to ensure access to the use of a broadcasting station, 

8 in accordance with the requirements under para9 graph (2), to meet the obligations under section 

10 312(a)(7) for the use of such station by a legally 

11 qualified candidate for Federal office on behalf of 

12 his candidacy and by a national committee of a po13 litical party in connection with the campaign of such 

14 candidate.’’. 

15 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 315(b)(3) of such Act (as redesignated by paragraph 

17 (1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘under paragraph 

18 (1)(A)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘under 

19 paragraph (1)(A) or (2)(A)(i)’’. 

20 (5) REQUIRING ORGANIZATIONS TO NOTIFY

21 COMMISSION IF DISBURSEMENTS EQUAL OR EXCEED

22 THRESHOLD.—Title III of the Federal Election 

23 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as 

24 amended by section 213(a), is further amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 327. REQUIRING COVERED ORGANIZATIONS TO NO2 TIFY COMMISSION AND FCC IF DISBURSE3 MENTS EQUAL OR EXCEED THRESHOLD. 

4 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED IF ELECTION- OR

5 CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC DISBURSEMENTS EQUAL OR EX6 CEED THRESHOLD.—Not later than 24 hours after the 

7 date by which the aggregate amount of disbursements 

8 made by a covered organization for campaign-related ac9 tivity with respect to a specific election or a specific can10 didate (together with the amount of any disbursements 

11 contracted to be made by the organization for such activ12 ity) first equals or exceeds $50,000, the organization shall 

13 file a report with the Commission and with the Federal 

14 Communications Commission which states the amount of 

15 the disbursements and identifies the election or candidate 

16 involved. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subsection (a), 

18 the terms ‘campaign-related activity’ and ‘covered organi19 zation’ have the meaning given such terms in section 

20 325.’’. 

21 (d) PREEMPTION; RANDOM AUDITS.—Section 315 of 

22 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (g); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (f); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), a licensee shall not preempt the use of a 

8 broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate 

9 for Federal office or a national committee of a polit10 ical party in connection with the campaign of such 

11 candidate. 

12 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI13 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad14 casting station is preempted because of cir15 cumstances beyond the control of the station, any 

16 scheduled use of a broadcasting station by such can17 didate or committee scheduled during that program 

18 may also be preempted. 

19 ‘‘(d) RANDOM AUDITS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 45 days pre21 ceding a primary election and the 60 days preceding 

22 a general election, the Commission shall conduct 

23 random audits of designated market areas to ensure 

24 that each broadcasting station to which this section 

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1 fied candidates for Federal office in accordance with 

2 this section and section 312. 

3 ‘‘(2) MARKETS.—Each audit conducted under 

4 paragraph (1) shall cover the following markets: 

5 ‘‘(A) At least 6 of the top 50 largest des6 ignated market areas. 

7 ‘‘(B) At least 3 of the 51–100 largest des8 ignated market areas. 

9 ‘‘(C) At least 3 of the 101–150 largest 

10 designated market areas. 

11 ‘‘(D) At least 3 of the 151–210 largest 

12 designated market areas. 

13 ‘‘(3) BROADCAST STATIONS.—Each random 

14 audit shall include each of the 3 largest television 

15 broadcast networks, 1 independent television net16 work, 1 cable network, 1 provider of satellite serv17 ices, and 1 radio network.’’. 

18 (e) POLITICAL FILE.—Section 315(e) of such Act (47 

19 U.S.C. 315(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC ACCESS TO POLITICAL FILE.—In 

22 making a record available for public inspection 

23 under paragraph (1), a licensee shall make available 

24 on a timely basis on the station’s Web site the 

25 record of a request to purchase broadcast time that 


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1 is made by or on behalf of a legally qualified can2 didate for Federal office, a national committee of a 

3 political party in connection with a campaign for 

4 such office, or by a covered organization under sec5 tion 325(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

6 1971 for electioneering communications in connec7 tion with any legally qualified candidate for Federal 

8 office or for independent expenditures.’’. 

9 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 315(g) of such Act (as re10 designated by subsection (d)(1)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘For purposes’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—For purposes’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

14 inserting the following: ‘‘and a provider of cable or 

15 satellite television service, except that such term 

16 does not include a noncommercial educational broad17 cast station as defined under section 397;’’ 

18 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

21 ‘‘(3) the terms ‘authorized committee’, ‘elec22 tion’, ‘electioneering communications’, ‘Federal of23 fice’, and ‘independent expenditure’ have the mean24 ings given such terms by section 301 of the Federal 

25 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431); 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘designated market area’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in section 122(j)(2)(C) of 

3 title 17, United States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(5) the term ‘national committee of a political 

5 party’ includes a national congressional campaign 

6 committee of a political party.’’. 

7 (g) STYLISTIC AMENDMENT.—Section 315(f) of such 

8 Act (as redesignated by subsection (d)(2)), is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘REGULA10 TIONS.—The Commission’’. 

11 TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS 

12 SEC. 501. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

13 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT ON

14 CONSTITUTIONAL GROUNDS.—If any action is brought for 

15 declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu16 tionality of any provision of this Act or any amendment 

17 made by this Act, the following rules shall apply: 

18 (1) The action shall be filed in the United 

19 States District Court for the District of Columbia, 

20 and an appeal from a decision of the District Court 

21 may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis22 trict of Columbia Circuit. 

23 (2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

24 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa25 tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 


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1 (3) It shall be the duty of the United States 

2 District Court for the District of Columbia, the 

3 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir4 cuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States to 

5 advance on the docket and to expedite to the great6 est possible extent the disposition of the action and 

7 appeal. 

8 (b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

9 any action in which the constitutionality of any provision 

10 of this Act or any amendment made by this Act is raised, 

11 any member of the House of Representatives (including 

12 a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or 

13 Senate shall have the right to intervene either in support 

14 of or opposition to the position of a party to the case re15 garding the constitutionality of the provision or amend16 ment. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce the bur17 dens placed on the parties to the action, the court in any 

18 such action may make such orders as it considers nec19 essary, including orders to require intervenors taking simi20 lar positions to file joint papers or to be represented by 

21 a single attorney at oral argument. 

22 (c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

23 Member of the House of Representatives (including a Del24 egate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or Sen25 ate may bring an action, subject to the special rules deVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:54 May 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3295.IS S3295

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1 scribed in subsection (a), for declaratory or injunctive re2 lief to challenge the constitutionality of any provision of 

3 this Act or any amendment made by this Act. 

4 SEC. 502. SEVERABILITY. 

5 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

7 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu8 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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

10 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

11 affected by the holding. 

12 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 Except as otherwise provided, this Act and the 

14 amendments made by this Act shall take effect upon the 

15 expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, and shall take effect without 

17 regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission 

18 has promulgated regulations to carry out such amend19 ments. 

Æ 


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