IB
Union Calendar No. 395
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4717
[Report No. 106–702]
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require 527 organizations
and certain other tax-exempt organizations to disclose their political activities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 22, 2000
Mr. HOUGHTON (for himself, Mr. ENGLISH, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut,
Mr. CASTLE, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. COX, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. SMITH of
Michigan, Mr. SHAW, Mr. OSE, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, and Mr. WALDEN
of Oregon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means
JUNE 27, 2000
Additional sponsors: Mr. DREIER and Mr. BILBRAY
JUNE 27, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 22, 2000]
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require
527 organizations and certain other tax-exempt organiza-
tions to disclose their political activities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Full and Fair Political
Activity Disclosure Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. INCREASED REPORTING OF POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part III of subchapter
A of chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat-
ing to information concerning persons subject to special
provisions) is amended by inserting after section 6033 the
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 6033A. RETURNS RELATING TO POLITICAL ACTIVI-
TIES.
‘‘(a) GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every organization to which
this subsection applies for a reporting period shall
submit a return to the Secretary for such period.
Such return shall include—
‘‘(A) a detailed description of such organi-
zation’s disclosable activities during the report-
ing period and the purpose and intended results
for the major categories of expenditures for such
activities, including the candidates intended to
be affected,
‘‘(B) a list identifying—
‘‘(i) each expenditure made for a
disclosable activity during the reporting pe-
riod in an amount in excess of the threshold
amount, and
‘‘(ii) the name and address of each per-
son to whom the organization made any ex-
penditure required to be reported under
clause (i), and
‘‘(C) 
in 
the 
case 
of 
a 
reportable
contributor—
‘‘(i) the name and address of the con-
tributor (and, if the contributor is an indi-
vidual, the contributor’s occupation and em-
ployer),
‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount of contribu-
tions made by such contributor,
‘‘(iii) the name and address of the per-
son (if any) on whose behalf the contributor
made any payment to such organization,
and
‘‘(iv) if any payment by the contrib-
utor was designated for a beneficiary other
than such organization (including amounts
which are in any way earmarked or other-
wise directed through an intermediary), the
name and address of the intended bene-
ficiary.
The information required under the preceding sen-
tence for any reporting period shall be set forth sepa-
rately for such period and in the aggregate for such
period and preceding reporting periods during the
calendar year.
‘‘(2) ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH SUBSECTION AP-
PLIES.—This subsection shall apply to any organiza-
tion described in or subject to section 527 if—
‘‘(A) such organization is described in para-
graph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c), or
‘‘(B) such organization is a 527 organiza-
tion.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
NON-527
ORGANIZATIONS
HAVING AGGREGATE DISCLOSABLE EXPENDITURES OF
LESS THAN $10,000.—This subsection shall not apply
to an organization described in paragraph (2)(A) for
any reporting period if the aggregate expenditures of
the organization for disclosable activities during the
period beginning on January 1 of the calendar year
in which the reporting period begins and ending on
the last day of the reporting period are less than
$10,000.
‘‘(4) REPORTABLE CONTRIBUTOR.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the term ‘reportable contributor’
means any person if the aggregate of the con-
tributions and membership dues, fees, and assess-
ments (within the meaning of section 527) re-
ceived by the organization from such person dur-
ing the testing period exceeds the threshold
amount.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR DUES NOT ATTRIB-
UTABLE TO DISCLOSABLE ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the election of
the organization, the only dues taken into
account under subparagraph (A) shall be
dues 
attributable 
to 
expenditures 
for
disclosable activities.
‘‘(ii) PORTION OF DUES ATTRIBUTABLE
TO DISCLOSABLE ACTIVITIES.—For purposes
of clause (i), the portion of dues attributable
to expenditures for disclosable activities of
an organization is the amount which bears
the same ratio to the total amount of dues
as the expenditures of the organization
which are disclosable under paragraph (1)
for the testing period bears to the total ex-
penditures of the organization for such pe-
riod.
‘‘(C) TESTING
PERIOD.—For purposes of
this paragraph, the term ‘testing period’ means,
with respect to any reporting period, the
period—
‘‘(i) beginning on January 1 of the
calendar year in which the reporting period
begins, and
‘‘(ii) ending on the last day of the re-
porting period.
‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR EARMARKED CONTRIBU-
TIONS DEPOSITED INTO A SEGREGATED DISCLOSABLE
ACTIVITIES FUND.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an orga-
nization described in paragraph (4), (5), or (6)
of section 501(c), paragraph (1)(C) shall apply
only with respect to amounts received which are
earmarked for a disclosable activity if the orga-
nization elects—
‘‘(i) 
to 
maintain 
a 
segregated
disclosable activities fund,
‘‘(ii) to deposit into such fund only
and all amounts received by such organiza-
tion which are earmarked by the contributor
for a disclosable activity, and
‘‘(iii) to make no expenditures for
disclosable activities other than from such
fund.
In the case of such a fund, subsection (d) shall
not apply and the threshold amount shall be
$1,000.
‘‘(B) NONCOMPLIANCE.—In the case of an
organization with respect to which an election is
in effect under subparagraph (A) and which fails
to comply with a requirement in subparagraph
(A) during any reporting period, subparagraph
(A) shall not apply to such period or any subse-
quent reporting period during the calendar year
in which such period begins.
‘‘(C) DE MINIMIS EXPENDITURES.—Failures
to meet the requirement of subparagraph (A)(iii)
with respect to de minimis amounts shall not be
treated as a failure to comply with such require-
ment.
‘‘(6) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘threshold amount’ means—
‘‘(A) $200 in the case of a 527 organization,
and
‘‘(B) $1,000 in any other case.
‘‘(b) DISCLOSABLE ACTIVITIES.—For purposes of this
section—
‘‘(1) 527 ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of a 527
organization, the term ‘disclosable activities’ means
all activities of the organization.
‘‘(2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an
organization described in paragraph (4), (5), or (6)
of section 501(c), the term ‘disclosable activities’
means—
‘‘(A) a 527-type activity,
‘‘(B) establishing, administering, or solic-
iting contributions to a 527 organization,
‘‘(C) contributing directly or indirectly to a
527 organization,
‘‘(D) contributing directly or indirectly to
an organization which is described in paragraph
(4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) and which is re-
quired to file a return under this section for the
year in which the contribution is received or for
any of the 3 preceding years (or would be re-
quired to file such a return had this section been
in effect for such years), and
‘‘(E) any mass media communication (in-
cluding any mass mailing) which is not a 527-
type activity and which—
‘‘(i) mentions a clearly identified can-
didate for election for Federal office (includ-
ing any individual who has formed an ex-
ploratory committee for such election) or the
political party of such candidate, or
‘‘(ii) contains the picture or other like-
ness of such candidate.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
COMMUNICATION
WITH
MEMBERS.—Subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) shall
not apply to communication with bona fide members
of the organization unless such communication urges
such members to communicate with another person or
to take an action as a result of such communication.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM 527 ORGANIZA-
TIONS.—
‘‘(1) STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Every 527 organization
shall file a statement of organization with the
Secretary (in such form and manner as the Sec-
retary shall prescribe) which contains the infor-
mation described in subparagraph (B). Such
statement shall be filed not later than 10 days
after the date that such organization is estab-
lished (or, in the case of an organization in ex-
istence on the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, not later than 10 days after such date of
enactment).
‘‘(B) STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION.—The
information described in this subparagraph is—
‘‘(i) the name and address of the 527
organization,
‘‘(ii) the name, address, relationship,
and type of any person which is directly or
indirectly related to or affiliated with such
527 organization,
‘‘(iii) the name, address, and position
of the custodian of books and accounts of the
527 organization,
‘‘(iv) the name and address of the
treasurer of the 527 organization, and
‘‘(v) a listing of all banks, safety de-
posit boxes, and other depositories used by
the 527 organization.
‘‘(C) CHANGES IN INFORMATION.—If there
is a change in circumstances such that the most
recent statement filed under this paragraph is no
longer accurate, the 527 organization shall file a
corrected statement with the Secretary (in such
manner as the Secretary shall prescribe) not
later than 10 days after the date that the state-
ment first ceased to be accurate.
‘‘(D) RELATED
AND
AFFILIATED
PER-
SONS.—For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), a
person is directly or indirectly related to or af-
filiated with a 527 organization if such person,
at any time during the 3-year period ending on
the date such statement is submitted to the
Secretary—
‘‘(i) was in a position to exercise sub-
stantial direct or indirect influence over the
process of collecting or disbursing the ex-
empt purpose funds of such organization, or
‘‘(ii) was in a position to exercise sub-
stantial, overall direct or indirect influence
over the activities of such organization.
‘‘(2) OTHER INFORMATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the in-
formation required by subsection (a), every 527
organization shall include the information de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) on the return re-
quired under subsection (a).
‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The infor-
mation described in this subparagraph is—
‘‘(i) a certification, under penalty of
perjury, whether such expenditure is made
in cooperation, consultation, or concert
with, or at the request or suggestion of, any
candidate for public office or any author-
ized committee of such candidate or agent of
such committee or candidate,
‘‘(ii) the name, address, and business
purpose of any entity, as well as whether
the entity purports to be exempt from tax
under this title and (if so) the provision
under which the entity purports to be so ex-
empt, which made (in the aggregate for the
reporting period) a contribution in excess of
the threshold amount to the 527 organiza-
tion, and
‘‘(iii) the original source and the in-
tended ultimate recipient of all contribu-
tions made by a person, either directly or
indirectly, on behalf of any particular per-
son, including contributions which are in
any way earmarked or otherwise directed
through any intermediary.
‘‘(d) REPORTING PERIODS AND DUE DATES FOR RE-
TURNS AND STATEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The reporting periods and
deadlines for filing returns and statements required
by this section shall be—
‘‘(A) determined under paragraph (2), (3),
or (4), whichever is selected by the reporting or-
ganization, and
‘‘(B) in the case of disclosable activities
which are independent expenditures, determined
under paragraph (5).
‘‘(2) QUARTERLY REPORTS, ETC.—
‘‘(A) CALENDAR
YEARS
HAVING
A
REGU-
LARLY SCHEDULED ELECTION.—In the case of a
calendar year in which a regularly scheduled
election is held—
‘‘(i) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—
‘‘(I) PERIOD.—The reporting pe-
riods shall be the calendar quarters be-
ginning with the first quarter of the
calendar year in which a contribution
is accepted or expenditure is made for
a disclosable activity.
‘‘(II) FILING DEADLINE.—Reports
under this clause shall be filed not
later than the 15th day after the last
day of each calendar quarter; except
that the report for the quarter ending
on December 31 of such calendar year
shall be filed not later than January
31 of the following calendar year.
‘‘(ii) PRE-ELECTION REPORT.—
‘‘(I) PERIOD.—A pre-election re-
port with respect to an election shall be
filed for the period ending on the 20th
day before the election and beginning
on the first day of the calendar quarter
which includes such 20th day.
‘‘(II) FILING DEADLINE.—A pre-
election report shall be filed not later
than the 12th day before (or posted by
registered or certified mail not later
than the 15th day before) any election
with respect to which the organization
makes a contribution or expenditure
for a disclosable activity.
‘‘(iii) POST-GENERAL
ELECTION
RE-
PORT.—
‘‘(I) 
PERIOD.—A 
post-general
election report with respect to an elec-
tion shall be filed for the period ending
on the 20th day after the election and
beginning on the first day of the cal-
endar quarter which includes such 20th
day.
‘‘(II) FILING DEADLINE.—A post-
general election report shall be filed not
later than the 30th day after the gen-
eral election.
‘‘(B) OTHER
CALENDAR
YEARS.—In the
case of any other calendar year—
‘‘(i) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—The re-
porting periods shall be—
‘‘(I) the 1st 6 months of the cal-
endar year, and
‘‘(II) the 2d 6 months of such
year.
‘‘(ii) FILING DEADLINES.—The report
for the period described in clause (i)(I) shall
be filed no later than July 31, and the re-
port for the period described in clause
(i)(II) shall be filed no later than January
31 of the following calendar year.
‘‘(C) SPECIAL ELECTIONS.—The Secretary
shall set filing dates for reports to be filed with
respect to organizations filing under this para-
graph with respect to special elections. The Sec-
retary shall require no more than one pre-elec-
tion report for each election and one post-election
report for the election which fills the vacancy.
The Secretary may waive any reporting obliga-
tion of organizations required to file for special
elections if any report required by this para-
graph is required to be filed within 10 days of
a report required under this subparagraph. The
Secretary shall establish the reporting dates
within 5 days of the setting of such election.
‘‘(D) EXCEPTION
FROM
QUARTERLY
RE-
PORT.—The requirement to file a quarterly re-
port under subparagraph (A)(i) for a calendar
quarter shall be waived if the organization is re-
quired to file a pre-election report under sub-
paragraph (A)(ii) during the period beginning
on the 5th day after the close of the calendar
quarter and ending on the 15th day after the
close of the calendar quarter.
‘‘(3) MONTHLY REPORTS, ETC.—
‘‘(A) PERIOD.—The reporting periods shall
be monthly for all calendar years beginning with
the first month of the calendar year in which a
contribution is accepted or expenditure is made
for a disclosable activity.
‘‘(B) FILING
DEADLINE.—Reports under
this paragraph shall be filed not later than the
20th day after the last day of the month.
‘‘(C) REPORTS IN LIEU OF NOVEMBER AND
DECEMBER
REPORTS
DURING
ELECTION
YEARS.—In lieu of filing the reports otherwise
due under this paragraph in November and De-
cember of any year in which a regularly sched-
uled general election is held—
‘‘(i) a pre-general election report shall
be filed in accordance with paragraph
(2)(A)(ii),
‘‘(ii) a post-general election report
shall be filed in accordance with paragraph
(2)(A)(iii), and
‘‘(iii) a year-end report shall be filed
not later than January 31 of the following
calendar year.
‘‘(4) CERTAIN
ORGANIZATIONS
FILE
ANNU-
ALLY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 527 or-
ganization described in subparagraph (B)—
‘‘(i) the reporting period shall be such
organization’s taxable year, and
‘‘(ii) the due date for the returns and
statements required by this section shall be
the due date (without regard to extensions)
for filing the return of tax for such year,
whether or not such organization is required
to file a return for such taxable year.
‘‘(B) ORGANIZATION DESCRIBED.—An orga-
nization is described in this subparagraph if
such organization is a 527 organization which is
organized and operated exclusively for the pur-
pose of securing the nomination, election, or ap-
pointment of a clearly identified candidate for
State, local, or judicial office.
‘‘(5) REPORTING
OF
INDEPENDENT
EXPENDI-
TURES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In the case of a
disclosable activity which is an independent ex-
penditure by an organization to which subsection
(a) applies, the organization shall file the state-
ment described in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) STATEMENT.—The statement described
in this subparagraph is a statement (filed in ac-
cordance with paragraph (1)(A) unless subpara-
graph (C) applies) which includes the informa-
tion required under subsection (a)(1) with re-
spect to such independent expenditure.
‘‘(C) SEPARATE REPORTING WITH RESPECT
TO INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES MADE WITHIN
20 DAYS OF ELECTION.—The statement required
by subparagraph (B) in the case of a disclosable
activity which is an independent expenditure de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) aggregating $1,000
or more made after the 20th day, but more than
24 hours, before any election shall be filed within
24 hours after such independent expenditure is
made. Such statement shall be filed with the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) 527 ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘527 organi-
zation’ means any political organization (as defined
by section 527(e)(1)).
‘‘(2) 527-TYPE
ACTIVITY.—The term ‘527-type
activity’ means influencing or attempting to influence
the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of
any individual to any Federal, State, or local public
office or office in a political organization, or the elec-
tion of Presidential or Vice-Presidential electors,
whether or not such individual or electors are selected,