II 
Calendar No. 392 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 513 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 6, 2006 
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
clarify when organizations described in section 527 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 must register as 
political committees, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘527 Reform Act of 
2006’’. 
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—Sec-
tion 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(2 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended— 
(1) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) any applicable 527 organization.’’. 
(b) DEFINITION
OF APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZA-
TION.—Section 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(27) APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of paragraph 
(4)(D), the term ‘applicable 527 organization’ means 
a committee, club, association, or group of persons 
that— 
‘‘(i) has given notice to the Secretary of 
the Treasury under section 527(i) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 that it is to be treat-
ed as an organization described in section 527 
of such Code; and 
‘‘(ii) is not described in subparagraph (B). 
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‘‘(B) EXCEPTED
ORGANIZATIONS.—A com-
mittee, club, association, or other group of persons 
described in this subparagraph is— 
‘‘(i) an organization described in section 
527(i)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986; 
‘‘(ii) an organization which is a committee, 
club, association or other group of persons that 
is organized, operated, and makes disburse-
ments exclusively for paying expenses described 
in the last sentence of section 527(e)(2) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or expenses of 
a newsletter fund described in section 527(g) of 
such Code; 
‘‘(iii) an organization which is a com-
mittee, club, association, or other group that 
consists solely of candidates for State or local 
office, individuals holding State or local office, 
or any combination of either, but only if the or-
ganization refers only to one or more non-Fed-
eral candidates or applicable State or local 
issues in all of its voter drive activities and does 
not refer to a Federal candidate or a political 
party in any of its voter drive activities; or 
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‘‘(iv) an organization described in subpara-
graph (C). 
‘‘(C) APPLICABLE
ORGANIZATION.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (B)(iv), an organization de-
scribed in this subparagraph is a committee, club, 
association, or other group of persons whose election 
or nomination activities relate exclusively to— 
‘‘(i) elections where no candidate for Fed-
eral office appears on the ballot; or 
‘‘(ii) one or more of the following purposes: 
‘‘(I) Influencing the selection, nomina-
tion, election, or appointment of one or 
more candidates to non-Federal offices. 
‘‘(II) Influencing one or more applica-
ble State or local issues. 
‘‘(III) Influencing the selection, ap-
pointment, nomination, or confirmation of 
one or more individuals to non-elected of-
fices. 
‘‘(D) EXCLUSIVITY TEST.—A committee, club, 
association, or other group of persons shall not be 
treated as meeting the exclusivity requirement of 
subparagraph (C) if it makes disbursements aggre-
gating more than $1,000 for any of the following: 
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‘‘(i) A public communication that pro-
motes, supports, attacks, or opposes a clearly 
identified candidate for Federal office during 
the 1-year period ending on the date of the gen-
eral election for the office sought by the clearly 
identified candidate (or, if a runoff election is 
held with respect to such general election, on 
the date of the runoff election). 
‘‘(ii) Any voter drive activity during a cal-
endar year, except that no disbursements for 
any voter drive activity shall be taken into ac-
count under this subparagraph if the com-
mittee, club, association, or other group of per-
sons during such calendar year— 
‘‘(I) makes disbursements for voter 
drive activities with respect to elections in 
only 1 State and complies with all applica-
ble election laws of that State, including 
laws related to registration and reporting 
requirements and contribution limitations; 
‘‘(II) refers to one or more non-Fed-
eral candidates or applicable State or local 
issues in all of its voter drive activities and 
does not refer to any Federal candidate or 
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any political party in any of its voter drive 
activities; 
‘‘(III) does not have a candidate for 
Federal office, an individual who holds any 
Federal office, a national political party, or 
an agent of any of the foregoing, control or 
materially participate in the direction of 
the organization, solicit contributions to 
the organization (other than funds which 
are described under clauses (i) and (ii) of 
section 323(e)(1)(B)), or direct disburse-
ments, in whole or in part, by the organi-
zation; and 
‘‘(IV) makes no contributions to Fed-
eral candidates. 
‘‘(E) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN-
DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes 
of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), a voter 
drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 
clearly identified Federal candidate if the only ref-
erence to the candidate in the activity is— 
‘‘(i) a reference in connection with an elec-
tion for a non-Federal office in which such Fed-
eral candidate is also a candidate for such non- 
Federal office; or 
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‘‘(ii) a reference to the fact that the can-
didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 
has taken a position on an applicable State or 
local issue, including a reference that con-
stitutes the endorsement or position itself. 
‘‘(F) CERTAIN
REFERENCES
TO
POLITICAL 
PARTIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes 
of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), a voter 
drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 
political party if the only reference to the party in 
the activity is— 
‘‘(i) a reference for the purpose of identi-
fying a non-Federal candidate; 
‘‘(ii) a reference for the purpose of identi-
fying the entity making the public communica-
tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 
‘‘(iii) a reference in a manner or context 
that does not reflect support for or opposition 
to a Federal candidate or candidates and does 
reflect support for or opposition to a State or 
local candidate or candidates or an applicable 
State or local issue. 
‘‘(G) APPLICABLE STATE OR LOCAL ISSUE.— 
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable 
State or local issue’ means any State or local ballot 
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initiative, State or local referendum, State or local 
constitutional amendment, State or local bond issue, 
or other State or local ballot issue.’’. 
(c) DEFINITION OF VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—Sec-
tion 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by sub-
section (b), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(28) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 
drive activity’ means any of the following activities con-
ducted in connection with an election in which a candidate 
for Federal office appears on the ballot (regardless of 
whether a candidate for State or local office also appears 
on the ballot): 
‘‘(A) Voter registration activity. 
‘‘(B) Voter identification. 
‘‘(C) Get-out-the-vote activity. 
‘‘(D) Generic campaign activity. 
‘‘(E) Any public communication related to ac-
tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 
Such term shall not include any activity described in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of section 316(b)(2).’’. 
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SEC. 3. RULES FOR ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES BETWEEN 
FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 325. ALLOCATION AND FUNDING RULES FOR CER-
TAIN EXPENSES RELATING TO FEDERAL AND 
NON-FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any disbursements 
by any political committee that is a separate segregated 
fund or nonconnected committee for which allocation rules 
are provided under subsection (b)— 
‘‘(1) the disbursements shall be allocated be-
tween Federal and non-Federal accounts in accord-
ance with this section and regulations prescribed by 
the Commission; and 
‘‘(2) in the case of disbursements allocated to 
non-Federal accounts, may be paid only from a 
qualified non-Federal account. 
‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE ALLOCATED AND ALLOCATION 
RULES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Disbursements by any sep-
arate segregated fund or nonconnected committee, 
other than an organization described in section 
323(b)(1), for any of the following categories of ac-
tivity shall be allocated as follows: 
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‘‘(A) 100 percent of the expenses for public 
communications or voter drive activities that 
refer to one or more clearly identified Federal 
candidates, but do not refer to any clearly iden-
tified non-Federal candidates, shall be paid with 
funds from a Federal account, without regard 
to whether the communication refers to a polit-
ical party. 
‘‘(B) At least 50 percent, or a greater per-
centage if the Commission so determines by 
regulation, of the expenses for public commu-
nications and voter drive activities that refer to 
one or more clearly identified candidates for 
Federal office and one or more clearly identified 
non-Federal candidates shall be paid with funds 
from a Federal account, without regard to 
whether the communication refers to a political 
party. 
‘‘(C) At least 50 percent, or a greater per-
centage if the Commission so determines by 
regulation, of the expenses for public commu-
nications or voter drive activities that refer to 
a political party, but do not refer to any clearly 
identified Federal or non-Federal candidate, 
shall be paid with funds from a Federal ac-
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count, except that this paragraph shall not 
apply to communications or activities that re-
late exclusively to elections where no candidate 
for Federal office appears on the ballot. 
‘‘(D) At least 50 percent, or a greater per-
centage if the Commission so determines by 
regulation, of the expenses for public commu-
nications or voter drive activities that refer to 
a political party and refer to one or more clear-
ly identified non-Federal candidates, but do not 
refer to any clearly identified Federal can-
didates, shall be paid with funds from a Federal 
account, except that this paragraph shall not 
apply to communications or activities that re-
late exclusively to elections where no candidate 
for Federal office appears on the ballot. 
‘‘(E) Unless otherwise determined by the 
Commission in its regulations, at least 50 per-
cent of any administrative expenses, including 
rent, utilities, office supplies, and salaries not 
attributable to a clearly identified candidate, 
shall be paid with funds from a Federal ac-
count, except that for a separate segregated 
fund such expenses may be paid instead by its 
connected organization. 
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‘‘(F) At least 50 percent, or a greater per-
centage if the Commission so determines by 
regulation, of the direct costs of a fundraising 
program or event, including disbursements for 
solicitation of funds and for planning and ad-
ministration of actual fundraising events, where 
Federal and non-Federal funds are collected 
through such program or event shall be paid 
with funds from a Federal account, except that 
for a separate segregated fund such costs may 
be paid instead by its connected organization. 
This paragraph shall not apply to any fund-
raising solicitations or any other activity that 
constitutes a public communication. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN-
DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes 
of paragraph (1), a public communication or voter 
drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 
clearly identified Federal candidate if the only ref-
erence to the candidate in the communication or ac-
tivity is— 
‘‘(A) a reference in connection with an 
election for a non-Federal office in which such 
Federal candidate is also a candidate for such 
non-Federal office; or 
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‘‘(B) a reference to the fact that the can-
didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 
has taken a position on an applicable State or 
local issue (as defined in section 301(27)(G)), 
including a reference that constitutes the en-
dorsement or position itself. 
‘‘(3) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL PAR-
TIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), a public communication or voter 
drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 
political party if the only reference to the party in 
the communication or activity is— 
‘‘(A) a reference for the purpose of identi-
fying a non-Federal candidate; 
‘‘(B) a reference for the purpose of identi-
fying the entity making the public communica-
tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 
‘‘(C) a reference in a manner or context 
that does not reflect support for or opposition 
to a Federal candidate or candidates and does 
reflect support for or opposition to a State or 
local candidate or candidates or an applicable 
State or local issue. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘qualified non-Federal account’ means 
an account which consists solely of amounts— 
‘‘(A) that, subject to the limitations of 
paragraphs (2) and (3), are raised by the sepa-
rate segregated fund or nonconnected com-
mittee only from individuals, and 
‘‘(B) with respect to which all require-
ments of Federal, State, or local law (including 
any law relating to contribution limits) are met. 
‘‘(2) 
LIMITATION
ON
INDIVIDUAL
DONA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A separate segregated 
fund or nonconnected committee may not ac-
cept more than $25,000 in funds for its quali-
fied non-Federal account from any one indi-
vidual in any calendar year. 
‘‘(B) AFFILIATION.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, all qualified non-Federal accounts of 
separate segregated funds or nonconnected 
committees which are directly or indirectly es-
tablished, financed, maintained, or controlled by 
the same person or persons shall be treated as 
one account. 
‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING LIMITATION.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—No donation to a 
qualified non-Federal account may be solicited, 
received, directed, transferred, or spent by or in 
the name of any person described in subsection 
(a) or (e) of section 323. 
‘‘(B) FUNDS NOT TREATED AS SUBJECT 
TO
ACT.—Except as provided in subsection 
(a)(2) and this subsection, any funds raised for 
a qualified non-Federal account in accordance 
with the requirements of this section shall not 
be considered funds subject to the limitations, 
prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this 
Act for any purpose (including for purposes of 
subsection (a) or (e) of section 323 or sub-
section (d)(1) of this section). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) FEDERAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Federal 
account’ means an account which consists solely of 
contributions subject to the limitations, prohibitions, 
and reporting requirements of this Act. Nothing in 
this section or in section 323(b)(2)(B)(iii) shall be 
construed to infer that a limit other than the limit 
under section 315(a)(1)(C) applies to contributions 
to the account. 
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‘‘(2) NONCONNECTED COMMITTEE.—The term 
‘nonconnected committee’ shall not include a polit-
ical committee of a political party. 
‘‘(3) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 
drive activity’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 301(28).’’. 
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
434(e)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
paragraphs (4) and (5); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) RECEIPTS
AND
DISBURSEMENTS
FROM 
QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNTS.—In addition 
to any other reporting requirement applicable under 
this Act, a political committee to which section 
325(a) applies shall report all receipts and disburse-
ments from a qualified non-Federal account (as de-
fined in section 325(c)).’’. 
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SEC. 4. REPEAL OF LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF PARTY EXPENDI-
TURES ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES IN GEN-
ERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) REPEAL OF LIMIT.—Section 315(d) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law with respect to limita-
tions on expenditures or limitations on con-
tributions, the national committee’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law with respect to limitations on amounts of 
expenditures or contributions, a national com-
mittee’’, 
(B) by striking ‘‘the general’’ and inserting 
‘‘any’’, and 
(C) by striking ‘‘Federal office, subject to 
the limitations contained in paragraphs (2), (3), 
and (4) of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘Fed-
eral office in any amount’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of such Act (2 
U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended— 
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(A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 
‘‘(d),’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 
‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
section (b)’’. 
(2) INCREASE
IN
LIMITS
FOR
SENATE
CAN-
DIDATES
FACING
WEALTHY
OPPONENTS.—Section 
315(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(i)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(C)(iii)— 
(i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
clause (I), 
(ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a period, and 
(iii) by striking subclause (III); 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A) in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 
committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking 
‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘and 
a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 
(3) INCREASE
IN
LIMITS
FOR
HOUSE
CAN-
DIDATES
FACING
WEALTHY
OPPONENTS.—Section 
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315A(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a–1(a)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A), 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period, and 
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 
(B) in paragraph (3)(A) in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 
committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 
‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘and 
a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 
SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION. 
No provision of this Act, or amendment made by this 
Act, shall be construed— 
(1) as approving, ratifying, or endorsing a regu-
lation promulgated by the Federal Election Commis-
sion; 
(2) as establishing, modifying, or otherwise af-
fecting the definition of political organization for 
purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 
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