I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2433
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require candidates
for the House of Representatives or the Senate to file information in-
cluded in quarterly candidate reports with the Federal Election Commis-
sion within 48 hours of the time the information becomes available,
to require all reports filed with the Federal Election Commission to
be filed electronically, to require the information contained in such re-
ports to be made available through the Internet, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 8, 1997
Ms. RIVERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Oversight
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
require candidates for the House of Representatives or
the Senate to file information included in quarterly can-
didate reports with the Federal Election Commission
within 48 hours of the time the information becomes
available, to require all reports filed with the Federal
Election Commission to be filed electronically, to require
the information contained in such reports to be made
available through the Internet, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Citizens’ Right to
Know Act’’.
SEC. 2. 48 HOUR DEADLINE FOR FILING REPORTS OF AU-
THORIZED COMMITTEES.
Section 304(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, in addition to filing reports under paragraph (2),
each principal campaign committee of a candidate for the
House of Representatives or for the Senate shall file the
information required to be included in such reports with
the Commission not later than 48 hours after the informa-
tion becomes available to the committee.’’.
SEC. 3. TIMETABLE FOR ELECTRONIC FILING OF FEC
REPORTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTRONIC FILING.—
Section 304(a)(11)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(A)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ‘‘Except as provided in subparagraph (C),
all such reports for periods beginning after Decem-
ber 31, 1998, shall be filed and preserved by means
of computer disk or other format determined by the
Commission under the previous sentence.’’.
(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN REPORTS.—Sec-
tion 304(a)(11) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11))
is amended—
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (D); and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B)
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C)(i) In the case of a report filed by a political com-
mittee reporting less than the designated threshold
amount of contributions or expenditures during the elec-
tion cycle for which the report is filed, the committee may
file the report—
‘‘(I) by means of computer disk or other format
determined by the Commission under subparagraph
(A); or
‘‘(II) typed or printed in black ink on paper,
using forms supplied by the Commission.
‘‘(ii) In clause (i), the ‘designated threshold amount’
is—
‘‘(I) in the case of an authorized committee,
$50,000; or
‘‘(II) in the case of any other political commit-
tee, such amount as the Commission may establish
by regulation.
‘‘(iii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘election cycle’
means—
‘‘(I) in the case of a candidate or the authorized
committees of a candidate, the term beginning on
the day after the date of the most recent general
election for the specific office or seat which such
candidate seeks and ending on the date of the next
general election for such office or seat; or
‘‘(II) for all other persons, the term beginning
on the first day following the date of the last general
election and ending on the date of the next general
election.’’.
(b) AVAILABILITY OF SOFTWARE.—Section 311(a) of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(9);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(11) develop and make available without
charge any computer software required for the elec-
tronic filing of reports under section 304(a)(11).’’.
SEC. 4. INTERNET ACCESS TO FEC REPORTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311(a)(4) of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)(4)) is
amended by inserting after ‘‘such copying,’’ the following:
‘‘and make the information contained in those reports and
statements available on the Internet (under such guide-
lines and criteria as the Commission considers appro-
priate),’’.
(b) PROHIBITING USE OF INTERNET INFORMATION
FOR SOLICITING CONTRIBUTIONS OR COMMERCIAL PUR-
POSES.—Section 311(a)(4) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
438(a)(4)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘such reports or
statements’’ the following: ‘‘or obtained from such reports
or statements through the Internet’’.
(c) INTERNET DEFINED.—Section 301 of such Act
(2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(20) The term ‘Internet’ means the international
computer network of both Federal and non-Federal inter-
operable packet-switched data networks.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to reports for peri-
ods beginning after December 31, 1998.
Æ