I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3399
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform the financing
of campaigns for election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 5, 1998
Mr. SHAW (for himself and Mr. PAXON) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to
the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
reform the financing of campaigns for election for Fed-
eral office, 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 ‘‘Campaign Finance Im-
provement Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC PRESERVATION AND FIL-
ING OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION RE-
PORTS; ACCESS THROUGH INTERNET SITE.
(a) ELECTRONIC FILING THROUGH
THE INTER-
NET.—Section 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(11)(A) Through a competitive bidding process, the
Commission shall establish a public Internet site not later
than January 1, 1999, with the following features:
‘‘(i) Any person filing a report required by this
Act may post the report directly on the site.
‘‘(ii) Any member of the public may obtain the
reports posted on the site (together with any other
information the Commission may make available
through the site) at any time.
‘‘(iii) Any information in a report posted on the
site shall be subject to the same prohibition on sale
and use as information from a report or statement
under paragraph (4).
‘‘(iv) All information posted on the site shall be
integrated in a manner which permits users to
search the information across categories and
sources.
‘‘(B) Each person required to file a report under this
Act shall file the report by posting it directly on the Inter-
net site established under subparagraph (A), or by filing
it by such electronic method as the Commission may des-
ignate to enable the Commission to post the report on such
site immediately upon receipt.
‘‘(C) The Commission shall provide for one or more
methods (other than requiring a signature on the report
being filed) for verification of reports filed in accordance
with the methods described in subparagraph (B). Any ver-
ification under the preceding sentence shall be treated for
all purposes (including penalties for perjury) in the same
manner as a verification by signature.
‘‘(D) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘report’’
means, with respect to the Commission, a report, designa-
tion, or statement required by this Act to be filed with
the Commission.’’.
(b) REQUIRING COMMISSION TO MAKE SOFTWARE
AVAILABLE.—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) through competitive bidding, obtain and
provide for computer software required to carry out
section 304(a)(11).’’.
(c) INTERNET DEFINED.—Section 301 of such Act
(2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph (19) and
inserting the following new paragraph:
‘‘(19) The term ‘Internet’ means the international
computer network of both Federal and non-Federal inter-
operable packet-switched data networks.’’.
SEC. 3. EXPANDING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CER-
TAIN CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) REQUIRING REPORTING OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS
OF $200 OR MORE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF RECEIPT.—Sec-
tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(d)(1) Each political committee which receives a
contribution of $200 or more shall notify the Commission
of the contribution not later than 10 days after receipt,
and shall include the identification of the contributor, the
date of receipt and amount of the contribution, and (in
the case of an authorized committee of a candidate) the
name of the candidate and the office sought by the can-
didate.
‘‘(2) The report required under this subsection shall
be in addition to all other reports required under this
Act.’’.
(b) EXPANDING TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRIN-
CIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES SUBJECT TO EXPEDITED
REPORTING.—Section 304(a)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
434(a)(6)(A)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200’’;
and
(2) by striking ‘‘20th day’’ and inserting ‘‘90th
day’’.
SEC. 4. REQUIRING MAJORITY OF AMOUNT OF CONTRIBU-
TIONS ACCEPTED BY HOUSE CANDIDATES TO
COME FROM IN-STATE RESIDENTS.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(i)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
may not accept contributions with respect to an election
from persons other than individuals residing in the State
involved totaling in excess of the aggregate amount of con-
tributions accepted with respect to the election from indi-
viduals residing in the State involved.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to
contributions from a political committee of a national,
State, or local political party (including any subordinate
committee thereof).’’.
SEC. 5. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN-
FORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CON-
TRIBUTORS.
Section 302(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(i) When the treasurer’’ and
inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(2), when the treasurer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to
information regarding the identification of any person who
makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more
than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro-
vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.
SEC. 6. LOWERING THRESHOLD FOR CASH CONTRIBU-
TIONS.
Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by striking ‘‘exceed
$100’’ and inserting ‘‘exceed $20’’.
SEC. 7. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOTING
AGE.
Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(9)(A) For purposes of the limitations imposed by
this section, any contribution made by a dependent minor
shall be treated as follows:
‘‘(i) If the dependent minor is the dependent of
one other individual, the contribution shall be treat-
ed as a contribution made by such other individual.
‘‘(ii) If the dependent minor is the dependent of
another individual and such other individual’s
spouse, the contribution shall be allocated among
such individuals in such manner as such other indi-
viduals may determine.
‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘dependent minor’
means an individual who—
‘‘(i) is a dependent of another individual; and
‘‘(ii) has not, as of the time of making the con-
tribution involved, attained the legal age for voting
in elections for Federal office in the State in which
such individual resides.’’.
SEC. 8. PROHIBITING NON-CITIZEN INDIVIDUALS FROM
MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS IN CONNECTION
WITH FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘and who is not lawfully admitted’’ and all that follows
and inserting a period.
SEC. 9. MANDATORY SUBMISSION OF MONTHLY REPORTS
BY NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT-
TEES.
Section 304(a)(4)(B) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(4)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘monthly reports’’ and inserting
‘‘in the case of a national committee of a political
party and any other political committee (other than
an authorized committee of a candidate) not filing
quarterly reports under subparagraph (A), monthly
reports’’; and
(2) by striking the period at the end and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘except that in the case of a na-
tional committee of a political party, the committee
shall file the reports due in November and December
of such year together with such a pre-general elec-
tion report, post-general election report, and year
end report.’’.
SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SOFT
MONEY EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL PAR-
TIES.
(a) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS BY NATIONAL POLITICAL
PARTIES.—Section 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (H);
(2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (I); and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(J) in the case of a political committee of
a national political party, all funds transferred
to any political committee of a State or local
political party, without regard to whether or not
the funds are otherwise treated as contributions
or expenditures under this title;’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE BY STATE POLITICAL PARTIES OF
INFORMATION REPORTED UNDER STATE LAW.—Section
304 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section
3(a), is further amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(e) If a political committee of a State political party
is required under a State or local law, rule, or regulation
to submit a report on its disbursements to an entity of
the State or local government, the committee shall file a
copy of the report with the Commission at the time it sub-
mits the report to such an entity.’’.
SEC. 11. UNION DISCLOSURE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 201(b) of the Labor Man-
agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C.
431(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(5); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) an itemization of amounts spent by the
labor organization for—
‘‘(A) contract negotiation and administra-
tion;
‘‘(B) organizing activities;
‘‘(C) strike activities;
‘‘(D) political activities;
‘‘(E) lobbying and promotional activities;
and
‘‘(F) market recovery and job targeting
programs; and
‘‘(8) all transactions involving a single source or
payee for each of the activities described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (7) in which
the aggregate cost exceeds $10,000.’’.
(b) COMPUTER NETWORK ACCESS.—Section 201(c)
of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘in-
cluding availability of such reports via a public Internet
site or another publicly accessible computer network,’’
after ‘‘its members,’’.
(c) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—Section 205(a) of
the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of
1959 (29 U.S.C. 435(a)) is amended by inserting after
‘‘and the Secretary’’ the following: ‘‘shall make the reports
and documents filed pursuant to section 201(b) available
via a public Internet site or another publicly accessible
computer network. The Secretary’’.
SEC. 12. PROHIBITING INVOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT OF EM-
PLOYEE FUNDS FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) Except with the separate, prior, written, vol-
untary authorization of each individual, it shall be unlaw-
ful—
‘‘(A) for any national bank or corporation de-
scribed in this section to collect from or assess its
stockholders or employees any dues, initiation fee, or
other payment as a condition of employment if any
part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for
political activity in which the national bank or cor-
poration is engaged; and
‘‘(B) for any labor organization described in
this section to collect from or assess its members or
nonmembers any dues, initiation fee, or other pay-
ment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will
be used for political activity in which the labor orga-
nization is engaged.
‘‘(2) An authorization described in paragraph (1)
shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked
at any time. Each entity collecting from or assessing
amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect
under such paragraph shall provide the individual with a
statement that the individual may at any time revoke the
authorization.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘politi-
cal activity’ means any activity carried out for the purpose
of influencing (in whole or in part) any election for Fed-
eral office, influencing the consideration or outcome of any
Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of any Fed-
eral regulations, or educating individuals about candidates
for election for Federal office or any Federal legislation,
law, or regulations.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply to amounts collected or assessed
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 13. SOLICITATIONS BY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS OF
SHAREHOLDERS AND PERSONNEL OF MEM-
BER CORPORATIONS.
Section 316(b)(4)(D) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(4)(D)) is amended
by striking ‘‘to the extent that’’ and all that follows and
inserting a period.
SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made
by this Act shall apply with respect to elections and trans-
actions occurring after December 31, 1998.
Æ