I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4267
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require certain
disclosure and reports relating to polling by telephone or electronic device,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996
Mr. PETRI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
require certain disclosure and reports relating to polling
by telephone or electronic device, 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. DISCLOSURE AND REPORTS RELATING TO
POLLING BY TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC
DEVICE.
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 new section:
‘‘DISCLOSURE AND REPORTS RELATING TO POLLING BY
TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC DEVICE
‘‘SEC. 323. (a) Any person who conducts a Federal
election poll by telephone or electronic device shall disclose
to each respondent the identity of the person paying the
expenses of the poll. The disclosure shall be made at the
end of the interview involved.
‘‘(b) In the case of any Federal election poll by tele-
phone or electronic device—
‘‘(1) if the results are not to be made public,
the person who conducts the poll shall report to the
Commission the total cost of the poll and all sources
of funds for the poll; and
‘‘(2) if more than 400 households are surveyed,
the person who conducts the poll shall report to the
Commission the total number of households con-
tacted, and include with such report a copy of the
poll questions.
‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘Federal elec-
tion poll’ means a survey in which the respondent is asked
to state a preference in a future election for Federal of-
fice.’’.
SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT FOR CERTAIN POLITICAL CONTRIBU-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is
amended by inserting after section 22 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 23. CREDIT FOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed
by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to
one-half of all political contributions, and all newsletter
fund contributions, paid by the taxpayer during the tax-
able year.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The credit allowed by
subsection (a) shall not exceed $100 ($200 in the
case of a joint return).
‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The credit allowed by
subsection (a) shall be allowed, with respect to any
political contribution or newsletter fund contribution,
only if such contribution is verified in such manner
as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) 
CANDIDATE.—The 
term 
‘candidate’
means, with respect to any Federal, State, or local
elective public office, an individual who—
‘‘(A) publicly announces before the close of
the calendar year following the calendar year in
which the political contribution is made that the
individual is a candidate for nomination or elec-
tion to such office; and
‘‘(B) meets the qualifications prescribed by
law to hold such office.
‘‘(2) NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY.—The term
‘national political party’ means—
‘‘(A) in the case of political contributions
made during a taxable year of the taxpayer in
which the electors of President and Vice Presi-
dent are chosen, a political party presenting
candidates or electors for such offices on the of-
ficial election ballot of ten or more States; or
‘‘(B) in the case of political contributions
made during any other taxable year of the tax-
payer, a political party which met the qualifica-
tions described in subparagraph (A) in the last
preceding election of a President and Vice
President.
‘‘(3) NEWSLETTER
FUND.—The term ‘news-
letter fund’ means a fund described in section
527(g)(1).
‘‘(4) POLITICAL
CONTRIBUTION.—The term
‘political contribution’ means a contribution or gift
of money, or the fair market value of a contribution
or gift of property, to—
‘‘(A) an individual who is a candidate for
nomination or election to any Federal, State, or
local elective public office in any primary, gen-
eral, or special election, for use by such individ-
ual to further the candidacy of the individual
for nomination or election to such office;
‘‘(B) any committee, association, or organi-
zation (whether or not incorporated) organized
and operated exclusively for the purposes of in-
fluencing, or attempting to influence, the nomi-
nation or election of one or more individuals
who are candidates for nomination or election
to any Federal, State, or local elective public of-
fice, for use by such committee, association, or
organization to further the candidacy of such
individual or individuals for nomination or elec-
tion to such office;
the Congress may not accept contributions with respect
to an election cycle from persons other than local individ-
ual residents totaling in excess of the total of contributions
accepted from local individual residents (as determined on
the basis of the most recent information included in re-
ports pursuant to section 304(d).
‘‘(2) In determining the amount of contributions ac-
cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con-
tributions of the candidate’s personal funds shall be sub-
ject to the following rules:
‘‘(A) To the extent that the amount of the con-
tribution does not exceed the limitation on contribu-
tions made by an individual under subsection
(a)(1)(A), such contribution shall be treated as any
other contribution.
‘‘(B) The portion (if any) of the contribution
which exceeds the limitation on contributions which
may be made by an individual under subsection
(a)(1)(A) shall be allocated in accordance with para-
graph (8).
‘‘(3) In determining the amount of contributions ac-
cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, con-
tributions from a political party or a political party com-
mittee shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).
‘‘(4) In determining the amount of contributions ac-
cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any
funds remaining in the candidate’s campaign account
after the filing of the post-general election report under
section 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) for the most recent general elec-
tion shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).
‘‘(5) In determining the amount of contributions ac-
cepted by a candidate for purposes of this subsection, any
contributions accepted pursuant to subsection (j) which
are from persons other than local individual residents shall
be allocated in accordance with paragraph (8).
‘‘(6)(A) Any candidate who accepts contributions that
exceed the limitation under this subsection, as determined
on the basis of information included in reports pursuant
to section 304(d), shall pay to the Commission at the time
of the filing of the report which contains the information,
for deposit in the Treasury, an amount equal to 3 times
the amount of the excess contributions (or, in the case
of a candidate described in subparagraph (C), an amount
equal to 5 times the amount of the excess contributions
plus a civil penalty in an amount determined by the Com-
mission).
‘‘(B) Any amounts paid by a candidate under this
paragraph shall be paid from contributions subject to the
limitations and prohibitions of this title, including the lim-
itation under this subsection.
‘‘(C) A candidate described in this subparagraph is
a candidate who accepts contributions that exceed the lim-
itation under this subsection as of the last day of the pe-
riod ending on the 20th day before an election or any pe-
riod ending after such 20th day and before or on the 20th
day after such election.
‘‘(7) As used in this subsection, the term ‘local indi-
vidual resident’ means an individual who resides in the
State in which the election involved is held.
‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection, any amounts
allocated in accordance with this paragraph shall be allo-
cated as follows:
‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amounts shall be
deemed to be contributions from local individual
residents.
‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amounts shall be
deemed to be contributions from persons other than
local individual residents.’’.
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(d) Each principal campaign committee of a can-
didate for the Senate or the House of Representatives
shall include the following information in reports filed
under subsection (a)(2) and subsection (a)(6)(A):
‘‘(1) With respect to each report filed under
such subsection—
‘‘(A) the total contributions received by the
committee with respect to the election cycle in-
volved from local individual residents (as de-
fined in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of
the period covered by the report;
‘‘(B) the total contributions received by the
committee with respect to the election cycle in-
volved which are not from local individual resi-
dents, as of the last day of the period covered
by the report; and
‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con-
tributions reported comply with the limitation
under section 315(i), as of the last day of the
period covered by the report.
‘‘(2) In the case of the first report filed under
such subsection which covers the period which begins
19 days before an election and ends 20 days after
the election—
‘‘(A) the total contributions received by the
committee with respect to the election cycle in-
volved from local individual residents (as de-
fined in section 315(i)(7)), as of the last day of
such period;
‘‘(B) the total contributions received by the
committee with respect to the election cycle in-
volved which are not from local individual resi-
dents, as of the last day of such period; and
‘‘(C) a certification as to whether the con-
tributions reported comply with the limitation
under section 315(i), as of the last day of such
period.’’.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITING BUNDLING OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO
CANDIDATES BY POLITICAL ACTION COMMIT-
TEES AND LOBBYISTS.
Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) No political action committee or person re-
quired to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) may act as an intermediary
or conduit with respect to a contribution to a candidate
for Federal office.
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘political action com-
mittee’ means any political committee which is not—
‘‘(A) the principal campaign committee of a
candidate; or
‘‘(B) a political party committee.’’.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES.
(a) LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE PROHIBITION.—Sec-
tion 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C. 432) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(j) A candidate for Federal office or an individual
holding Federal office may not establish, maintain, fi-
nance, or control a political committee, other than a prin-
cipal campaign committee of the candidate or the individ-
ual.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO JOINT
FUNDRAISING.—Section 302(e)(3)(A) of such Act (2
U.S.C. 432(e)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘except
that—’’ and all that follows and inserting the following:
‘‘except that the candidate for the office of President nom-
inated by a political party may designate the national com-
mittee of such political party as a principal campaign com-
mittee, but only if that national committee maintains sep-
arate books of account with respect to its function as a
principal campaign committee.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to elections oc-
curring in years beginning with 1997.
pose other than use by the candidate or individ-
ual involved with respect to an election for Fed-
eral office.
SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBU-
TIONS WHEN CANDIDATES SPEND OR CON-
TRIBUTE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PERSONAL
FUNDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended
by section 4(a), is further amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(j)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if in a gen-
eral election a House candidate makes expenditures of per-
sonal funds (including contributions by the candidate to
the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) in an
amount in excess of the amount of the limitation estab-
lished under subsection (a)(1)(A) and less than or equal
to $150,000 (as reported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), a
political party committee may make contributions to an
opponent of the House candidate without regard to any
limitation otherwise applicable to such contributions under
subsection (a), except that the opponent may not accept
aggregate contributions under this paragraph in an
amount greater than the greatest amount of personal
funds expended (including contributions to the candidate’s
authorized campaign committee) by any House candidate
(other than such opponent) with respect to the election
(as reported in a notification submitted under section
304(a)(6)(B)).
‘‘(2) If a House candidate makes expenditures of per-
sonal funds (including contributions by the candidate to
the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) with re-
spect to an election in an amount greater than $150,000
(as reported under section 304(a)(2)(A)), the following
rules shall apply:
‘‘(A) In the case of a general election, the limi-
tations under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) (insofar
as such limitations apply to political party commit-
tees and to individuals) shall not apply to contribu-
tions to the candidate or to any opponent of the can-
didate, except that neither the candidate or any op-
ponent may accept aggregate contributions under
this subparagraph and paragraph (1) in an amount
greater than the greatest amount of personal funds
(including contributions to the candidate’s author-
ized campaign committee) expended by any House
candidate with respect to the election (as reported in
a 
notification 
submitted 
under 
section
304(a)(6)(B)).
‘‘(B) In the case of an election other than a
general election, the limitations under subsection
(a)(1) (insofar as such limitations apply to individ-
uals) shall not apply to contributions to the can-
didate or to any opponent of the candidate, except
that neither the candidate or any opponent may ac-
cept aggregate contributions under this subpara-
graph in an amount greater than the greatest
amount of personal funds (including contributions to
the candidate’s authorized campaign committee) ex-
pended by any House candidate with respect to the
election (as reported in a notification submitted
under section 304(a)(6)(B)).
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘House candidate’
means a candidate in an election for the office of Rep-
resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to,
the Congress.’’.
(b) NOTIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES OF PERSONAL
FUNDS.—Section 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
434(a)(6)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (C); and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(B)(i) The principal campaign committee of a
House candidate (as defined in section 315(j)(3)) shall
submit the following notifications relating to expenditures
of personal funds by such candidate (including contribu-
tions by the candidate to such committee):
‘‘(I) A notification of the first such expenditure
(or contribution) by which the aggregate amount of
personal funds expended (or contributed) with re-
spect to an election exceeds the amount of the limi-
tation established under section 315(a)(1)(A) for
elections in the year involved.
‘‘(II) A notification of each such expenditure
(or contribution) which, taken together with all such
expenditures (and contributions) in any amount not
included in the most recent report under this sub-
paragraph, totals $5,000 or more.
‘‘(III) A notification of the first such expendi-
ture (or contribution) by which the aggregate
amount of personal funds expended with respect to
the election exceeds the level applicable under sec-
tion 315(j)(2) for elections in the year involved.
‘‘(ii) Each of the notifications submitted under clause
(i)—
‘‘(I) shall be submitted not later than 24 hours
after the expenditure or contribution which is the
subject of the notification is made;
‘‘(II) shall include the name of the candidate,
the office sought by the candidate, and the date of
the expenditure or contribution and amount of the
expenditure or contribution involved; and
‘‘(III) shall include the total amount of all such
expenditures and contributions made with respect to
the same election as of the date of expenditure or
contribution which is the subject of the notifica-
tion.’’.
SEC. 8. CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL-
ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE
BASIS.
Section 304(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘(or election cycle, in the case of
an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal of-
fice)’’ after ‘‘calendar year’’ each place it appears in para-
graphs (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7).
SEC. 9. DEFINITION AMENDMENT.
Paragraph (19) of section 301 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(19)) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘(19) The term ‘expressly advocating’ means that—
‘‘(A) the qualifications, views, or fitness for of-
fice of the candidate are discussed; or
‘‘(B) a voter is urged to vote for or against the
specified candidate.’’.
SEC. 10. REDUCTION IN LIMITATION AMOUNT APPLICABLE
TO CONTRIBUTIONS BY MULTICANDIDATE
POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO CANDIDATES.
Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(A)) is amended
by striking out ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘$2,000’’.
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