Real Time Transparency Act
Bill: S.850 | Sponsor: Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. (I-ME)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Real Time Transparency Act
This bill revises the notification requirement for campaign contributions of $1,000 or more. Specifically, the bill applies this requirement to (1) any political committee, not just a candidate's principal campaign committee; and (2) cumulative contributions of $1,000 or more during a calendar year, instead of only single contributions that are received by a committee less than 20 days but more than 48 hours before the day of an election. Only the Federal Election Commission (FEC) must be notified within 48 hours of receiving these contributions, instead of the FEC and others.
Any amount transferred by a joint fundraising committee established by a candidate's authorized committee to any other authorized committee of that candidate shall be treated as a contribution.

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require all 
 political committees to notify the Federal Election Commission within 
 48 hours of receiving cumulative contributions of $1,000 or more from 
    any contributor during a calendar year, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Real Time Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. 48-HOUR NOTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR ALL POLITICAL COMMITTEES 
              RECEIVING CUMULATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF $1,000 OR MORE 
              DURING A YEAR FROM ANY CONTRIBUTOR.

    (a) Notification.--Section 304(a)(6)(A) of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(6)(A)) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(A)(i) If a political committee receives an aggregate amount of 
contributions equal to or greater than $1,000 from any contributor 
during a calendar year, the committee shall submit a notification to 
the Commission containing the name of the committee (and, in the case 
of an authorized committee of a candidate, the name of the candidate 
and the office sought by the candidate), the identification of the 
contributor, and the date of receipt and amount of the contributions 
involved.
    ``(ii) If, at any time after a political committee is required to 
submit a notification under this subparagraph with respect to a 
contributor during a calendar year, the political committee receives 
additional contributions from that contributor during that year, the 
committee shall submit an additional notification under clause (i) with 
respect to such contributor each time the aggregate amount of the 
additional contributions received from the contributor during the year 
equals or exceeds $1,000 (excluding the amount of any contribution for 
which information is required to be included in a previous notification 
under this subparagraph).
    ``(iii) The political committee shall submit the notification 
required under this subparagraph with respect to a contributor--
            ``(I) in the case of a notification described in clause 
        (i), not later than 48 hours after the date on which the 
        aggregate amount of contributions received from the contributor 
        during the calendar year first equals or exceeds $1,000; or
            ``(II) in the case of an additional notification described 
        in clause (ii), not later than 48 hours after the date on which 
        the aggregate amount of contributions received from the 
        contributor during the calendar year for which information was 
        not already included in a notification under this subparagraph 
        first equals or exceeds $1,000.
    ``(iv) For purposes of this subparagraph, any amount transferred by 
a joint fundraising committee which is established by an authorized 
committee of a candidate to any other authorized committee of that 
candidate shall be treated as a contribution by the joint fundraising 
committee to such authorized committee.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to contributions received by a political committee 
under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 during 2021 or any 
succeeding year, except that nothing in such amendment may be construed 
to require a political committee which does not receive contributions 
during the portion of 2021 which occurs after the date of the enactment 
of this Act to meet the requirements of section 304(a)(6)(A) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by subsection (a).
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