Title: Corporate Duty to Report Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Corporate Duty to Report Act of 2019
This bill requires corporations to report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the receipt of specified prohibited disbursements from foreign nationals for campaign related public communications. Additionally, when receiving specified disbursements, corporations must inquire whether such disbursements (1) are for campaign purposes, and (2) are made by foreign nationals. The bill establishes fines for violations of this bill.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2853 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2853

     To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require 
  corporations to report disbursements made by foreign nationals for 
purposes of disseminating campaign-related public communications and to 
   inquire whether persons providing such disbursements are foreign 
                   nationals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 20, 2019

  Mr. Swalwell of California introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require 
  corporations to report disbursements made by foreign nationals for 
purposes of disseminating campaign-related public communications and to 
   inquire whether persons providing such disbursements are foreign 
                   nationals, 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 ``Corporate Duty to Report Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF CORPORATIONS RELATING TO DISBURSEMENTS FROM 
              FOREIGN NATIONALS FOR PURPOSES OF DISSEMINATING CAMPAIGN-
              RELATED PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.

    (a) Responsibilities Described.--
            (1) In general.--Section 319 of the Federal Election 
        Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
                (c); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsection:
    ``(b) Responsibilities of Corporations Relating to Disbursements 
From Foreign Nationals for Purposes of Disseminating Campaign-Related 
Public Communications.--
            ``(1) Duties to report receipt of disbursements.--
                    ``(A) Requirement.--It shall be unlawful for a 
                corporation which receives a disbursement and knows 
                that the disbursement is made in whole or in part for 
                purposes of disseminating a campaign-related public 
                communication described in paragraph (3) and knows that 
                the person providing the disbursement is a foreign 
                national to fail to notify the Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation of the receipt of the disbursement.
                    ``(B) Good faith reliance on affirmation by person 
                providing disbursement.--It is an affirmative defense 
                to an allegation that a corporation committed a 
                violation of subparagraph (A) that the corporation 
                relied in good faith on an affirmation by the person 
                providing a disbursement described in such subparagraph 
                that--
                            ``(i) the disbursement is not made in whole 
                        or in part for purposes of disseminating a 
                        campaign-related public communication described 
                        in paragraph (3); or
                            ``(ii) the person providing the 
                        disbursement is not a foreign national.
                    ``(C) Penalty.--A violation of subparagraph (A) 
                shall result in a fine under title 18, United States 
                Code, of not more than $1,000,000 for each such 
                violation.
            ``(2) Duty to inquire whether disbursement is for campaign 
        purposes and whether person providing disbursement is a foreign 
        national.--
                    ``(A) Requirement.--It shall be unlawful for a 
                corporation which receives a disbursement which is made 
                in whole or in part for purposes of disseminating a 
                public communication (as defined in section 301(22))--
                            ``(i) to fail to inquire whether the 
                        communication is a campaign-related public 
                        communication described in paragraph (3); and
                            ``(ii) if the corporation determines that 
                        the communication is a campaign-related public 
                        communication), to fail to inquire whether the 
                        person providing the disbursement is a foreign 
                        national.
                    ``(B) Civil money penalty.--A corporation which 
                violates subparagraph (A) shall be subject to a civil 
                money penalty in accordance with section 309, except 
                that the amount of the penalty may not exceed $500,000 
                for each such violation.
            ``(3) Campaign-related public communications described.--In 
        this subsection, a `campaign-related public communication' is--
                    ``(A) a public communication (as defined in section 
                301(22)) which is funded in whole or in part with an 
                independent expenditure; or
                    ``(B) an electioneering communication described in 
                section 304(f)(3).''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section 
        shall take effect upon the expiration of the 1-year period 
        which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Promulgation of Regulations.--Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall 
promulgate regulations providing additional indicators beyond the 
pertinent facts described in section 110.20(a)(5) of title 11, Code of 
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act) 
that may lead a reasonable person to conclude that there is a 
substantial probability that the source of the funds solicited, 
accepted, or received is a foreign national, as defined in section 
319(c) of the Federal Election Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(c)), as 
redesignated by subsection (a)(1), or to inquire whether the source of 
the funds solicited, accepted, or received is a foreign national, as so 
defined. Regulations promulgated under the proceeding sentence shall 
also provide guidance to political committees and campaigns to not 
engage in racial or ethnic profiling in making such a conclusion or 
inquiry.
                                 <all>