Title: CLEAR Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Connecting Lobbyists and Electeds for Accountability and Reform Act or the CLEAR Act
This bill requires reports filed by political committees, reports filed by persons making independent expenditures, and reports filed by persons making disbursements for electioneering communications to disclose if individuals identified in the reports are registered lobbyists.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 547 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 547

 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require certain 
 reports filed under such Act to include the disclosure of persons who 
are registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2019

Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require certain 
 reports filed under such Act to include the disclosure of persons who 
are registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, 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 ``Connecting Lobbyists and Electeds 
for Accountability and Reform Act'' or the ``CLEAR Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE IN CERTAIN REPORTS FILED WITH FEDERAL 
              ELECTION COMMISSION OF PERSONS WHO ARE REGISTERED 
              LOBBYISTS.

    (a) Reports Filed by Political Committees.--Section 304(b) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (7);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) if any person identified in subparagraph (A), (E), 
        (F), or (G) of paragraph (3) is a registered lobbyist under the 
        Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, a separate statement that such 
        person is a registered lobbyist under such Act.''.
    (b) Reports Filed by Persons Making Independent Expenditures.--
Section 304(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(D) if the person filing the statement, or a person whose 
        identification is required to be disclosed under subparagraph 
        (C), is a registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995, a separate statement that such person is a registered 
        lobbyist under such Act.''.
    (c) Reports Filed by Persons Making Disbursements for 
Electioneering Communications.--Section 304(f)(2) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 30104(f)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(G) If the person making the disbursement, or a 
                contributor described in subparagraph (E) or (F), is a 
                registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
                of 1995, a separate statement that such person or 
                contributor is a registered lobbyist under such Act.''.
    (d) Requiring Commission To Establish Link to Websites of the Clerk 
of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.--Section 304 of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(j) Requiring Information on Registered Lobbyists To Be Linked to 
Websites of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.--
            ``(1) Links to websites.--The Commission shall ensure that 
        the Commission's public database containing information 
        described in paragraph (2) is linked electronically to the 
        websites maintained by the Secretary of the Senate and the 
        Clerk of the House of Representatives containing information 
        filed pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
            ``(2) Information described.--The information described in 
        this paragraph is each of the following:
                    ``(A) Information disclosed under paragraph (9) of 
                subsection (b).
                    ``(B) Information disclosed under subparagraph (D) 
                of subsection (c)(2).
                    ``(C) Information disclosed under subparagraph (G) 
                of subsection (f)(2).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to reports 
required to be filed under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 on 
or after the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
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