zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Open Our Democracy Act of 2014 - Requires all candidates for election to the House of Representatives to run in a single open primary, regardless of political party preference.

Limits the ensuing general election to the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the single open primary.

Gives candidates the option, at the time of filing to run for office, to declare a political party preference, which does not constitute or imply endorsement of the candidate by the party designated.

Treats the general election day in the same manner as a legal public holiday for purposes of federal employment.

Expresses the sense of Congress that private employers should give their employees a day off on the general election day in November 2016 and each even-numbered year thereafter to enable them to cast votes in elections held on that day.

Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the feasibility and desirability of enacting national standards and criteria for congressional redistricting.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Political Intelligence Transparency Act of 2014 - Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to require the disclosure of political intelligence activities, particularly relating to information useful for analyzing securities or commodities markets.

Requires political intelligence consultants or their employing organizations to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and make quarterly reports on political intelligence activities.

Requires any person or entity that makes an oral or written political intelligence contact with a covered legislative branch or executive branch official on the official's request to: (1) state whether such person or entity is registered under the LDA, (2) identify the client on behalf of whom the contact is made, and (3) state whether such client is a foreign entity, and make any related disclosures.

Amends the federal criminal code to subject to a fine or imprisonment, or both, certain former officers, employees, and elected officials of the executive and legislative branches who knowingly make any communication to or appearance before any officer or employee of a federal or District of Columbia agency or court in violation of certain permanent or temporary restrictions, and with the intent to gain information for use in analyzing securities or commodities markets, or in informing investment decisions in these markets.

Excludes from such prohibition any communication made by a representative of a media organization to gather and disseminate news and information to the public.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to treat as a campaign contribution any payment made by any person (other than a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party) for a coordinated expenditure which is not otherwise treated as a contribution.

Repeals the prohibition against contributions by minors.

Sets forth rules governing payments for coordinated expenditures, including special rule for payments by coordinated spenders for covered communications.

Defines "covered communication" as a public communication which: (1) promotes or supports the candidate, or attacks or opposes an opponent of the candidate (regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy); or (2) refers to the candidate or an opponent of the candidate in other ways, but only if the communication is disseminated during the applicable election period.

Prohibits candidates or individuals holding federal office, their agents, and certain related entities from soliciting, receiving, directing, or transferring funds to or on behalf of any political committee which accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements, or to or on behalf of any 527 organization which accepts such donations or contributions (other than a committee of a state or local political party or a candidate for election for state or local office).

(A 527 organization, tax-exempt in certain circumstances under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.)

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to allow the use of contributions or donations only for the six years following the most recent federal election for a six-year office (e.g. the Senate) in which an individual was a candidate for the office if that individual is not a candidate for that office during those ensuing six years.

Requires contributions or donations remaining available to to such an individual after such six-year period ends to be disposed of within 30 days, as follows: (1) to pay any debts or obligations owed in connection with the campaign for that office; (2) to return those contributions or donations to the individuals, entities, or both, who made them; (3) to make contributions to a charitable organization; and (4) to make transfers to a national, state or local committee of a political party.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to repeal certain limits on separate contributions by persons or multicandidate political committees to political committees of a national political party which are not the authorized political committees of any candidate. Specifies those contributions used to defray expenses for:

 a presidential nominating convention; the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of party headquarters buildings; and the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings.

Date: 2014-12-16
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit any authorized committee of a candidate or any other political committee established, maintained, or controlled by a candidate or person who holds a federal office from employing the spouse or any immediate family member of such candidate or federal office holder.

Amends the federal criminal code to subject to specified criminal and civil penalties any spouse of a Member of Congress who: (1) was not a registered lobbyist at least one year before the Member's election to Congress; and (2) knowingly lobbies, after the election of such Member, any Member on behalf of a client for compensation or is associated with any such lobbying activity by his or her employer.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions providing for the use of funds from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for presidential nominating conventions.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require all election-related designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under the Act to be filed directly with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Date: 2013-02-25
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014 - Requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) standards and definitions in effect on January 1, 2010, for determining whether an organization qualifies for tax-exempt status as an organization operated exclusively for social welfare to apply to such determinations after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate of the Secretary, from issuing, revising, or finalizing any regulation (including proposed regulations), revenue ruling, or other guidance not limited to a particular taxpayer relating to such standards and definitions. Terminates this Act one year after its enactment.

Date: 2014-02-11
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise the requirement of a 48-hour notification of a campaign contribution of $1,000 or more to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and certain other officials by the principal campaign committee of a candidate for federal office.

Applies this requirement, with certain additions, but for reporting exclusively to the FEC, to any political committee regarding cumulative contributions of $1,000 or more from any contributor during a calendar year.

(Currently, a candidate's principal campaign committee is required to give a written 48-hour notification to the Secretary of the Senate or the FEC, and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, after the receipt of any contribution of $1,000 or more by any authorized committee of such candidate after the 20th day, but more than 48 hours before, any election.)

Treats any amount transferred by a joint fundraising committee established by a candidate's authorized committee to any other authorized committee of that candidate as a contribution by the joint fundraising committee to such authorized committee (and thus subject to the 48-hour notification requirement).

Requires Senate candidates to file designations, statements, and reports directly with the FEC (instead of via the Secretary of the Senate, as currently required).

Date: 2014-04-03
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
SuperPAC Elimination Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) eliminate the limitations on direct contributions to candidates in federal elections, and (2) require 24-hour notification to the Secretary of the Senate, or the Federal Election Commission, and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, for all direct contributions to candidates in excess of $200.

Date: 2014-06-03
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Close the Revolving Door Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a lifetime ban on any former Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, or elected officer of the Senate or House of Representatives lobbying any current Member, officer, or employee of Congress or any employee of any other legislative office (currently, the ban is for two years after a Senator leaves office and one year after a Member of the House of Representatives leaves office). Extends such ban from one to six years for officers and employees of the Senate, personal staff of Members, committee staff, leadership staff, and other legislative offices.

Prohibits for a six-year period the hiring of a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal by a Member of Congress or a congressional committee with whom the lobbyist or agent has had a substantial lobbying contact.

Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to: (1) direct the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives to maintain a joint lobbyist disclosure Internet database for information required to be publicly disclosed by such Act, (2) require a substantial lobbying entity to file with Congress a list of any employees who provide paid consulting services and who are former Members of Congress or highly-paid congressional staffers, and (3) increase the civil penalty for violations of the disclosure or reporting provisions of such Act.

Date: 2014-06-03
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2014 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidate's character, qualifications, or fitness for office.

Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications.

Prescribes disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities, including a political committee with an account established for the purpose of accepting donations or contributions that do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions under FECA (but only with respect to such accounts).

Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger.

Date: 2014-06-24
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Keep the Promise Act of 2014 - Restricts gaming on land within the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area acquired by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe after April 9, 2013. Terminates the restriction on January 1, 2027.

Date: 2014-07-28
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Native Americans
Lobbying and Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to declare that, for purposes of dollar limits on contributions, any bundled contribution forwarded by a currently registered lobbyist or a political committee established or controlled by one to an authorized committee of a candidate, a leadership political action committee (PAC), or a political party committee shall be treated as both a contribution made by the person forwarding it and as a contribution made by the contributor.

Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to revise the definition of "lobbyist" with respect to its exemption from coverage of certain individuals whose lobbying activities constitute less than 20% of the time engaged in the services provided to a client over a 3-month period. Extends the 3-month period into a 2-year period.

Amends FECA to prohibit House of Representatives and Senate candidates, Members, Senators, their agents, or any entities directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by or acting on behalf of one or more of them from soliciting funds from any registered lobbyist in connection with an election to the House or Senate during any period in which the chamber is in session (excluding adjournments or recesses for 10 calendar days or longer).

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Economic Development Through Tribal Land Exchange Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon receipt of confirmation that Lloyd L. Fields has executed and deposited with an escrow holder in California a deed conveying title to certain lands designated on the Morongo Indian Reservation, County of Riverside, State of California Land Exchange Map (dated May 22, 2014) as "Fields lands" to the United States in trust for the exclusive use and benefit of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and upon receipt by Fields of confirmation that the Secretary has executed and deposited with such escrow holder a patent conveying title to lands designated as "Morongo lands" to Fields and a specified easement to the city of Banning in Riverside County in California for a public right-of-way, to instruct such escrow holder to cause: (1) the patent to the Morongo lands to be recorded and issued to Fields, (2) such easement to be recorded and issued to the city, and (3) the deed to the Fields lands to be delivered to the Secretary.

Instructs the Secretary, after completion of such transfers and as soon as practicable after receipt of confirmation that the city has vacated its interest in land designated as "Banning land," to cause such land to be held in trust for the Tribe subject to: (1) any valid existing rights of any third parties, and (2) legal review and approval of the form and content of all instruments of conveyance.

Date: 2014-09-17
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Native Americans
Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act - Prohibits a state that has been redistricted after an apportionment from being redistricted again until after the next apportionment of Representatives, unless the state is ordered by a court to conduct such a subsequent redistricting in order to comply with the U.S. Constitution or enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Requires such redistricting to be conducted through a plan developed by the independent redistricting commission established in the state, or if such plan is not enacted into law, the redistricting plan selected by the state's highest court or developed by a U.S. district court.

Prescribes requirements for: (1) establishment of a state independent redistricting commission (including provisions for holding each of its meetings in public and maintaining a public Internet website); (2) development of a redistricting plan (including soliciting and considering public comments) and its submission to the state legislature (with public notice of plans at least seven days prior to such submission); (3) selection of a plan, under specified conditions, by the state's highest court or the U.S. district court for the district in which the capital of the state is located; (4) special rules for redistricting conducted under a federal court order; and (5) Election Assistance Commission payments to states for carrying out redistricting.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Congress
Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require: (1) the annual tax return information for tax-exempt organizations and deferred compensation plans to be made available to the public at no charge and in an open structured data format that is processable by computers, with the information easy to find, access, reuse, and download in bulk; and (2) the disclosure of the names and addresses of contributors of $5,000 or more to tax-exempt organizations that participate or intervene in political campaigns on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

Date: 2014-11-18
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
New Chance for a New Start in Life Act of 2015

 Directs the Secretary of Labor to make grants to state and local governments and Indian tribes to carry out employment training programs to assist long-term unemployed persons obtain the skills and training to re-enter the workforce and fill jobs in sectors of the economy projected to have the highest rates of demand during the period 2014 through 2024.

Prescribes certain grant condition and use requirements.

Declares that receiving services or compensation under this Act shall not cause any reduction in the amount of unemployment compensation that an individual is otherwise due.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Labor and employment
This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to permit candidates for election to federal office to: (1) designate an individual for each of a candidate's authorized campaign committees who will be authorized to disburse funds of the committee in the event of the candidate's death, and (2) designate another individual to carry out the responsibilities of the designated individual in the event of the death or incapacity of the designated individual or the designated individual's unwillingness to carry out the responsibilities.

The bill prescribes procedures for filing and revoking such a designation, and permits the filing of a designation to contain the candidate's instructions regarding the disbursement of funds.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
No Political Funds for Personal Use Act 

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 with respect to the use of campaign contributions to apply the prohibition against the conversion to personal use of contributions accepted by candidates also to contributions accepted by political committees.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Close the Floodgates Act

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to repeal certain limits on separate contributions by persons or multicandidate political committees to political committees of a national political party which are not the authorized political committees of any candidate. Specifies those contributions used to defray expenses for:

 a presidential nominating convention; the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of party headquarters buildings; and the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Election Assistance Commission Termination Act

(Sec. 2) Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to terminate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the EAC Standards Board, and the EAC Board of Advisors. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to perform EAC functions with respect to certain existing contracts and agreements during the transition period for winding up EAC affairs.

Transfers specified election administration functions of the EAC to the Federal Election Commission.

Terminates the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Stop the Revolving Door in Washington Act

 Amends the federal criminal code regarding the two-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Senators with any Member, officer, or employee of either chamber, or employee of any other legislative office.

Imposes: (1) a five-year lobbying ban on all former Members of Congress; and (2) a two-year (currently, one-year) ban on lobbying contacts by former elected officers of either chamber, former congressional employees, or former employees of any other legislative office with any Member, officer, or employee.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
End the Congressional Revolving Door Act

Prohibits a former Member of Congress or former congressional employee who is a registered lobbyist, and entitled to compensation as such, from being eligible for any benefits beginning after enactment of this Act under:

 the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), including the TSP; the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program, including federal enhanced dental and vision benefits; or the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program. States that nothing in this Act shall be considered to prevent the payment of any CSRS or FERS lump-sum credit to which an individual is entitled or any nonforfeitable amount in an individual's TSP account.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Campaign Sunlight Act of 2015

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to direct the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to establish and operate a website (Campaign Accountability Site) through which members of the public may view the contents of political advertisements.

Requires the sponsor of a political advertisement to submit its contents to the FEC in a format the FEC may require. Requires the format to make the sources of such contents available on the website directly or through hyperlinks to the sources.

Requires the sponsor to submit an advertisement to the FEC within: (1) 24 hours after its dissemination, if it is disseminated during the 7 days before the election involved; or (2) 72 hours after dissemination during any other period.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate: (1) the taxpayer election to designate $3 of income tax liability for financing of presidential election campaigns for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2014, (2) the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, and (3) the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account.

Of the amounts in the Fund as of the date of enactment of this Act: (1) a specified amount shall be transferred to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund, and (2) the remainder shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury to be used only for reducing the budget deficit.

Date: 2015-01-20
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Corporate Politics Transparency Act

 Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that quarterly and annual reports of an issuer, any proxy solicitation or consent or authorization in respect of any security, and the issuer's registration statement disclose total political expenditures in support of or in opposition to any candidate for federal, state, or local public office made by the issuer during the preceding six-year period.

Requires such disclosures to include: (1) the name and political party affiliation of each candidate in support of whom or in opposition to whom a political expenditure was made; (2) the amount of each such expenditure; (3) the public office that such candidate was or is seeking; (4) the relevant state, city, or district; and (5) a statement of the issuer's interest in and reason for making such expenditure.

Date: 2015-01-20
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to treat as a campaign contribution any payment made by any person (other than a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party) for a coordinated expenditure which is not otherwise treated as a contribution.

(In effect, replaces and eliminates a prohibition against contributions by minors which the U.S. Supreme Court in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission ruled an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.)

Sets forth rules governing payments for coordinated expenditures, including special rule for payments by coordinated spenders for covered communications.

Defines "covered communication" as a public communication which: (1) expressly advocates the election of the candidate or the defeat of an opponent of the candidate (or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy); (2) promotes or supports the candidate, or attacks or opposes an opponent of the candidate (regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy); or (3) refers to the candidate or an opponent of the candidate in other ways, but only if the communication is disseminated during the applicable election period.

Prescribes penalties for knowing and willfull violation of this Act by a contribution which consists of a payment for a coordinated expenditure.

Prohibits candidates or individuals holding federal office, their agents, and certain related entities from soliciting, receiving, directing, or transferring funds to or on behalf of any political committee which accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements, or to or on behalf of any 527 organization which accepts such donations or contributions (other than a committee of a state or local political party or a candidate for election for state or local office).

(A 527 organization, tax-exempt in certain circumstances under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.)

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2015 or the DISCLOSE 2015 Act 

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidates, qualifications, or fitness for office.

Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications.

Prescribes: (1) disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities; and (2) disclaimer requirements for campaign-related disbursements and for certain communications.

Requires any communication transmitted through radio or television to include an individual or organizational disclosure statement, together with: (1) the Top Two Funders List of the persons providing the largest and second largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a radio communication, and (2) the Top Five Funders List of the five persons providing the largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a television communication.

Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger.

Requires a covered organization which submits regular, periodic reports to its shareholders, members, or donors on its finances or activities to include in each report, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the information included in the statements it has filed about campaign-related disbursements the organization has made during the period covered by the report.

Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require semiannual reports on certain election campaign contributions filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives by registered lobbyists (or persons or organizations required to register as lobbyists) to contain: (1) the amount of any independent expenditure of $1,000 or more made by each such person or organization, along with the name of each candidate being supported or opposed and the amount spent supporting or opposing that candidate; and (2) the amount of any electioneering communication of $1,000 or more made by such person or organization, along with the name of the candidate referred to in the communication and whether the communication involved was in support of or in opposition to the candidate.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Shareholder Protection Act of 2015

 Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures.

Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act, and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares.

Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure.

Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes.

Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer.

Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure.

Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures, and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website.

Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reduce from $2,000 to $1,000 the maximum amount of contributions that any person may make to any candidate with respect to election for federal office.

Requires adjustment to such amount (indexing) for inflation after 2018.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Protect Democracy From Criminal Corporations Act

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit a corporation from making a disbursement of funds in connection with a campaign for election for federal, state, or local office for six years after the corporation: (1) is finally convicted of conspiracy to commit an offense against, or to defraud, the United States or any other felony involving dishonesty or a breach of trust; or (2) that has been charged with such an offense enters into a non-prosecution agreement, a deferred prosecution agreement, or any other agreement with the Attorney General to resolve such charge if the agreement includes a requirement that the corporation make a payment equal to or greater than $1 million.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 10, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that any Indian tribe or any enterprise or institution owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on its lands is not considered an employer (thus excluding Indian tribes and such enterprises or institutions from coverage by the Act).

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Native Americans
Native American Energy Act

 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow the Department of the Interior, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian land or trust assets involved in a transaction requiring Interior approval. (Currently, Interior sets appraisal requirements.)

Interior must approve or disapprove an appraisal within 60 days or the appraisal is deemed approved.

A tribe may waive the requirement for an appraisal if it also waives any claims for damages it might have against the United States as a result of the lack of an appraisal. (Sec. 3) Each agency within Interior involved in the review of oil and gas activities on Indian lands must use a uniform system of reference numbers and tracking systems for oil and gas wells.

(Sec. 4) This bill amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to make the environmental impact statement for a major federal action (excluding an action related to gaming) on Indian lands available for review and comment only to the affected tribe, individuals residing within the affected area, and state, tribal, and local governments within the affected area.

(Sec. 5) This bill sets forth provisions for the judicial review of a cause of action related to energy development on Indian land.

(Sec. 6) This bill amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct Interior, for land under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), for land under Forest Service jurisdiction, to enter into agreements with Indian tribes to carry out demonstration projects that promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing tribes with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands. Interior and USDA may carry out demonstration projects by which tribes may perform the functions of programs under the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004.

(Sec. 7) Activity pursuant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated resource management plan approved by Interior under the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act or the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act is considered to be a sustainable management practice.

(Sec. 8) This bill amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to allow the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on their restricted lands without Interior's approval. The maximum term of a Navajo Nation lease that does not require Interior's approval is extended for commercial and agricultural leases and established for mineral resource leases.

(Sec. 9) Interior rules regarding hydraulic fracturing do not apply on land held in trust for Indians or on restricted Indian land, except with the express consent of the Indian beneficiaries. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation.

Date: 2015-01-26
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Native Americans
Revolving Door Pension Prevention Act 

Prohibits any former Member of Congress who is a registered lobbyist who receives annual compensation of $1 million or more for lobbying activities from receiving  benefits under: (1) the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (including the Thrift Savings Plan); or (2) the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (including enhanced dental or vision benefits).

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015

Requires the Internal Revenue Service standards and definitions in effect on January 1, 2010, for determining whether an organization qualifies for tax-exempt status as an organization operated exclusively for social welfare to apply to such determinations after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate of the Secretary, from issuing, revising, or finalizing any regulation (including proposed regulations), revenue ruling, or other guidance not limited to a particular taxpayer relating to such standards and definitions. Terminates this Act after December 31, 2017.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Leadership PAC Limitation Act 

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the conversion of leadership PAC funds to personal use.

Date: 2015-02-04
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the federal criminal code to replace the current two-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Senators and one-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Members of the House of Representatives with any Member, officer, or employee of either chamber with an outright ban at any time on such contacts, subject to fines and/or imprisonment.

Specifies a one-year ban on lobbying contacts by former elected officers of the House with any House Member, officer, or employee.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Native American Indian Education Act

Directs the Department of Education to pay four-year Native American-serving nontribal institutions of higher education the out-of-state tuition of their Indian students if those schools are required to provide a tuition-free education, with the support of their state, to Indian students in fulfillment of a condition under which the college or state received its original grant of land and facilities from the federal government.

Prohibits the amount paid to any such college from exceeding the lower of the following amounts: (1) the charges for tuition for the Indian students of that college who were non-residents of the state in which the college is located and who were enrolled in the college for academic year 2014-2015, or (2) $15 million.

Treats such payments as reimbursements to such institutions from their states.

Rescinds unobligated discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of this program.

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Redistricting Transparency Act of 2015

 Requires states to carry out congressional redistricting in accordance with a process under which members of the public are informed of redistricting proposals via the Internet and have the opportunity to participate in the development of such proposals prior to their adoption.

Requires each state redistricting entity to establish and maintain a public Internet site meeting specified requirements.

Requires the state redistricting entity to: (1) solicit the input of members of the public in its work to develop initial congressional redistricting plans for the state; and (2) post the proposed final plan on the Internet site at least 10 days before its adoption, as well as no later than 7 days after its adoption, together with a map, the reasons for adoption, dissenting opinions, and certain other information.

Date: 2015-03-10
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Congress
Restoring Confidence Through Smarter Campaigns Act 

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to limit expenditures by candidates for the House of Representatives to $500,000 during the election cycle ($250,000 for a primary election and $250,000 for a general election). Sets at $250,000 the maximum amount of expenditures which may be made for a runoff election ($125,000 for a primary runoff election and $125,000 for a general runoff election). Excludes from such limits expenditures for legal services. Provides for indexing such amounts for inflation.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Let It Go Act

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to allow the use of contributions or donations only for the six years following the most recent federal election for a six-year office (i.e., election to the Senate) in which an individual was a candidate for the office if that individual is not a candidate for that office during those ensuing six years.

Requires contributions or donations remaining available to to such an individual after such six-year period ends to be disposed of within 30 days, as follows: (1) to pay any debts or obligations owed in connection with the campaign for that office; (2) to return those contributions or donations to the individuals, entities, or both, who made them; (3) to make contributions to a charitable organization; and (4) to make transfers to a national, state or local committee of a political party.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Election Integrity Act of 2015 

 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it unlawful for a chief state election administration official to take active part in political management or in a political campaign with respect to any election for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority.

Waives application of this Act if the chief state election administration official himself or herself, or an immediate family member, is a candidate.

Date: 2015-03-25
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics
No Golden Parachutes for Public Service Act

Amends the federal criminal code to replace the current two-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Senators and one-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Members of the House of Representatives, including former elected House officers, with any Member, officer, or employee of either chamber with an outright ban at any time on such contacts, subject to fines and/or imprisonment.

Date: 2015-04-13
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Indian Health Service Health Professions Tax Fairness Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received under the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program and the Indian Health Professions Scholarships Program.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Taxation
Keeping Foreign Money Out of Politics Act of 2015

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state and local ballot initiatives and referenda.

Date: 2015-04-28
Topic: Government Operations (Political Campaigns)
Subject: Government operations and politics