113 S2516 IS: Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2014
U.S. Senate
2014-06-24
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as the
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2014
or the
DISCLOSE Act of 2014
.
2.
Campaign
disbursement reporting
(a)
Information
required To be reported
(1)
Treatment of
functional equivalent of express advocacy as independent
expenditure
Subparagraph (A)
of section 301(17) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
431(17)) is amended to read as follows:
(A)
that expressly
advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate,
or is the
functional equivalent of express advocacy because, when taken as a
whole, 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;
and
.
(2)
Expansion of
period during which communications are treated as electioneering
communications
Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
434(f)(3)(A)(i)) is amended—
(A)
by redesignating
subclause (III) as subclause (IV); and
(B)
by striking
subclause (II) and inserting the following:
(II)
in the case of a communication which refers
to a candidate for an office other than the President or Vice
President, is
made during the period beginning on January 1 of the calendar year
in which a
general or runoff election is held and ending on the date of the
general or
runoff election (or in the case of a special election, during the
period
beginning on the date on which the announcement with respect to
such election
is made and ending on the date of the special election);
(III)
in the case of a
communication which refers to a candidate for the office of
President or Vice
President, is made in any State during the period beginning 120
days before the
first primary election, caucus, or preference election held for the
selection
of delegates to a national nominating convention of a political
party is held
in any State (or, if no such election or caucus is held in any
State, the first
convention or caucus of a political party which has the authority
to nominate a
candidate for the office of President or Vice President) and ending
on the date
of the general election;
and
.
(3)
Effective date;
transition for electioneering communications made prior to
enactment
The amendment made
by paragraph (2) shall apply with respect to communications made on or
after
January 1, 2015, except that no communication which is made prior to such
date
shall be treated as an electioneering communication under subclause (II)
or
(III) of section 304(f)(3)(A)(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971
(as amended by paragraph (2)) unless the communication would be treated as
an
electioneering communication under such section if the amendment made by
paragraph (2) did not apply.
(b)
Disclosure
requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other
entities
(1)
Section 324 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C. 441k) is amended to read as follows:
324.
Disclosure of
campaign-related disbursements by covered organizations
(a)
(1)
Any covered
organization that makes campaign-related disbursements aggregating
more than
$10,000 in an election reporting cycle shall, not later than 24
hours after
each disclosure date, file a statement with the Commission made
under penalty
of perjury that contains the information described in paragraph
(2)—
(A)
in the case of the first statement filed
under this subsection, for the period beginning on the first day of
the
election reporting cycle and ending on the first such disclosure
date;
and
(B)
in the case of any
subsequent statement filed under this subsection, for the period
beginning on
the previous disclosure date and ending on such disclosure date.
(2)
The information described in this paragraph is as
follows:
(A)
The name of the
covered organization and the principal place of business of such
organization.
(B)
The amount of each
campaign-related disbursement made by such organization during the
period
covered by the statement of more than $1,000, and the name and
address of the
person to whom the disbursement was made.
(C)
In the case of a
campaign-related disbursement that is not a covered transfer, the
election to
which the campaign-related disbursement pertains and if the
disbursement is
made for a public communication, the name of any candidate
identified in such
communication and whether such communication is in support of or in
opposition
to a candidate.
(D)
A certification by
the chief executive officer or person who is the head of the
covered
organization that the campaign-related disbursement is not made in
cooperation,
consultation, or concert with or at the request or suggestion of a
candidate,
authorized committee, or agent of a candidate, political party, or
agent of a
political party.
(E)
If the covered organization makes
campaign-related disbursements using exclusively funds in a
segregated bank
account consisting of funds that were paid directly to such account
by persons
other than the covered organization that controls the account, for
each such
payment to the account—
(i)
the name and
address of each person who made such payment during the period
covered by the
statement;
(ii)
the date and
amount of such payment; and
(iii)
the aggregate amount of all such payments
made by the person during the period beginning on the first day of
the election
reporting cycle and ending on the disclosure date;
but
only if such payment was made by a person who made payments to the
account in
an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more during the period beginning
on the first
day of the election reporting cycle and ending on the disclosure
date.
(F)
If the covered organization makes
campaign-related disbursements using funds other than funds in a
segregated
bank account described in subparagraph (E), for each payment to the
covered
organization—
(i)
the name and address of each person who
made such payment during the period covered by the statement;
(ii)
the date and amount of such payment;
and
(iii)
the aggregate amount of all such payments
made by the person during the period beginning on the first day of
the election
reporting cycle and ending on the disclosure date;
but
only if such payment was made by a person who made payments to the
covered
organization in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more during the
period
beginning on the first day of the election reporting cycle and
ending on the
disclosure date.
(G)
Such other
information as required in rules established by the Commission to
promote the
purposes of this section.
(3)
(A)
Amounts received
in ordinary course of business
The requirement to include in a
statement filed under paragraph (1) the information described in
paragraph (2)
shall not apply to amounts received by the covered organization in
commercial
transactions in the ordinary course of any trade or business
conducted by the
covered organization or in the form of investments (other than
investments by
the principal shareholder in a limited liability corporation) in
the covered
organization.
(B)
Donor
restriction on use of funds
The requirement to include in a statement
submitted under paragraph (1) the information described in
subparagraph (F) of
paragraph (2) shall not apply if—
(i)
the person
described in such subparagraph prohibited, in writing, the use of
the payment
made by such person for campaign-related disbursements; and
(ii)
the covered
organization agreed to follow the prohibition and deposited the
payment in an
account which is segregated from any account used to make
campaign-related
disbursements.
(C)
Amounts
received from affiliates
The requirement to include in a
statement submitted under paragraph (1) the information described
in
subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) shall not apply to any amount
which is
described in subsection (f)(3)(A)(i).
(4)
For purposes of this section:
(A)
The term disclosure date means—
(i)
the first date during any election
reporting cycle by which a person has made campaign-related
disbursements
aggregating more than $10,000; and
(ii)
any other date
during such election reporting cycle by which a person has made
campaign-related disbursements aggregating more than $10,000 since
the most
recent disclosure date for such election reporting cycle.
(B)
The term election reporting cycle
means the 2-year period beginning on the date of the most recent
general
election for Federal office.
(C)
The
term payment includes any contribution, donation, transfer,
payment of dues, or other payment.
(b)
Coordination
with other provisions
(1)
Other reports
filed with the Commission
Information included in a statement
filed under this section may be excluded from statements and
reports filed
under section 304.
(2)
Treatment as
separate segregated fund
A segregated bank account
referred to in subsection (a)(2)(E) may be treated as a separate
segregated
fund for purposes of section 527(f)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of
1986.
(c)
Statements
required to be filed under subsection (a) shall be subject to the
requirements
of section 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner as if
such reports
had been required under subsection (c) or (g) of section 304.
(d)
Campaign-Related
disbursement defined
In this section, the term
campaign-related disbursement means a disbursement by a covered
organization for any of the following:
(1)
An independent
expenditure consisting of a public communication.
(2)
An electioneering
communication, as defined in section 304(f)(3).
(3)
A covered
transfer.
(e)
Covered
organization defined
In this section, the term covered
organization means any of the following:
(1)
A corporation (other than an organization
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986).
(2)
An organization described in section 501(c)
of such Code and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such
Code (other
than an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such Code).
(3)
A labor
organization (as defined in section 316(b)).
(4)
Any political
organization under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, other than
a political committee under this Act.
(f)
(1)
In this section, the term covered transfer
means any transfer or payment of funds by a covered organization to
another
person if the covered organization—
(A)
designates, requests, or suggests that the
amounts be used for—
(i)
campaign-related disbursements (other than
covered transfers); or
(ii)
making a transfer to another person for the
purpose of making or paying for such campaign-related
disbursements;
(B)
made such transfer or payment in response
to a solicitation or other request for a donation or payment for—
(i)
the making of or paying for
campaign-related disbursements (other than covered transfers); or
(ii)
making a transfer to another person for the
purpose of making or paying for such campaign-related
disbursements;
(C)
engaged in discussions with the recipient
of the transfer or payment regarding—
(i)
the making of or paying for
campaign-related disbursements (other than covered transfers); or
(ii)
donating or transferring any amount of such
transfer or payment to another person for the purpose of making or
paying for
such campaign-related disbursements;
(D)
made
campaign-related disbursements (other than a covered transfer) in
an aggregate
amount of $50,000 or more during the 2-year period ending on the
date of the
transfer or payment, or knew or had reason to know that the person
receiving
the transfer or payment made such disbursements in such an
aggregate amount
during that 2-year period; or
(E)
knew or had reason to know that the person
receiving the transfer or payment would make campaign-related
disbursements in
an aggregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 2-year period
beginning on
the date of the transfer or payment.
(2)
The term covered transfer does
not include any of the following:
(A)
A disbursement made by a covered
organization in a commercial transaction in the ordinary course of
any trade or
business conducted by the covered organization or in the form of
investments
made by the covered organization.
(B)
A disbursement made by a covered
organization if—
(i)
the covered
organization prohibited, in writing, the use of such disbursement
for
campaign-related disbursements; and
(ii)
the recipient of the disbursement agreed to
follow the prohibition and deposited the disbursement in an account
which is
segregated from any account used to make campaign-related
disbursements.
(3)
Exception for
certain transfers among affiliates
(A)
Exception for
certain transfers among affiliates
(i)
The term
covered transfer does not include an amount transferred by one
covered organization to another covered organization if such
transfer—
(I)
is not made directly into a separate
segregated bank account described in subsection (a)(2)(E); and
(II)
is treated as a transfer between affiliates
under subparagraph (B).
(ii)
If the aggregate amount
of transfers described in clause (i) exceeds $50,000 in any
election reporting
cycle—
(I)
the covered organization which makes such
transfers shall provide to the covered organization receiving such
transfers
the information required under subsection (a)(2)(F) (applied by
substituting
the period beginning on the first day of the election reporting cycle
and ending on the date of the most recent transfer described in
subsection
(f)(3)(A)(i)
for the period covered by the statement
in
clause (i) thereof); and
(II)
the covered
organization receiving such transfers shall report the information
described in
subclause (I) on any statement filed under subsection (a)(1) as if
any
contribution, donation, or transfer to which such information
relates was made
directly to the covered organization receiving the transfer.
(B)
Description of
transfers between affiliates
A transfer of amounts from one covered
organization to another covered organization shall be treated as a
transfer
between affiliates if—
(i)
one of the organizations is an affiliate of
the other organization; or
(ii)
each of the organizations is an affiliate
of the same organization;
except
that the transfer shall not be treated as a transfer between
affiliates if one
of the organizations is established for the purpose of making
campaign-related
disbursements.
(C)
Determination of
affiliate status
For purposes
of this paragraph, the following organizations shall be considered
to be
affiliated with each other:
(i)
A membership organization, including a
trade or professional association, and the related State and local
entities of
that organization.
(ii)
A national or international labor
organization and its State or local unions, or an organization of
national or
international unions and its State and local entities.
(iii)
A corporation and its wholly owned
subsidiaries.
(D)
Coverage of
transfers to affiliated section 501(c)(3)
organizations
This paragraph shall apply with respect to an
amount transferred by a covered organization to an organization
described in
paragraph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of
such Code in
the same manner as this paragraph applies to an amount transferred
by a covered
organization to another covered
organization.
.
(2)
Section 304(f)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended
by striking Any requirement
and inserting Except as
provided in section 324(b), any requirement
.
3.
Application of
disclosure rules to Super PACs
(a)
Subsection (e) of
section 324 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441k),
as
amended by section 2, is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(5)
A political committee with an account that
accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with the
contribution
limits or source prohibitions under this Act, but only with respect
to such
accounts.
.
(b)
Paragraph (4) of section 324(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
441k), as amended by section 2, is amended by inserting (except as
provided in paragraph (5))
before the period at the end.
4.
If any provision of this Act or amendment
made by this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment to any
person
or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act
and
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the
holding.
5.
Except as provided in
section 2(a)(3), the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect
to
disbursements made on or after January 1, 2015, and shall take effect
without
regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated
regulations to carry out such amendments.