[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1593 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1593

     To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide 
                      bipartisan campaign reform.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 1999

  Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Feingold) 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 provide 
                      bipartisan campaign reform.

    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 ``Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

    Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 323. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

    ``(a) National Committees.--
            ``(1) In general.--A national committee of a political 
        party (including a national congressional campaign committee of 
        a political party) and any officers or agents of such party 
        committees, shall not solicit, receive, or direct to another 
        person a contribution, donation, or transfer of funds, or spend 
        any funds, that are not subject to the limitations, 
        prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.
            ``(2) Applicability.--This subsection shall apply to an 
        entity that is directly or indirectly established, financed, 
        maintained, or controlled by a national committee of a 
        political party (including a national congressional campaign 
        committee of a political party), or an entity acting on behalf 
        of a national committee, and an officer or agent acting on 
behalf of any such committee or entity.
    ``(b) State, District, and Local Committees.--
            ``(1) In general.--An amount that is expended or disbursed 
        by a State, district, or local committee of a political party 
        (including an entity that is directly or indirectly 
        established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a State, 
        district, or local committee of a political party and an 
        officer or agent acting on behalf of such committee or entity) 
        for Federal election activity shall be made from funds subject 
        to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of 
        this Act.
            ``(2) Federal election activity.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `Federal election 
                activity' means--
                            ``(i) voter registration activity during 
                        the period that begins on the date that is 120 
                        days before the date a regularly scheduled 
                        Federal election is held and ends on the date 
                        of the election;
                            ``(ii) voter identification, get-out-the-
                        vote activity, or generic campaign activity 
                        conducted in connection with an election in 
                        which a candidate for Federal office appears on 
                        the ballot (regardless of whether a candidate 
                        for State or local office also appears on the 
                        ballot); and
                            ``(iii) a communication that refers to a 
                        clearly identified candidate for Federal office 
                        (regardless of whether a candidate for State or 
                        local office is also mentioned or identified) 
                        and is made for the purpose of influencing a 
                        Federal election (regardless of whether the 
                        communication is express advocacy).
                    ``(B) Excluded activity.--The term `Federal 
                election activity' does not include an amount expended 
                or disbursed by a State, district, or local committee 
                of a political party for--
                            ``(i) campaign activity conducted solely on 
                        behalf of a clearly identified candidate for 
                        State or local office, provided the campaign 
                        activity is not a Federal election activity 
                        described in subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) a contribution to a candidate for 
                        State or local office, provided the 
                        contribution is not designated or used to pay 
                        for a Federal election activity described in 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            ``(iii) the costs of a State, district, or 
                        local political convention;
                            ``(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign 
                        materials, including buttons, bumper stickers, 
                        and yard signs, that name or depict only a 
                        candidate for State or local office;
                            ``(v) the non-Federal share of a State, 
                        district, or local party committee's 
                        administrative and overhead expenses (but not  
including the compensation in any month of an individual who spends 
more than 20 percent of the individual's time on Federal election 
activity) as determined by a regulation promulgated by the Commission 
to determine the non-Federal share of a State, district, or local party 
committee's administrative and overhead expenses; and
                            ``(vi) the cost of constructing or 
                        purchasing an office facility or equipment for 
                        a State, district or local committee.
                    ``(C) Generic campaign activity.--The term `generic 
                campaign activity' means an activity that promotes a 
                political party and does not promote a candidate or 
                non-Federal candidate.
    ``(c) Fundraising Costs.--An amount spent by a national, State, 
district, or local committee of a political party, by an entity that is 
established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a national, State, 
district, or local committee of a political party, or by an agent or 
officer of any such committee or entity, to raise funds that are used, 
in whole or in part, to pay the costs of a Federal election activity 
shall be made from funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and 
reporting requirements of this Act.
    ``(d) Tax-Exempt Organizations.--A national, State, district, or 
local committee of a political party (including a national 
congressional campaign committee of a political party), an entity that 
is directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or 
controlled by any such national, State, district, or local committee or 
its agent, and an officer or agent acting on behalf of any such party 
committee or entity, shall not solicit any funds for, or make or direct 
any donations to, an organization that is described in section 501(c) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 
section 501(a) of such Code (or has submitted an application for 
determination of tax exempt status under such section).
    ``(e) Candidates.--
            ``(1) In general.--A candidate, individual holding Federal 
        office, agent of a candidate or individual holding Federal 
        office, or an entity directly or indirectly established, 
        financed, maintained or controlled by or acting on behalf of 
        one or more candidates or individuals holding Federal office, 
        shall not--
                    ``(A) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend 
                funds in connection with an election for Federal 
                office, including funds for any Federal election 
                activity, unless the funds are subject to the 
                limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements 
                of this Act; or
                    ``(B) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend 
                funds in connection with any election other than an 
                election for Federal office or disburse funds in 
                connection with such an election unless the funds--
                            ``(i) are not in excess of the amounts 
                        permitted with respect to contributions to 
                        candidates and political committees under 
                        paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 315(a); and
                            ``(ii) are not from sources prohibited by 
                        this Act from making contributions with respect 
                        to an election for Federal office.
            ``(2) State law.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the 
        solicitation, receipt, or spending of funds by an individual 
who is a candidate for a State or local office in connection with such 
election for State or local office if the solicitation, receipt, or 
spending of funds is permitted under State law for any activity other 
than a Federal election activity.
            ``(3) Fundraising events.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a 
        candidate may attend, speak, or be a featured guest at a 
        fundraising event for a State, district, or local committee of 
        a political party.''.

SEC. 3. INCREASED CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR STATE COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL 
              PARTIES AND AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) Contribution Limit for State Committees of Political Parties.--
Section 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (C)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(other than a committee 
                described in subparagraph (D))'' after ``committee''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(D) to a political committee established and maintained 
        by a State committee of a political party in any calendar year 
        which, in the aggregate, exceed $10,000.''.
    (b) Aggregate Contribution Limit for Individual.--Section 315(a)(3) 
of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is 
amended by striking ``$25,000'' and inserting ``$30,000''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Reporting Requirements.--Section 304 of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Political Committees.--
            ``(1) National and congressional political committees.--The 
        national committee of a political party, any national 
        congressional campaign committee of a political party, and any 
        subordinate committee of either, shall report all receipts and 
        disbursements during the reporting period.
            ``(2) Other political committees to which section 323 
        applies.--In addition to any other reporting requirements 
        applicable under this Act, a political committee (not described 
        in paragraph (1)) to which section 323(b)(1) applies shall 
        report all receipts and disbursements made for activities 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)(v) of section 323(b)(2).
            ``(3) Itemization.--If a political committee has receipts 
        or disbursements to which this subsection applies from any 
        person aggregating in excess of $200 for any calendar year, the 
        political committee shall separately itemize its reporting for 
        such person in the same manner as required in paragraphs 
        (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).
            ``(4) Reporting periods.--Reports required to be filed 
        under this subsection shall be filed for the same time periods 
        required for political committees under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Building Fund Exception to the Definition of Contribution.--
Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking clause (viii); and
            (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv) as clauses 
        (viii) through (xiii), respectively.

SEC. 5. CODIFICATION OF BECK DECISION.

    Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Nonunion Member Payments to Labor Organization.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall be an unfair labor practice for 
        any labor organization which receives a payment from an 
        employee pursuant to an agreement that requires employees who 
        are not members of the organization to make payments to such 
        organization in lieu of organization dues or fees not to 
        establish and implement the objection procedure described in 
        paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Objection procedure.--The objection procedure 
        required under paragraph (1) shall meet the following 
        requirements:
                    ``(A) The labor organization shall annually provide 
                to employees who are covered by such agreement but are 
                not members of the organization--
                            ``(i) reasonable personal notice of the 
                        objection procedure, the employees eligible to 
                        invoke the procedure, and the time, place, and 
                        manner for filing an objection; and
                            ``(ii) reasonable opportunity to file an 
                        objection to paying for organization 
                        expenditures supporting political activities 
                        unrelated to collective bargaining, including 
                        but not limited to the opportunity to file such 
                        objection by mail.
                    ``(B) If an employee who is not a member of the 
                labor organization files an objection under the 
                procedure in subparagraph (A), such organization 
                shall--
                            ``(i) reduce the payments in lieu of 
                        organization dues or fees by such employee by 
                        an amount which reasonably reflects the ratio 
                        that the organization's expenditures supporting 
                        political activities unrelated to collective 
                        bargaining bears to such organization's total 
                        expenditures; and
                            ``(ii) provide such employee with a 
                        reasonable explanation of the organization's 
                        calculation of such reduction, including 
                        calculating the amount of organization 
                        expenditures supporting political activities 
                        unrelated to collective bargaining.
            ``(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        `expenditures supporting political activities unrelated to 
        collective bargaining' means expenditures in connection with a 
        Federal, State, or local election or in connection with efforts 
        to influence legislation unrelated to collective bargaining.''.
                                 <all>