1.This Act may be cited as the
527 Reform Act of
2005
.
2.Treatment of
Section 527 organizations
(a)Definition of
political committeeSection 301(4) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C.
431(4)) is amended by striking the period at the end of
subparagraph (C) and inserting ; or
and by adding at the end the
following:
(D)any applicable
527 organization.
.
(b)Definition of
applicable 527
organizationSection 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C.
431) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(27)Applicable
527 organizationFor purposes of
paragraph (4)(D)—
(A)The term applicable 527 organization means a
committee, club, association, or group of persons that—
(i)is an
organization described in section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
and
(ii)is not described
in subparagraph (B).
(B)Subject to subparagraph (D), a committee, club,
association, or other group of persons described in this subparagraph
is—
(i)an organization
described in section 527(i)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
(ii)an organization
which is a committee, club, association or other group of persons that is
organized, operated, and makes disbursements exclusively for paying expenses
described in the last sentence of section 527(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 or expenses of a newsletter fund described in section 527(g) of
such Code, or
(iii)an organization
which is a committee, club, association, or other group of persons whose
election or nomination activities relate exclusively to—
(I)elections where
no candidate for Federal office appears on the ballot, or
(II)one or more of
the purposes described in subparagraph (C).
(C)The purposes described in this subparagraph are the
following:
(i)Influencing the
selection, nomination, election, or appointment of one or more candidates to
non-Federal offices.
(ii)Influencing one
or more State or local ballot initiatives, State or local referenda, State or
local constitutional amendments, State or local bond issues, or other State or
local ballot issues.
(iii)Influencing the
selection, appointment, nomination, or confirmation of one or more individuals
to non-elected offices.
(D)Section
527 organizations making certain
disbursementsA committee, club, association, or other group of
persons described in subparagraph (B)(ii) or (B)(iii) shall not be considered
to be described in such paragraph for purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii) if it
makes disbursements aggregating more than $1000 during any calendar year for
any of the following:
(i)A
public communication that promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes a clearly
identified candidate for Federal office during the 1-year period ending on the
date of the general election for the office sought by the clearly identified
candidate occurs.
(ii)Any voter drive
activity (as defined in section 325(d)(1)).
.
3.Rules for
allocation of expenses between Federal and non-Federal activities
(a)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:
325.Allocation and
funding rules for certain expenses relating to federal and non-federal
activities
(a)In the case of any disbursements by any political
committee that is a separate segregated fund or nonconnected committee for
which allocation rules are provided under subsection (b)—
(1)the disbursements
shall be allocated between Federal and non-Federal accounts in accordance with
this section and regulations prescribed by the Commission, and
(2)in the case of
disbursements allocated to non-Federal accounts, may be paid only from a
qualified non-Federal account.
(b)Costs To be
allocated and allocation rulesDisbursements by any separate
segregated fund or nonconnected committee for any of the following categories
of activity shall be allocated as follows:
(1)100 percent of the expenses for public
communications or voter drive activities that refer to one or more clearly
identified Federal candidates, but do not refer to any clearly identified
non-Federal candidates, shall be paid with funds from a Federal account,
without regard to whether the communication refers to a political party.
(2)At least 50 percent of the expenses for
public communications and voter drive activities that refer to one or more
clearly identified candidates for Federal office and one or more clearly
defined non-Federal candidates shall be paid with funds from a Federal account,
without regard to whether the communication refers to a political party.
(3)At least 50
percent of the expenses for public communications or voter drive activities
that refer to a political party, but do not refer to any clearly identified
Federal or non-Federal candidate, shall be paid with funds from a Federal
account, except that this paragraph shall not apply to communications or
activities that relate exclusively to elections where no candidate for Federal
office appears on the ballot.
(4)At least 50
percent of the expenses for public communications or voter drive activities
that refer to a political party, and refer to one or more clearly identified
non-Federal candidates, but do not refer to any clearly identified Federal
candidates, shall be paid with funds from a Federal account, except that this
paragraph shall not apply to communications or activities that relate
exclusively to elections where no candidate for Federal office appears on the
ballot.
(5)At least 50
percent of any administrative expenses, including rent, utilities, office
supplies, and salaries not attributable to a clearly identified candidate,
shall be paid with funds from a Federal account, except that for a separate
segregated fund such expenses may be paid instead by its connected
organization.
(6)At least 50
percent of the direct costs of a fundraising program or event, including
disbursements for solicitation of funds and for planning and administration of
actual fundraising events, where Federal and non-Federal funds are collected
through such program or event shall be paid with funds from a Federal account,
except that for a separate segregated fund such costs may be paid instead by
its connected organization.
(c)Qualified
Non-Federal accountFor purposes of this section—
(1)The term qualified non-Federal account means
an account which consists solely of amounts—
(A)that, subject to
the limitations of paragraphs (2) and (3), are raised by the separate
segregated fund or nonconnected committee only from individuals, and
(B)with respect to
which all other requirements of Federal, State, or local law are met.
(2)Limitation on
individual donations
(A)A separate segregated fund or nonconnected committee may
not accept more than $25,000 in funds for its qualified non-Federal account
from any one individual in any calendar year.
(B)For
purposes of this paragraph, all qualified non-Federal accounts of separate
segregated funds or nonconnected committees which are directly or indirectly
established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the same person or persons
shall be treated as one account.
(3)No donation to a qualified non-Federal account may be
solicited, received, directed, transferred, or spent by or in the name of any
person described in subsection (a) or (e) of section 323.
(d)For
purposes of this section—
(1)The term voter drive activity means any of
the following activities 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):
(A)Voter
registration activity.
(B)Voter
identification.
(C)Get-out-the-vote
activity.
(D)Generic campaign
activity.
Such term
shall not include any activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section
316(b)(2).(2)The term Federal account means an account
which consists solely of contributions subject to the limitations,
prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act. Nothing in this section
or in section 323(b)(2)(B)(iii) shall be construed to infer that a limit other
than the limit under section 315(a)(1)(C) applies to contributions to the
account.
(3)The term nonconnected committee shall not
include a political committee of a political party.
.
(b)Section 304(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(e)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as
paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (2) the
following new paragraph:
(3)Receipts and
disbursements from qualified non-Federal accountsIn addition to
any other reporting requirement applicable under this Act, a political
committee to which section 325(a) applies shall report all receipts and
disbursements from a qualified non-Federal account (as defined in section
325(c)).
4.No provision of this Act, or amendment made
by this Act, shall be construed—
(1)as approving,
ratifying, or endorsing a regulation promulgated by the Federal Election
Commission,
(2)as establishing,
modifying, or otherwise affecting the definition of political organization for
purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or
(3)as affecting the
determination of whether a group organized under section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is a political committee under section 301(4) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
5.
(a)Special rules
for actions brought on constitutional groundsIf any action is
brought for declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality
of any provision of this Act or any amendment made by this Act, the following
rules shall apply:
(1)The action shall
be filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and
shall be heard by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title
28, United States Code.
(2)A copy of the
complaint shall be delivered promptly to the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate.
(3)A final decision
in the action shall be reviewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme Court
of the United States. Such appeal shall be taken by the filing of a notice of
appeal within 10 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement within 30
days, of the entry of the final decision.
(4)It shall be the
duty of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the
Supreme Court of the United States to advance on the docket and to expedite to
the greatest possible extent the disposition of the action and appeal.
(b)Intervention by
members of congressIn any action in which the constitutionality
of any provision of this Act or any amendment made by this Act is raised
(including but not limited to an action described in subsection (a)), any
Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to Congress) or Senate shall have the right to intervene either in
support of or opposition to the position of a party to the case regarding the
constitutionality of the provision or amendment. To avoid duplication of
efforts and reduce the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court
in any such action may make such orders as it considers necessary, including
orders to require intervenors taking similar positions to file joint papers or
to be represented by a single attorney at oral argument.
(c)Challenge by
members of congressAny Member of Congress may bring an action,
subject to the special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory or
injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any provision of this
Act or any amendment made by this Act.
(d)
(1)With respect to any action initially filed on or before
December 31, 2006, the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply with respect to
each action described in such subsection.
(2)With respect to any action initially filed after December
31, 2006, the provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to any action
described in such subsection unless the person filing such action elects such
provisions to apply to the action.
6.The amendments made by
this Act shall take effect on the date which is 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.