[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 170 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 170

  To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Rules of the 
  House of Representatives to strengthen financial disclosures and to 
  require precertification of privately-funded travel, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

 Mr. King of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee 
on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Rules of the 
  House of Representatives to strengthen financial disclosures and to 
  require precertification of privately-funded travel, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sunlight Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. PRECERTIFICATION OF TRAVEL BY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF 
              OFFICIAL CONDUCT.

    Clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
is amended by inserting after paragraph (d) the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(d)(1) Before a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, 
or employee of the House may take a privately-funded trip, that 
individual shall--
            ``(A) provide the estimated cost of the trip, the entity 
        paying for the trip, the purpose of the trip, the modes of 
        transportation, accommodations, number of meals on the trip, 
        and the proposed itinerary to the Committee on Standards of 
        Official Conduct; and
            ``(B) agree to provide to the Committee on Standards of 
        Official Conduct within 5 calendar days after the trip is 
        completed the expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed and any 
        changes from the information provided under subdivision (A).
The information shall be made available on the public website of the 
committee in a searchable and sortable manner.
    ``(2) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or 
employee of the House may not take a privately-funded trip unless the 
Committee makes a determination that the proposed trip (including the 
itinerary and estimated expenses) complies with all applicable rules of 
the House, based on the information submitted under subparagraph 
(1).''.

SEC. 3. DOLLAR AMOUNTS REQUIRED FOR ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 
              STATEMENTS.

    (a) Financial Disclosures.--Section 102(d) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
    ``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the case 
of reports of Members of Congress and officers and employees of 
Congress filed pursuant to sections 101(d) and (e), references to the 
categories for reporting the amount or value of the items covered in 
paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (8) of subsection (a) shall be deemed to 
be exact dollar amounts.''.
    (b) Availability of Reports on the Internet.--Section 103 of the 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(l) A copy of each report filed under this title with the Clerk 
of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate shall be 
made available as soon as practicable to the general public on the 
Internet in a format that is searchable and sortable.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to reports filed for calendar years beginning after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC DISPLAY OF THE SUBJECT MATTER OF DEBATES.

    Clause 2 of rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(l) During general debate on any measure, the Clerk shall project 
on a wall of the Hall of the House the subject matter of that debate so 
that it is visible to Members and to visitors in the gallery.''.

SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF BILLS, CONFERENCE REPORTS, AND AMENDMENTS ON 
              THE INTERNET BEFORE VOTING.

    Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following new clause:
    ``7. It shall not be in order to consider any bill or joint 
resolution, or conference report thereon, or amendment thereto, 
unless--
            ``(1) in the case of a bill, joint resolution, or 
        conference report, such measure is made available to Members 
        and the general public on the Internet for at least 48 hours 
        before its consideration; or
            ``(2)(A) in the case of an amendment made in order by a 
        rule, it is made available to Members and the general public on 
        the Internet within one hour after the rule is filed; or
            ``(B) in the case of an amendment under an open rule, it is 
        made available to Members and the general public on the 
        Internet immediately after being offered;
in a format that is searchable and sortable.''.

SEC. 6. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC REPORTS.

    (a) Mandatory Electronic Filing for All Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Section 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election 
        Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``a person 
                required to file--'' and all that follows and inserting 
                the following: ``each person required to file a report 
                under this Act shall be required to maintain and file 
                such report in electronic form accessible by 
                computers.'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                ``designations, statements, and reports'' and inserting 
                ``documents''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``means, with 
                respect to'' and all that follows and inserting the 
                following: ``means any report, designation, statement, 
                or notification required by this Act to be filed with 
                the Commission or the Secretary of the Senate.''.
            (2) Placement of all reports on internet.--Section 
        304(a)(11)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(B)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``a designation, statement, report, 
                or notification'' and inserting ``each report''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the designation, statement, 
                report, or notification'' and inserting ``the report''.
            (3) Searchable and sortable manner of information.--Section 
        304(a)(11)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(B)) is amended 
        by inserting ``in a format that is searchable and sortable'' 
        after ``Internet''.
            (4) Software for filing of all reports.--Section 304(a)(12) 
        of such Act (2 U.S.C 434a(a)(12)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``each 
                person required to file a designation, statement, or 
                report in electronic form'' and inserting ``each person 
                required to file a report (as defined in paragraph 
                (11)(D))''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``any 
                designation, statement, or report'' and inserting ``any 
                report (as defined in paragraph (11)(D))''.
    (b) Requiring Reports for All Contributions Made to Any Political 
Committee Within 30 Days of Election; Requiring Reports To Be Made 
Within 24 Hours.--Section 304(a)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
434(a)(6)(A)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(A) Each political committee shall notify the Secretary or the 
Commission, and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, in writing, of 
any contribution received by the committee during the period which 
begins on the 30th day before an election and ends at the time the 
polls close for such election. This notification shall be made within 
24 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the 
contribution is deposited) after the receipt of such contribution and 
shall include the name of the candidate involved (as appropriate) and 
the office sought by the candidate, the identification of the 
contributor, and the date of receipt and amount of the contribution.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to reports for periods beginning on or after January 
1, 2008.
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