I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5410 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 26, 2010 Mr. Lipinski introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit corporations which are subject to certain criminal or civil sanctions from engaging in campaign-related activity under such Act, and for other purposes.

1.

Short Title; Findings

(a)

Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Accountability in Corporate Political Activity Act of 2010. (b)

Findings

Congress finds as follows: (1)The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC allows a corporation to have increased access to the election process by permitting unlimited disbursements from a corporation’s general treasury funds for the purpose of political advocacy. (2)As established in the Citizens United case, the Court rejected the argument that political speech of corporations or other associations should be treated differently under the First Amendment simply because such associations are not natural persons, thereby granting corporations the same First Amendment rights as individuals regarding political advocacy. (3)In the United States, 48 States prohibit individuals from voting while incarcerated, and 2 States permanently bar individuals convicted of a felony from voting. (4)Unlike individuals, corporations are not currently subject to any form of disenfranchisement from the political process due to the conviction of a crime. (5)Corporations should be subject to similar regulations and punishments as individuals for violating the law and the public’s trust.

2.

Prohibiting corporations subject to certain criminal or civil sanctions from engaging in campaign-related activity

(a)

Prohibition

Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (d)

Prohibiting Corporations Subject to Certain Sanctions From Engaging in Campaign-Related Activity

(1)

Prohibition

Subject to paragraph (2), a corporation described in subsection (a) may not engage in any campaign-related activity if the corporation has been subject to any of the following sanctions: (A)The imposition of any criminal penalty under any Federal law. (B)The imposition of a civil money penalty under this Act. (C)The imposition of a civil money penalty under any other Federal law in an amount equal to or greater than $1,000,000. (2)

Application of prohibition

(A)

In general

Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a corporation only during such period of time (if any) as may be determined appropriate by the court or other entity which imposes the sanction involved. (B)

Statement if prohibition not applied

If the court or other entity which imposes a sanction on a corporation determines that it is not appropriate to apply paragraph (1) to the corporation for any period of time, the court or other entity shall, at the time of imposing the sanction, publicly disseminate and file with the Commission a statement of the court’s or other entity’s reasons for not applying paragraph (1) to the corporation. (3)

Campaign-related activity defined

In this paragraph, the term campaign-related activity means, with respect to a corporation— (A)the making of a contribution by a separate segregated fund of the organization established and administered pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(C); (B)the disbursement of funds for an independent expenditure; or (C)the disbursement of funds for an electioneering communication described in section 304(f). . (b)

Dissemination of Information on Availability of Sanction

Upon the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall disseminate information to the public, and shall notify each State, regarding the availability of the prohibition described in section 316(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by subsection (a), as a sanction applicable to corporations subject to any of the sanctions described in section 316(d)(1) of such Act. (c)

Effective Date

The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to penalties imposed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3.

Severability

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.