[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2017 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2017

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the operations of 
      the Election Assistance Commission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2013

 Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania (for himself, Ms. Lofgren, and Mr. Vargas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the operations of 
      the Election Assistance Commission, 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; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``EAC Improvements 
Act of 2013''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The elections for Federal office which were held in 
        November 2012 were plagued with a number of serious problems, 
        including--
                    (A) long lines at polling places;
                    (B) poll workers who were trained inadequately;
                    (C) the reduction of hours for early voting; and
                    (D) the imposition of practices which restricted 
                eligible individuals from voting, such as requirements 
                to produce photo identification.
            (2) At the time these problems were developing, the 
        Election Assistance Commission, an agency of the Federal 
        Government which was established to assist the States in the 
        administration of elections, lacked a quorum in its membership 
        and therefore could not meet, appoint an executive director or 
        general counsel, or otherwise take any actions to prevent these 
        problems from occurring.
            (3) The inability of the Commission to carry out its duties 
        meant that it could not convene its Standards Board, a 
        collection of State and local election officials with the 
        authority to review guidelines for the voluntary standards 
        applicable to the voting systems used to administer these 
        elections and to make recommendations for best practices for 
        election administration.
            (4) The inability of the Commission to carry out its duties 
        meant that no new laboratories could be certified to develop 
        and test the equipment used in these elections.
            (5) The Election Assistance Commission should be allowed to 
        investigate fully the problems which plagued the elections held 
        in November 2012 and to develop solutions.
            (6) The Election Assistance Commission should be given the 
        tools it needs to carry out its mission in a manner immune from 
        illogic and partisan bickering, so that it can provide States 
        and others involved in the administration of elections with the 
        guidance that will enable them to provide each citizen who 
        wishes to participate in the electoral process the ability to 
        do so.
            (7) The Election Assistance Commission should be permitted 
        to provide to taxpayers and election officials accurate 
        information on the voting equipment used to administer 
        elections and to hold the vendors of such equipment accountable 
        for any problems that may arise with its use.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Reauthorization.--Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15330) is amended by striking ``for each of the fiscal 
years 2003 through 2005'' and inserting ``for each of the fiscal years 
2014 through 2018''.
    (b) Treatment of Commission in Same Manner as Federal Election 
Commission for Purposes of Paperwork Reduction Act.--Section 3502(1) of 
title 44, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) as 
        subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E); and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) the Election Assistance Commission;''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING STATES TO PARTICIPATE IN POST-GENERAL ELECTION 
              SURVEYS.

    (a) Requirement.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(42 U.S.C. 15481 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 303A. REQUIRING PARTICIPATION IN POST-GENERAL ELECTION SURVEYS.

    ``(a) Requirement.--Each State shall furnish to the Commission such 
information as the Commission may request for purposes of conducting 
any post-election survey of the States with respect to the 
administration of a regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office.
    ``(b) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in 
November 2014 and any succeeding election.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--Section 401 of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 15511) is amended by striking ``and 303'' and 
inserting ``303, and 303A''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 303A. Requiring participation in post-general election 
                            surveys.''.

SEC. 4. DETERMINING EXTENT TO WHICH DISABLED INDIVIDUALS HAVE ACCESS TO 
              POLLING PLACES.

    (a) Ongoing Surveys of Compliance With ADA.--In accordance with 
section 241 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381), not 
later than 180 days after the date of the regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office held in November 2014 and each succeeding 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the Election 
Assistance Commission, shall, with the assistance of the Comptroller 
General, conduct and publish a survey of each polling place used for 
the election to determine the percentage of such polling places that 
were in compliance with the standards applicable to such locations 
under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
    (b) Evaluation of Need To Continue Surveys.--At the time the 
Election Assistance Commission publishes the results of the survey 
conducted under subsection (a) with respect to the regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office held in November 2022, the 
Commission shall evaluate and make a recommendation to Congress 
regarding whether the percentage of polling places in compliance with 
the standards applicable to such locations under the Americans With 
Disabilities Act of 1990 has increased to such an extent that there is 
no longer a need to conduct surveys under subsection (a) with respect 
to subsequent elections.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES AND FEE SCHEDULES FOR CONDUCTING 
              TESTING OF VOTING EQUIPMENT HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE; 
              PAYMENT OF USER FEES FOR COMPENSATION OF ACCREDITED 
              LABORATORIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 231(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15371(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraphs:
            ``(3) Procedures for conducting testing; payment of user 
        fees for compensation of accredited laboratories.--
                    ``(A) Establishment of escrow account.--The 
                Commission shall establish an escrow account (to be 
                known as the `Testing Escrow Account') that will serve 
                as the exclusive source for making payments to 
                accredited laboratories for the costs of the testing 
                carried out in connection with the certification, 
                decertification, and recertification of voting system 
                hardware and software.
                    ``(B) Schedule of fees.--In consultation with the 
                accredited laboratories, the Commission shall establish 
                and regularly update a schedule of fees for the testing 
                carried out in connection with the certification, 
                decertification, and recertification of voting system 
                hardware and software, based on the reasonable costs 
                expected to be incurred by the accredited laboratories 
                in carrying out the testing for various types of 
                hardware and software.
                    ``(C) Requests and payments by manufacturers.--A 
                manufacturer of voting system hardware and software may 
                not have the hardware or software tested by an 
                accredited laboratory under this section unless--
                            ``(i) the manufacturer submits a detailed 
                        request for the testing to the Commission;
                            ``(ii) the request provides sufficient 
                        information for the Commission to determine the 
                        applicable fee for the testing under the 
                        schedule established and in effect under 
                        subparagraph (B);
                            ``(iii) the Commission approves the 
                        request; and
                            ``(iv) the manufacturer pays to the 
                        Commission, for deposit into the Testing Escrow 
                        Account established under subparagraph (A), the 
                        applicable fee for the testing.
                    ``(D) Selection of laboratory.--Upon approving a 
                request for testing and receiving the payment from a 
                manufacturer required under subparagraph (C), the 
                Commission shall select at random (to the greatest 
                extent practicable), from all laboratories which are 
                accredited under this section to carry out the specific 
                testing requested by the manufacturer, an accredited 
                laboratory to carry out the testing.
                    ``(E) Payments to laboratories.--Upon determining 
                that a laboratory selected to carry out testing 
                pursuant to subparagraph (D) has completed the testing 
                in accordance with the approved request, the Commission 
                shall make a payment to the laboratory from the Testing 
                Escrow Account established under subparagraph (A) in an 
                amount equal to the applicable fee paid by the 
                manufacturer under subparagraph (C)(iv).
            ``(4) Dissemination of additional information on accredited 
        laboratories.--
                    ``(A) List of accredited laboratories.--The 
                Commission shall maintain and publish an updated list 
                of all accredited laboratories under this section.
                    ``(B) Information on status of laboratories.--In 
                addition to updating the list maintained and published 
                under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall promptly 
                notify Congress, the chief State election official of 
                each State, and the public whenever--
                            ``(i) the Commission revokes, terminates, 
                        or suspends the accreditation of a laboratory 
                        under this section;
                            ``(ii) the Commission restores the 
                        accreditation of a laboratory under this 
                        section which has been revoked, terminated, or 
                        suspended; or
                            ``(iii) the Commission has credible 
                        evidence of a significant security failure at 
                        an accredited laboratory.
                    ``(C) Information on testing.--Upon completion of 
                the testing of a voting system under this section, the 
                Commission shall promptly disseminate to the public the 
                identification of the laboratory which carried out the 
                testing.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 231 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
15371) is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``testing, 
        certification,'' and all that follows and inserting the 
        following: ``testing of voting system hardware and software by 
        accredited laboratories in connection with the certification, 
        decertification, and recertification of the hardware and 
        software for purposes of this Act.'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``testing, 
        certification,'' and all that follows and inserting the 
        following: ``testing of its voting system hardware and software 
        by the laboratories accredited by the Commission under this 
        section in connection with certifying, decertifying, and 
        recertifying the hardware and software.'';
            (3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``testing, 
        certification, decertification, and recertification'' and 
        inserting ``testing''; and
            (4) in subsection (d), by striking ``testing, 
        certification, decertification, and recertification'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``testing''.
    (c) Deadline for Establishment of Escrow Account and Schedule of 
Fees.--The Election Assistance Commission shall establish the Testing 
Escrow Account and schedule of fees described in section 231(b)(3) of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a)) not 
later than January 1, 2014.

SEC. 6. STUDY OF METHODS TO REDUCE COSTS OF ADMINISTERING ELECTIONS.

    (a) Analysis of Factors Affecting Costs of Administering 
Elections.--The Election Assistance Commission shall conduct a study 
analyzing various factors that affect the costs to States and units of 
local government of administering elections for Federal office, 
including the following specific factors:
            (1) The durability of the equipment used in voting systems.
            (2) The extent to which States and units of local 
        government must replace existing systems because such systems 
        are not capable of using enhanced software or are not capable 
        of being upgraded in a cost-effective manner.
            (3) The lack of competition among vendors and manufacturers 
        of the equipment used in voting systems because of 
        consolidation in the voting system industry.
    (b) Recommendations for Steps To Reduce Costs.--The Commission 
shall include in the study conducted under this section such 
recommendations as the Commission shall consider appropriate to reduce 
the costs incurred by States and units of local government in 
administering elections for Federal office, including recommendations 
for legislative action by Congress or the States.
    (c) Deadline.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit the study conducted 
under this section to Congress.

SEC. 7. STUDY OF METHODS FOR INCREASING EFFICIENCY AND COST-
              EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the 
administrative operations of the Election Assistance Commission, and 
shall include in the study an analysis of various methods for 
increasing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of such operations.
    (b) Deadline; Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 
a report on the study conducted under subsection (a), and shall include 
in the report such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers 
appropriate.
    (c) Participation of Election Assistance Commission.--The Election 
Assistance Commission shall provide the Comptroller General with such 
assistance as the Comptroller General may require to carry out this 
section.
                                 <all>