[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5885 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5885

To require the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary 
  of the Senate to establish a process by which registered voters may 
   sign national discharge petitions with respect to bills and joint 
   resolutions introduced in or referred to the House and Senate, to 
 require the House or Senate to hold a vote on the passage of any bill 
 or joint resolution if a certain number of registered voters sign the 
 national discharge petition for the bill or joint resolution, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2016

   Mr. Ruiz 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 require the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary 
  of the Senate to establish a process by which registered voters may 
   sign national discharge petitions with respect to bills and joint 
   resolutions introduced in or referred to the House and Senate, to 
 require the House or Senate to hold a vote on the passage of any bill 
 or joint resolution if a certain number of registered voters sign the 
 national discharge petition for the bill or joint resolution, 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 ``Right to Petition 
Congress Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United 
        States establishes the right of the people to ``petition the 
        Government'' for redress.
            (2) Technology has dramatically expanded the mechanisms 
        through which the people can effectively petition the 
        Government.
            (3) Congressional leadership and individual Members of 
        Congress have repeatedly blocked votes in the House of 
        Representatives and Senate on matters on which a majority of 
        the American people have publicly expressed the desire for 
        redress.
            (4) The refusal to allow votes in the House and Senate 
        prevents congressional deliberation on matters reflecting the 
        will of the people, and in some instances, a majority of 
        Congress.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL DISCHARGE PETITIONS.

    (a) Establishment of Process.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall establish a 
process under which the Clerk and the Secretary--
            (1) shall develop a national discharge petition for a bill 
        or joint resolution which has been introduced in the House or 
        Senate (as the case may be) during a Congress or which has been 
        referred to the House or Senate (as the case may be) after 
        passage by the other House during a Congress;
            (2) shall make each such national discharge petition 
        available for signature by qualified individuals; and
            (3) shall compile the signatures provided for each such 
        national discharge petition.
    (b) Requiring Request of Sponsor for Availability of Petition for 
Introduced Legislation.--In the case of a bill or joint resolution 
introduced in the House or Senate, the Clerk or the Secretary (as the 
case may be) may develop a national discharge petition under this 
section only at the request of the sponsor of the bill or joint 
resolution.
    (c) Methods.--The Clerk and the Secretary may carry out this 
section using such methods as the Clerk and Secretary consider 
appropriate, including providing for the availability of national 
discharge petitions and the acceptance of signatures on such petitions 
exclusively through electronic means.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF BILL OR JOINT RESOLUTION IN THE HOUSE OR 
              SENATE.

    (a) Vote in the House or Senate.--If the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives or the Majority Leader of the Senate receives a 
certification under subsection (b) from the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate (as the case may be) 
that a national discharge petition with respect to a bill or joint 
resolution during a Congress has met the threshold for consideration of 
the bill or joint resolution, the Speaker or Majority Leader shall 
ensure that the House or Senate holds a vote on final passage of such 
bill or joint resolution not later than the earlier of--
            (1) the expiration of the 15-day period (excluding 
        Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays, and any day on 
        which neither House is in session because of an adjournment 
        sine die, a recess of more than 3 days, or an adjournment of 
        more than 3 days) beginning on the date the Speaker or Minority 
        Leader receives the certification; or
            (2) the last day of the Congress.
    (b) Threshold for Certification.--
            (1) In general.--The Clerk or the Secretary (as the case 
        may be) shall provide the Speaker of the House or the Majority 
        Leader of the Senate with a certification that a national 
        discharge petition with respect to a bill or joint resolution 
        has met the threshold for consideration of the bill or joint 
        resolution if the Clerk or the Secretary determines that the 
        number of valid signatures on the petition is equal to or 
        greater than 25 percent of all qualified individuals (based on 
        the most recent information available from the chief State 
        election official of each State).
            (2) Validity of signatures.--An individual's signature 
        shall be considered valid for purposes of a national discharge 
        petition only if the individual provides with the signature--
                    (A) an attestation, made under penalty of perjury, 
                that the individual is a qualified individual; and
                    (B) the name of the State in which the individual 
                is registered to vote in elections for Federal office.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON VOTER REGISTRATION.

    As part of the process established for national discharge petitions 
under this Act, the Clerk shall provide on the official public website 
of the Office of the Clerk, and the Secretary shall provide on the 
official public website of the Office of the Secretary, a hyperlink 
through which an individual may obtain information on how to register 
to vote in elections for Federal office in the State in which the 
individual resides.

SEC. 5. COORDINATION WITH STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS.

    The chief State election official of each State shall enter into 
such agreements with the Clerk and the Secretary as may be required to 
enable the Clerk and Secretary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016 and each succeeding 
fiscal year.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) The term ``chief State election official'' means, with 
        respect to a State, the individual designated by the State 
        under section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
        (52 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for the coordination of the 
        State's responsibilities under such Act.
            (2) The term ``Clerk'' means the Clerk of the House of 
        Representatives.
            (3) The term ``qualified individual'' means an individual 
        who, at the time of providing a signature on a national 
        discharge petition, is registered to vote in elections for 
        Federal office held in the State in which the individual 
        resides.
            (4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Senate.
            (5) The term ``State'' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
        American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.
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