Tom Campbell's CFR DRAFT BILL
Posted on: June 11, 2008Written by: UWSA Staff
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:
Section 1. Short Title
This Act may be cited as the "Can't Vote, Can't Contribute Campaign Reform Act of 1998."
TITLE 1 - LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS Sec. 101. Limitation on Amount of Contributions to Candidates by Individuals Not Eligible to Register to Vote in State or District Involved.
Section 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended by striking "in the aggregate, exceed $1,000" and inserting the following: "in the aggregate --
"(i) in the case of contributions made to a candidate for election for Senator by an individual who is not eligible to register to vote in the state involved at the time the contribution is made, or to a candidate for election for Representative in or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress by an individual who is not eligible to register to vote in the congressional district involved at the time the contribution is made, exceed $100; or
"(ii) in the case of any other contributions, exceed $1,000"
Section 102. Ban on Acceptance of Contributions Made by Nonparty Political Action Committees.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
"(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no candidate for election for Federal office may accept any contribution from a political action committee.
"(2) In this subsection, the term 'political action committee' means any political committee which is not --
"(A) the principal campaign committee of a candidate; or "(B) a national, State, local, or district committee of a political party, including any subordinate committee thereof."
TITLE II - ENSURING VOLUNTARINESS OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF CORPORATIONS, UNIONS, AND OTHER MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS
Sec. 201. Prohibiting Involuntary Use of Funds of Employees of Corporations and Other Employers and Members of Unions and Organiza- tions for Political Activities.
(a) In General -- Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
"(c)(1)(A) Except with the separate, prior, written, voluntary authorization of the individual involved, it shall be unlawful --
"(i) for any national bank or corporation described in this section to collect from or assess a stockholder or employee any portion of any dues, initiation fee, or other payment made as a condition of employment which will be used for political activity in which the national bank or corporation is engaged; and
"(ii) for any labor organization described in this section to collect from or assess a member or non-member any portion of any dues, initiation fee, or other payment which will be used for political activity in which the labor organization is engaged.
"(B) An authorization described in subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked at any time. Each entity collecting from or assessing amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect under such subparagraph shall provide the individual with a statement that the individual may at any time revoke the authorization.
"(2)(A) Prior to the beginning of any 12-month period (as determined by the corporation), each corporation described in this section shall provide each of its shareholders with a notice containing the following:
"(i) The proposed aggregate amount for disbursements for political activities by the corporation for the period.
"(ii") The individual's applicable percentage and applicable pro rata amount for the period.
"(iii") A form that the individual may complete and return to the corporation to indicate the individual's objection to the disburse- ment of amounts for political activities during the period.
"(B) It shall be unlawful for a corporation to which subparagraph (A) applies to make disbursements for political activities during the 12-month period described in such subparagraph in an amount greater than --
"(i) the proposed aggregate amount for such disbursements for the period, as specified in the notice provided under subparagraph (A); reduced by
"(ii) the sum of the applicable pro rata amounts for such period of all shareholders who return the form described in subparagraph (A)(iii) to the corporation prior to the beginning of the period.
"(C) In this paragraph, the following definitions shall apply:
"(i) The term 'applicable percentage' means, with respect to a shareholder of a corporation, the amount (expressed as a percentage) equal to the number of shares of the corporation (within a particular class or type of stock) owned by the share- holder at the time the notice described in subparagraph (A) is provided, divided by the aggregate number of such shares owned by all shareholders of the corporation at such time.
"(ii) The term 'applicalbe pro rata amount' means, with respect to a shareholder for a 12-month period, the product of the shareholder's applicable percentage for the period and the proposed aggregate amount for disbursements for political acti- vities by the corporation for the period, as specified in the notice provided under subparagraph (A).
"(3)(A) Prior to the beginning of any 12-month period (as determined by the organization), each membership organization (other than a labor organization) shall provide each of its members with a notice containing the following:
"(i) The proposed aggregate amount for disbursements for political activities by the organization for the period.
"(ii) The individual's applicable percentage and applicable pro rata amount for the period.
"(iii) A form that the individual may complete and return to the organization to indicate the individual's objection to the dis- bursement of amounts for political activities during the period.
"(B) It shall be unlawful for an organization to which subparagraph (A) applies to make disbursements for political activities during the 12-month period described in such subparagraph in an amount greater than --
"(i) the proposed aggregate amount for such disbursements for the period, as specified in the notice provided under subparagraph (A); reduced by
"(ii) the sum of the applicable pro rata amounts for such period of all members who return the form described in subparagraph (A)(iii) to the organization prior to the beginning of the period.
"(C) In this paragraph, the following definitions shall apply:
"(i) The term 'applicable percentage' means, with respect to a member of an organization, the amount (expressed as a percentage) equal to the total dues or membership fees paid by the member for the period involved, divided by the total amount of dues or fees paid by all members of the organization for such period.
"(ii) The term 'applicable pro rata amount' means, with respect to a member for a 12-month period, the product of the member's applicable percentage for the period and the proposed aggregate amount for disbursements for political activities by the organi- zation for the period, as specified in the notice provided under subparagraph (A).
"(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'political activity' means any activity carried out for the purpose of influencing the consideration or outcome of any Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of any Federal regulations, or educating individuals about candidates for election for Federal office or any Federal legislation, law, or regulation."
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE -- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to amounts collected or assessed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE III - RESTRICTIONS ON SOFT MONEY
Sec. 301. BAN ON SOFT MONEY OF NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES; BAN ON USE OF SOFT MONEY BY STATE POLITICAL PARTIES FOR FEDERAL ELECTION ACTIVITY.
Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
"RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF SOFT MONEY BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES
"Sec. 323. (a) BAN ON USE BY NATIONAL PARTIES
"(1) IN GENERAL -- No political committee of a national political party may solicit, receive, or direct any contri- butions, donations, or transfers of funds, or spend any funds, which are not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.
"(2) APPLICABILITY -- Paragraph (1) shall apply to any entity which is established, financed, maintained, or controlled (directly or indirectly) by, or which acts on behalf of, a political committee of a national political party, including any national congressional campaign committee of such a party and any officer or agent of such an entity or committee.
"(b) CANDIDATES
"(1) IN GENERAL -- No candidate for Federal office, individual holding Federal office, or any agent of such a candidate or officeholder may solicit, receive, or direct --
"(A) any funds in connection with any Federal election unless the funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions and reporting requirements of this Act;
"(B) any funds that are to be expended in connection with any election for other than a Federal office unless the funds are not in excess of the applicable amounts permitted with respect to contributions to candidates and political committees under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 315(a), and are not from sources prohibited from making contributions by this Act with respect to elections for Federal office; or
"(C) any funds on behalf of any person which are not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirments of this Act if such funds are for the purpose of financing any activity on behalf of a candidate for election for Federal office or any communication which refers to a clearly identified candidate for election for Federal office.
"(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to
"(A) the solicitation, receipt, or direction of funds by an individual who is a candidate for a non-Federal office if such activity is permitted under State law for such individual's non- Federal campaign committee; or
"(B) the attendance by an individual who holds Federal office at a fundraising event for a State or local committee of a political party of the State which the individual represents as a Federal officeholder, if the event is held in such State.
"(c) STATE PARTIES
"(1) IN GENERAL -- Any payment by a State committee of a political party for a mixed political activity -
"(A) shall be subject to limitation and reporting under this Act as if such payment were an expenditure; and
"(B) may be paid only from an account that is subject to the requirements of this Act.
"(2) MIXED POLITICAL ACTIVITY DEFINED. --
As used in this section, the term 'mixed political activity' means, with respect to a payment by a State committee of a political party, an activity (such as a voter registration program, a get-out- the-vote drive, or general public advertising) that is both for the purpose of influencing an election for Federal office and for any purpose unrelated to influencing an election for Federal office.
"(d) PROHIBITING TRANSFERS OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS BETWEEN STATE PARTIES -- A State committee of a political party may not transfer any funds to a State committee of a political party of another State unless the funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.
"(e) APPLICABILITY TO FUNDS FROM ALL SOURCES -- This section shall apply with respect to funds of any individual, corporation, labor organization, or other person."
TITLE IV - EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 401. Effective Date.
Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to elections occurring after January 1999.
