HR 2452 — OMAR Act

Summary

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit certain political committees from compensating the spouse of the candidate for services provided to or on behalf of the committee, to require such committees to report on payments made to the spouse and the immediate family members of the candidate, and for other purposes.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in House Current html March 30, 2023

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill prohibits certain political committees from compensating a candidate's spouse for services and mandates disclosure of such payments.

• 52 U.S.C. 30114

  (c) Prohibiting Compensation of Spouses; Disclosure of Payments to Spouses and Family Members.--(1) Prohibiting compensation of spouses.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no authorized committee of a candidate or any other political committee established, maintained, or controlled by a candidate or an individual holding Federal office (other than a political committee of a political party) shall directly or indirectly compensate the spouse of the candidate or individual (as the case may be) for services provided to or on behalf of the committee. (2) Disclosure of payments to spouses and immediate family members.--In addition to any other information included in a report submitted under section 304 by a committee described in paragraph (1), the committee shall include in the report a separate statement of any payments, including direct or indirect compensation, made to the spouse or any immediate family member of the candidate or individual involved during the period covered by the report. (3) Immediate family member defined.--In this subsection, the term 'immediate family member' means the son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother, father, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or grandchild of the candidate or individual involved.

  This addition establishes rules against compensating a candidate's spouse and requires reporting on such payments.

• 52 U.S.C. 30114(a)(1)

  for otherwise → subject to subsection (c), for otherwise

  This change makes the permissible use of campaign funds conditional upon the prohibition in the new subsection regarding spouse compensation.

• 52 U.S.C. 30109

  (e) In the case of a violation of section 313(c) committed by a committee described in such section, if the candidate or individual involved knew of the violation, any penalty imposed under this section shall be imposed on the candidate or individual and not on the committee.

  This addition clarifies that penalties for violations related to spouse compensation are to be imposed on the candidate, not the committee.

• 52 U.S.C. 30114(c)

  (3) Prohibiting reimbursement by committee of penalty paid by candidate for violations.--A committee described in paragraph (1) may not make any payment to reimburse the candidate or individual involved for any penalty imposed for a violation of this subsection which is required to be paid by the candidate or individual under section 309(e).

  This prohibits a committee from reimbursing a candidate for penalties related to spouse compensation violations.

Action History

1. September 12, 2023

   Referred to the Subcommittee on Elections.

2. March 30, 2023

   Introduced in House

3. March 30, 2023

   Introduced in House

4. March 30, 2023

   Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Sponsors

• Thomas P. Tiffany · Primary

Subjects