HR 8720 — Campaign Finance Transparency Act

changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971

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TITLE III--DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FUNDS

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 organization of political committees

 Sec. 302. (a) Every political committee shall have a 
treasurer. No contribution or expenditure shall be accepted or 
made by or on behalf of a political committee during any period 
in which the office of treasurer is vacant. No expenditures 
shall be made for or on behalf of a political committee without 
the authorization of the treasurer or his or her designated 
agent.
 (b)(1) Every person who receives a contribution for an 
authorized political committee shall, no later than 10 days 
after receiving such contribution, forward to the treasurer 
such contribution, and if the amount of the contribution is in 
excess of $50 the name and address of the person making the 
contribution and the date of receipt.
 (2) Every person who receives a contribution for a political 
committee which is not an authorized committee shall--
 (A) if the amount of the contribution is $50 or less, 
 forward to the treasurer such contribution no later 
 than 30 days after receiving the contribution; and
 (B) if the amount of the contribution is in excess of 
 $50, forward to the treasurer such contribution, the 
 name and address of the person making the contribution, 
 and the date of receipt of the contribution, no later 
 than 10 days after receiving the contribution.
 (3) All funds of a political committee shall be segregated 
from, and may not be commingled with, the personal funds of any 
individual.
 (c) The treasurer of a political committee shall keep an 
account of--
 (1) all contributions received by or on behalf of 
 such political committee;
 (2) the name and address of any person who makes any 
 contribution in excess of $50, together with the date 
 and amount of such contribution by any person;
 (3) the identification of any person who makes a 
 contribution or contributions aggregating more than 
 $200 during a calendar year, together with the date and 
 amount of any such contribution;
 (4) the identification of any political committee 
 which makes a contribution, together with the date and 
 amount of any such contribution; and
 (5) the name and address of every person to whom any 
 disbursement is made, the date, amount, and purpose of 
 the disbursement, and the name of the candidate and the 
 office sought by the candidate, if any, for whom the 
 disbursement was made, including a receipt, invoice, or 
 canceled check for each disbursement in excess of $200.
 (d) The treasurer shall preserve all records required to be 
kept by this section and copies of all reports required to be 
filed by this title for 3 years after the report is filed. For 
any report filed in electronic format under section 304(a)(11), 
the treasurer shall retain a machine-readable copy of the 
report as the copy preserved under the preceding sentence.
 (e)(1) Each candidate for Federal office (other than the 
nominee for the office of Vice President) shall designate in 
writing a political committee in accordance with paragraph (3) 
to serve as the principal campaign committee of such candidate. 
Such designation shall be made no later than 15 days after 
becoming a candidate. A candidate may designate additional 
political committees in accordance with paragraph (3) to serve 
as authorized committees of such candidate. Such designation 
shall be in writing and filed with the principal campaign 
committee of such candidate in accordance with subsection 
(f)(1).
 (2) Any candidate described in paragraph (1) who receives a 
contribution, or any loan for use in connection with the 
campaign of such candidate for election, or makes a 
disbursement in connection with such campaign, shall be 
considered, for purposes of this Act, as having received the 
contribution or loan, or as having made the disbursement, as 
the case may be, as an agent of the authorized committee or 
committees of such candidate.
 (3)(A) No political committee which supports or has supported 
more than one candidate may be designated as an authorized 
committee, except that--
 (i) the candidate for the office of President 
 nominated by a political party may designate the 
 national committee of such political party as a 
 principal campaign committee, but only if that national 
 committee maintains separate books of account with 
 respect to its function as a principal campaign 
 committee; and
 (ii) candidates may designate a political committee 
 established solely for the purpose of joint fundraising 
 by such candidates as an authorized committee.
 (B) As used in this section, the term ``support'' does not 
include a contribution by any authorized committee in amounts 
of $2,000 or less to an authorized committee of any other 
candidate.
 (4) The name of each authorized committee shall include the 
name of the candidate who authorized such committee under 
paragraph (1). In the case of any political committee which is 
not an authorized committee, such political committee shall not 
include the name of any candidate in its name.
 (5) The name of any separate segregated fund established 
pursuant to section 316(b) shall include the name of its 
connected organization.
 (f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, each 
designation, statement, or report of receipts or disbursements 
made by an authorized committee of a candidate shall be filed 
with the candidate's principal campaign committee.
 (2) Each principal campaign committee shall receive all 
designations, statements, and reports required to be filed with 
it under paragraph (1) and shall compile and file such 
designations, statements, and reports in accordance with this 
Act.
 (g) Filing With the Commission.--All designations, 
statements, and reports required to be filed under this Act 
shall be filed with the Commission.
 (h)(1) Each political committee shall designate one or more 
State banks, federally chartered depository institutions, or 
depository institutions the deposits or accounts of which are 
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the 
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, or the National 
Credit Union Administration, as its campaign depository or 
depositories. Each political committee shall maintain at least 
one checking account and such other accounts as the committee 
determines at a depository designated by such committee. All 
receipts received by such committee shall be deposited in such 
accounts. No disbursements may be made (other than petty cash 
disbursements under paragraph (2)) by such committee except by 
check drawn on such accounts in accordance with this section.
 (2) A political committee may maintain a petty cash fund for 
disbursements not in excess of $100 to any person in connection 
with a single purchase or transaction. A record of all petty 
cash disbursements shall be maintained in accordance with 
subsection (c)(5).
 (i) When the treasurer of a political committee shows that 
best efforts have been used to obtain, maintain, and submit the 
information required by this Act for the political committee, 
any report or any records of such committee shall be considered 
in compliance with this Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
 (j)(1) No political committee shall accept any internet 
credit or debit card contribution unless--
 (A) except in the case of a contribution the 
 political committee receives by mail, the individual or 
 entity making such contribution is required, at the 
 time such individual or entity makes such contribution, 
 to disclose the card verification value or card 
 verification code of such credit or debit card and the 
 ZIP Code of the billing address associated with such 
 credit or debit card; and
 (B)(i) the mailing address of the individual or 
 entity is located in a State; or
 (ii) in the case of a contribution made by an 
 individual whose mailing address is not located in a 
 State, the individual provides the committee with the 
 applicable information described in paragraph (2).
 (2) The applicable information described in this paragraph is 
as follows:
 (A) In the case of an individual who is a citizen or 
 national of the United States--
 (i) the United States mailing address the 
 individual uses for voter registration 
 purposes;
 (ii) a copy of the individual's United States 
 passport; or
 (iii) a copy of a comparable acceptable 
 identification document, or the unique 
 identifying number from such a document, for 
 the individual.
 (B) In the case of an individual who is lawfully 
 admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 
 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))--
 (i) a copy of the individual's permanent 
 resident card; or
 (ii) a copy of a comparable acceptable 
 identification document issued by the 
 Department of Homeland Security.
 (3) A political committee that accepts any internet credit or 
debit card contribution as a recurring contribution shall 
require the individual or entity making such contribution to 
comply with the requirements of this subsection for the first 
such contribution, but shall not require the individual or 
entity to provide the information identified in paragraphs (1) 
and (2) for subsequent recurring contributions made using the 
same credit or debit card as the initial contribution.
 (4) A political committee that stores or saves, or arranges 
to store or save, any credit or debit card information shall 
require the individual or entity making such contribution to 
comply with the requirements of this subsection for the first 
such contribution or at the time of storing or saving such 
information, but shall not require the individual or entity to 
provide the information identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) 
for subsequent contributions made using the same credit or 
debit card as the initial contribution.
 (5) An internet credit or debit card contribution received by 
a political committee made through the use of a digital wallet 
shall be treated as complying with the requirements of this 
subsection.
 (6) Notwithstanding subsection (b) or (c), in the case of an 
internet credit or debit card contribution--
 (A) no later than 10 days after receiving the 
 contribution, the person who receives the contribution 
 shall forward to the treasurer such contribution, the 
 name and address of the person making the contribution, 
 and the date of receipt; and
 (B) the treasurer of a political committee shall keep 
 an account of the name and address of any person making 
 any such contribution, together with the date and 
 amount of such contribution by any person consistent 
 with applicable regulations of the Commission, 
 including regulations relating to the period for which 
 contribution records must be preserved and the 
 anonymity of certain contributors.
 (7)(A) A treasurer of a political committee who is aware that 
a contribution to the committee is not in compliance with this 
subsection has an affirmative duty to refund the contribution 
to the individual or entity making the contribution.
 (B) If the treasurer of a political committee shows that best 
efforts have been used to comply with the requirements of this 
paragraph, the committee shall be considered in compliance with 
this subsection.
 (8) In this subsection--
 (A) the term ``digital wallet'' means a software 
 application that stores payment or account information 
 to facilitate traditional payments that use bank and 
 credit card information; and
 (B) the term ``Internet credit or debit card 
 contribution'' means a contribution that--
 (i) is made using a credit or debit card; and
 (ii) is received through an internet website 
 or application.
 (k) No political committee shall accept any credit or debit 
card contribution unless the name on the credit or debit card 
used to make such contribution is the name of the individual or 
entity donating such contribution.
 (l)(1) No political committee shall knowingly accept a 
contribution made through the use of a gift certificate or 
store gift card, as such terms are defined, respectively, under 
section 915(a) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
 (2)(A) A treasurer of a political committee who is aware that 
a contribution to the committee is not in compliance with this 
subsection has an affirmative duty to refund the contribution 
to the individual or entity making the contribution.
 (B) If the treasurer of a political committee shows that best 
efforts have been used to comply with the requirements of this 
subsection, the committee shall be considered in compliance 
with this subsection.

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 reports

 Sec. 304. (a)(1) Each treasurer of a political committee 
shall file reports of receipts and disbursements in accordance 
with the provisions of this subsection. The treasurer shall 
sign each such report.
 (2) If the political committee is the principal campaign 
committee of a candidate for the House of Representatives or 
for the Senate--
 (A) in any calendar year during which there is 
 regularly scheduled election for which such candidate 
 is seeking election, or nomination for election, the 
 treasurer shall file the following reports:
 (i) a pre-election report, which shall be 
 filed no later than the 12th day before (or 
 posted by any of the following: registered 
 mail, certified mail, priority mail having a 
 delivery confirmation, or express mail having a 
 delivery confirmation, or delivered to an 
 overnight delivery service with an on-line 
 tracking system, if posted or delivered no 
 later than the 15th day before) any election in 
 which such candidate is seeking election, or 
 nomination for election, and which shall be 
 complete as of the 20th day before such 
 election;
 (ii) a post-general election report, which 
 shall be filed no later than the 30th day after 
 any general election in which such candidate 
 has sought election, and which shall be 
 complete as of the 20th day after such general 
 election; and
 (iii) additional quarterly reports, which 
 shall be filed no later than the 15th day after 
 the last day of each calendar quarter, and 
 which shall be complete as of the last day of 
 each calendar quarter: except that the report 
 for the quarter ending December 31 shall be 
 filed no later than January 31 of the following 
 calendar year; and
 (B) in any other calendar year the treasurer shall 
 file quarterly reports, which shall be filed not later 
 than the 15th day after the last day of each calendar 
 quarter, and which shall be complete as of the last day 
 of each calendar quarter, except that the report for 
 the quarter ending December 31 shall be filed not later 
 than January 31 of the following calendar year.
 (3) If the committee is the principal campaign committee of a 
candidate for the office of President--
 (A) in any calendar year during which a general 
 election is held to fill such office--
 (i) the treasurer shall file monthly reports 
 if such committee has on January 1 of such 
 year, received contributions aggregating 
 $100,000 or made expenditures aggregating 
 $100,000 or anticipates receiving contributions 
 aggregating $100,000 or more or making 
 expenditures aggregating $100,000 or more 
 during such year: such monthly reports shall be 
 filed no later than the 20th day after the last 
 day of each month and shall be complete as of 
 the last day of the month, except that, in lieu 
 of filing the report otherwise due in November 
 and December, a pre-general election report 
 shall be filed in accordance with paragraph 
 (2)(A)(i), a post-general election report shall 
 be filed in accordance with paragraph 
 (2)(A)(ii), and a year end report shall be 
 filed no later than January 31 of the following 
 calendar year;
 (ii) the treasurer of the other principal 
 campaign committees of a candidate for the 
 office of President shall file a pre-election 
 report or reports in accordance with paragraph 
 (2)(A)(i), a post-general election report in 
 accordance with paragraph (2)(A)(ii), and 
 quarterly reports in accordance with paragraph 
 (2)(A)(iii); and
 (iii) if at any time during the election year 
 a committee filing under paragraph (3)(A)(ii) 
 receives contributions in excess of $100,000 or 
 makes expenditures in excess of $100,000, the 
 treasurer shall begin filing monthly reports 
 under paragraph (3)(A)(i) at the next reporting 
 period; and
 (B) in any other calendar year, the treasurer shall 
 file either--
 (i) monthly reports, which shall be filed no 
 later than the 20th day after the last day of 
 each month and shall be compete as of the last 
 day of the month; or
 (ii) quarterly reports, which shall be filed 
 no later than the 15th day after the last day 
 of each calendar quarter and which shall be 
 complete as of the last day of each calendar 
 quarter.
 (4) All political committees other than authorized committees 
of a candidate shall file either--
 (A)(i) quarterly reports, in a calendar year in which 
 a regularly scheduled general election is held, which 
 shall be filed no later than the 15th day after the 
 last day of each calendar quarter: except that the 
 report for the quarter ending on December 31 of such 
 calendar year shall be filed no later than January 31 
 of the following calendar year.
 (ii) a pre-election report, which shall be filed no 
 later than the 12th day before (or posted by any of the 
 following: registered mail, certified mail, priority 
 mail having a delivery confirmation, or express mail 
 having a delivery confirmation, or delivered to an 
 overnight delivery service with an on-line tracking 
 system, if posted or delivered no later than the 15th 
 day before) any election in which the committee makes a 
 contribution to or expenditure on behalf of a candidate 
 in such election, and which shall be complete as of the 
 20th day before the election;
 (iii) a post-general election report, which shall be 
 filed no later than the 30th day after the general 
 election and which shall be complete as of the 20th day 
 after such general election; and
 (iv) in any other calendar year, a report covering 
 the period beginning January 1 and ending June 30, 
 which shall be filed no later than July 31 and a report 
 covering the period beginning July 1 and ending 
 December 31, which shall be filed no later than January 
 31 of the following calendar year; or
 (B) monthly reports in all calendar years which shall 
 be filed no later than the 20th day after the last day 
 of the month and shall be complete as of the last day 
 of the month, except that, in lieu of filing the 
 reports otherwise due in November and December of any 
 year in which a regularly scheduled general election is 
 held, a pre-general election report shall be filed in 
 accordance with paragraph (2)(A)(i), a post-general 
 election report shall be filed in accordance with 
 paragraph (2)(A)(ii), and a year end report shall be 
 filed no later than January 31 of the following 
 calendar year.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a national committee of 
a political party shall file the reports required under 
subparagraph (B).
 (5) If a designation, report, or statement filed 
 pursuant to this Act (other than under paragraph 
 (2)(A)(i) or (4)(A)(ii) or subsection (g)(1)) is sent 
 by registered mail, certified mail, priority mail 
 having a delivery confirmation, or express mail having 
 a delivery confirmation, the United States postmark 
 shall be considered the date of filing the designation, 
 report or statement. If a designation, report or 
 statement filed pursuant to this Act (other than under 
 paragraph (2)(A)(i) or (4)(A)(ii), or subsection 
 (g)(1)) is sent by an overnight delivery service with 
 an on-line tracking system, the date on the proof of 
 delivery to the delivery service shall be considered 
 the date of filing of the designation, report, or 
 statement.
 (6)(A) The principal campaign committee of a candidate shall 
notify the Secretary or the Commission, and the Secretary of 
State, as appropriate, in writing, of any contribution of 
$1,000 or more received by any authorized committee of such 
candidate after the 20th day, but more than 48 hours before, 
any election. This notification shall be made within 48 hours 
after the receipt of such contribution and shall include the 
name of the candidate and the office sought by the candidate, 
the identification of the contributor, and the date of receipt 
and amount of the contribution.
 (B) Notification of expenditure from personal funds.--
 (i) Definition of expenditure from personal funds.--
 In this subparagraph, the term ``expenditure from 
 personal funds'' means--
 (I) an expenditure made by a candidate using 
 personal funds; and
 (II) a contribution or loan made by a 
 candidate using personal funds or a loan 
 secured using such funds to the candidate's 
 authorized committee.
 (ii) Declaration of intent.--Not later than the date 
 that is 15 days after the date on which an individual 
 becomes a candidate for the office of Senator, the 
 candidate shall file a declaration stating the total 
 amount of expenditures from personal funds that the 
 candidate intends to make, or to obligate to make, with 
 respect to the election that will exceed the State-by-
 State competitive and fair campaign formula with--
 (I) the Commission; and
 (II) each candidate in the same election.
 (iii) Initial notification.--Not later than 24 hours 
 after a candidate described in clause (ii) makes or 
 obligates to make an aggregate amount of expenditures 
 from personal funds in excess of 2 times the threshold 
 amount in connection with any election, the candidate 
 shall file a notification with--
 (I) the Commission; and
 (II) each candidate in the same election.
 (iv) Additional notification.--After a candidate 
 files an initial notification under clause (iii), the 
 candidate shall file an additional notification each 
 time expenditures from personal funds are made or 
 obligated to be made in an aggregate amount that exceed 
 $10,000 with--
 (I) the Commission; and
 (II) each candidate in the same election.
 Such notification shall be filed not later than 24 
 hours after the expenditure is made.
 (v) Contents.--A notification under clause (iii) or 
 (iv) shall include--
 (I) the name of the candidate and the office 
 sought by the candidate;
 (II) the date and amount of each expenditure; 
 and
 (III) the total amount of expenditures from 
 personal funds that the candidate has made, or 
 obligated to make, with respect to an election 
 as of the date of the expenditure that is the 
 subject of the notification.
 (C) Notification of disposal of excess contributions.--In the 
next regularly scheduled report after the date of the election 
for which a candidate seeks nomination for election to, or 
election to, Federal office, the candidate or the candidate's 
authorized committee shall submit to the Commission a report 
indicating the source and amount of any excess contributions 
(as determined under paragraph (1) of section 315(i)) and the 
manner in which the candidate or the candidate's authorized 
committee used such funds.
 (D) Enforcement.--For provisions providing for the 
enforcement of the reporting requirements under this paragraph, 
see section 309.
 (E) The notification required under this paragraph shall be 
in addition to all other reporting requirements under this Act.
 (7) The reports required to be filed by this subsection shall 
be cumulative during the calendar year to which they relate, 
but where there has been no change in an item reported in a 
previous report during such year, only the amount need be 
carried forward.
 (8) The requirement for a political committee to file a 
quarterly report under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) or paragraph 
(4)(A)(i) shall be waived if such committee is required to file 
a pre-election report under paragraph (2)(A)(i), or paragraph 
(4)(A)(ii) during the period beginning on the 5th day after the 
close of the calendar quarter and ending on the 15th day after 
the close of the calendar quarter.
 (9) The Commission shall set filing dates for reports to be 
filed by principal campaign committees of candidates seeking 
election, or nomination for election, in special elections and 
political committees filing under paragraph (4)(A) which make 
contributions to or expenditures on behalf of a candidate or 
candidates in special elections. The Commission shall require 
no more than one pre-election report for each election and one 
post-election report for the election which fills the vacancy. 
The Commission may waive any reporting obligation of committees 
required to file for special elections if any report required 
by paragraph (2) or (4) is required to be filed within 10 days 
of a report required under this subsection. The Commission 
shall establish the reporting dates within 5 days of the 
setting of such election and shall publish such dates and 
notify the principal campaign committees of all candidates in 
such election of the reporting dates.
 (10) The treasurer of a committee supporting a candidate for 
the office of Vice President (other than the nominee of a 
political party) shall file reports in accordance with 
paragraph (3).
 (11)(A) The Commission shall promulgate a regulation under 
which a person required to file a designation, statement, or 
report under this Act--
 (i) is required to maintain and file a designation, 
 statement, or report for any calendar year in 
 electronic form accessible by computers if the person 
 has, or has reason to expect to have, aggregate 
 contributions or expenditures in excess of a threshold 
 amount determined by the Commission; and
 (ii) may maintain and file a designation, statement, 
 or report in electronic form or an alternative form if 
 not required to do so under the regulation promulgated 
 under clause (i).
 (B) The Commission shall make a designation, statement, 
report, or notification that is filed with the Commission under 
this Act available for inspection by the public in the offices 
of the Commission and accessible to the public on the Internet 
not later than 48 hours (or not later than 24 hours in the case 
of a designation, statement, report, or notification filed 
electronically) after receipt by the Commission.
 (C) In promulgating a regulation under this paragraph, the 
Commission shall provide methods (other than requiring a 
signature on the document being filed) for verifying 
designations, statements, and reports covered by the 
regulation. Any document verified under any of the methods 
shall be treated for all purposes (including penalties for 
perjury) in the same manner as a document verified by 
signature.
 (D) As used in this paragraph, the term ``report'' means, 
with respect to the Commission, a report, designation, or 
statement required by this Act to be filed with the Commission.
 (12) Software for filing of reports.--
 (A) In general.--The Commission shall--
 (i) promulgate standards to be used 
 by vendors to develop software that--
 (I) permits candidates to 
 easily record information 
 concerning receipts and 
 disbursements required to be 
 reported under this Act at the 
 time of the receipt or 
 disbursement;
 (II) allows the information 
 recorded under subclause (I) to 
 be transmitted immediately to 
 the Commission; and
 (III) allows the Commission 
 to post the information on the 
 Internet immediately upon 
 receipt; and
 (ii) make a copy of software that 
 meets the standards promulgated under 
 clause (i) available to each person 
 required to file a designation, 
 statement, or report in electronic form 
 under this Act.
 (B) Additional information.--To the extent 
 feasible, the Commission shall require vendors 
 to include in the software developed under the 
 standards under subparagraph (A) the ability 
 for any person to file any designation, 
 statement, or report required under this Act in 
 electronic form.
 (C) Required use.--Notwithstanding any 
 provision of this Act relating to times for 
 filing reports, each candidate for Federal 
 office (or that candidate's authorized 
 committee) shall use software that meets the 
 standards promulgated under this paragraph once 
 such software is made available to such 
 candidate.
 (D) Required posting.--The Commission shall, 
 as soon as practicable, post on the Internet 
 any information received under this paragraph.
 (b) Each report under this section shall disclose--
 (1) the amount of cash on hand at the beginning of 
 the reporting period;
 (2) for the reporting period and the calendar year 
 (or election cycle, in the case of an authorized 
 committee of a candidate for Federal office), the total 
 amount of all receipts, and the total amount of all 
 receipts in the following categories:
 (A) contributions from persons other than 
 political committees;
 (B) for an authorized committee, 
 contributions from the candidate;
 (C) contributions from political party 
 committees;
 (D) contributions from other political 
 committees;
 (E) for an authorized committee, transfers 
 from other authorized committees of the same 
 candidate;
 (F) transfers from affiliated committees and, 
 where the reporting committee is a political 
 party committee, transfers from other political 
 party committees, regardless of whether such 
 committees are affiliated;
 (G) for an authorized committee, loans made 
 by or guaranteed by the candidate;
 (H) all other loans;
 (I) rebates, refunds, and other offsets to 
 operating expenditures;
 (J) dividends, interest, and other forms of 
 receipts; and
 (K) for an authorized committee of a 
 candidate for the office of President, Federal 
 funds received under chapter 95 and chapter 96 
 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;
 (3) the identification of each--
 (A) person (other than a political committee) 
 who makes a contribution to the reporting 
 committee during the reporting period, [whose 
 contribution or contributions have an aggregate 
 amount or value in excess of $200 within the 
 calendar year (or election cycle, in the case 
 of an authorized committee of a candidate for 
 Federal office), or in any lesser amount if the 
 reporting committee should so elect,] together 
 with the date and amount of any such 
 contribution;
 (B) political committee which makes a 
 contribution to the reporting committee during 
 the reporting period, together with the date 
 and amount of any such contribution;
 (C) authorized committee which makes a 
 transfer to the reporting committee;
 (D) affiliated committee which makes a 
 transfer to the reporting committee during the 
 reporting period and, where the reporting 
 committee is a political party committee, each 
 transfer of funds to the reporting committee 
 from another political party committee, 
 regardless of whether such committees are 
 affiliated, together with the date and amount 
 of such transfer;
 (E) person who makes a loan to the reporting 
 committee during the reporting period, together 
 with the identification of any endorser or 
 guarantor of such loan, and the date and amount 
 or value of such loan;
 (F) person who provides a rebate, refund, or 
 other offset to operating expenditures to the 
 reporting committee [in an aggregate amount or 
 value in excess of $200 within the calendar 
 year (or election cycle, in the case of an 
 authorized committee of a candidate for Federal 
 office)], together with the date and amount of 
 such receipt; and
 (G) person who provides any dividend, 
 interest, or other receipt to the reporting 
 committee [in an aggregate value or amount in 
 excess of $200 within the calendar year (or 
 election cycle, in the case of an authorized 
 committee of a candidate for Federal office)], 
 together with the date and amount of any such 
 receipt;
 (4) for the reporting period and the calendar year 
 (or election cycle, in the case of an authorized 
 committee of a candidate for Federal office), the total 
 amount of all disbursements, and all disbursements in 
 the following categories:
 (A) expenditures made to meet candidate or 
 committee operating expenses;
 (B) for authorized committees, transfers to 
 other committees authorized by the same 
 candidate;
 (C) transfers to affiliated committees and, 
 where the reporting committee is a political 
 party committee, transfers to other political 
 party committees, regardless of whether they 
 are affiliated;
 (D) for an authorized committee, repayment of 
 loans made by or guaranteed by the candidate;
 (E) repayment of all other loans;
 (F) contribution refunds and other offsets to 
 contributions;
 (G) for an authorized committee, any other 
 disbursements;
 (H) for any political committee other than an 
 authorized committee--
 (i) contributions made to other 
 political committees;
 (ii) loans made by the reporting 
 committees;
 (iii) independent expenditures;
 (iv) expenditures made under section 
 315(d) of this Act; and
 (v) any other disbursements; and
 (I) for an authorized committee of a 
 candidate for the office of President, 
 disbursements not subject to the limitation of 
 section 315(b);
 (5) the name and address of each--
 (A) person to whom an expenditure in an 
 aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 
 within the calendar year is made by the 
 reporting committee to meet a candidate or 
 committee operating expense, together with the 
 date, amount, and purpose of such operating 
 expenditure;
 (B) authorized committee to which a transfer 
 is made by the reporting committee;
 (C) affiliated committee to which a transfer 
 is made by the reporting committee during the 
 reporting period and, where the reporting 
 committee is a political party committee, each 
 transfer of funds by the reporting committee to 
 another political party committee, regardless 
 of whether such committees are affiliated, 
 together with the date and amount of such 
 transfers;
 (D) person who receives a loan repayment from 
 the reporting committee during the reporting 
 period, together with the date and amount of 
 such loan repayment; and
 (E) person who receives a contribution refund 
 or other offset to contributions from the 
 reporting committee where such contribution was 
 reported under paragraph (3)(A) of this 
 subsection, together with the date and amount 
 of such disbursement;
 (6)(A) for an authorized committee, the name and 
 address of each person who has received any 
 disbursement not disclosed under paragraph (5) in an 
 aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the 
 calendar year (or election cycle, in the case of an 
 authorized committee of a candidate for Federal 
 office), together with the date and amount of any such 
 disbursement;
 (B) for any other political committee, the name and 
 address of each--
 (i) political committee which has received a 
 contribution from the reporting committee 
 during the reporting period, together with the 
 date and amount of any such contribution;
 (ii) person who has received a loan from the 
 reporting committee during the reporting 
 period, together with the date and amount of 
 such loan;
 (iii) person who receives any disbursement 
 during the reporting period in an aggregate 
 amount or value in excess of $200 within the 
 calendar year (or election cycle, in the case 
 of an authorized committee of a candidate for 
 Federal office) in connection with an 
 independent expenditure by the reporting 
 committee, together with the date, amount, and 
 purpose of any such independent expenditure and 
 a statement which indicates whether such 
 independent expenditure is in support of, or in 
 opposition to, a candidate, as well as the name 
 and office sought by such candidate, and a 
 certification, under penalty of perjury, 
 whether such independent expenditure is made in 
 cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or 
 at the request or suggestion of, any candidate 
 or any authorized committee or agent of such 
 committee;
 (iv) person who receives any expenditure from 
 the reporting committee during the reporting 
 period in connection with an expenditure under 
 section 315(d) in the Act, together with the 
 date, amount, and purpose of any such 
 expenditure as well as the name of, and office 
 sought by, the candidate on whose behalf the 
 expenditure is made; and
 (v) person who has received any disbursement 
 not otherwise disclosed in this paragraph or 
 paragraph (5) in an aggregate amount or value 
 in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or 
 election cycle, in the case of an authorized 
 committee of a candidate for Federal office) 
 from the reporting committee within the 
 reporting period, together with the date, 
 amount, and purpose of any such disbursement;
 (7) the total sum of all contributions to such 
 political committee, together with the total 
 contributions less offsets to contributions and the 
 total sum of all operating expenditures made by such 
 political committee, together with total operating 
 expenditures less offsets to operating expenditures, 
 for both the reporting period and the calendar year (or 
 election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee 
 of a candidate for Federal office); and
 (8) the amount and nature of outstanding debts and 
 obligations owed by or to such political committee; and 
 where such debts and obligations are settled for less 
 than their reported amount or value, a statement as to 
 the circumstances and conditions under which such debts 
 or obligations were extinguished and the consideration 
 therefor.
 (c)(1) Every person (other than a political committee) who 
makes independent expenditures in an aggregate amount or value 
in excess of $250 during a calendar year shall file a statement 
containing the information required under subsection (b)(3)(A) 
for all contributions received by such person.
 (2) Statements required to be filed by this subsection shall 
be filed in accordance with subsection (a)(2), and shall 
include--
 (A) the information required by subsection 
 (b)(6)(B)(iii), indicating whether the independent 
 expenditure is in support of, or in opposition to, the 
 candidate involved;
 (B) under penalty of perjury, a certification whether 
 or not such independent expenditure is made in 
 cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or at the 
 request or suggestion of, any candidate or any 
 authorized committee or agent of such candidate; and
 (C) the identification of each person who made a 
 contribution [in excess of $200] to the person filing 
 such statement which was made for the purpose of 
 furthering an independent expenditure.
 (3) The Commission shall be responsible for expeditiously 
preparing indices which set forth, on a candidate-by-candidate 
basis, all independent expenditures separately, including those 
reported under subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii), made by or for each 
candidate, as reported under this subsection, and for 
periodically publishing such indices on a timely pre-election 
basis.
 (d)(1) Any person who is required to file a statement under 
subsection (c) or (g) of this section, except statements 
required to be filed electronically pursuant to subsection 
(a)(11)(A)(i) may file the statement by facsimile device or 
electronic mail, in accordance with such regulations as the 
Commission may promulgate.
 (2) The Commission shall make a document which is filed 
electronically with the Commission pursuant to this paragraph 
accessible to the public on the Internet not later than 24 
hours after the document is received by the Commission.
 (3) In promulgating a regulation under this paragraph, the 
Commission shall provide methods (other than requiring a 
signature on the document being filed) for verifying the 
documents covered by the regulation. Any document verified 
under any of the methods shall be treated for all purposes 
(including penalties for perjury) in the same manner as a 
document verified by signature.
 (e) Political Committees.--
 (1) National and congressional political 
 committees.--The national committee of a political 
 party, any national congressional campaign committee of 
 a political party, and any subordinate committee of 
 either, shall report all receipts and disbursements 
 during the reporting period.
 (2) Other political committees to which section 323 
 applies.--
 (A) In general.--In addition to any other 
 reporting requirements applicable under this 
 Act, a political committee (not described in 
 paragraph (1)) to which section 323(b)(1) 
 applies shall report all receipts and 
 disbursements made for activities described in 
 section 301(20)(A), unless the aggregate amount 
 of such receipts and disbursements during the 
 calendar year is less than $5,000.
 (B) Specific disclosure by state and local 
 parties of certain non-federal amounts 
 permitted to be spent on federal election 
 activity.--Each report by a political committee 
 under subparagraph (A) of receipts and 
 disbursements made for activities described in 
 section 301(20)(A) shall include a disclosure 
 of all receipts and disbursements described in 
 section 323(b)(2)(A) and (B).
 (3) Itemization.--If a political committee has 
 [receipts or] disbursements to which this subsection 
 applies from or to any person aggregating in excess of 
 $200 for any calendar year, the political committee 
 shall separately itemize its reporting for such person 
 in the same manner as required in [paragraphs (3)(A), 
 (5),] paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (b).
 (4) Reporting periods.--Reports required to be filed 
 under this subsection shall be filed for the same time 
 periods required for political committees under 
 subsection (a)(4)(B).
 (f) Disclosure of Electioneering Communications.--
 (1) Statement required.--Every person who makes a 
 disbursement for the direct costs of producing and 
 airing electioneering communications in an aggregate 
 amount in excess of $10,000 during any calendar year 
 shall, within 24 hours of each disclosure date, file 
 with the Commission a statement containing the 
 information described in paragraph (2).
 (2) Contents of statement.--Each statement required 
 to be filed under this subsection shall be made under 
 penalty of perjury and shall contain the following 
 information:
 (A) The identification of the person making 
 the disbursement, of any person sharing or 
 exercising direction or control over the 
 activities of such person, and of the custodian 
 of the books and accounts of the person making 
 the disbursement.
 (B) The principal place of business of the 
 person making the disbursement, if not an 
 individual.
 (C) The amount of each disbursement of more 
 than $200 during the period covered by the 
 statement and the identification of the person 
 to whom the disbursement was made.
 (D) The elections to which the electioneering 
 communications pertain and the names (if known) 
 of the candidates identified or to be 
 identified.
 (E) If the disbursements were paid out of a 
 segregated bank account which consists of funds 
 contributed solely by individuals who are 
 United States citizens or nationals or lawfully 
 admitted for permanent residence (as defined in 
 section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and 
 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))) 
 directly to this account for electioneering 
 communications, the names and addresses of all 
 contributors who contributed an aggregate 
 amount of $1,000 or more to that account during 
 the period beginning on the first day of the 
 preceding calendar year and ending on the 
 disclosure date. Nothing in this subparagraph 
 is to be construed as a prohibition on the use 
 of funds in such a segregated account for a 
 purpose other than electioneering 
 communications.
 (F) If the disbursements were paid out of 
 funds not described in subparagraph (E), the 
 names and addresses of all contributors who 
 contributed an aggregate amount of $1,000 or 
 more to the person making the disbursement 
 during the period beginning on the first day of 
 the preceding calendar year and ending on the 
 disclosure date.
 (3) Electioneering communication.--For purposes of 
 this subsection--
 (A) In general.--(i) The term 
 ``electioneering communication'' means any 
 broadcast, cable, or satellite communication 
 which--
 (I) refers to a clearly identified 
 candidate for Federal office;
 (II) is made within--
 (aa) 60 days before a 
 general, special, or runoff 
 election for the office sought 
 by the candidate; or
 (bb) 30 days before a primary 
 or preference election, or a 
 convention or caucus of a 
 political party that has 
 authority to nominate a 
 candidate, for the office 
 sought by the candidate; and
 (III) in the case of a communication 
 which refers to a candidate for an 
 office other than President or Vice 
 President, is targeted to the relevant 
 electorate.
 (ii) If clause (i) is held to be 
 constitutionally insufficient by final judicial 
 decision to support the regulation provided 
 herein, then the term ``electioneering 
 communication'' means any broadcast, cable, or 
 satellite communication which promotes or 
 supports a candidate for that office, or 
 attacks or opposes a candidate for that office 
 (regardless of whether the communication 
 expressly advocates a vote for or against a 
 candidate) and which also is suggestive of no 
 plausible meaning other than an exhortation to 
 vote for or against a specific candidate. 
 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed 
 to affect the interpretation or application of 
 section 100.22(b) of title 11, Code of Federal 
 Regulations.
 (B) Exceptions.--The term ``electioneering 
 communication'' does not include--
 (i) a communication appearing in a 
 news story, commentary, or editorial 
 distributed through the facilities of 
 any broadcasting station, unless such 
 facilities are owned or controlled by 
 any political party, political 
 committee, or candidate;
 (ii) a communication which 
 constitutes an expenditure or an 
 independent expenditure under this Act;
 (iii) a communication which 
 constitutes a candidate debate or forum 
 conducted pursuant to regulations 
 adopted by the Commission, or which 
 solely promotes such a debate or forum 
 and is made by or on behalf of the 
 person sponsoring the debate or forum; 
 or
 (iv) any other communication exempted 
 under such regulations as the 
 Commission may promulgate (consistent 
 with the requirements of this 
 paragraph) to ensure the appropriate 
 implementation of this paragraph, 
 except that under any such regulation a 
 communication may not be exempted if it 
 meets the requirements of this 
 paragraph and is described in section 
 301(20)(A)(iii).
 (C) Targeting to relevant electorate.--For 
 purposes of this paragraph, a communication 
 which refers to a clearly identified candidate 
 for Federal office is ``targeted to the 
 relevant electorate'' if the communication can 
 be received by 50,000 or more persons--
 (i) in the district the candidate 
 seeks to represent, in the case of a 
 candidate for Representative in, or 
 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 
 the Congress; or
 (ii) in the State the candidate seeks 
 to represent, in the case of a 
 candidate for Senator.
 (4) Disclosure date.--For purposes of this 
 subsection, the term ``disclosure date'' means--
 (A) the first date during any calendar year 
 by which a person has made disbursements for 
 the direct costs of producing or airing 
 electioneering communications aggregating in 
 excess of $10,000; and
 (B) any other date during such calendar year 
 by which a person has made disbursements for 
 the direct costs of producing or airing 
 electioneering communications aggregating in 
 excess of $10,000 since the most recent 
 disclosure date for such calendar year.
 (5) Contracts to disburse.--For purposes of this 
 subsection, a person shall be treated as having made a 
 disbursement if the person has executed a contract to 
 make the disbursement.
 (6) Coordination with other requirements.--Any 
 requirement to report under this subsection shall be in 
 addition to any other reporting requirement under this 
 Act.
 (7) Coordination with internal revenue code.--Nothing 
 in this subsection may be construed to establish, 
 modify, or otherwise affect the definition of political 
 activities or electioneering activities (including the 
 definition of participating in, intervening in, or 
 influencing or attempting to influence a political 
 campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate 
 for public office) for purposes of the Internal Revenue 
 Code of 1986.
 (g) Time for Reporting Certain Expenditures.--
 (1) Expenditures aggregating $1,000.--
 (A) Initial report.--A person (including a 
 political committee) that makes or contracts to 
 make independent expenditures aggregating 
 $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more 
 than 24 hours, before the date of an election 
 shall file a report describing the expenditures 
 within 24 hours.
 (B) Additional reports.--After a person files 
 a report under subparagraph (A), the person 
 shall file an additional report within 24 hours 
 after each time the person makes or contracts 
 to make independent expenditures aggregating an 
 additional $1,000 with respect to the same 
 election as that to which the initial report 
 relates.
 (2) Expenditures aggregating $10,000.--
 (A) Initial report.--A person (including a 
 political committee) that makes or contracts to 
 make independent expenditures aggregating 
 $10,000 or more at any time up to and including 
 the 20th day before the date of an election 
 shall file a report describing the expenditures 
 within 48 hours.
 (B) Additional reports.--After a person files 
 a report under subparagraph (A), the person 
 shall file an additional report within 48 hours 
 after each time the person makes or contracts 
 to make independent expenditures aggregating an 
 additional $10,000 with respect to the same 
 election as that to which the initial report 
 relates.
 (3) Place of filing; contents.--A report under this 
 subsection--
 (A) shall be filed with the Commission; and
 (B) shall contain the information required by 
 subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii), including the name 
 of each candidate whom an expenditure is 
 intended to support or oppose.
 (4) Time of filing for expenditures aggregating 
 $1,000.--Notwithstanding subsection (a)(5), the time at 
 which the statement under paragraph (1) is received by 
 the Commission or any other recipient to whom the 
 notification is required to be sent shall be considered 
 the time of filing of the statement with the recipient.
 (h) Reports From Inaugural Committees.--The Federal Election 
Commission shall make any report filed by an Inaugural 
Committee under section 510 of title 36, United States Code, 
accessible to the public at the offices of the Commission and 
on the Internet not later than 48 hours after the report is 
received by the Commission.
 (i) Disclosure of Bundled Contributions.--
 (1) Required disclosure.--Each committee described in 
 paragraph (6) shall include in the first report 
 required to be filed under this section after each 
 covered period (as defined in paragraph (2)) a separate 
 schedule setting forth the name, address, and employer 
 of each person reasonably known by the committee to be 
 a person described in paragraph (7) who provided 2 or 
 more bundled contributions to the committee in an 
 aggregate amount greater than the applicable threshold 
 (as defined in paragraph (3)) during the covered 
 period, and the aggregate amount of the bundled 
 contributions provided by each such person during the 
 covered period.
 (2) Covered period.--In this subsection, a ``covered 
 period'' means, with respect to a committee--
 (A) the period beginning January 1 and ending 
 June 30 of each year;
 (B) the period beginning July 1 and ending 
 December 31 of each year; and
 (C) any reporting period applicable to the 
 committee under this section during which any 
 person described in paragraph (7) provided 2 or 
 more bundled contributions to the committee in 
 an aggregate amount greater than the applicable 
 threshold.
 (3) Applicable threshold.--
 (A) In general.--In this subsection, the 
 ``applicable threshold'' is $15,000, except 
 that in determining whether the amount of 
 bundled contributions provided to a committee 
 by a person described in paragraph (7) exceeds 
 the applicable threshold, there shall be 
 excluded any contribution made to the committee 
 by the person or the person's spouse.
 (B) Indexing.--In any calendar year after 
 2007, section 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the 
 amount applicable under subparagraph (A) in the 
 same manner as such section applies to the 
 limitations established under subsections 
 (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such 
 section, except that for purposes of applying 
 such section to the amount applicable under 
 subparagraph (A), the ``base period'' shall be 
 2006.
 (4) Public availability.--The Commission shall ensure 
 that, to the greatest extent practicable--
 (A) information required to be disclosed 
 under this subsection is publicly available 
 through the Commission website in a manner that 
 is searchable, sortable, and downloadable; and
 (B) the Commission's public database 
 containing information disclosed under this 
 subsection is linked electronically to the 
 websites maintained by the Secretary of the 
 Senate and the Clerk of the House of 
 Representatives containing information filed 
 pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
 1995.
 (5) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the 
 date of enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open 
 Government Act of 2007, the Commission shall promulgate 
 regulations to implement this subsection. Under such 
 regulations, the Commission--
 (A) may, notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and 
 (2), provide for quarterly filing of the 
 schedule described in paragraph (1) by a 
 committee which files reports under this 
 section more frequently than on a quarterly 
 basis;
 (B) shall provide guidance to committees with 
 respect to whether a person is reasonably known 
 by a committee to be a person described in 
 paragraph (7), which shall include a 
 requirement that committees consult the 
 websites maintained by the Secretary of the 
 Senate and the Clerk of the House of 
 Representatives containing information filed 
 pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
 1995;
 (C) may not exempt the activity of a person 
 described in paragraph (7) from disclosure 
 under this subsection on the grounds that the 
 person is authorized to engage in fundraising 
 for the committee or any other similar grounds; 
 and
 (D) shall provide for the broadest possible 
 disclosure of activities described in this 
 subsection by persons described in paragraph 
 (7) that is consistent with this subsection.
 (6) Committees described.--A committee described in 
 this paragraph is an authorized committee of a 
 candidate, a leadership PAC, or a political party 
 committee.
 (7) Persons described.--A person described in this 
 paragraph is any person, who, at the time a 
 contribution is forwarded to a committee as described 
 in paragraph (8)(A)(i) or is received by a committee as 
 described in paragraph (8)(A)(ii), is--
 (A) a current registrant under section 4(a) 
 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995;
 (B) an individual who is listed on a current 
 registration filed under section 4(b)(6) of 
 such Act or a current report under section 
 5(b)(2)(C) of such Act; or
 (C) a political committee established or 
 controlled by such a registrant or individual.
 (8) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, 
 the following definitions apply:
 (A) Bundled contribution.--The term ``bundled 
 contribution'' means, with respect to a 
 committee described in paragraph (6) and a 
 person described in paragraph (7), a 
 contribution (subject to the applicable 
 threshold) which is--
 (i) forwarded from the contributor or 
 contributors to the committee by the 
 person; or
 (ii) received by the committee from a 
 contributor or contributors, but 
 credited by the committee or candidate 
 involved (or, in the case of a 
 leadership PAC, by the individual 
 referred to in subparagraph (B) 
 involved) to the person through 
 records, designations, or other means 
 of recognizing that a certain amount of 
 money has been raised by the person.
 (B) Leadership pac.--The term ``leadership 
 PAC'' means, with respect to a candidate for 
 election to Federal office or an individual 
 holding Federal office, a political committee 
 that is directly or indirectly established, 
 financed, maintained or controlled by the 
 candidate or the individual but which is not an 
 authorized committee of the candidate or 
 individual and which is not affiliated with an 
 authorized committee of the candidate or 
 individual, except that such term does not 
 include a political committee of a political 
 party.

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 prohibition of contributions in name of another

 Sec. 320. [No person] (a) In General._No person shall make 
a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly 
permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution, and 
no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one 
person in the name of another person.
 (b) Prohibition on Assistance.--No person shall knowingly 
direct, help, or assist any person in making a contribution in 
the name of another person.
 (c) Reporting of Suspected Contributions.--Any recipient who 
suspects that a contribution made to such recipient is a 
contribution made by one person in the name of another person 
shall report such contribution to the Federal Election 
Commission.

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