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Redistributed as a Service of the National Library for the Environment* |
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RS20346: Campaign Finance Bills in the 106th Congress:
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| H.R. 417 (Shays-Meehan)--As passed a | S. 1593 (McCain-Feingold) |
| Individuals (Hard Money) | |
| Raises aggregate individual limit to $30,000 per year | |
| Raises limit on individual contributions to state parties to $10,000 per year | |
| Candidates (Hard Money) | |
| Specifies permissible uses and prohibits personal use of campaign funds | No provision |
| Bans party coord. expends. for House/ Senate cands. not abiding by vol. limit of $50,000 in contributions/loans from personal/family funds | No provision |
| Independent Expenditures (Hard Money) | |
| Defines "independent expenditure" as containing express advocacy and made without coordination with candidate, agent, or person coordinating with cand. | No provision |
| Requires 48 hour notice of expenditures of $10,000+, until 20 days before election | No provision |
| Bans both party independent and coordinated expends. for gen. elec. cands. | No provision |
| Amends "contribution" to include any "coordinated activity" | No provision |
| Defines "coordinated activity" as anything of value provided in coord. with candidate (or party or agent) to influence fed. election, regardless of whether exp. advocacy, incl. payments: (1) in cooperation/consultation with, or at request/suggestion of, candidate, party, or agent; (2) using cand.-prepared materials; (3) based on info. provided by candidate for purposes of expenditure; (4) by a spender who in that election cycle has raised funds or acted in official position for candidate; (5) by spender who used same consultants as affected candidate in election cycle, directly or through party; (6) for communications about campaign plans, directly or through party; (7) for in-kind professional services, directly or through party, other than for voter guide mailings; and (8) in coord. with candidate to influence election regardless of whether express advocacy | No provision |
| Deems anything of value in coord. with a candidate a contribution or expenditure | No provision |
| Exempts lobbying contacts from consideration as coord. with candidates | No provision |
| Bans conciliation agreements if probable cause found of knowing/willful violation of indep. expenditure disclosure rules | No provision |
| Party Soft Money b | |
| Bans natl. party cttee. soft money solicitation, receipt, direction, transfer, spending | |
| Bans fed. candidates, officials, or their PACs from raising soft money in conn. with fed. election, or funds from sources beyond fed. limits/prohibitions in non-fed. elecs. | |
| Bans party committees' use of soft money to raise funds | |
| Bans state/local party cttees. from spending soft money for fed. elec. activity, incl.: (1) voter registration drives in last 120 days of fed. election; (2) voter identification, get-out-the-vote drives, and generic activity in conn. with election in which a fed. candidate is on ballot; and (3) communications that refer to a clearly identified fed. candidate with intent of election influence (regardless of whether express advocacy) | |
| Allows state party spending on specified activities solely for non-federal elections | |
| Requires disclosure by national parties of all activity (federal and non-federal) and by state and local parties of specified activities that might affect federal elections | |
| Removes building fund exemption | |
| Non-Party Soft Money | |
| Requires unions, corps., and other entities--not incl. party cttees. or religious orgs.--to disclose all exempt activities (but only internal communications referring to federal candidates), once $50,000 has been spent | No provision |
| Requires unions to give reasonable notice to dues-paying non-members of rights to disallow political use of their funds | |
| Prohibits party committees from raising money for, or giving to, tax-exempt groups | |
| Issue Advocacy | |
| Defines "express advocacy" communications as advocating election or defeat of cand. by: (1) using explicit phrases, or words/slogans that in context can have no other reasonable meaning than elec. advocacy; (2) referring to a candidate in a paid radio/TV broadcast ad that runs in affected state within 60 days of election (for Pres.: within 60 days, regardless of where ad runs); or (3) expressing unmistakable, unambiguous elec. advocacy, when taken as whole, with ltd. ref. to external events | No provision |
| Exempts from def.: printed/Internet voting guides/records about at least 1 cand., which: (1) taken as a whole do not express unambiguous support for cands. (but may incl. agreement/disagreement with cand. views); (2) are not coord. with cand./party (but allowing questions and responses for guides); and (3) contain no words/phrases that in context have no reasonable meaning but elec. advocacy | No provision |
| Excl. background music (but not lyrics) from determinations of express advocacy | No provision |
| Amends "expenditure" to incl. pymt. for communications refer. to clearly identified cands., with intent of fed. elec. influence, even if not express advocacy | No provision |
| Prohibits publicly-funded presidential candidates from coordinating soft money issue advocacy (as defined) with parties | No provision |
| Enforcement (FEC) | |
| Allows random audits of campaigns within 12 months after election | No provision |
| Increases civil penalties; adds automatic penalties for late filing; allows equitable remedies in conciliation agreements | No provision |
| Expedites enforcement procedures where there is clear/convincing evidence that a violation is occurring (or has/is about to) | No provision |
| Allows FEC to refer suspected violations to Attorney General at any time | No provision |
| Changes standard to begin enforcement proceedings to "reason to investigate" | No provision |
| Inc. criminal penalties for knowing/ willful violations of contrib./expend. limits to mand. prison term of 1-10 years | No provision |
| Allows Justice Dept. to bring criminal actions at any time, without FEC referral | No provision |
| Allows candidates to institute civil actions for suspected violations in last 90 days of election; expedited court review | No provision |
| Provides that $500+ contributions a cttee. plans to return (after spec. period) be placed in FEC escrow acct., pending investigation; money used for fines, penalties, investigations; contributions returned if no reason to investigate found within 180 days | No provision |
| Disclosure (FEC) | |
| Requires electronic disclosure by any committee exceeding financial threshold; Internet posting of info. within 24 hours | No provision |
| Prohibits candidates from depositing contributions over $200 unless required itemized information is complete | No provision |
| Lowers threshold for itemizing contributions to $50 (name/address only) | No provision |
| Advertising | |
| Amends disclaimer requirements to make them more prominent and visible | No provision |
| Foreign Nationals | |
| In all U.S. elections: bans direct or indirect contributions (incl. soft money), or solicitation, from foreign nationals to a candidate, party, or committee (retains permanent resident alien exemption) | No provision |
| Ban does not apply to U.S. nationals | No provision |
| In federal elections only: bans financial activity by a non-U.S. citizen or non-U.S. national (incl. permanent resident aliens) | No provision |
| Ensures all eligible voters equal rights to contribute and spend money in federal elections, including through a PAC set up by their union or corporate employer | No provision |
| Denies "willful blindness" as a defense against charge of violating foreign natl. fundraising ban, if recipient should have known money was from foreign natl. | No provision |
| Mandates penalties for violating foreign national ban of up to 10 years in prison, up to $1 million in fines, or both | No provision |
| Requires House Ethics Cttee. report and recommendation (incl. privileged motion for possible expulsion) re: Member convicted of violating foreign natl. ban | No provision |
| Creates FEC clearinghouse of information on political and lobbying activities of foreign principals and agents | No provision |
| Study Commission | |
| Creates temp. commission to propose fed. camp. finance reforms, to be considered by Congress under fast-track rules | No provision |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Requires fines up to $1 mill., 3 yrs. jail, or both, if public-funded cand. evades spend. limits by add. private fundraising | No provision |
| Requires public-funded cands. to certify no soft money raised to benefit their races | No provision |
| Bans solicitation of contributions, incl. soft money, by fed. officials from any govt. bldg. used for official duties | No provision |
| Bans use of White House meals or accommodations for political fundraising | No provision |
| Expresses sense of Congress that "controlling legal authority" bans use of federal property to raise campaign funds | No provision |
| Bans acceptance/solicitation of anything of value to get access to Air Force 1 or 2, Marine 1 or 2, White House, or V.P. res. | No provision |
| Requires natl. party to reimburse Treasury at fair market charter rate for use of Air Force 1 to raise party money | No provision |
| Requires fed. cands. not holding fed. office who use fed. govt. vehicles for campaigns to reimburse govt. at full cost | No provision |
| Requires Internet notice within 30 days (or to Sel. Intelligence Cttee.) of non-govt. passengers on Air Force 1 or 2 | No provision |
| Bans franked mass mailings within 180 (90) days of Member's gen. (prim.) elec. | No provision |
| Bans minors' contribs. to cands./parties | No provision |
| Bans false representation to raise funds | No provision |
| Requires cand. name in auth. cttee. name; bans name use by non-auth. cttee. | No provision |
| Bans pol. cttee. currency to encourage voter turnout ("walking around money") | No provision |
| If any part of Act/statute is held invalid, remainder of Act/statute is unaffected | No provision |
a Provisions of Shays-Meehan in italics reflect (three) floor amendments added to the bill.
b Generic campaign activity is defined under party soft money in S. 1593, but under non-party soft money in H.R. 417.
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