Filer Voter Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3288 To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to treat certain tax return preparers as voter registration agencies under such Act for purposes of distributing voter registration application forms, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2021 Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to treat certain tax return preparers as voter registration agencies under such Act for purposes of distributing voter registration application forms, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tax Filer Voter Reg- 4 istration Act’’ or the ‘‘Filer Voter Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3288 IH SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF TAX RETURN PREPARERS AS 1 VOTER REGISTRATION AGENCIES FOR PUR- 2 POSES OF DISTRIBUTING VOTER REGISTRA- 3 TION APPLICATION FORMS. 4 (a) TAX RETURN PREPARERS AS VOTER REGISTRA- 5 TION AGENCIES.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the National 7 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506) 8 is amended by adding at the end the following new 9 subsection: 10 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR TAX RETURN PRE- 11 PARERS.— 12 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT AS VOTER REGISTRATION 13 AGENCIES.—Subject to paragraph (2) and except as 14 provided in paragraph (3), each tax return preparer 15 in a State shall be treated as a voter registration 16 agency designated by the State for purposes of this 17 section. 18 ‘‘(2) METHODS OF MEETING REQUIREMENTS.— 19 ‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY OF FORMS IN OFFICE 20 FOR CUSTOMERS WHO MEET PREPARER IN PER- 21 SON.—A tax return preparer who provides tax 22 return preparation services to customers who 23 meet the preparer in person at the preparer’s 24 office may meet the requirements applicable to 25 the tax return preparer under this section by 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3288 IH displaying copies of the mail voter registration 1 application form used by the State in which the 2 office is located in a manner which ensures that 3 the forms are visible and accessible to any cus- 4 tomer who visits the office. 5 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FORMS THROUGH 6 HYPERLINK FOR CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVE 7 SERVICES ONLINE.—A tax return preparer who 8 provides tax return preparation services to cus- 9 tomers through online methods may meet the 10 requirements applicable to the tax return pre- 11 parer under this section— 12 ‘‘(i) by providing a hyperlink to the 13 mail voter registration application form de- 14 veloped by the Election Assistance Com- 15 mission under section 9(a)(2), or to the 16 website of the appropriate election official 17 through which an individual may register 18 to vote online, through the same computer 19 software, service, or program by which the 20 tax return preparer provides services to the 21 customer online; and 22 ‘‘(ii) by ensuring that the hyperlink is 23 prominently displayed to each customer 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3288 IH who receives any tax return preparation 1 services from the tax return preparer. 2 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—A tax return preparer shall 3 not be required to meet the following requirements 4 of this section which are otherwise applicable to a 5 voter registration agency designated by the State for 6 purposes of this section: 7 ‘‘(A) Clause (iii) of subsection (a)(4)(A) 8 (relating to the acceptance of completed voter 9 registration application forms for transmittal to 10 the appropriate State election official). 11 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (B) of subsection 12 (a)(6) (relating to the provision of the form by 13 which an individual may apply to register to 14 vote at a voter registration agency and related 15 forms and statements). 16 ‘‘(C) Subsection (d) (relating to the dead- 17 line for the transmittal of completed voter reg- 18 istration application forms to the appropriate 19 State election official). 20 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 21 ‘tax return preparer’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) a tax return preparer described in 23 section 7701(a)(36) of the Internal Revenue 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3288 IH Code of 1986, other than a tax return preparer 1 who— 2 ‘‘(i) during the taxable year, reason- 3 ably expects to prepare fewer than 100 in- 4 dividual tax returns, or 5 ‘‘(ii) during the previous taxable year, 6 prepared fewer than 100 individual tax re- 7 turns; or 8 ‘‘(B) any certified volunteer tax preparer 9 who receives funding from the Secretary of the 10 Treasury under the Volunteer Income Tax As- 11 sistance Program or the Tax Counseling for the 12 Elderly Program. 13 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Election Assistance 14 Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of 15 the Treasury, shall promulgate such regulations as 16 the Commission considers appropriate to carry out 17 this subsection.’’. 18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 19 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to taxable 20 years occurring after December 2019. 21 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY OF THE 22 TREASURY RELATING TO CERTIFIED VOLUNTEER TAX 23 PREPARERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3288 IH (1) GUIDANCE TO CERTIFIED VOLUNTEER TAX 1 PREPARERS RECEIVING FUNDING UNDER CERTAIN 2 PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 3 provide assistance and guidance to enable certified 4 volunteer tax preparers who receive funding under 5 the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program or 6 the Tax Counseling for the Elderly Program to meet 7 the requirements of section 7(e) of the National 8 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (as added by sub- 9 section (a)). 10 (2) REVISION TO INTAKE AND INTERVIEW AND 11 QUALITY REVIEW SHEET.—The Secretary of the 12 Treasury shall revise the intake and interview and 13 quality review sheet provided to an individual who 14 utilizes the services of certified volunteer preparers 15 to include the following question: ‘‘Do you want to 16 receive a form today to register to vote or update 17 your voter registration information?’’, as well as a 18 box for the individual to check to indicate whether 19 or not the individual wants to receive such a form. 20 (3) DISPLAY OF INFORMATION AT SITES.—The 21 Secretary of the Treasury shall revise the quality 22 site requirements for volunteer tax preparers who re- 23 ceive funding under the Volunteer Income Tax As- 24 sistance Program or the Tax Counseling for the El- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3288 IH derly Program to include a requirement that the 1 sites clearly and prominently display voter registra- 2 tion application forms. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS