Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1272 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reduce the number of members of the Federal Election Commission from 6 to 5, to revise the method of selection and terms of service of members of the Commis- sion, to distribute the powers of the Commission between the Chair and the remaining members, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. PETERS, Mr. SARBANES, Miss RICE of New York, Mrs. MURPHY, and Ms. BROWNLEY of Cali- fornia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reduce the number of members of the Federal Election Commission from 6 to 5, to revise the method of selec- tion and terms of service of members of the Commission, to distribute the powers of the Commission between the Chair and the remaining members, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1272 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Integrity 2 to America’s Elections Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS- 4 SION. 5 (a) REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS; REMOVAL 6 OF SECRETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE AS 7 EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL; QUORUM.—Section 306(a)(1) 9 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 10 U.S.C. 30106(a)(1)) is amended by striking the sec- 11 ond and third sentences and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘The Commission is composed of 5 members ap- 13 pointed by the President by and with the advice and 14 consent of the Senate, of whom no more than 2 may 15 be affiliated with the same political party. A major- 16 ity of the number of members of the Commission 17 who are serving at the time shall constitute a 18 quorum, except that 3 members shall constitute a 19 quorum if there are 4 members serving at the 20 time.’’. 21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 22 REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—(A) The 23 second sentence of section 306(c) of such Act (52 24 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘affirma- 25 tive vote of 4 members of the Commission’’ and in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1272 IH serting ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the mem- 1 bers of the Commission who are serving at the 2 time’’. 3 (B) Such Act is further amended by striking 4 ‘‘affirmative vote of 4 of its members’’ and inserting 5 ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 6 the Commission who are serving at the time’’ each 7 place it appears in the following sections: 8 (i) Section 309(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 9 30109(a)(2)). 10 (ii) Section 309(a)(4)(A)(i) (52 U.S.C. 11 30109(a)(4)(A)(i)). 12 (iii) Section 309(a)(5)(C) (52 U.S.C. 13 30109(a)(5)(C)). 14 (iv) Section 309(a)(6)(A) (52 U.S.C. 15 30109(a)(6)(A)). 16 (v) Section 311(b) (52 U.S.C. 30111(b)). 17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 18 REMOVAL OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Section 19 306(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)) is amend- 20 ed by striking ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Sen- 21 ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’ 22 each place it appears in paragraphs (4) and (5). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1272 IH (b) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Section 306(a)(2) of such 1 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(2)) is amended to read as fol- 2 lows: 3 ‘‘(2) TERMS OF SERVICE.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 5 Commission shall serve for a single term of 6 6 years. 7 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL APPOINT- 8 MENTS.—Of the members first appointed to 9 serve terms that begin in January 2022, the 10 President shall designate 2 to serve for a 3-year 11 term. 12 ‘‘(C) NO REAPPOINTMENT PERMITTED.— 13 An individual who served a term as a member 14 of the Commission may not serve for an addi- 15 tional term, except that— 16 ‘‘(i) an individual who served a 3-year 17 term under subparagraph (B) may also be 18 appointed to serve a 6-year term under 19 subparagraph (A); and 20 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of this subpara- 21 graph, an individual who is appointed to 22 fill a vacancy under subparagraph (D) 23 shall not be considered to have served a 24 term if the portion of the unexpired term 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1272 IH the individual fills is less than 50 percent 1 of the period of the term. 2 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring 3 in the membership of the Commission shall be 4 filled in the same manner as in the case of the 5 original appointment. Except as provided in 6 subparagraph (C), an individual appointed to 7 fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expi- 8 ration of a term of office shall be appointed 9 only for the unexpired term of the member he 10 or she succeeds. 11 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON SERVICE AFTER EX- 12 PIRATION OF TERM.—A member of the Com- 13 mission may continue to serve on the Commis- 14 sion after the expiration of the member’s term 15 for an additional period, but only until the ear- 16 lier of— 17 ‘‘(i) the date on which the member’s 18 successor has taken office as a member of 19 the Commission; or 20 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of the 1-year pe- 21 riod that begins on the last day of the 22 member’s term.’’. 23 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 306(a)(3) of such Act 24 (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1272 IH ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 2 select an individual for service as a member of 3 the Commission if the individual has experience 4 in election law and has a demonstrated record 5 of integrity, impartiality, and good judgment. 6 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE OF BLUE RIBBON ADVI- 7 SORY PANEL.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the regu- 9 larly scheduled expiration of the term of a 10 member of the Commission and upon the 11 occurrence of a vacancy in the membership 12 of the Commission prior to the expiration 13 of a term, the President shall convene a 14 Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel, consisting of 15 an odd number of individuals selected by 16 the President from retired Federal judges, 17 former law enforcement officials, or indi- 18 viduals with experience in election law, ex- 19 cept that the President may not select any 20 individual to serve on the panel who holds 21 any public office at the time of selection. 22 ‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—With re- 23 spect to each member of the Commission 24 whose term is expiring or each vacancy in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1272 IH the membership of the Commission (as the 1 case may be), the Blue Ribbon Advisory 2 Panel shall recommend to the President at 3 least one but not more than 3 individuals 4 for nomination for appointment as a mem- 5 ber of the Commission. 6 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION.—At the time the 7 President submits to the Senate the nomi- 8 nations for individuals to be appointed as 9 members of the Commission, the President 10 shall publish the Blue Ribbon Advisory 11 Panel’s recommendations for such nomina- 12 tions. 13 ‘‘(iv) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL AD- 14 VISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal 15 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 16 does not apply to a Blue Ribbon Advisory 17 Panel convened under this subparagraph. 18 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING ENGAGEMENT WITH 19 OTHER BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT DURING 20 SERVICE.—A member of the Commission shall 21 not engage in any other business, vocation, or 22 employment. Any individual who is engaging in 23 any other business, vocation, or employment at 24 the time of his or her appointment to the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1272 IH mission shall terminate or liquidate such activ- 1 ity no later than 90 days after such appoint- 2 ment.’’. 3 SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF POWERS TO CHAIR OF FEDERAL 4 ELECTION COMMISSION. 5 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR BY PRESIDENT.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(5) of the 7 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 8 30106(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.— 10 ‘‘(A) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Of the 11 members first appointed to serve terms that 12 begin in January 2022, one such member (as 13 designated by the President at the time the 14 President submits nominations to the Senate) 15 shall serve as Chair of the Commission. 16 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—Any 17 individual who is appointed to succeed the 18 member who serves as Chair of the Commission 19 for the term beginning in January 2022 (as 20 well as any individual who is appointed to fill 21 a vacancy if such member does not serve a full 22 term as Chair) shall serve as Chair of the Com- 23 mission. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1272 IH ‘‘(C) VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 1 select, by majority vote of its members, one of 2 its members to serve as Vice Chair, who shall 3 act as Chair in the absence or disability of the 4 Chair or in the event of a vacancy in the posi- 5 tion of Chair.’’. 6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7 309(a)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(2)) is 8 amended by striking ‘‘through its chairman or vice 9 chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘through the Chair’’. 10 (b) POWERS.— 11 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN POWERS TO 12 CHAIR.—Section 307(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 13 30107(a)) is amended to read as follows: 14 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS BETWEEN CHAIR 15 AND COMMISSION.— 16 ‘‘(1) POWERS ASSIGNED TO CHAIR.— 17 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS.—The 18 Chair of the Commission shall be the chief ad- 19 ministrative officer of the Commission and shall 20 have the authority to administer the Commis- 21 sion and its staff, and (in consultation with the 22 other members of the Commission) shall have 23 the power— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1272 IH ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the staff 1 director of the Commission; 2 ‘‘(ii) to request the assistance (includ- 3 ing personnel and facilities) of other agen- 4 cies and departments of the United States, 5 whose heads may make such assistance 6 available to the Commission with or with- 7 out reimbursement; and 8 ‘‘(iii) to prepare and establish the 9 budget of the Commission and to make 10 budget requests to the President, the Di- 11 rector of the Office of Management and 12 Budget, and Congress. 13 ‘‘(B) OTHER POWERS.—The Chair of the 14 Commission shall have the power— 15 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the gen- 16 eral counsel of the Commission with the 17 concurrence of at least 2 other members of 18 the Commission; 19 ‘‘(ii) to require by special or general 20 orders, any person to submit, under oath, 21 such written reports and answers to ques- 22 tions as the Chair may prescribe; 23 ‘‘(iii) to administer oaths or affirma- 24 tions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1272 IH ‘‘(iv) to require by subpoena, signed 1 by the Chair, the attendance and testimony 2 of witnesses and the production of all doc- 3 umentary evidence relating to the execu- 4 tion of its duties; 5 ‘‘(v) in any proceeding or investiga- 6 tion, to order testimony to be taken by 7 deposition before any person who is des- 8 ignated by the Chair, and shall have the 9 power to administer oaths and, in such in- 10 stances, to compel testimony and the pro- 11 duction of evidence in the same manner as 12 authorized under clause (iv); and 13 ‘‘(vi) to pay witnesses the same fees 14 and mileage as are paid in like cir- 15 cumstances in the courts of the United 16 States. 17 ‘‘(2) POWERS ASSIGNED TO COMMISSION.—The 18 Commission shall have the power— 19 ‘‘(A) to initiate (through civil actions for 20 injunctive, declaratory, or other appropriate re- 21 lief), defend (in the case of any civil action 22 brought under section 309(a)(8) of this Act) or 23 appeal any civil action in the name of the Com- 24 mission to enforce the provisions of this Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1272 IH and chapter 95 and chapter 96 of the Internal 1 Revenue Code of 1986, through its general 2 counsel; 3 ‘‘(B) to render advisory opinions under 4 section 308 of this Act; 5 ‘‘(C) to develop such prescribed forms and 6 to make, amend, and repeal such rules, pursu- 7 ant to the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5, 8 United States Code, as are necessary to carry 9 out the provisions of this Act and chapter 95 10 and chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 11 1986; 12 ‘‘(D) to conduct investigations and hear- 13 ings expeditiously, to encourage voluntary com- 14 pliance, and to report apparent violations to the 15 appropriate law enforcement authorities; and 16 ‘‘(E) to transmit to the President and Con- 17 gress not later than June 1 of each year a re- 18 port which states in detail the activities of the 19 Commission in carrying out its duties under 20 this Act, and which includes any recommenda- 21 tions for any legislative or other action the 22 Commission considers appropriate. 23 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING COMMISSION TO EXERCISE 24 OTHER POWERS OF CHAIR.—With respect to any in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1272.IH H1272 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1272 IH vestigation, action, or proceeding, the Commission, 1 by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members 2 who are serving at the time, may exercise any of the 3 powers of the Chair described in paragraph (1)(B).’’. 4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 5 PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f) of such 6 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(f)) is amended— 7 [Text truncated for display. 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