Campaign Finance Transparency Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2232 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Ms. KLOBUCHAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Campaign Finance 4 Transparency Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2232 IS SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS- 1 SION. 2 (a) REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS; REMOVAL 3 OF SECRETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE AS 4 EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL; QUORUM.—Section 306(a)(1) 6 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 7 U.S.C. 30106(a)(1)) is amended— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘There is established’’ and 9 inserting ‘‘(A) There is established’’; and 10 (B) by striking the second and third sen- 11 tences and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(B) The Commission is composed of 5 mem- 13 bers appointed by the President by and with the ad- 14 vice and consent of the Senate, of whom— 15 ‘‘(i) no more than 2 may be affiliated with 16 the same political party; and 17 ‘‘(ii) at least 1 shall not be affiliated 18 with— 19 ‘‘(I) the political party with which the 20 most members of the House of Representa- 21 tives are affiliated; or 22 ‘‘(II) the political party with which 23 the second most member of the House of 24 Representatives are affiliated. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2232 IS A member shall by treated as affiliated with a polit- 1 ical party if the member was affiliated, including as 2 a registered voter, employee, consultant, donor, offi- 3 cer, or attorney, with such political party or any of 4 its candidates or elected public officials at any time 5 during the 5-year period ending on the date on 6 which such individual is nominated to be a member 7 of the Commission. 8 ‘‘(C) Four members shall constitute a 9 quorum.’’. 10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 11 REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—(A) The 12 second sentence of section 306(c) of such Act (52 13 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘affirma- 14 tive vote of 4 members of the Commission’’ and in- 15 serting ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the mem- 16 bers of the Commission who are serving at the 17 time’’. 18 (B) Such Act is further amended by striking 19 ‘‘affirmative vote of 4 of its members’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 21 the Commission who are serving at the time’’ each 22 place it appears in the following sections: 23 (i) Section 309(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 24 30109(a)(2)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2232 IS (ii) Section 309(a)(4)(A)(i) (52 U.S.C. 1 30109(a)(4)(A)(i)). 2 (iii) Section 309(a)(5)(C) (52 U.S.C. 3 30109(a)(5)(C)). 4 (iv) Section 309(a)(6)(A) (52 U.S.C. 5 30109(a)(6)(A)). 6 (v) Section 311(b) (52 U.S.C. 30111(b)). 7 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 8 REMOVAL OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Section 9 306(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)) is amend- 10 ed by striking ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Sen- 11 ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’ 12 each place it appears in paragraphs (4) and (5). 13 (b) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Section 306(a)(2) of such 14 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(2)) is amended to read as fol- 15 lows: 16 ‘‘(2) TERMS OF SERVICE.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 18 Commission shall serve for a single term of 6 19 years. 20 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL APPOINT- 21 MENTS.—Of the members first appointed to 22 serve terms that begin in January 2022, the 23 President shall designate 2 to serve for 3-year 24 terms. The members selected under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2232 IS paragraph shall not be affiliated with the same 1 political party. 2 ‘‘(C) NO REAPPOINTMENT PERMITTED.— 3 An individual who served a term as a member 4 of the Commission may not serve for an addi- 5 tional term, except that— 6 ‘‘(i) an individual who served a 3-year 7 term under subparagraph (B) may also be 8 appointed to serve a 6-year term under 9 subparagraph (A); and 10 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of this subpara- 11 graph, an individual who is appointed to 12 fill a vacancy under subparagraph (D) 13 shall not be considered to have served a 14 term if the portion of the unexpired term 15 the individual fills is less than 50 percent 16 of the period of the term. 17 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring 18 in the membership of the Commission shall be 19 filled in the same manner as in the case of the 20 original appointment. Except as provided in 21 subparagraph (C), an individual appointed to 22 fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expi- 23 ration of a term of office shall be appointed 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2232 IS only for the unexpired term of the member he 1 or she succeeds. 2 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON SERVICE AFTER EX- 3 PIRATION OF TERM.—A member of the Com- 4 mission may continue to serve on the Commis- 5 sion after the expiration of the member’s term 6 for an additional period, but only until the ear- 7 lier of— 8 ‘‘(i) the date on which the member’s 9 successor has taken office as a member of 10 the Commission; or 11 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of the 1-year pe- 12 riod that begins on the last day of the 13 member’s term.’’. 14 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 306(a)(3) of such Act 15 (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 18 select an individual for service as a member of 19 the Commission if the individual has experience 20 in election law and has a demonstrated record 21 of integrity, impartiality, and good judgment. 22 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE OF BLUE RIBBON ADVI- 23 SORY PANEL.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2232 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the regu- 1 larly scheduled expiration of the term of a 2 member of the Commission and upon the 3 occurrence of a vacancy in the membership 4 of the Commission prior to the expiration 5 of a term, the President shall convene a 6 Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel consisting of 7 an odd number of individuals selected by 8 the President. 9 ‘‘(ii) COMPOSITION.—The Blue Rib- 10 bon Advisory Panel shall include individ- 11 uals representing each major political 12 party and individuals who are independent 13 of a political party and individuals with ex- 14 perience in election law, except that the 15 President may not select any individual to 16 serve on the panel who holds any public of- 17 fice at the time of selection. The President 18 shall make reasonable efforts to encourage 19 racial, ethnic, and gender diversity on the 20 panel. 21 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—With re- 22 spect to each member of the Commission 23 whose term is expiring or each vacancy in 24 the membership of the Commission (as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2232 IS case may be), the Blue Ribbon Advisory 1 Panel shall recommend to the President at 2 least one but not more than 3 individuals 3 for nomination for appointment as a mem- 4 ber of the Commission. 5 ‘‘(iv) PUBLICATION.—At the time the 6 President submits to the Senate the nomi- 7 nations for individuals to be appointed as 8 members of the Commission, the President 9 shall publish the Blue Ribbon Advisory 10 Panel’s recommendations for such nomina- 11 tions. 12 ‘‘(v) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL AD- 13 VISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal 14 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 15 does not apply to a Blue Ribbon Advisory 16 Panel convened under this subparagraph. 17 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING ENGAGEMENT WITH 18 OTHER BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT DURING 19 SERVICE.—A member of the Commission shall 20 not engage in any other business, vocation, or 21 employment. Any individual who is engaging in 22 any other business, vocation, or employment at 23 the time of his or her appointment to the Com- 24 mission shall terminate or liquidate such activ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2232 IS ity no later than 90 days after such appoint- 1 ment.’’. 2 SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF POWERS TO CHAIR OF FEDERAL 3 ELECTION COMMISSION. 4 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR BY PRESIDENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(5) of the 6 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 7 30106(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.— 9 ‘‘(A) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Of the 10 members first appointed to serve terms that 11 begin in January 2022, one such member (as 12 designated by the President at the time the 13 President submits nominations to the Senate) 14 shall serve as Chair of the Commission. 15 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—Any 16 individual who is appointed to succeed the 17 member who serves as Chair of the Commission 18 for the term beginning in January 2022 (as 19 well as any individual who is appointed to fill 20 a vacancy if such member does not serve a full 21 term as Chair) shall serve as Chair of the Com- 22 mission. 23 ‘‘(C) VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 24 select, by majority vote of its members, one of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2232 IS its members to serve as Vice Chair, who shall 1 act as Chair in the absence or disability of the 2 Chair or in the event of a vacancy in the posi- 3 tion of Chair.’’. 4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5 309(a)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(2)) is 6 amended by striking ‘‘through its chairman or vice 7 chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘through the Chair’’. 8 (b) POWERS.— 9 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN POWERS TO 10 CHAIR.—Section 307(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 11 30107(a)) is amended to read as follows: 12 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS BETWEEN CHAIR 13 AND COMMISSION.— 14 ‘‘(1) POWERS ASSIGNED TO CHAIR.— 15 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS.—The 16 Chair of the Commission shall be the chief ad- 17 ministrative officer of the Commission and shall 18 have the authority to administer the Commis- 19 sion and its staff, and (in consultation with the 20 other members of the Commission) shall have 21 the power— 22 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the staff 23 director of the Commission; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2232 IS ‘‘(ii) to request the assistance (includ- 1 ing personnel and facilities) of other agen- 2 cies and departments of the United States, 3 whose heads may make such assistance 4 available to the Commission with or with- 5 out reimbursement; and 6 ‘‘(iii) to prepare and establish the 7 budget of the Commission and to make 8 budget requests to the President, the Di- 9 rector of the Office of Management and 10 Budget, and Congress. 11 ‘‘(B) OTHER POWERS.—The Chair of the 12 Commission shall have the power— 13 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the gen- 14 eral counsel of the Commission; 15 ‘‘(ii) to appoint and remove the direc- 16 tor of enforcement of the Commission with 17 the concurrence of at least 2 other mem- 18 bers of the Commission who are not affili- 19 ated with the same political party as the 20 Chair; 21 ‘‘(iii) to require by special or general 22 orders, any person to submit, under oath, 23 such written reports and answers to ques- 24 tions as the Chair may prescribe; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2232 IS ‘‘(iv) to administer oaths or affirma- 1 tions; 2 ‘‘(v) to require by subpoena, signed by 3 the Chair, the attendance and testimony of 4 witnesses and the production of all docu- 5 mentary evidence relating to the execution 6 of its duties; 7 ‘‘(vi) in any proceeding or investiga- 8 tion, to order testimony to be taken by 9 deposition before any person who is des- 10 ignated by the Chair, and shall have the 11 power to administer oaths and, in such in- 12 stances, to compel testimony and the pro- 13 duction of evidence in the same manner as 14 authorized under clause (iv); and 15 ‘‘(vii) to pay witnesses the same fees 16 and mileage as are paid in like cir- 17 cumstances in the courts of the United 18 States. 19 ‘‘(2) POWERS ASSIGNED TO COMMISSION.—The 20 Commission shall have the power— 21 ‘‘(A) to initiate (through civil actions for 22 injunctive, declaratory, or other appropriate re- 23 lief) any civil action in the name of the Com- 24 mission to enforce the provisions of this Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2232 IS and chapter 95 and chapter 96 of the Internal 1 Revenue Code of 1986, through its director of 2 enforcement; 3 ‘‘(B) to defend (in the case of any civil ac- 4 tion brought under section 309(a)(8) of this 5 Act) or appeal (including a proceeding before 6 the Supreme Court on certiorari) any civil ac- 7 tion in the name of the Commission to enforce 8 the provisions of this Act and chapter 95 and 9 chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 10 1986, through its general counsel; 11 ‘‘(C) to render advisor [Text truncated for display. 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