HR 268 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Grassroots Democracy Act of 2013

Fact sheet

Latest action · Jan 18, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJan 15, 2013
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Grassroots Democracy Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable credit of up to $25 ($50 in the case of a joint return), adjusted for inflation, for qualified grassroots federal congressional campaign contributions paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year.

Directs the Grassroots Democracy Advisory Commission (GDAC, established by this Act) to establish a pilot program under which a qualified individual shall be provided with a "Grassroots Democracy Coupon" during the election cycle, which will be assigned a routing number and, at the individual's option, provided in either paper or electronic form. Authorizes the individual to: (1) submit the Coupon, using the routing number, in either electronic or paper form to qualified federal election candidates, and (2) allocate portions of the Coupon's value in $5 increments to a candidate (up to a maximum of $50 per candidate). Requires the GDAC to pay the candidate who transmits the Coupon to it the portion of the Coupon's value that the individual allocated to the candidate, which shall be considered a contribution under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA).

Amends FECA with respect to: (1) benefits for participating congressional candidates; (2) Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; (3) candidate use of payments; (4) qualified grassroots contribution, expenditure, and fundraising requirements; (5) certification of participating congressional candidates; (6) campaign administration; (7) prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; (8) remittal to the Grassroots Democracy Fund of unspent funds after an election; (9) eligibility of participating candidates for payments; (10) establishment of the Grassroots Democracy Fund in the Treasury and of a Grassroots Democracy Advisory Commission in the FEC; and (11) civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements.

Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign.

Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee.

Extends from 60 days before a general, special, or runoff election to 120 days before such an election the period for treatment of communications as electioneering communications.

Creates user fees, payable to the FEC, for candidate-designated political committees and bundlers.

Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act.

Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC, and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces from 48 hours to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the alternative tax on political organizations that have net capital gains for the taxable year; and (2) the treatment as tax-exempt functions of proceeds from a political fundraising or entertainment event, from the sale of political campaign materials not received in the ordinary course of trade or business, or from any bingo game.

Revises the formula limiting the amount included in the gross income of a tax-exempt organization that expends funds for an exempt function of a political committee.

Repeals the application of graduated tax rates for principal campaign committees (thus applying the highest rates to such committees).

Allows an individual to designate a specified portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Grassroots Democracy Fund.

Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate.

Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate for federal office.

Cosponsors 43

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 15, 2013 to Jan 13, 2014, with 33 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-NJAlbio SiresOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-CAAnna G. EshooOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-TXBeto O'RourkeOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-ILBobby L. RushOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-MDChris Van HollenOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-NYDaniel B. MaffeiOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-NCDavid E. PriceOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-RIDavid N. CicillineOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-MDDonna F. EdwardsOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-CAGeorge MillerOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-CTJames A. HimesOriginalJan 15, 2013
D-MAJames P. McGovernOriginalJan 15, 2013

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jan 18, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
  2. Jan 15, 2013Introduced in House
  3. Jan 15, 2013Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 20Government By the People Act of 2014Related billMar 6, 2014
S 375Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity ActRelated billJul 24, 2013

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jan 15, 2013Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.