HR 6900 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Spotlight Act

Introduced Sep 26, 2018 Originated House Sponsor David E. Price D-NC

Latest action · Sep 26, 2018 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

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.

IntroducedSep 26, 2018
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Spotlight Act

This bill repeals an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revenue procedure (Rev. Proc. 2018-38) that exempts certain tax-exempt organizations that are not 501(c)(3) organizations from the requirement to report the names and addresses of substantial contributors (persons who contribute more than $5,000 per year) on information returns that are filed with the IRS.

The bill requires tax-exempt organizations that fall under sections 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., social welfare organizations, labor organizations, business leagues) to disclose the names and addresses of all substantial contributors on their returns. The information must also be made available to the public.

The bill also eliminates the authority of the IRS to provide exceptions to the disclosure requirements for tax-exempt organizations. This provision does not apply to determinations made by the IRS before July 16, 2018.

Cosponsors 15

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 26, 2018 to Dec 19, 2018; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-NH	Carol Shea-Porter	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-CA	John Garamendi	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-MA	Katherine M. Clark	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-CA	Mark DeSaulnier	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-CA	Salud O. Carbajal	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-NY	Sean Patrick Maloney	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-TN	Steve Cohen	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-OH	Tim Ryan	Original	Sep 26, 2018
D-WI	Mark Pocan		Sep 28, 2018
D-WA	Pramila Jayapal		Sep 28, 2018
D-CA	Barbara Lee		Oct 2, 2018
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney		Dec 19, 2018

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Ways and Means Committee	Referred Sep 26, 2018

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

Sep 26, 2018Introduced in House
Sep 26, 2018Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which provides Congress with the power to lay and collect taxes and promote the general welfare.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 164, no. 159, September 26, 2018, page H9090.

Related bills 2

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

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
SJRES 64	A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Treasury relating to "Returns by Exempt Organizations and Returns by Certain Non-Exempt Organizations".	Related bill	Dec 12, 2018
S 3284	Spotlight Act	Identical bill	Jul 26, 2018

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require certain tax-exempt organizations to include on annual returns the names and addresses of substantial contributors, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced: Spotlight Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Sep 26, 2018Introduced in House

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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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.