Spotlight Act
Latest action · Jul 26, 2018 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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.
- IntroducedJul 26, 2018
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot 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 28
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 26, 2018 to Sep 4, 2018; 26 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NV | Catherine Cortez Masto | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-MO | Claire McCaskill | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-ND | Heidi Heitkamp | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | Jul 26, 2018 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Aug 1, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Sep 4, 2018 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Jul 26, 2018 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 26, 2018Introduced in Senate
- Jul 26, 2018Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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 |
| HR 6900 | Spotlight Act | Identical bill | Sep 26, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill 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.
- Jul 26, 2018Introduced in Senate
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.
