H.R. 3898 (112th): Sunlight Act of 2012

HR 3898 IH

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Rules of the House of Representatives to strengthen financial disclosures by Members, officers, and employees of Congress, and for other purposes.

February 3, 2012

Mr. KING of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Rules of the House of Representatives to strengthen financial disclosures by Members, officers, and employees of Congress, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Sunlight Act of 2012’.

SEC. 2. DOLLAR AMOUNTS REQUIRED FOR ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS.

(a) Financial Disclosures- Section 102(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the case of reports of Members of Congress and officers and employees of Congress filed pursuant to sections 101(d) and (e), references to the categories for reporting the amount or value of the items covered in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (8) of subsection (a) shall be deemed to be exact dollar amounts.’.

(b) Availability of Reports on the Internet- Section 103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(l) A copy of each report filed under this title with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate shall be made available as soon as practicable to the general public on the Internet in a format that is searchable and sortable.’.

(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to reports filed for calendar years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC DISPLAY OF THE SUBJECT MATTER OF DEBATES.

Clause 2 of rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘(l) During general debate on any measure, the Clerk shall project on a wall of the Hall of the House the subject matter of that debate so that it is visible to Members and to visitors in the gallery.’.

SEC. 4. AVAILABILITY OF BILLS, CONFERENCE REPORTS, AND AMENDMENTS ON THE INTERNET BEFORE VOTING.

Clause 11 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended to read as follows:

‘11. It shall not be in order to consider any bill or joint resolution, or conference report thereon, or amendment thereto, unless--

‘(1) in the case of a bill, joint resolution, or conference report, such measure is made available to Members and the general public on the Internet for at least 48 hours before its consideration; or

‘(2)(A) in the case of an amendment made in order by a rule, it is made available to Members and the general public on the Internet within one hour after the rule is filed; or

‘(B) in the case of an amendment under an open rule, it is made available to Members and the general public on the Internet immediately after being offered;

in a format that is searchable and sortable.’.

SEC. 5. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC REPORTS.

(a) Mandatory Electronic Filing for All Reports-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended--

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘a person required to file--’ and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘each person required to file a report under this Act shall be required to maintain and file such report in electronic form accessible by computers.’;

(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘designations, statements, and reports’ and inserting ‘documents’; and

(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘means, with respect to’ and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘means any report, designation, statement, or notification required by this Act to be filed with the Commission or the Secretary of the Senate.’.

(2) PLACEMENT OF ALL REPORTS ON INTERNET- Section 304(a)(11)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(B)) is amended--

(A) by striking ‘a designation, statement, report, or notification’ and inserting ‘each report’; and

(B) by striking ‘the designation, statement, report, or notification’ and inserting ‘the report’.

(3) SEARCHABLE AND SORTABLE MANNER OF INFORMATION- Section 304(a)(11)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘in a format that is searchable and sortable’ after ‘Internet’.

(4) SOFTWARE FOR FILING OF ALL REPORTS- Section 304(a)(12) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434a(a)(12)) is amended--

(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘each person required to file a designation, statement, or report in electronic form’ and inserting ‘each person required to file a report (as defined in paragraph (11)(D))’; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘any designation, statement, or report’ and inserting ‘any report (as defined in paragraph (11)(D))’.

(b) Requiring Reports for All Contributions Made to Any Political Committee Within 30 Days of Election; Requiring Reports To Be Made Within 24 Hours- Section 304(a)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended to read as follows:

‘(A) Each political committee shall notify the Secretary or the Commission, and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, in writing, of any contribution received by the committee during the period which begins on the 30th day before an election and ends at the time the polls close for such election. This notification shall be made within 24 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the contribution is deposited) after the receipt of such contribution and shall include the name of the candidate involved (as appropriate) and the office sought by the candidate, the identification of the contributor, and the date of receipt and amount of the contribution.’.

(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to reports for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013.

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