January 10, 2012 •
Sunlight Foundation Drafting SuperPAC Disclosure Bill
Just in time for the second anniversary of the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Sunlight Foundation is crafting a bill that would require disclosure of the money behind independent expenditures, SuperPACs, and more. Called the Stop Undisclosed Payments in Elections from Ruining Public Accountability in Campaigns Act, the text of the bill (in its current form) can be found here.
According to the announcement on their website, the SUPERPAC Act would require the following:
• Ensure disclosure of donors who fund independent expenditures and electioneering communications made by Super PACs or other 501(c) organizations. Donors giving to an organization for other purposes may remain anonymous if the organization establishes separate accounts for non-election related spending.
• Require real-time, online disclosure of all reports. Data must be in searchable, sortable, machine-readable formats and reports must include unique IDs for all filers.
• Require disclaimers (stand-by-your-ad statements) and identification of top funders in the ad.
• Require registered lobbyists to report their spending on independent expenditures and electioneering communications.
• Require all candidates and committees to file electronically with the Federal Election Commission.
The organization is encouraging input from the public in order to improve the proposed legislation via publicmarkup.org.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.