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Senate Bill 1 ( Section 220) - Now with Source Listed

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), which would effectively keep any and all pro-family organizations in America from providing you information on bills in Congress. Under Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), we would only be able to provide you information on a bill at a high cost and at great danger of being penalized by Congress.

To put it bluntly, members of Congress are tired of getting your e-mails and phone calls, and Senate Bill 1(Section 220) is designed to keep information from you that might inspire you to call or write your senator.

Looks like communism moving in even stronger.



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Review of Senate Bill 1 (Section 220)

 

The grassroots lobbying section of U.S. Senate Bill 1 (Section 220) contains onerous reporting requirements (on a quarterly basis), and civil fines of up to $100,000 for failing to comply. The effect by any pro family organization and other grassroots groups to get you information on any bill before Congress will be profound.

 

Under Senate Bill 1, AFA would have to report the issues, employees, contractors and dollars spent in what is called "paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying" (that phrase is not defined). This reporting requirement is triggered by two actions:  (1) a lobbying "contact" – a personal or written communication with an individual in the executive or legislative branch of the federal government concerning public policy issues, from legislation to nominations; and (2) communications with grassroots (that’s you) that "influence" them to contact the executive or legislative branches ("influence" is not defined, but it apparently doesn't even have to include a specific "call to action.") There is no minimum dollar spending requirement that triggers the reporting requirement by pro family organizations for our efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying.

 

Once a pro family organization identifies a "lobbying contact" that it has had (e.g., We talk with a senator about a Supreme Court nomination), then that organization will have to track all internal expenditures on that issue: such as Journal articles, printing costs, payments to authors, etc.; Online e-mailing costs; special website creations; broadcast expenses;  and issue advertising (creative costs, ad buys, etc.). Cost of trips, speeches, and fundraising letters will have to be allocated to the correct "issue." (We could be dealing with a half-dozen issues, and we will have to keep tract and expense of every issue we deal with.)  The compliance costs alone will be heavy, with the hiring of perhaps as many as 8-10 new employees to track both accounting and legal oversight involved and all the paperwork required.

 

The organization's involvement in coalitions or alliances (Arlington Group, judicial confirmation groups; right to life coalitions) will also trigger reporting requirements by those coalitions, and any donations by the organization will have to be reported by that coalition.

 

All these reports will be available to the public. Because of the timing of the quarterly reports and the fact that spending usually precedes action, it is entirely likely that we will have to report what we are going to do in advance of actually doing it. For example, our opponents may be alerted in advance that we intend to purchase air time for ads targeting a specific issue.

 

The bill makes exemptions for larger, organized groups who employ paid lobbyists, who don’t dominantly rely on public communication (to people like you) to get their messages out.

 

The bill defines “grassroots lobbying firms” as any organization that encourages 500 or more members of the general public to contact Congress.

 

Pro family organizations would be forced to file a report to the government on a quarterly basis that contains detailed information about our organization.  The required report must include identification of the organization’s expenditures, the issues focused on and the members of Congress and other federal officials who are the subject of the advocacy efforts.  A separate report would be required for each policy issue the group is active on.

 

Basically these new rules were written to isolate pro-family and conservative Christian organizations.  Large corporations (which spend millions in lobbying expenses) would be exempt.  Communications aimed at an organization’s “members, employees, officers or shareholders” would be exempt.  That means that groups such as the AFL-CIO, MoveOn.org, National Education Association and other organized groups would be exempt.

Contact your Senators and ask them to vote NO on Senate Bill 1 ( section 220)

From the www.senate.gov website!
S.1
To provide greater transparency in the legislative process. (Placed on Calendar in Senate)

cont'd

SEC. 220. DISCLOSURE OF PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.

      (a) Definitions- Section 3 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended--

            (1) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end of the following: `Lobbying activities include paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, but do not include grassroots lobbying.'; and

            (2) by adding at the end of the following:

            `(17) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING- The term `grassroots lobbying' means the voluntary efforts of members of the general public to communicate their own views on an issue to Federal officials or to encourage other members of the general public to do the same.

            `(18) PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING-

                  `(A) IN GENERAL- The term `paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying' means any paid attempt in support of lobbying contacts on behalf of a client to influence the general public or segments thereof to contact one or more covered legislative or executive branch officials (or Congress as a whole) to urge such officials (or Congress) to take specific action with respect to a matter described in section 3(8)(A), except that such term does not include any communications by an entity directed to its members, employees, officers, or shareholders.

                  `(B) PAID ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR SEGMENTS THEREOF- The term `paid attempt to influence the general public or segments thereof' does not include an attempt to influence directed at less than 500 members of the general public.

                  `(C) REGISTRANT- For purposes of this paragraph, a person or entity is a member of a registrant if the person or entity--

                        `(i) pays dues or makes a contribution of more than a nominal amount to the entity;

                        `(ii) makes a contribution of more than a nominal amount of time to the entity;

                        `(iii) is entitled to participate in the governance of the entity;

                        `(iv) is 1 of a limited number of honorary or life members of the entity; or

                        `(v) is an employee, officer, director or member of the entity.

            `(19) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRM- The term `grassroots lobbying firm' means a person or entity that--

                  `(A) is retained by 1 or more clients to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying on behalf of such clients; and

                  `(B) receives income of, or spends or agrees to spend, an aggregate of $25,000 or more for such efforts in any quarterly period.'.

      (b) Registration- Section 4(a) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended--

            (1) in the flush matter at the end of paragraph (3)(A), by adding at the end the following: `For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii), the term `lobbying activities' shall not include paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying.'; and

            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

            `(4) FILING BY GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRMS- Not later than 45 days after a grassroots lobbying firm first is retained by a client to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, such grassroots lobbying firm shall register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.'.

      (c) Separate Itemization of Paid Efforts To Stimulate Grassroots Lobbying- Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amended--

            (1) in paragraph (3), by--

                  (A) inserting after `total amount of all income' the following: `(including a separate good faith estimate of the total amount of income relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying and, within that amount, a good faith estimate of the total amount specifically relating to paid advertising)'; and

                  (B) inserting `or a grassroots lobbying firm' after `lobbying firm';

            (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting after `total expenses' the following: `(including a good faith estimate of the total amount of expenses relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying and, within that total amount, a good faith estimate of the total amount specifically relating to paid advertising)'; and

            (3) by adding at the end the following:

      `Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not apply with respect to reports relating to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying activities.'.

      (d) Good Faith Estimates and De Minimis Rules for Paid Efforts To Stimulate Grassroots Lobbying-

            (1) IN GENERAL- Section 5(c) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is amended to read as follows:

      `(c) Estimates of Income or Expenses- For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:

            `(1) Estimates of income or expenses shall be made as follows:

                  `(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of $10,0000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000.

                  `(B) In the event income or expenses do not exceed $10,000, the registrant shall include a statement that income or expenses totaled less than $10,000 for the reporting period.

            `(2) Estimates of income or expenses relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying shall be made as follows:

                  `(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of $25,000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000.

                  `(B) In the event income or expenses do not exceed $25,000, the registrant shall include a statement that income or expenses totaled less than $25,000 for the reporting period.'.

            (2) TAX REPORTING- Section 15 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1610) is amended--

                  (A) in subsection (a)--

                        (i) in paragraph (1), by striking `and' after the semicolon;

                        (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

                        (iii) by adding at the end the following:

            `(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), consider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying only those activities that are grassroots expenditures as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.'; and

                  (B) in subsection (b)--

                        (i) in paragraph (1), by striking `and' after the semicolon;

                        (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

                        (iii) by adding at the end the following:

            `(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), consider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying only those activities that are grassroots expenditures as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.'.

While I still could I went ahead and emailed my reps :)