[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4630 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4630
To amend the securities laws to require that registration statements,
quarterly and annual reports, and proxy solicitations of public
companies include a disclosure to shareholders of any expenditure made
by that company in support of or in opposition to any candidate for
Federal, State, or local public office.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 22, 2010
Mr. Ackerman (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Capuano, Mrs. Maloney, and
Mr. Gutierrez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the securities laws to require that registration statements,
quarterly and annual reports, and proxy solicitations of public
companies include a disclosure to shareholders of any expenditure made
by that company in support of or in opposition to any candidate for
Federal, State, or local public office.
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 ``Corporate Politics Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE TO SHAREHOLDERS OF CERTAIN POLITICAL EXPENDITURES.
(a) Quarterly and Annual Reports.--Section 13 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(m) Disclosure of Certain Political Expenditures.--
``(1) Disclosure required.--Each quarterly and annual
report required under this section or section 15(d) shall
include a disclosure of the total of any independent
expenditures in support of or in opposition to any candidate
for Federal, State, or local public office made by the issuer
during the preceding 6-year period. Such disclosures shall
contain, at minimum, the name and political party affiliation
of each candidate in support of whom or in opposition to whom
an independent expenditure was made, the amount of each such
expenditure, the public office that such candidate was or is
seeking, including the relevent State, city, or district, and a
statement of the issuer's interest in and reason for making
such expenditure.
``(2) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term `independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to
any candidate for Federal, State, or local public office' means
an expenditure or series of expenditures totaling more than
$10,000 for any single candidate during any single election
that--
``(A) is an independent expenditure under the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; or
``(B) is relating to a candidate for State or local
public office that would be treated as an independent
expenditure under such Act if the candidate were a
candidate for Federal public office.''.
(b) Proxies.--Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78n) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(i) Disclosure to Shareholders of Political Expenditures.--Any
solicitation of any proxy or consent or authorization in respect of any
security of an issuer shall contain a disclosure of the total of any
independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to any
candidate for Federal, State, or local public office made by the issuer
during the preceding 6-year period. Such disclosure must be clear and
conspicuous and, at minimum, contain the name and political party
affiliation of each candidate in support of whom or in opposition to
whom an independent expenditure was made, the amount of each such
expenditure, the public office that such candidate was or is seeking,
including the relevent State, city, or district, and a statement of the
issuer's interest in and reason for making such expenditure. For
purposes of this subsection, the term `independent expenditure in
support of or in opposition to any candidate for Federal, State, or
local public office' has the meaning given such term in section
13(m)(3).''.
(c) Registration Statements.--Section 7 of the Securities Act of
1933 (15 U.S.C. 77g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) The registration statement shall also contain a disclosure of
any independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to any
candidate for Federal, State, or local public office made by the issuer
during the preceding 6-year period. Such disclosure shall contain, at
minimum, the name and political party affiliation of each candidate in
support of whom or in opposition to whom an independent expenditure was
made, the amount of each such expenditure, the public office that such
candidate was or is seeking, including the relevent State, city, or
district, and a statement of the issuer's interest in and reason for
making such expenditure. For purposes of this subsection, the term
`independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to any
candidate for Federal, State, or local public office' has the meaning
given such term in section 13(m)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(m)(3)).''.
(d) Modification of Forms.--The Securities and Exchange Commission
shall make such modifications to any forms made available by the
Commission to facilitate the disclosures required by the amendments
made by this Act.
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