To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to expand the ability of trade associations to solicit contributions from the stockholders and executive or administrative personnel of their member corporations, and for other purposes.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Amodei of Nevada introduced the following bill; which was …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Prior Approval Reform Act removes a requirement in federal election campaign law that trade associations must get permission from their member companies before soliciting political contributions from those companies' stockholders and executives. Under current law, trade associations can only solicit donations from member corporations' personnel "to the extent that" they have prior approval; this bill deletes that condition entirely.
Who Benefits and How
Trade associations (like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, and industry-specific groups) benefit significantly. They can now contact stockholders and top personnel at all member corporations to request political donations without first obtaining each company's blessing. This removes an administrative hurdle and potentially expands the pool of donors they can reach.
Political Action Committees (PACs) affiliated with trade associations may see increased fundraising capacity since they can now solicit a broader universe of potential contributors more easily.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Stockholders and executives of corporations that belong to trade associations may receive more unsolicited requests for political contributions. Companies that previously declined to give their trade association permission to solicit their personnel no longer have that gatekeeping ability.
Individual member corporations lose some control over whether their shareholders and executives are solicited by trade associations they belong to. A company that preferred to keep its personnel shielded from such solicitations can no longer do so.
Key Provisions
- Amends Section 316(b)(4)(D) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
- Eliminates the "prior approval" requirement that currently limits trade association solicitations
- Applies to solicitations made on or after January 1, 2025
- Allows trade associations to solicit contributions from stockholders and executive or administrative personnel of any member corporation without that corporation's advance consent
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, specifically expanding trade associations' ability to solicit contributions from their member corporations and associated personnel.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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