Ban Corporate PACs Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Ban Corporate PACs Act narrows the corporate separate segregated fund rules in Federal Election Campaign Act sections 316 and 317. Where current law refers to a corporation establishing or operating a political fund, the bill substitutes nonprofit corporation. It defines nonprofit corporation as a section 501(c) corporation exempt under section 501(a), excluding corporations that would lose exempt status if they established a separate segregated fund. It removes stockholder and stockholder-family solicitation language from the FECA provisions because for-profit corporate stockholders would no longer be part of the permitted solicitation base. The transition rule is direct: any existing separate segregated fund operating on enactment that is not a nonprofit corporation fund must terminate and disburse its entire balance within one year.
Who Benefits and How
Federal Election Commission regulators benefit from a clear nonprofit-only boundary for FECA separate segregated funds. Voters concerned about corporate political spending benefit from a statutory limit on corporate PAC fundraising by for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporation committees benefit because they remain eligible to establish separate segregated funds if they satisfy the new definition. Campaign finance committees benefit from a clear one-year transition rule for non-nonprofit corporate PAC termination.
Who Bears the Burden and How
For-profit corporate PAC committees lose authority to operate unless they qualify as nonprofit corporation funds. Corporate PAC treasurers must terminate nonqualifying committees and disburse entire balances within one year. Corporate executives who relied on PAC solicitation channels lose a political fundraising vehicle tied to the corporation. Federal Election Commission staff must update guidance and enforce the new nonprofit-only boundary.
Key Provisions
- Restricts FECA separate segregated fund authority to nonprofit corporations.
- Adds a nonprofit corporation definition tied to section 501(c) and section 501(a) tax-exempt status.
- Bars for-profit corporation stockholder solicitation under the amended corporate PAC rules.
- Requires existing non-nonprofit corporate PACs to terminate and disburse all balances within one year.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Limits the Federal Election Campaign Act authority to establish or operate separate segregated political funds to nonprofit corporations, removes stockholder solicitation language, defines nonprofit corporation by reference to tax-exempt section 501 organizations, and requires existing non-nonprofit corporate PACs to terminate and disburse their entire balances within one year.
Key Policy Areas
Campaign Finance, Corporate Governance, Elections
Primary Purpose
Limits the Federal Election Campaign Act authority to establish or operate separate segregated political funds to nonprofit corporations, removes stockholder solicitation language, defines nonprofit corporation by reference to tax-exempt section 501 organizations, and requires existing non-nonprofit corporate PACs to terminate and disburse their entire balances within one year.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Federal Election Commission regulators
- Voters concerned about corporate spending
- Nonprofit corporation committees
- Campaign finance committees
Identified Costs
- For-profit corporate PAC committees
- Corporate PAC treasurers
- Corporate executives
- Federal Election Commission staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Harder of California (for himself and Mr. Golden of …
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal Election Commission regulators, Federal Election Commission staff
Positive-direction: Federal Election Commission regulators
Negative-direction: Federal Election Commission staff
Corporate PAC treasurers, For-profit corporate PAC committees
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.
Learn more about our methodology