118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the administration and operation of the Election Assistance Commission, and for other purposes.
July 6, 2023
Mr. D'Esposito introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the administration and operation of the Election Assistance Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Positioning the Election Assistance Commission for the Future Act of 2023”.
SEC. 2. Findings relating to the administration of the Election Assistance Commission.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Election Assistance Commission best serves the American people when operating within its core statutory functions, including serving as a clearinghouse for information on election administration, providing grants, and testing and certifying election equipment.
(2) The American people are best served when Federal agency election assistance is offered by a single agency with expertise in this space. The Election Assistance Commission, composed of four election experts from different political parties, is best situated among the Federal government agencies to offer assistance services to citizens and to guide other Federal agencies that have responsibilities in the elections space. The Commission is also best suited to determine the timing of the issuance of any advisories and to disburse all appropriated election grant funding.
(3) To this end, Congress finds that the Election Assistance Commission should be viewed as the lead Federal government agency on all election administration matters, and other Federal agencies operating in this space should look to the Commission for guidance, direction, and support on election administration-related issues.
SEC. 3. Requirements with respect to staff and funding of the Election Assistance Commission.
(a) Staff.—Section 204(a)(5) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20924(a)(5)) is amended by striking “of such additional personnel” and inserting “of not more than 55 full-time equivalent employees to carry out the duties and responsibilities under this Act”.
(b) Funding.—Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended—
(1) by striking “for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2005” and inserting “for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2026”; and
(2) by striking “(but not to exceed $10,000,000 for each such year)” and inserting “(but not to exceed $25,000,000 for each such year)”.
(c) Prohibition on certain use of funds.—
(1) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available under subsection (b) may be obligated or expended for the operation of an advisory committee established by the Election Assistance Commission pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), except with respect to the operation of the Local Leadership Council.
(2) NO EFFECT ON ENTITIES ESTABLISHED BY HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to the operation of any entity established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, including the Election Assistance Commission Standards Board, the Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors, and the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.
(d) Requirements with respect to compensation of members of the Commission.—Section 203(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20923(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “at the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code” and inserting “at an annual rate of basic pay equal to the amount of $186,300, as adjusted under section 5318 of title 5, United States Code, in the same manner as the annual rate of pay for positions at each level of the Executive Schedule”;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking “No member appointed” and inserting “Except as provided in paragraph (3), no member appointed”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) SUPPLEMENTAL EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSATION.—An individual serving a term of service on the Commission shall be permitted to hold a position at an institution of higher education (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) if—
“(A) the General Counsel of the Election Assistance Commission determines that such position does not create a conflict of interest with the individual’s position as a sitting member of the Commission and grants the individual approval to hold the position; and
“(B) the annual rate of compensation received by the individual from such institution is not greater than the amount equal to 49.9 percent of the annual rate of basic pay paid to the individual under paragraph (1).”.
(e) Office of Inspector General.—Section 204 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20924) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(f) Office of Inspector General.—The Inspector General of the Election Assistance Commission may appoint not more than 7 full-time equivalent employees to assist the Inspector General to carry out the duties and responsibilities under section 4 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 4), of whom 2 shall have primarily administrative duties and responsibilities.”.
(f) Effective date.—This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2023.
SEC. 4. Exclusive authority of Election Assistance Commission to make election administration payments to States.
(a) In general.—No entity of the Federal Government other than the Election Assistance Commission may make any payment to a State for purposes of administering elections for Federal office, including obtaining election and voting equipment and infrastructure, enhancing election and voting technology, and making election and voting security improvements, including with respect to cybersecurity and infrastructure.
(b) Effective date.—Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to payments made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. Executive Board of the Standards Board authority to enter into contracts.
Section 213(c) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20943(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(5) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.—The Executive Board of the Standards Board may, using amounts already made available to the Commission, enter into contracts to employ and retain no more than 2 individuals to enable the Standards Board to discharge its duties with respect to the examination and release of voluntary considerations with respect to the administration of elections for Federal offices by the States under section 247, except that—
“(A) no more than 1 individual from the same political party may be employed under such contracts at the same time;
“(B) the authority to enter into such contracts shall end on the earlier of the date of the release of the considerations or December 31, 2024; and
“(C) no additional funds may be appropriated to the Commission for the purposes of carrying out this paragraph.”.
SEC. 6. Election Assistance Commission primary role in election administration.
Except as provided in any other provision of law, the Election Assistance Commission shall, with respect to any other entity of the Federal Government, have primary jurisdiction to address issues with respect to the administration of elections for Federal office.
SEC. 7. General requirements for payments made by Election Assistance Commission.
(a) Prohibiting use of payments for Get-Out-the-Vote-Activity.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part:
“SEC. 297. Prohibiting use of payments for get-out-the-vote-activity.
“(a) Prohibition.—No payment made to a State or unit of local government by the Commission may be used for get-out-the-vote activity.
“(b) Definition.—In this section, the term ‘get-out-the-vote activity’ means, with respect to a payment made to a State or unit of local government, any activity which, at the time the payment is made, is treated as get-out-the-vote-activity under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and the regulations promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to carry out such Act.”.
(b) Requiring disclaimer in communications.—Part 7 of subtitle D of title II of such Act, as added by subsection (b), is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“SEC. 297A. Requiring communications funded by payments to include disclaimer.
“(a) Requirement.—If a State or unit of local government disseminates a public communication which was developed or disseminated in whole or in part with a payment made to the State or local government by the Commission under this Act or any other Act, the State or unit of local government shall ensure that the communication includes, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the following statement: ‘Paid for using Federal taxpayer funds pursuant to the Help America Vote Act’.
“(b) Clear and conspicuous manner described.—A statement required under subsection (a) shall be considered to be in a clear and conspicuous manner if the statement meets the following requirements:
“(1) TEXT OR GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of a text or graphic communication, the statement—
“(A) appears in letters at least as large as the majority of the text in the communication
“(B) is contained in a printed box set apart from the other contents of the communication; and
“(C) is printed with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement.
“(2) AUDIO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of an audio communication, the statement is spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communication and lasts at least 3 seconds.
“(3) VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of a video communication which also includes audio, the statement—
“(A) is included at either the beginning or the end of the communication; and
“(i) a written format that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) and appears for at least 4 seconds; and
“(ii) an audible format that meets the requirements of subparagraph (B).
“(4) OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of any other type of communication, the statement is at least as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
“(c) Public communication.—In this section, the term ‘public communication’ means a communication relating to the administration of an election for Federal office by means of any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing, or telephone bank to the general public, or any other form of general public advertising.”.
(c) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents of such Act is amended by inserting at the end of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the following:
“PART 7—GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PAYMENTS
“Sec. 297. Prohibiting use of payments for get-out-the-vote-activity.
“Sec. 297A. Requiring communications funded by payments to include disclaimer.”.
(d) Effective date.—This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to payments made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.