changes in criminal code definitions

changes in criminal code definitions Sec. 102. (a) Paragraph (a) of section 591 of title 18, United States Code, relating to the definition of election, is amended— (1) by inserting “q” before “(4)” ; and (2) by striking out “, and (5) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States”. (b) Paragraph (2) of such section 591, relating to the definition of political committee, is amended to read as follows: “(d) ‘political committee’ means any committee, club, association, or other group of persons which receives contributions or makes expenditures during a calendar year in an aggregate amount exceeding $1,000;”. (c) Paragraph (e) of such section 591, relating to the definition of contribution, is amended to read as follows: “(e) ‘contribution’— “(1) means a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value (except a loan of money by a national or State bank made in accordance with the applicable banking laws and regulations and in the ordinary course of business, which shall be considered a loan by each endorser or guarantor, in that proportion of the unpaid balance thereof that each endorser or guarantor bears to the total number of endorsers or guarantors), made for the purpose of influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to Federal office or for the purpose of influencing the results of a primary held for the selection of delegates to a national nominating convention of a political party or for the expression of a preference for the nomination of persons for election to the office of President of the United States; “(2) means a contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution for such purposes; “(3) means funds received by a political committee which are transferred to such committee from another political committee or other source; “(4) means the payment, by any person other than a candidate or a political committee, of compensation for the personal services of another person which are rendered to such candidate or political committee without charge for any such purpose; but “(5) does not include— “(A) the value of services provided without compensation by individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political committee; “(B) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual’s residential premises for candidate-related activities; “(C) the sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use m a candidate’s campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if such charge for use in a candidate’s campaign is at least equal to the cost of such food or beverage to the vendor; “(D) any unreimbursed payment for travel expenses made by an individual who on his own behalf volunteers his personal services to a candidate, or 88 Stat. 1270 “(E) the payment by a State or local committee of a political party of the costs of preparation, display, or mailing or other distribution incurred by such committee with respect to a printed slate card or sample ballot, or other printed listing, of 3 or more candidates for any public office for which an election is held in the State in which such committee is organized, except that this clause shall not apply in the case of costs incurred by such committee with respect to a display of any such listing made on broadcasting stations, or in newspapers, magazines or other similar types of general public political advertising; to the extent that the cumulative value of activities by any person on behalf of any candidate under each of clauses (B), (C), and (D) does not exceed $500 with respect to any election;”. (d) Paragraph (f) of such section 591, relating to the definition of expenditure, is amended to read as follows: “(f) ‘expenditure’— “(1) means a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value (except a loan of money by a national or State bank made in accordance with the applicable banking laws and regulations and in the ordinary course of business), made for the purpose of influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to Federal office or for the purpose of influencing the results of a primary held for the selection of delegates to a national nominating convention of a political party or for the expression of a preference for the nomination of persons for election to the office of President of the United States; “(2) means a contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make any expenditure; and “(3) means the transfer of funds by a political committee to another political committee; but “(4) does not include— “(A) any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate; “(B) nonpartisan activity designed to encourage individuals to register to vote or to vote; “(C) any communication by any membership organization or corporation to its members or stockholders, if such membership organization or corporation is not organized primarily for the purpose of influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to Federal office; “(D) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual’s residential premises for candidate-related activities; “(E) any unreimbursed payment for travel expenses made by an individual who on his own behalf volunteers his personal services to a candidate; 88 Stat. 1271 “(F) any communication by any person which is not made for the purpose of influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to Federal office; “(G) the payment by a State or local committee of a political party of the costs of preparation, display, or mailing or other distribution incurred by such committee with respect to a printed slate card or sample ballot, or other printed listing, of 3 or more candidates for any public office for which an election is held in the State in which such committee is organized, except that this clause shall not apply in the case of costs incurred by such committee with respect to a display of any such listing made on broadcasting stations, or in newspapers, magazines or other similar types of general public political advertising; “(H) any costs incurred by a candidate in connection with the solicitation of contributions by such candidate, except that this clause shall not apply with respect to costs incurred by a candidate in excess of an amount equal to 20 percent of the expenditure limitation applicable to such candidate under section 608(c) of this title; or “(I) any costs incurred by a political committee (as such term is defined by section 608(b) (2) of this title) with respect to the solicitation of contributions to such political committee or to any general political fund controlled by such political committee, except that this clause shall not apply to exempt costs incurred with respect to the solicitation of contributions to any such political committee made through broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising facilities, and other similar types of general public political advertising; to the extent that the cumulative value of activities by any individual on behalf of any candidate under each of clauses (D) or (E) does not exceed $500 with respect to any election;”, (e) Section 591 of title 18, United States Code, relating to definitions, is amended— (1) by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (g) ; (2) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (h) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraphs: “(i) ‘political party’ means any association, committee, or organization which nominates a candidate for election to any Federal office whose name appears on the election ballot as the candidate of such association, committee, or organization; “(j) ‘State committee’ means the organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of a political party, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of such political party at the State level, as determined by the Federal Election Commission; “(k) ‘national committee’ means the organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of the political party, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of such political party at the national level, as determined by the Federal Election Commission established under section 310(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; and “(l) ‘principal campaign committee’ means the principal campaign committee designated by a candidate under section 302 (f) (1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.”.