[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4471 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4471
To prohibit an entity of the Federal Government from collecting or
requiring the submission of information on the identification of any
donor to a tax-exempt organization, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 6, 2023
Mr. Armstrong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability
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A BILL
To prohibit an entity of the Federal Government from collecting or
requiring the submission of information on the identification of any
donor to a tax-exempt organization, and for other purposes.
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 ``Speech Privacy Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTING PRIVACY OF DONORS TO TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Restrictions on Collection of Donor Information.--
(1) Restrictions.--An entity of the Federal Government may
not collect or require the submission of information on the
identification of any donor to a tax-exempt organization.
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the
following:
(A) The Internal Revenue Service, acting lawfully
pursuant to section 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor provision.
(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of
the House of Representatives, acting lawfully pursuant
to section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1604).
(C) The Federal Election Commission, acting
lawfully pursuant to section 510 of title 36, United
States Code.
(D) An entity acting pursuant to a lawful order of
a court or administrative body which has the authority
under law to direct the entity to collect or require
the submission of the information, but only to the
extent permitted by the lawful order of such court or
administrative body.
(b) Restrictions on Release of Donor Information.--
(1) Restrictions.--An entity of the Federal Government may
not disclose to the public information revealing the
identification of any donor to a tax-exempt organization.
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the
following:
(A) The Internal Revenue Service, acting lawfully
pursuant to section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor provision.
(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of
the House of Representatives, acting lawfully pursuant
to section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2
U.S.C. 1604).
(C) The Federal Election Commission, acting
lawfully pursuant to section 510 of title 36, United
States Code.
(D) An entity acting pursuant to a lawful order of
a court or administrative body which has the authority
under law to direct the entity to disclose the
information, but only to the extent permitted by the
lawful order of such court or administrative body.
(E) An entity which discloses the information as
authorized by the organization.
(c) Tax-Exempt Organization Defined.--In this section, a ``tax-
exempt organization'' means an organization which is described in
section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. Nothing in this subsection
may be construed to treat a political organization under section 527 of
such Code as a tax-exempt organization for purposes of this section.
(d) Penalties.--It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of
the United States, or any former officer or employee, willfully to
disclose to any person, except as authorized in this section, any
information revealing the identification of any donor to a tax-exempt
organization. Any violation of this section shall be a felony
punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding
$250,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together
with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any
officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any
other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from
employment upon conviction for such offense.
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