Citizen Legislature and Political Freedom Act

H.R. 484, the Citizen Legislature and Political Freedom Act, proposes a fundamental shift in how federal elections are financed by removing most limits on campaign donations. The bill would eliminate the caps on individual contributions to federal candidates and repeal the long-standing ban on corporations and labor unions using their treasury funds for election-related expenditures.

For the average citizen, this legislation would mean that individuals and organizations could give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns, provided those donations are disclosed. To balance this deregulation, the bill mandates stricter transparency, requiring all campaign contributions to be reported electronically and posted on the internet within 24 hours if they occur in the 90 days leading up to an election. Additionally, the bill would end the public financing system for Presidential elections, terminating the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and the tax check-off box used to fund it.