,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eiei  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #be1       
#bjbj,mr4 ,huizenga introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and ,labor 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the                
,labor-,management ,reporting and       
,disclosure ,act of #aiei to require the
 authorization of members of a labor    
organization before such organization   
may make certain political expenditures1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,union ,member ,protection ,act4  #b4   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,labor unions make significant    
political contributions and expenditures
 that directly or indirectly influence  
the election of candidates and support  
or oppose political causes4 ,decisions  
to use union dues for political         
contributions and expenditures are      
usually made by union leadership and    
management1 rather than union           

membership4  7#b7 ,unions1 acting       
through their management1 should be     
obligated to conduct business in the    
best interests of their membership4     
7#c7 ,historically1 union members have  
not had a way to know1 or to influence1 
the political activities of unions that 
are supposed to represent them4 ,union  
members and the public have a right to  
know how unions are spending members'   
dues to make political contributions or 
expenditures benefitting candidates1    
political parties1 and political causes4
  7#d7 ,unions should be accountable to 
their membership in making political    
contributions or expenditures affecting 
,federal governance and public policy4  
,requiring the express approval of a    
union's membership for political        
contributions or expenditures will      
establish necessary accountability4  #c4
 ,disclosure and approval of certain    
political expenditures  7a7 ,in general 
,title ,,ii of the ,labor-,management   
,reporting and ,disclosure ,act of #aiei

 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #dca et seq47 is amended
 by inserting after section #bja the    
following3  #bja;,a4 ,disclosure and    
approval of certain political           
expenditures by labor organizations  7a7
 ,disclosure ,the report required under 
section #bja shall contain1 in a clear  
and simple format-- 7#a7 a description  
of the specific nature of any           
expenditures for political activities   
proposed to be made by the labor        
organization for the forthcoming fiscal 
year1 to the extent the specific nature 
is known to the labor organization and  
including the total amount of such      
proposed expenditures2 and  7#b7 a      
disclosure of how each officer of the   
labor organization voted to authorize or
 not to authorize each expenditure for  
political activities made by the labor  
organization during the preceding fiscal
 year4  7b7 ,restriction on expenditures
 ,no labor organization shall make any  
expenditure for political activities in 
any fiscal year unless-- 7#a7 such      

expenditure is of the nature of those   
proposed by the labor organization      
pursuant to subsection 7a72 and  7#b7   
the full1 free1 and written             
authorization for such expenditures has 
been granted by a majority of the       
members of the labor organization4  7c7 
,mechanism for obtaining authorization  
,not later than #a year after the date  
of enactment of the ,union ,member      
,protection ,act1 every labor           
organization shall adopt a mechanism for
 obtaining1 by secret ballot1 the       
authorization of its members as required
 under subsection 7b77#b74  7d7         
,liability ,the officers of a labor     
organization who authorize an           
expenditure without first obtaining the 
authorization of members required under 
subsection 7b77#b7 shall be jointly and 
severally liable in any action brought  
in any court of competent jurisdiction  
to any member of the labor organization 
or class of members for the amount of   
dues paid by such member or class of    

member during the #a-year period prior  
to the date that such expenditure was   
made4  7e7 ,definition of expenditure   
for political activities ,as used in    
this section3 7#a7 ,the term expenditure
 for political activities means-- 7,a7  
an independent expenditure1 as such term
 is defined in section #cja7ag7 of the  
,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of    
#aiga 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #dca7ag772  7,b7    
contributions to any political party1   
committee1 or electioneering            
communication1 as such term is defined  
in section #cjd7;f77#c77;,a7 of the     
,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of    
#aiga 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #dcd7;f77#c77;,a772 
and  7,c7 dues or other payments to     
trade associations or other tax exempt  
organizations that are1 or could        
reasonably be anticipated to be1 used   
for the purposes described in           
subparagraph 7,a74  7#b7 ,such term     
shall not include-- 7,a7 direct lobbying
 efforts through registered lobbyists   
employed or hired by the labor          

organization2  7,b7 communications by a 
labor organization to its members and   
executive or administrative personnel   
and their families2 or  7,c7 the        
establishment1 administration1 and      
solicitation of contributions to a      
separate segregated fund to be utilized 
for political purposes by a labor       
organization4  4  7b7 ,conforming       
amendments  7#a7 ,section #bja7;c7 of   
such ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #dca7;c77 is   
amended by striking make available the  
information required to be contained in 
and inserting provide4  7#b7 ,section   
#bji7;a7 of such ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4    
#dci7;a77 is amended by inserting other 
than section #bja;,a after this title4  
#d4 ,requirement of vote by principal   
officers ,section #bja of the           
,labor-,management ,reporting and       
,disclosure ,act of #aiei 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4
 #dca7 is further amended by adding at  
the end the following3  7f7 ,the bylaws 
required under this section shall       
expressly provide for a vote of the     

principal officers of the labor         
organization on any individual          
expenditure for political activities 7as
 such term is defined in section        
#bja;,a7e77 in excess of #ej1jjj4 ,a    
labor organization shall make publicly  
available the individual votes of       
principal officers required by the      
preceding sentence within #dh hours of  
the vote1 including in a clear and      
conspicuous location on the ,internet   
website of the labor organization4  4   
#e4 ,report ,the ,comptroller ,general  
of the ,united ,states shall annually   
conduct a study on the compliance with  
the requirements of this ,act and the   
amendments made by this ,act by labor   
organizations and their management4 ,not
 later than ,april #a of each year1 the 
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
,congress a report of such study4  #f4  
,effective date ,this ,act and the      
amendments made by this ,act shall take 
effect on the later of-- 7#a7 the date  
of enactment of this ,act2 and  7#b7 the

 date that the bill ,h4,r4 #eibi1       
introduced in the ,house of             
,representatives during the #aafth      
,congress1 is enacted into law4