The28th

Proposed 28th Amendment (v.95)

Section 1: For the purpose of securing the independence of the legislative and executive branches, Congress shall:

1. fund federal elections publicly, at a level to assure electoral competition, and initially at no less than the equivalent of the total amount spent in the election cycle when this article is ratified;
2. limit any non-anonymized contributions to the campaigns of candidates for federal office to the equivalent of $1,000;
3. have the power to limit, but not to ban, independent political expenditures within 180 days of an election, including, but not limited to, expenditures in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for federal office.

Section 2: The First Amendment shall not be construed to limit legislation enacted pursuant to this article except to assure partisan neutrality. Neither shall the First Amendment be construed to limit an equivalent power in state or local legislation enacted to regulate the elections of state or local officers.

Section 3: Congress shall by law establish an independent agency to regulate federal elections. Such agency shall enforce the provisions of this article and shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether the level of public funding of federal elections is adequate. The principal officers of said agency shall be non-partisan commissioners who have served at least 10 years as a federal judge, and whose compensation is set at the highest level for federal judges. Commissioners shall hold their Offices during good behavior. The agency shall be deemed to have standing to enforce the provisions of this article judicially in the federal courts, and the judicial power of the United States shall be construed to extend to actions by the agency against Congress, including actions to require Congress to appropriate funds to support the agency adequately or the public funding of elections.

Section 4: Congress shall have power to enforce the provisions of this article by appropriate legislation.