“(a) Coordinated expenditures.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 301(8)(A)(iii), the term ‘coordinated expenditure’ means, with respect to a candidate, authorized committee, or political party—

“(A) any payment for any communication which republishes, disseminates, or distributes, in whole or in substantial part, any video, audio, written, graphic, or other form of campaign material created or prepared by the candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a committee of a political party, but does not include—

“(i) any payment made by the candidate, the authorized committee, or the political party which created or prepared the material involved; or

“(ii) any payment for the republication, dissemination, or distribution of the material involved for purposes of opposing the candidate, authorized committee, or political party which created or prepared the material involved; or

“(B) any payment for a covered expenditure described in subsection (c) which is made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party, as defined in subsection (b).

“(2) CLARIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS TREATED AS CANDIDATES.—For purposes of this section, an individual shall be treated as a candidate if the individual is a candidate at the time of a coordinated expenditure, without regard to whether the individual was a candidate at the time the coordination occurred, as described in subsection (b).

“(3) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, AND AGENTS.—For purposes of this section, any reference to a candidate, committee, officeholder, or political party includes—

“(A) an employee or independent contractor of the candidate, committee, officeholder, or party, if such employee or contractor has executive or managerial authority (or acts under the direction or control of an employee or contractor who has such executive or managerial authority) for the candidate, committee, officeholder, or political party at any time during the election cycle in which the expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for the office of President) or during the 2-year period ending on the date the expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for any other Federal office or any political party); or

“(B) an agent (including an authorized fundraiser), whether paid or unpaid, of the candidate, committee, officeholder, or party at any time during the election cycle in which the expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for the office of President) or during the 2-year period ending on the date the expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for any other Federal office or any political party), without regard to whether the individual was such an agent at the time any of the coordination described in subsection (b) occurred.

“(4) EXCEPTIONS.—A payment shall not be treated as a coordinated expenditure under this section if—

“(A) the payment is for a communication which appears in a 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; or

“(B) the payment is for a candidate debate or forum conducted pursuant to regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to section 304(f)(3)(B)(iii), or is for a communication which solely promotes such a debate or forum and is made by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the debate or forum.

“(b) Coordination described.—For purposes of this section, a covered expenditure is made ‘in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of,’ a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party if any of the following apply:

“(1) The covered expenditure is not made totally independently of the candidate, committee, or political party. For purposes of the previous sentence, a covered expenditure not made totally independently of the candidate or committee includes any expenditure made pursuant to any express or implied agreement with, or any general or particular understanding with, or pursuant to any request by or communication with, the candidate, committee, or political party about the expenditure.

“(2) During the 2-year period ending on the date the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for any other Federal office or any political party) or during the election cycle in which the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for the office of President), the person making the covered expenditure was directly or indirectly established, maintained, controlled, or principally funded by the candidate, an immediate family member of the candidate, the committee, or party. For purposes of the previous sentence, an ‘immediate family member’ means, with respect to a candidate, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, spouse, domestic partner, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.

“(3) During the 2-year period ending on the date the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for any other Federal office or any political party) or during the election cycle in which the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for the office of President), the candidate, the committee, or political party solicited funds for, provided nonpublic fundraising information or strategy to, appeared as a speaker or featured guest at a fundraiser for, or gave permission to be featured in fundraising efforts for, the person making the covered expenditure. The previous sentence does not apply if the person making the covered expenditure is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

“(4) The covered expenditure is made on the basis of non-public information about the candidate’s, committee’s, or political party’s campaign needs or plans that the candidate, committee, or political party provided directly or indirectly to the person making the covered expenditure, including information about campaign messaging, strategy, fundraising, planned expenditures, or polling data. The previous sentence does not apply to communications between the person making the covered expenditure and the candidate, committee, or political party solely for the purpose of either engaging in discussions regarding the person’s position on a policy matter or regarding whether the person will endorse the candidate or party, so long as such communications do not include any nonpublic information about the candidate’s, committee’s, or party’s campaign needs or plans.

“(5) (A) During the 2-year period ending on the date the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for any other Federal office or any political party) or during the election cycle in which the covered expenditure is made (in the case of a candidate or committee for an election for the office of President), the person making the covered expenditure employed or otherwise retained the services (other than accounting or legal services) of a person who, at any point during that cycle or two-year period—

“(i) had executive or managerial authority for the candidate, committee, or party, whether paid or unpaid;

“(ii) was authorized to raise or expend funds for the candidate, committee, or party and had nonpublic information from the candidate, committee, or party about the candidate’s, committee’s or party’s campaign’s needs or plans; or

“(iii) provided the candidate, committee, or party with professional services (other than accounting or legal services) related to campaign or fundraising strategy.

“(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply with respect to a person employed or otherwise retained by a person making a covered expenditure if, at the time the person who was so employed or retained exercised the authority or provided the services described in clauses (i) through (iii) of such subparagraph, the person making the covered expenditure had in effect a firewall policy which meets the requirements of subsection (d).

“(c) Covered expenditures.—

“(1) CANDIDATES AND AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘covered expenditure’ means, with respect to a candidate or an authorized committee of a candidate, any of the following:

“(A) An expenditure for a public communication (as defined in section 301(22)) which—

“(i) expressly advocates for the nomination or election of the candidate or for the defeat of an opponent of the candidate (or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy);

“(ii) promotes or supports the candidate, or attacks or opposes an opponent of the candidate (regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy); or

“(iii) refers to the candidate or an opponent of the candidate but is not described in clause (i) or clause (ii), but only if, during the period which begins 120 days before the date of the primary election for the office involved and ends on the date of the general election for such office (or, if necessary, the date of a runoff election following such general election), the communication is disseminated in the jurisdiction of the office the candidate is seeking.

“(B) An expenditure to pay for partisan voter activity (such as partisan voter registration, get-out-the-vote activity, phone banking, or generic campaign activity) in the jurisdiction of the office the candidate is seeking.

“(C) An expenditure to pay for research, design or production costs, polling expenses, data analytics, creating or purchasing mailing or social media lists, or other activities related to the expenditures described in subparagraphs (A) or (B).

“(2) POLITICAL PARTIES.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘covered expenditure’ means, with respect to a political party, any of the following:

“(A) An expenditure for a public communication (as defined in section 301(22)) which—

“(i) expressly advocates for the nomination or election of a candidate of the party or for the defeat of an opponent of a candidate of the party, including a communication which expressly advocates generically for the election of candidates of the party or for the defeat of opponents of candidates of the party (or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy);

“(ii) promotes or supports a candidate of the party, or attacks or opposes an opponent of a candidate of the party (regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or contains the functional equivalent of express advocacy); or

“(iii) refers to a candidate of the party or an opponent of a candidate of the party but is not described in clause (i) or clause (ii), but only if, during the period which begins 120 days before the date of the primary election for the office involved and ends on the date of the general election for such office (or, if necessary, the date of a runoff election following such general election), the communication is disseminated in the jurisdiction of the office the candidate is seeking.

“(B) An expenditure to pay for partisan voter activity (such as partisan voter registration, get-out-the-vote activity, phone banking, or generic campaign activity) in the jurisdiction of the office a candidate of the party is seeking.

“(C) An expenditure to pay for research, design or production costs, polling expenses, data analytics, creating or purchasing mailing or social media lists, or other activities related to the expenditures described in subparagraphs (A) or (B).

“(d) Firewall policy requirements.—For purposes of paragraph (5) of subsection (b), a firewall policy of a person making a covered expenditure meets the requirements of this subsection if all of the following apply:

“(1) The policy separates the specific staff of such person who provide services related to the making of the covered expenditure from the distinct, specific staff who have engaged or will engage in any of the authorities or services described in clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subsection (b) with the candidate, authorized committee, or political party supported by the covered expenditure.

“(2) The policy forbids owners of such person and executives, managers, and supervisors within such person’s organization, to simultaneously oversee the work of staff being separated by a firewall.

“(3) The policy imposes a prohibition on the flow of strategic nonpublic information, including by imposing physical and technological separations, between such person and the candidate, committee, or party supported by the covered expenditure, and between the specific staff who are being separated by the firewall.

“(4) The policy is memorialized in writing and distributed to all relevant staff (including consultants) before such staff provide any services relating to the making of the covered expenditure, and the written policy described both the general firewall policy and any specific firewall created pursuant to such policy, and the person making the covered expenditure provides such written policy upon request to the Commission.

“(e) No limitation on application of other coordination rules.—Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the application of section 315(a)(7) to any contribution, expenditure, disbursement, or person.”.