article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Campaign Sunlight Act of 2012''. SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF WEBSITE OF POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS. (a) Establishment of Website.--Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(e) Website for Contents of Political Advertisements.-- ``(1) Website described.-- ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall establish and operate a website, to be known as the `Campaign Accountability Site', through which members of the public may view the contents of political advertisements. ``(B) Format.--In operating the website under this subsection, the Commission shall-- ``(i) make the contents of a political advertisement available for viewing in the same format through which the advertisement was disseminated; and ``(ii) make the sources of the contents of the advertisement available on the website directly or through hyperlinks to the sources, as submitted to the Commission by the sponsor of the advertisement under paragraph (2)(B). ``(C) Hyperlink.--The Commission shall make the website established and operated under this subsection available through a hyperlink on the Commission's official public website. ``(2) Requiring sponsors of advertisements to provide contents to commission.-- ``(A) In general.--The sponsor of a political advertisement shall submit the contents of the advertisement to the Commission in such format as the Commission may require to enable the Commission to include the advertisement on the website established and operated under paragraph (1). ``(B) Inclusion of sources cited in contents.--If the contents of a political advertisement include references to any quotation, article, hyperlink, or other source for any statement made in the advertisement, the sponsor of the advertisement shall include the full contents of the source (or a hyperlink to the full contents of the source) in the contents submitted to the Commission under this paragraph. ``(C) Deadline for submission.--The sponsor of a political advertisement shall submit the contents of the advertisement to the Commission under subparagraph (A) not later than-- ``(i) 24 hours after the advertisement is disseminated, in the case of an advertisement that is disseminated during the 7-day period that ends on the date of the election involved; or ``(ii) 72 hours after the advertisement is disseminated, in the case of an advertisement that is disseminated during any other period. ``(D) Payment of fee.--If the Commission determines that it is appropriate to impose fees on the sponsors of political advertisements in amounts which do not exceed the amount necessary to cover the costs to the Commission of establishing and operating the website under paragraph (1), at the time the sponsor of a political advertisement submits the contents of the advertisement to the Commission under subparagraph (A), the sponsor shall pay the Commission the amount of any such fee (as determined under a fee schedule established by the Commission). ``(E) Sponsor defined.--For purposes of this subsection, the `sponsor' of a political advertisement is-- ``(i) in the case of a political advertisement that is described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), the authorized political committee involved; or ``(ii) in the case of a political advertisement that is described in paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the person who is required under such paragraph to be identified as the person who paid for the advertisement. ``(3) Political advertisement defined.--In this subsection, a `political advertisement' means a communication that is subject to subsection (a) that refers to a clearly identified candidate and is disseminated during the 1-year period which ends on the date of the election for the office sought by the candidate.''. (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to political advertisements disseminated after the expiration of the 120-day period that begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
summary: Campaign Sunlight Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to direct the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to establish and operate a website (Campaign Accountability Site) through which members of the public may view the contents of political advertisements. Requires the sponsor of a political advertisement to submit its contents to the FEC in a format the FEC may require. Requires the format to make the sources of such contents available on the website directly or through hyperlinks to the sources. Requires the sponsor to submit an advertisement to the FEC within: (1) 24 hours after its dissemination, if it is disseminated during the 7 days before the election involved; or (2) 72 hours after dissemination during any other period.