President Clinton signed the 527 Disclosure Bill on July 1, a bill that requires groups organized under Internal Revenue Code 527 (relating to political organizations) to notify the IRS of their existence and to disclose details of all contributions that exceed $200 per year and all expenditures that exceed $500 per year.

The IRS will be required to report this information and make it publicly available on the Internet and at the IRS offices.

Organizations that are organized under Section 527 are now required to file quarterly reports with the IRS. The first of these reports will be due October 15. The organizations are also required to file annual returns, which will be made public on the same schedule as that of tax-exempt organizations.

It is estimated that thousands of state political action committees may be affected by this law. The requirements of this law do not apply to organizations with annual gross receipts of less than $25,000, nor does it apply to organizations that report to the Federal Election Commission.

A copy of the House bill is available here.