Nonprofit Speech Rights

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Bush Takes Last-Minute Shot at Reproductive Health

Dec 18, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a controversial final rule which gives health care providers the right to refuse to provide women with access to or information about reproductive health services, if the provider objects on moral or religious grounds. The rule requires providers receiving federal funding to certify in writing that they are complying with laws intended to preserve individuals' right of conscience. But according to the National Partnership for Women and Families:

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New Report Makes Recommendations to Improve Communications with Congress

Dec 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has released a report Communicating with Congress: Recommendations for Improving the Democratic Dialogue. In June CMF released a draft version of this report and requested that interested stakeholders review the recommendations and submit comments. The report provides some recommendations to every stakeholder, including citizens, Members of Congress, advocacy groups, and congressional offices.

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Groups Urge Changes to Strengthen House Ethics Rules

Dec 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

In letters sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), the Campaign Legal Center and other groups strongly urged that changes are made to House ethics rules in regards to when members negotiate for a new job. The organizations included the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.

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The Founding Fathers Reform Lobbying

Dec 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Zephyr Teachout, a Duke Law professor, has an interesting article on lobbying reform in Democracy, A Journal of Ideas (free registration required) titled A Restructuring of Power and Information.

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'Twas the Night before New Year

'Twas the night before New Year
And all through the Nation
The people were hopeful
Looking toward Inauguration.

Nonprofits were happy
Their voices might be heard
And silencing through
Rules and surveillance may be deterred.

We've been taking great care
To preserve nonprofit speech rights
Now we reflect on the past year
And the battles we had to fight.

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Texas GOP Attempts to Institute Voter ID Requirement

Dec 15, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Texas Republicans attempted to institute a voter ID requirement two years ago and failed. Now, according to the Houston Chronicle, they have renewed their efforts. The measure that failed two years ago "would have required voters to produce some type of photo ID before being allowed to cast ballots." It was approved in the House, but failed in the Senate.

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IRS to Look At 501(c)(4) Groups

Dec 12, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), "new lawsuits could prompt the Court to reconsider key principles of [campaign finance] regulation, officials and private attorneys said at the annual conference of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL)." This statement references the Citizens United case that is expected to be argued in front of the Supreme Court this spring. The case challenges Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules requiring disclosure of those paying for electioneering communications.

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Calls for Grants Streamlining

Dec 12, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The National Grants Partnership, (NGP) a coalition of government and nongovernment entities, released transition recommendations to improve the grants process. The NGP seeks to make agencies improve effectiveness of the use of grant funds and reduce burdens associated with grants administration. The document lays out three main recommendations. These include;

Expand the use and functionality of Grants.gov. This includes combining USASpending.gov into Grants.gov.
Consolidate and streamline the grants management structure.

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New Reports Covering Election Day

Dec 12, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A new survey of 10,000 people conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that African-American voters waited to vote more than twice as long as others, and Hispanics were asked to show identification more often. Other problems included issues with absentee ballots, and inconsistent application of election laws.

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Supporting Advocacy; an Effective Strategy to Affect Policy

Dec 8, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to a press release from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), "foundations should turn to the underutilized strategy of supporting advocacy, organizing and civic engagement to be more effective at addressing social issues, recession or no recession." A new report from NCRP "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities," found that "for every dollar invested in the 14 advocacy and organizing groups studied, New Mexico's residents reaped more than $157 in benefits."

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