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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more news

A Look at the Social Innovation Office

Jun 4, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has an interview with Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Sonal Shah, who heads the new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

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Waiting for Guidance on Stimulus Lobbying Restrictions

Jun 3, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

After the White House announced on Friday evening changes to rules on communications between registered lobbyists and officials about stimulus projects, several questions remain until any further guidance is released. First, the ban on oral communications regarding specific stimulus matters will be extended to include everyone, not only federally registered lobbyists.

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White House Announces Changes to Recovery Act Lobbying Memo

In a blog post on May 29, Norm Eisen, Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, announced changes to President Obama's March 20 memorandum that placed restrictions on communications between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch employees regarding the use of Recovery Act funds. After completing a 60-day review, the administration modified the oral communications ban to include not just federally registered lobbyists, but everyone who contacts government officials. However, that ban appears to only apply to competitive grant applications that have been submitted for review.

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Report, Comments Reveal Need for Regulatory Clarity at IRS

Every year, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) request public comments on recommendations for their Guidance Priority List to identify tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other guidance for the year. OMB Watch recently submitted comments that urge the IRS to prioritize the creation of a bright-line definition of prohibited political activity for tax-exempt charities and religious organizations. Such clarity is particularly important given recent findings that IRS agents have not properly differentiated between permissible advocacy and activities that are considered partisan election intervention.

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Liberty U Drops Recognition of Democratic Club; Falwell Files Complaint Against AU

Jun 1, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

Liberty University (LU), a private, tax-exempt university founded by the late Evangelical Rev. Jerry Falwell, dropped official recognition of the university’s Democrat club due to the National Democratic Party’s platform on abortion and marriage equality, according to its Chancellor Rev. Jerry Falwell, Jr. Without official recognition the club cannot receive funding from the University or use the University’s name on anything affiliated with the club.

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Judge Rules Florida Electioneering Law Unconstitutional

May 28, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

A federal judge struck down a Florida electioneering law that requires groups to register with the state and submit financial reports if they mention candidates or issues in publications or on Web sites. The rules also applied to individuals who spend $100 or more on electioneering communications. The judge ruled that the law unconstitutionally limits political free speech.

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Agencies Reporting Communications with Federally Registered Lobbyists

Updated April 20, 2010

President Barack Obama's March 20 memo restricts communications between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch employees on use of Recovery Act funds and requires disclosure of written communications. A closer examination of the summaries of lobbyist contacts with federal agencies shows that there are few online postings of those communications; some agencies have not posted any contacts at all.

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IRS To Conduct More Research Before Issuing Guidance on Blogs

May 22, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

The IRS has not issued any guidance on what constitutes political intervention on blogs sponsored by tax-exempt organizations (EO). Apparently, EO’s will have to wait a while longer to receive such guidance.

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IRS Overstated Number of 2004 Political Activity Violations

May 22, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

A the request of the Senate Finance Committee, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has issued an audit report on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Political Activities Compliance Initiative (PACI) for the 2004 election season. PACI involves examinations of 501(c)(3) organizations for possible violation of the political campaign intervention prohibition.

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More 3-3 Votes at the FEC

May 21, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) continues to "find no reason to believe that respondents violated the Act." More cases have been closed by the FEC with tied votes by the commissioners. American Rights at Work filed a complaint charging that Wal-Mart stores used corporate resources to advocate for the defeat of democrat candidates. Information on the case is available from the FEC, MURs 6501-6052.

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